Explosion characteristics of nano-PMMA particles

Explosion characteristics of PMMA particles with three different diameters (100 nm, 800 nm, and 30 μm) are studied experimentally. The explosion severity including the maximum explosion pressure and the pressure rise rate of 100-nm PMMA particles significantly exceed those of 800-nm and 30-μm PMMA particles at low concentrations due to a greater specific surface area. However, the explosion severity of 100-nm PMMA particles gradually decreases below that of 800-nm PMMA particles once the dust concentration reaches 250 g/m 3 and above because 100-nm PMMA particles are prone to agglomerate, but it is still higher than that of 30-μm PMMA particles. In addition, the maximum explosion pressures increase with increasing concentrations of PMMA particles of all sizes, peaking at 250 g/m 3 , while they do not change significantly as the concentrations go beyond 500 g/m 3 . According to the explosion classification based on the deflagration index, nano-PMMA particles indicate a higher explosion risk and more serious explosion severity than those of micro-particles.