Conclusion

Sizing vents to control thermal runaway reactions involving Gassy reactions is a relatively marginal activity in vent design, but one that nevertheless poses a number of problems. These reactions are dangerous because of the type of pressure build-up in the enclosure they cause in the event of containment.

Very high pressures can be generated with relatively low gas production, if the filling ratio is high or close to 100%, e.g. in insulated pipes. Measuring the behavior or characteristics of these reactions is not straightforward, and the rate of reaction and gas production is often influenced by pressure. Vent sizing methods for this type of reaction are frequently discussed or called into question due to the very large vent area required, which is considered excessive. There is no specific gas-liquid disengagement criterion for reaction mixtures producing non-condensable...