A confined explosion occurs in a confined space, such as a vessel or a building. The two
most common confined explosion scenarios involve explosive vapors and explosive dusts. Empirical
studies have shown that the nature of the explosion is a function of several experimentally
determined characteristics. These characteristics depend on the explosive material used
and include flammability or explosive limits, the rate of pressure rise after the flammable mixture
is ignited, and the maximum pressure after ignition. These characteristics are determined
using two similar laboratory devices, shown in Figures 6-14 and 6-17.