Review and Perspectives of Gas-Explosion Flame Propagation in Porous Media

This Review surveys the propagation characteristics and governing mechanisms of gas-explosion flames in porous media. It first outlines the classification of porous structures and their roles in flame quenching, acceleration, and deceleration, identifying thermal-loss and radical-destruction effects as the primary drivers of flame deceleration and quenching, while gas expansion, overpressure amplification, and turbulence generation promote flame acceleration under high-porosity conditions. Next, it systematically examines how porosity, material thermal properties, initial pressure, fuel equivalence ratio, and inert-gas dilution influence flame propagation speed and summarizes the strengths and limitations of various experimental and numerical approaches used to elucidate flame behavior within porous media. Finally, by considering applications in mine safety, clean-energy utilization, underground gas storage, and explosion protection, it discusses the potential value and challenges of implementing porous media in engineering practice and emphasizes the need for future breakthroughs in high-resolution imaging, refined numerical simulation, and multiphysics coupled modeling. This Review aims to provide a comprehensive theoretical framework and research outlook to advance the understanding of gas-explosion propagation mechanisms in porous media and to foster their engineering applications.