|
(11) | EP 0 375 455 A3 |
(12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(54) | Flame arrester |
(57) A flame arrester (1) for a pipe line (5) is provided comprising a detonation attenuator
(4) mounted within an arrester chamber (13) between a quenching element (3) and a
backflash flame inlet (12). The attenuator (4) is generally cup-shaped, aligned with
the inlet, of greater diameter than the inlet but of lesser diameter than the arrester
chamber, and is positioned close to the inlet so as to circumscribe it. The major
portion of the high pressure central portion of a detonation wave generated by a backflash
is received by the cup and reflected back into the pipe. Some of the detonation wave
passes around the cup and impinges on the arrester element - however it has been delayed
sufficiently to ensure complete quenching of the flame front in the element. |