STEAM EXPLOSION TRIGGERING - A REVIEW OF THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS

This paper contains a review of the current state of knowledge of the triggering stage of a steam explosion. The data are summarised in the following four categories: (i) small-scale experiments; (ii) suppression of triggering; (iii) vapour film collapse models, and (iv) what has been learned from integral tests. It is concluded that whilst it is currently not possible to identify and model what actually happens during the triggering event, there is a large body of empirical evidence available from which the experienced worker can decide how likely it is that triggering will occur in any given situation.