As a part of the United Stated Fire Administration's Major Fire Investigation Project, this Special Technical Report has been produced to help inform firefighters of the particular danger of fires in agricultural silos and the hazards that may be encountered in fire operations in and around these structures.

Dust Explosion Dynamics focuses on the combustion science that governs the behavior of the three primary hazards of combustible dust: dust explosions, flash fires, and smoldering. It explores the use of fundamental principles to evaluate the magnitude of combustible dust hazards in a variety of settings. Models are developed to describe dust combustion phenomena using the principles of thermodynamics, transport phenomena, and chemical kinetics. Simple, tractable models are described first and compared with experimental data, followed by more sophisticated models to help with future challenges. Dr. Ogle introduces the reader to just enough combustion science so that they may read, interpret, and use the scientific literature published on combustible dusts. This introductory text is intended to be a practical guide to the application of combustible dust models, suitable for both students and experienced engineers. It will help you to describe the dynamics of explosions and fires involving dust and evaluate their consequences which in turn will help you prevent damage to property, injury and loss of life from combustible dust accidents. Demonstrates how the fundamental principles of combustion science can be applied to understand the ignition, propagation, and extinction of dust explosions Explores fundamental concepts through model-building and comparisons with empirical data Provides detailed examples to give a thorough insight into the hazards of combustible dust as well as an introduction to relevant scientific literature