Combustion of TNT products in a confined explosion

Conference · Fri Jun 18 04:00:00 EDT 1999

OSTI ID:9375

Ferguson, R E ^[1]; Kuhl, A L; Oppenheim, A K

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1. LLNL

The effects of turbulent combustion of detonation products gases in a confined explosion are explored via laboratory experiments and high-resolution numerical simulations. The expanded products from the detonation of a TNT charge are rich in C and CO, which act as a fuel. When these hot gases mix with air, they are oxidized to CO2--thereby releasing 2482 Cal/g in addition to the 1093 Cal/g deposited by the detonation wave. In this case, the exothermic power is controlled by the turbulent mixing rate, rather than by chemistry. A kinetic law of turbulent combustion is suggested for this process. Pressure histories from the numerical simulations were in good agreement with the experimental measurements--demonstrating that the numerical model contains the fundamental mechanism that controls the exothermic process.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Defense Programs (DP) (US)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 9375
• Report Number(s): UCRL-JC-134681
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
AIR
CHEMISTRY
COMBUSTION
DETONATION WAVES
EXPLOSIONS
GASES
KINETICS
TNT