Effects of thermal radiation heat transfer on flame acceleration and transition to detonation in particle-cloud hydrogen flames

The current work examines regimes of the hydrogen–oxygen flame propagation and ignition of mixtures heated by radiation emitted from the flame. The gaseous phase is assumed to be transparent for the radiation, while the suspended particles of the dust cloud ahead of the flame absorb and reemit the radiation. The radiant heat absorbed by the particles is then lost by conduction to the surrounding unreacted gaseous phase so that the gas phase temperature lags that of the particles. The direct numerical simulations solve the full system of two phase gas dynamic time-dependent equations with a detailed chemical kinetics for a plane flames propagating through a dust cloud. It is shown that depending on the spatial distribution of the dispersed particles and on the value of radiation absorption length the consequence of the radiative preheating of the mixture ahead of the flame can be either the increase of the flame velocity for uniformly dispersed particles or ignition either new deflagration or detonation ahead of the original flame via the Zel'dovich gradient mechanism in the case of a layered particle-gas cloud deposits. In the latter case the ignited combustion regime depends on the radiation absorption length and correspondingly on the steepness of the formed temperature gradient in the preignition zone that can be treated independently of the primary flame. The impact of radiation heat transfer in a particle-laden flame is of paramount importance for better risk assessment and represents a route for understanding of dust explosion origin. •Effects of thermal radiation in dust explosion were analyzed theoretically and by means of numerical simulations.•A new concept for particle-laden combustion regimes was developed.•Hydrogen–oxygen flame acceleration and transition to detonation caused by radiation preheating was studied.•Thermal radiation emitted from the primary flame provides a plausible ignition mechanism.•Ignition of deflagration or detonation ahead of primary flame via the gradient mechanism.