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Dust Explosion Testing

Do you know under the right conditions Sugar Powder, Flour can be a deadly dust explosion hazard !!

The relevant question is whether the material handled is benign like ‘common salt’ or dangerous like ‘gun powder’?

Drying, milling, conveying, sieving etc. are common unit operations encountered during the handling of powder products. There have been many reported cases of fire and explosion during these unit operations. These accidents can be either due to thermal decomposition, explosion due to static electricity, explosion due to impact or even decomposition during material storage.

It is vital to generate the safety data for the product in the laboratory, which can then be used by the plant personnel to arrive at safer operating conditions and design of proper equipment and relief systems.

Our dedicated Fire and Explosion section has extensive experience in dust and powder testing and can assist in helping you determine your testing requirements.

Tests for Dust Explosion Testing

Tests for Powder Safety

  • Burning Test - Evaluating the combustibility of material (what extent a fire started by an external source will propagate in a dust layer of a dried product).

  • Minimum Ignition Temperature for Airborne Dust (BAM) - Determination of the minimum temperature at which a given dust cloud auto ignites at a hot surface.

  • Decomposition Test (Lütolf Oven – DTA Open Cup) - Determination of the lowest temperature at which a substance shows an exothermic reaction.

  • Decomposition Test (8 hrs Isoperibolic – DTA)

  • Decomposition Test in an Air stream (Grewer oven) - Determination of the lowest temperature at which a substance shows an exothermic reaction in a fresh air stream

  • Dust Explosivity Test in Modified Hartmann Apparatus - Explosiveness of dust and violence of explosion - Dust explosion class - Qualitative

  • Fall Hammer Test / Percussion Test - Evaluating the sensitivity to percussion (impact-sensitivity of a material upon its exposure to impact energy).

  • Gas Evolution Test - Determination of amount of gas evolved on decomposition, along with the flammability of the gases of decomposition.

  • Heat Accumulation / Hot Storage Test - Determination of the lowest temperature at which, a substance shows an exothermic decomposition/reaction under insulated conditions in 400ml wire basket / Dewar flask(accumulation of heat).

  • Bulk Powder Resistivity - Determines importance of static charge as a hazard

  • Minimum Ignition Energy (MIKE3) - Determination of the lowest energy required to ignite the dust/air mixture

  • Deflagration Screening Test

  • Deflagration Test - Determines whether a sample, when subjected to a standard initiation source, will deflagrate.

  • Dust Layer Ignition Test - Determination of the lowest temperature at which a substance of Dust Layer shows an exothermic reaction.

20 Lit Sphere Test

  • Dust Explosion Indices Pmax & Kst – Quantitative Dust Explosion Class

  • Limiting Oxygen Concentration (LOC)

  • Minimum Explosion Concentration (MEC)

Reach Test / Dangerous Goods Classification

  • Flammability (Solids)

  • Flammability (Solid substance Contact with water)

  • Pyrophoric (Solids & Liquids)

  • Self Ignition Temperature (Solids) by Grewer Oven

  • UN 4.2 Test For Self Heating / Packaging Group (Max of 4 Temperature Run Required for Packaging Group Classification)