Experimental investigation on spontaneous ignition caused by pressurized hydrogen suddenly release into an S-shaped tube

An experimental investigation on the effects of continuous semicircular curved structure on spontaneous ignition during pressurized hydrogen suddenly release was conducted. An S-shaped tube with 700 mm in length and 10 mm in diameter was used in our experiments, and a straight tube with the same configuration was adopted for comparison. The results show that the continuously generated rarefaction waves and reflected shock waves make the pressure curves in the S-shaped tube more complicated. Meanwhile, the mean velocity and intensity of the leading shock wave undergo considerable attenuation when it propagates in the S-shaped structure. By comparing with the straight tube, the minimum critical pressure condition for spontaneous ignition in the S-shaped tube is slightly difficult to reach, but the difference is not huge. Nevertheless, the S-shaped structure can effectively promote hydrogen-air mixing and make combustion more intense. A secondary overpressure peak detected by the pressure transducer near the nozzle occurs in the spontaneous ignition cases and no such pressure increase is caught in the non-ignition cases. The transition from spontaneous combustion flame to a jet flame at the nozzle and the complete out-tube jet flame development process are captured and discussed.