1/11/2017 FlameArresterswhicharedeviceswhichallowsgastopassthroughitbutstopsaflameinordertopreventalargerfireorexplosion

home sitemap about jobs abbrev fun question conversion advertising copyright contact

DOCS MATL SOCY PIPES FLG FTTG VALVES BOLTS GASKETS EQPT SPECIALS STEEL DIN STEAM CIVIL OTHS

IntroductiontoStorageTanksFlameArresters
FLAMEARRESTER
AFlameArresteralsospelledarrestorisadevicewhichallowsgastopassthroughitbutstopsaflame
inordertopreventalargerfireorexplosion.Thereisanenormousvarietyofsituationsinwhichflame
arrestersareapplied.Anyoneinvolvedinselectingflamearrestersneedstounderstandhowthese
productsworkandtheirperformancelimitations.Forthatpurpose,thisarticleprovidesanintroduction
tothetechnologyandterminologyofflamearrestersandthetypesofproductsavailable.

HISTORYOFFLAMEARRESTERS

Theoperatingprincipleofflamearresterswas
discoveredin1815bySirHumphryDavy,afamous
chemistandprofessorattheRoyalInstitutionin
England.AsafetycommitteeoftheEnglishcoalmining
industryhadapproachedDavyfortechnicalassistance.
Theyneededawaytopreventminers'oillampsfrom
causingexplosionswhenflammablegascalledfiredamp
seepedintothemineshafts.SirHumphrystudiedthe
gas,whichconsistedmostlyofmethane.The
investigationcenteredonhowmethaneburnsunder
variousconditionsandwithvariousproportionsofair.
Davy'ssolutionwastoenclosethelampflamesecurely
withatallcylinderoffinelywovenwirescreencalled
metalgauze.TwooftheearliestDavysafetylampsare
shownontheright.
Enoughlamplightpassesoutthroughthescreentobe
useful.Airfortheoilflamearoundthelampwickenters
throughthelowerpartofthescreen.Hotexhaustgas
escapesthroughtheupperpart.Whenacombustible
mixtureofmethaneflowsinwiththeair,amethane
flameburnsagainsttheinsideofthescreen.However,
neitherthemethaneflamenorthelampflamepasses
throughthenarrowopeningsofthescreen.Themetal
wireabsorbsheatfromtheflameandthenradiatesit
awayatamuchlowertemperature.

01 Honeywell Flame Detector 03 Flame Lights

02 Infrared Flame Detector 04 Water Hammer Arresters

MODERNFLAMEARRESTERS
SinceSirHumphry'stime,flamearrestersofnumerousvarietieshavebeenappliedinmany
industries.Allofthemoperateonthesameprinciple:removingheatfromtheflameasitattemptsto
travelthroughnarrowpassageswithwallsofmetalorotherheatconductivematerial.Forinstance,
flamearrestersmadebymostmanufacturersemploylayersofmetalribbonswithcrimped
corrugations.
Flamearrestersareusedinmanyindustries,includingrefining,pharmaceutical,chemical,
petrochemical,pulpandpaper,oilexplorationandproduction,sewagetreatment,landfills,mining,
powergeneration,andbulkliquidstransportation.Insomecases,theflamesinvolveexothermic(heat
producing)reactionsotherthanoxidation.Processeswhichgeneratethecombustibleorreactivegases

http://www.wermac.org/equipment/flame_arrester.html 1/4
1/11/2017 FlameArresterswhicharedeviceswhichallowsgastopassthroughitbutstopsaflameinordertopreventalargerfireorexplosion
includeblending,reacting,separation,mixing,drilling,anddigesting.Theseprocessesinvolve
numerousequipmentconfigurationsandgasmixtures.

HOWMODERNFLAMEARRESTERSWORK
Flamearrestersarepassivedeviceswithnomovingparts.Theypreventthepropagationofflamefrom
theexposedsideoftheunittotheprotectedsidebytheuseofwoundcrimpedmetalribbontype
flamecellelement.
Thisconstructionproducesamatrixofuniformopeningsthatarecarefullyconstructedtoquenchthe
flamebyabsorbingtheheatoftheflame.Thisprovidesanextinguishingbarriertotheignitedvapour
mixture.

