As part of the safety evaluation for launching a rocket using LOX and LNG, we investigated whether a vapor cloud explosion induces the explosion of the LOX/LNG mixture. The experiments were conducted by varying the vertical distance between the LOX/LNG mixture and the vapor cloud. The results show that when the distance is sufficiently small, the explosion of the LOX/LNG mixture is induced. The shock wave generated from the induced explosion shows that a considerable amount of the LOX/LNG mixture explodes. Furthermore, the stainless steel pan for the LOX/LNG mixture fragmented into small pieces. All results demonstrated that induced explosion is detonation.
LOX, LNG, induced explosion, vapor cloud, detonation