Claim Type

Explosion Damage

To get an understanding of what an explosion is, we need to define the causes of the types of covered explosions under your policy.

An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperaturesand the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a " high explosive". Subsonic shock waves are created by low explosives through the slower burning process known as deflagration.

Causes:

Natural

Explosions can occur in nature. Most natural explosions arise from volcanic processes of various sorts. Explosive volcanic eruptions occur when magma rising from below has much dissolved gas in it; the reduction of pressure as the magma rises causes the gas to bubble out of solution, resulting in a rapid increase in volume. Explosions also occur as a result of impact events and in phenomena such as hydrothermal explosions (also due to volcanic processes).  Explosions frequently occur during Bushfires in Eucalyptus forests where the volatile oils in the tree tops suddenly combust.

Animal bodies can also be explosive, as some animals hold a large amount of flammable material such as animal fat. This, in rare cases, results in naturally exploding animals.

Chemical

The most common artificial explosives are chemical explosives, usually involving a rapid and violent oxidation reaction that produces large amounts of hot gas. Gunpowder was the first explosive to be discovered and put to use. Other notable early developments in chemical explosive technology were Frederick Augustus Abel's development of nitrocellulose in 1865 and Alfred Nobel's invention of dynamite . Chemical explosions (both intentional and accidental) are often initiated by an electric spark or flame. Accidental explosions, which are covered losses, may occur in fuel tanks and steam vessels.

Mechanical and Vapor

Strictly a physical process for example: the bursting of a sealed or partially-sealed container under internal pressure is often referred to as a 'mechanical explosion'. Examples include an overheated boiler or steam vessel, a simple tin can of beans tossed into a fire.

Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions are one type of mechanical explosion that can occur when a vessel containing a pressurized liquid is ruptured, causing a rapid increase in volume as the liquid evaporates. Note that the contents of the container may cause a subsequent chemical explosion, the effects of which can be dramatically more serious, such as a propane tank in the midst of a fire. In such a case, to the effects of the mechanical explosion when the tank fails are added the effects from the explosion resulting from the released (initially liquid and then almost instantaneously gaseous) propane in the presence of an ignition source. For this reason, emergency workers often differentiate between the two events.

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