Detonation propagation in a high loss configuration

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2009

OSTI ID:956492

Jackson, Scott I ^[1]; Shepherd, Joseph E ^[2]

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1. Los Alamos National Laboratory
2. CALTECH

This work presents an experimental study of detonation wave propagation in tubes with inner diameters (ID) comparable to the mixture cell size. Propane-oxygen mixtures were used in two test section tubes with inner diameters of 1.27 mm and 6.35 mm. For both test sections, the initial pressure of stoichiometric mixtures was varied to determine the effect on detonation propagation. For the 6.35 mm tube, the equivalence ratio {phi} (where the mixture was {phi} C{sub 3}H{sub 8} + 50{sub 2}) was also varied. Detonations were found to propagate in mixtures with cell sizes as large as five times the diameter of the tube. However, under these conditions, significant losses were observed, resulting in wave propagation velocities as slow as 40% of the CJ velocity U{sub CJ}. A review of relevant literature is presented, followed by experimental details and data. Observed velocity deficits are predicted using models that account for boundary layer growth inside detonation waves.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC52-06NA25396
• OSTI ID: 956492
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-09-00169; LA-UR-09-169
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66
BOUNDARY LAYERS
COMBUSTION KINETICS
DETONATION WAVES
EXPLOSIONS
PROPANE
WAVE PROPAGATION