Flame arresters

Flammable gases such as acetylene, methane, propane, carbon monoxide or hydrogen-oxygen mixtures ignite explosively. The water shields previously used in oxyfuel welding technology, which were intended to prevent the flame from backfiring into the gas generator, have now been replaced without exception by dry shields made of sintered metal. The advantage of these explosion arresters is that they offer a high level of flow resistance to the explosion pressure and, thanks to their good thermal conductivity, extract so much heat from the incoming ignition wave that ignition to the storage container is prevented. Added to this is the high mechanical strength of the material.

Flame arresters are sintered tubes made of stainless steel (1.4404). These are integrated into a safety fitting to protect tapping points, distribution lines and individual cylinders in oxyfuel welding technology. The flame arrester stops a flashback coming from the gas outlet side and cools the flame below the ignition temperature due to its good thermal conductivity, so that the flammable gas on the inflow side cannot be ignited.

Flame arresters are manufactured according to flow rates specified by the customer. This is more complex than manufacturing according to density, as samples of different densities must first be pressed and sintered. These are tested for flow rate and the required density for series production is determined from the measured values.

Tridelta Siperm GmbH manufactures flame arresters in different pore sizes according to the flow rates specified by the customer. The grades SIPERM® R 1 to SIPERM® R 200 are available for this purpose.