FlameCellChannel

Undernormaloperatingconditionstheflamearresterpermitsarelativelyfreeflowofgasorvapour
throughthepipingsystem.Ifthemixtureisignitedandtheflamebeginstotravelbackthroughthe
piping,thearresterwillprohibittheflamefrommovingbacktothegassource.

INLINEDEFLAGRATIONORDETONATIONFLAMEARRESTER
Theothermajorcategoryconsistsofinlineflamearresters,alsoknownasdeflagrationanddetonation
flamearresters.(Speakingnontechnically,deflagrationmeansrapidburning,anddetonationmeans
explosion.)Theseunitsareinstalledinpipestopreventflamesfrompassing.
Mostinlineflamearresterapplicationsareinsystemswhichcollectgasesemittedbyliquidsand
solids.Thesesystems,commonlyusedinmanyindustries,maybecalledvaporcontrolsystems.The
gaseswhichareventedtoatmosphereorcontrolledviavaporcontrolsystemsaretypicallyflammable.
Iftheconditionsaresuchthatignitionoccurs,aflameinsideoroutsideofthesystemcouldresult,
withthepotentialtodocatastrophicdamage.

1 .ExposedSide2 .ProtectedSide3 .Flamestabilizedonarresterelement

4 .Flamearresterelementabsorbsandquenchesflamefront5 .Piping

Onevarietyofvaporcontrolsystemsiscalledvapordestructionsystems.Includedareelevatedflare
systems,enclosedflaresystems,burnerandcatalyticincinerationsystems,andwastegasboilers.
Anothertypeofvaporcontrolsystemusinginlineflamearrestersisvaporrecoverysystems.Included
herearevaporbalancing,refrigeration,adsorption,absorption,andcompressionsystems.
However,inlineflamearrestersaresometimesusedinendoflineapplications.Forinstance,aninline
unitmaybemountedbelowatankventValveonaliquidstoragetank.TheValvereducesemissions
andproductloss,whiletheflamearresterprotectsthetankfromflamesintheatmosphereduring
ventingofflammablegases.

SELECTINGINLINEFLAMEARRESTERS
Thevariousdynamicstatesexplainedearlierforconfinedflamescanbeverydangerousforaprocess
systemduetothetremendousenergiesassociatedwithdetonationpressureandflamevelocity.Things
happenfastandcanturncatastrophic.Thesemultipledynamicstatesincreasethechallengeof
providingaflamearresterproductorproductswhichstoptheflameandwithstandtheenormous
pressurescausedbyexplosionswithintheconfinedpiping.
Theverywiderangeofpossiblebehaviorforaconfinedflamecausestwoparticularproblemsforflame
arresterproducts.First,thehighpressuredeflagrationandstabledetonationstateshaveverystable
kineticsofburning,andtheflameismovingveryfast.Thereforethearrestermustbeabletoabsorb
theflame'sheatmuchfasterthanisrequiredbystandardlowtomediumpressuredeflagration

http://www.wermac.org/equipment/flame_arrester.html 2/4
1/11/2017 FlameArresterswhicharedeviceswhichallowsgastopassthroughitbutstopsaflameinordertopreventalargerfireorexplosion
conditions.Second,theinstantaneousimpulsepressurescausedbytheshockwavesofoverdriven
detonationsubjectthearrestertoforcesofupto20995kPa(g)(3000psig).Thus,thearrestermust
bestructurallysuperiortostandardlowpressuredeflagrationarresters.

