Macrokinetics of decomposition of loose packed RDX in shock and detonation waves

The boundary retardation method was used to study the decomposition of loose packed density RDX behind the front of shock waves with amplitudes ranges from values critical for reaction initiation to those typical of detonation. The threshold pressure P* and temperature T* at which the transition from a relatively slow decomposition in hotspots to fast bulk conversion occurs. It was demonstrated that this transition is associated with a change in the macrokinetics of the conversion of HE material behind the shock front. At pressures below P*, an analogy with the kinetic regularities of the thermal decomposition of RDX at normal pressure is observed. At P > P*, the conversion occurs in the regime of an adiabatic thermal explosion at a very high rate and has no analogues in chemical kinetics. The normal detonation regime is realized at P > P*. It was shown that the macrokinetic characteristics of normal detonation cannot be described within the framework of traditional approaches, with the help of the Arrhenius law or the concept of deflagration propagating from hotspots.     

Experimental characterization of detonation initiation modes in a confined chamber flush-mounted with small-diameter ignition tubes

This work reports the experimental characterization of detonation initiation modes in a confined chamber in respect to the different types of reacting waves generated in various small-diameter ignition tubes. Depending on the length of the tube and mixtures composition, four types of reacting waves can be generated and utilized to initiate detonation in the main chamber, namely the over-driven detonation ignition wave, CJ detonation ignition wave, high-speed deflagration ignition wave and deflagration ignition wave. Based on the mechanisms of detonation initiation in the main chamber, four initiation modes can be observed: the direct initiation, the local explosion initiation, and the fast and slow deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) initiation. By comparing the detonation initiation positions and flame-tip velocities, the first two modes show appreciably shorter initiation distances compared to the DDT modes. The over-driven detonation ignition wave is shown to yield a high probability of direct initiation, while contrary to expectation, the high-speed deflagration ignition wave exhibits superior initiation performance compared to the CJ detonation ignition wave. It is illustrated that the energy decay through diffraction and the effect of precursor shock wave reflection on the wall of the rectangular chamber are viable factors responsible for this observation. The deflagration ignition wave is also shown to be able to rapidly initiate the detonation near the inlet of the chamber, albeit with a lower success rate.     

An experimental investigation of the propagation mechanism of critical deflagration waves that lead to the onset of detonation

The reflection of a CJ detonation from a perforated plate is used to generate high speed deflagrations downstream in order to investigate the critical conditions that lead to the onset of detonation. Different perforated plates were used to control the turbulence in the downstream deflagration waves. Streak Schlieren photography, ionization probes and pressure transducers are used to monitor the flow field and the transition to detonation. Stoichiometric mixtures of acetylene–oxygen and propane–oxygen were tested at low initial pressures. In some cases, acetylene–oxygen was diluted with 80% argon in order to render the mixture more “stable” (i.e., more regular detonation cell structure). The results show that prior to successful detonation initiation, a deflagration is formed that propagates at about half the CJ detonation velocity of the mixture. This “critical” deflagration (which propagates at a relatively constant velocity for a certain duration prior to the onset of detonation) is comprised of a leading shock wave followed by an extended turbulent reaction zone. The critical deflagration speed is not dependent on the turbulence characteristics of the perforated plate but rather on the energetics of the mixture like a CJ detonation (i.e., the deflagration front is driven by the expansion of the combustion products). Hence, the critical deflagration is identified as a CJ deflagration. The high intensity turbulence that is required to sustain its propagation is maintained via chemical instabilities in the reaction zone due to the coupling of pressure fluctuations with the energy release. Therefore, in “unstable” mixtures, critical deflagrations can be supported for long durations, whereas in “stable” mixtures, deflagrations decay as the initial plate generated turbulence decays. The eventual onset of detonation is postulated to be a result of the amplification of pressure waves (i.e., turbulence) that leads to the formation of local explosion centers via the SWACER mechanism during the pre-detonation period.     

The effects of mixture preburning on detonation wave propagation

Pressure gain combustion in the form of continuous detonations can provide a significant increase in the efficiency of a variety of propulsion and energy conversion devices. In this regard, rotating detonation engines (RDEs) that utilize an azimuthally-moving detonation wave in annular systems are increasingly seen as a viable approach to realizing pressure gain combustion. However, practical RDEs that employ non-premixed fuel and oxidizer injection need to minimize losses through a number of mechanisms, including turbulence-induced shock-front variations, incomplete fuel-air mixing, and premature deflagration. In this study, a canonical stratified detonation configuration is used to understand the impact of preburning on detonation efficiency. It was found that heat release ahead of the detonation wave leads to weaker shock fronts, delayed combustion of partially-oxidized fuel-air mixture, and non-compact heat release. Furthermore, large variations in wave speeds were observed, which is consistent with wave behavior in full-scale RDEs. Peak pressures in the compression region or near triple points were considerably lower than the theoretically-predicted values for ideal detonations. Analysis of the detonation structure indicates that this deflagration process is parasitic in nature, reducing the detonation efficiency but also leading to heat release far behind the wave that cannot directly strengthen the shock wave. This parasitic combustion leads to commensal combustion (heat release far downstream of the wave), indicating that it is the root cause of combustion efficiency losses.     

