The role of cellular structure on increasing the detonability limits of three-step chain-branching detonations
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- UNIV OF LEEDS, UK
In [1], the dynamics of a pulsating three-step chain-branching detonation were studied. The reaction model consists of, sequentially, chain-initiation, chain-branching and chain-termination steps. The chain-initiation and chain-branching steps are taken to be thermally neutral, with chemical energy release occuring in the chain-termination stage. The purpose of the present study is to examine whether cellular detonation structure can increase the value of the chain-branching cross-over temperature T{sub b} at which fully coupled detonation solutions are observed over those in 1 D. The basic concept is straightforward and has been discussed in [1] and [3]; if T{sub s} drops below T{sub b} at the lead shock, the passage of a transverse shock can increase both the lead shock temperature and the temperature behind the transverse wave back above T{sub b}, thus sustaining an unstable cellular detonation for values of T{sub b} for which a one-dimensional pulsating detonation will fail. Experiments potentially supporting this hypothesis with irregular detonations have been shown in [3] in a shock tube with acoustically absorbing walls. Removal of the transverse waves results in detonation failure, giving way to a decoupled shock-flame complex. A number of questions remain to be addressed regarding the possibility of such a mechanism, and, if so, about the precise mechanisms driving the cellular structure for large T{sub b}. For instance, one might ask what sets the cell size in a chain-branching detonation, particularly could the characteristic cell size be set by the chain-branching cross-over temperature T{sub b}: after a transverse wave shock collision, the strength of the transverse wave weakens as it propagates along the front. If the spacing between shock collisions is too large (cell size), then the transverse shocks may weaken to the extent that the lead shock temperature or that behind the transverse waves is not raised above T{sub b}, losing chemical energy to drive the front in those regions. Failure may result if less than sufficient of the lead shock be driven above n to sustain reaction. Our starting point for generating cellular solutions is as in [I], consisting of an initial ZND wave in the channel, but perturbed here by a density non-uniformity to generate a cellular structure. Exactly how far the detonability limits (value of T{sub b}) can be extended is not addressed here, as such issues relate in part to the way the cellular structure is generated [6]. Our concern here is to investigate the mechanisms of self-sustained cellular detonation for values of T{sub b} above those that lead to 1D pulsating wave failure that can be generated from the initial ZND wave. Finally, we do not consider cellular propagation driven by a process of apparent thermal ignition of hot-spots downstream that tends to appear close to the 20 detonability limit. Such events are subject to the lack of correct thermal diffusive physics in the model and thus to the form of numerical dissipation in the underlying flow algorithm.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1049975
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-11-00642; LA-UR-11-642; TRN: US201218%%397
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ICDERS 2011 ; July 24, 2011 ; Irvine, Ca
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Observations of the cellular structure of fuel-air detonations
Observations of the cellular structure of fuel-air detonations.