ENDOFLINEORVENTTOATMOSPHERE
FLAMEARRESTER
Endoflineorventtoatmosphereflamearrestersallow
freeventingincombinationwithflameprotectionfor
verticalventapplications.Theypreventflame
propagationbyabsorbinganddissipatingheatusing
spiralwoundcrimpedribbonstainlesssteelflamecells.
Endoflineflamearrestersareusedinapplicationssuch
aspetroleumstoragetankvents.
Theclassicapplicationisinpreventingfireinthe
atmospherefromenteringanenclosure.Around1920,
ImagefromEnardo
forinstance,flamearrestersbegantobeinstalledon
ventsonoilfieldstoragetanks.Theykeepthetanks
fromexplodingwhengasflowingfromtheventsis
struckbylightning.
Conversely,someendoflineflamearresterspreventfire
inanenclosurefromignitinganexplosiveatmosphere
suchasinarefinery.Forinstance,flamearrestersmay

beinstalledinfurnaceairinletsandexhauststacks.

SELECTINGENDOFLINEFLAMEARRESTERS
Endoflinedeflagrationflamearrestersaredesignedforunconfinedflamepropagation,alsoreferredto
asatmosphericexplosionorunconfineddeflagration.Theysimplyboltorscrewontotheprocessor
tankconnection.Thesedesignsincorporatewellestablishedbutsimpletechnology.Mostuseasingle
elementofcrimpedwoundmetalribbonthatprovidestheHeatTransferneededtoquenchtheflame
beforeitgetsthroughthearresterelement.
Themainpointsofconcernwhenselectinganarresterforendoflineapplicationsareasfollows:
HazardousgroupdesignationorMESGvalueofthegas
Flamestabilizationperformancecharacteristicsofthearrestercomparedtothesystempotential
forflamestabilizationforsustainedperiodsoftime
Processgastemperature
Pressuredropacrossthearresterduringventingflowconditions,relativetothesystem's
maximumallowablepressureandvacuum
Materialsofconstructionthatmeettheambientandprocessconditionsforexample,extremely
coldclimate,saltspray,chemicallyaggressivegas,etc.
Connectiontypeandsize
Instrumentationrequirements

API20004.5.2DESIGNOPTIONSFOREXPLOSIONPREVENTIONSAYS:
Aflamearrester,theuseofwhichinanopenventlineorontheinlettothePressure/VacuumValveisaneffective
methodtoreducetheriskofflametransmission.Theuseriscautionedthattheuseofaflamearresterwithinthetank's
reliefpathintroducestheriskoftankdamagefromoverpressureorvacuumduetopluggingifthearresterisnot
maintainedproperly.MoreinformationonflamearresterscanbefoundinISO16852,NFPA69,TRbF20,EN12874,FM
6061,andUSCG33CFR154.Theuseofaflamearresterincreasesthepressuredropoftheventingsystem.The
manufacturer(s)shouldbeconsultedforassessingthemagnitudeoftheseeffects.

Fortheproperselectionofaflamearrester,thepipingconfiguration,operatingpressureandtetemperature,oxygen
concentration,compatibilityofflamearrestermaterialandexplosivegasgroupshouldbeconsidered.Forselectionofthe
correctflamearrester,themanufacturershouldbeconsulted.

Reference(s)(partly)forthispage:www.pressuresystems.com.auandwww.enardo.com

01 Honeywell Flame Detector 03 Flame Lights

02 Infrared Flame Detector 04 Water Hammer Arresters

VARIOUSPIPINGRELATEDARTICLES(rankedonlastaddition)

http://www.wermac.org/equipment/flame_arrester.html 3/4
1/11/2017 FlameArresterswhicharedeviceswhichallowsgastopassthroughitbutstopsaflameinordertopreventalargerfireorexplosion

WilliamsGeismarOlefins PressureTesting NordStream2 Firstcar

ReboilerRupture CatastrophicFailure FromRussiatoEurope poweredbyformicacid

ShowMeMore

WernerSlken20082017.Allrightsreserved.
DonotworryaboutyourdifficultiesinMathematics.Icanassureyouminearestillgreater.AlbertEinstein

http://www.wermac.org/equipment/flame_arrester.html 4/4