Abstract
Gas explosions are destructive disasters in coal mines. Coal mine gas is a multi-component gas mixture, with methane (CH(4)) being the dominant constituent. Understanding the process and mechanism of mine gas explosions is of critical importance to the safety of mining operations. In this work, three flammable gases (CO, C(2)H(6), and H(2)) which are commonly present in coal mines were selected to explore how they affect a methane explosion. The explosion characteristics of the flammable gases were investigated in a 20 L spherical closed vessel. Experiments on binary- (CH(4)/CO, CH(4)/C(2)H(6), and CH(4)/H(2)) and multicomponent (CH(4)/CO/C(2)H(6)/H(2)) mixtures indicated that the explosion of such mixtures is more dangerous and destructive than that of methane alone in air, as measured by the explosion pressure. Furthermore, a self-promoting microcirculation reaction network is proposed to help analyze the chemical reactions involved in the multicomponent (CH(4)/CO/C(2)H(6)/H(2)) gas explosion. This work will contribute to a better understanding of the explosion mechanism of gas mixtures in coal mines and provide a useful reference for determining the safety limits in practice.