doi:10.3850/978-981-08-7724-8_09-02

ABSTRACT

Many agricultural products and bulk chemicals are prone to spontaneous exothermic reactions, potentially leading to a so called ``thermal explosion'' if heat transfer to the surrounding environment does not provide sufficient cooling. The application of Frank-Kamenetskii (FK) theory is possible, if the behaviour of the material is known and if the critical FK parameter is available for the specific geometry and Boundary Conditions. The paper discusses the effect on the critical parameter value of the pile geometries and boundary conditions commonly used in the storage of bulk materials. In particular, it accounts for the limited heat transfer at the bottom of the stockpiles and the effect of forced and free convection, exploited by a proper choice of the local Biot number.

Keywords: Self-heating, Frank-Kamenetskii, Storage safety.

© 2011 CPD Unit, University of Leeds