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Sizing of Dust Explosion Vents 469

arrangements. Furthermore,providing a large vent opening may significantlyreduce the
strength of the process unit to be vented, necessitating complicating reinforcement for
maintaining the original strength.
Conservative, rigid venting requirements may cause industry to conclude that vent-
ing is not applicable to its problem at all, and no vents are provided. This situation has
been quite common in the case of large storage silos in the grain, feed, and flour indus-
try. The alternative venting philosophy outlined in Section 6.6.1 implies that even a
modestly sized vent may add significantly to the safety standard of the plant by being
capable of providing adequate relief for the majority of the expected explosions.
Results from realistic experimentsof the kind discussed in Section6.2 and by Eckhoff
(2003), combined with proper knowledge about the actual industrial process and plant,
constitute the existing basis for assessing the “worst credible explosion.” In the future,
systematicstudiesof differentselected representativescenarios can probably be conducted
by using comprehensive computer simulation models.

REFERENCES

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