涡轮导向器对旋转爆轰波传播特性影响的实验研究

为了研究涡轮导向器对旋转爆轰波传播特性的影响,以氢气为燃料,空气为氧化剂,在不同当量比下开展了实验研究.基于高频压力传感器及静态压力传感器的信号,详细分析了带涡轮导向器的旋转爆轰燃烧室的工作模式以及涡轮导向器对非均匀不稳定爆轰产物的影响.实验结果表明:在当量比较低时,爆轰燃烧室以快速爆燃模式工作;逐渐增大当量比,爆轰燃烧室开始以不稳定旋转爆轰模式工作;继续增大当量比,爆轰燃烧室以稳定旋转爆轰模式工作,且旋转爆轰波的传播速度和稳定性均随当量比的增大逐渐提高.爆轰波下游的斜激波与涡轮导向器相互作用,涡轮导向器对压力振荡的幅值具有明显的抑制作用,但对压力振荡频率的影响较小.随着当量比的增大,涡轮导向器上下游的静压均同时增大,经过涡轮导向器的作用,涡轮下游静压明显降低.     

Reaction propagation modes in millimeter-scale tubes for ethylene/oxygen mixtures

Effects of tube diameter and equivalence ratio on reaction front propagations of ethylene/oxygen mixtures in capillary tubes were experimentally analyzed using high speed cinematography. The inner diameters of the tubes investigated were 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 mm. The flame was ignited at the center of the 1.5 m long smooth tube under ambient pressure and temperature before propagated towards the exits in the opposite directions. A total of five reaction propagation scenarios, including deflagration-to-detonation transition followed by steady detonation wave transmission (DDT/C–J detonation), oscillating flame, steady deflagration, galloping detonation and quenching flame, were identified. DDT/C–J detonation mode was observed for all tubes for equivalence ratios in the vicinity of stoichiometry. The velocity for the steady detonation wave propagation was approximately Chapman–Jouguet velocity for 1, 2, and 3 mm I.D. tubes; however, a velocity deficit of 5% was found for the case in 0.5 mm I.D. tube. For leaner mixtures, an oscillating flame mode was found for tubes with diameters of 1 to 3 mm, and the reaction front travelled in a steady deflagrative flame mode with velocities around 2–3 m/s when the mixture equivalence ratio becomes even leaner. Galloping detonation wave propagation was the dominant mode for the fuel lean regime in the 0.5 mm I.D. tube. For rich mixtures beyond the detonation limits, a fast flame followed by flame quenching was observed.     

Phenomenological model of chain-branching premixed flames

In this work, we introduce a global kinetic model that includes fuel, oxygen, products and two radical species involved in the reversible chain-branching, chain-propagation and chain-termination reactions. The model naturally extends the Zeldovich–Liñán and Zeldovich–Barenblatt–Dold models and can be used to describe both premixed and diffusion flames. Here it is applied to the problem of the deflagration wave propagation in the hydrocarbon fuel/air mixture with arbitrary equivalence ratio under the simplifying thermal-diffusive approximation. The conservation equations are solved numerically in order to obtain the velocity and structure of the combustion wave. It is demonstrated that the peak values of the adiabatic flame temperature and deflagration velocity are shifted towards the rich mixture composition if the reverse reactions of product decomposition are taken into account. The dependence of the flame speed and temperature on parameters of the system is analysed. The prospects of further investigation are discussed.     

高斯激光驻波场沉积Na原子的量子理论分析

利用量子理论,通过CRANK-NICOLSON数值方法对23Na原子受激光驻波场作用的物理过程进行模拟.模拟结果表明:正失谐时,原子以λ/2为周期会聚在驻波光场中波节处.随着光势阱加深或原子纵向速度改变,原子会聚结果分别符合薄透镜、厚透镜及沟道化模型.厚透镜模型中,当原子纵向速度增加,原子密度峰位置沿z方向向后漂移,峰在z方向半高宽增加.当激光功率增加或激光束腰减小,会聚面上峰半高宽减小,对比度增加,峰值增加.     

Radiation guiding in a plasma wave wiggler free-electron laser

The radiation guiding of a plasma wave wiggler free-electron laser (FEL) in the Compton regime was examined. It was found that a Langmuir wave supported by a plasma cylinder acts as a wiggler for the generation of high-frequency coherent radiation when an annular relativistic electron beam passes through it. The radiation mode in the Compton regime tends to be localized close to the radius of the beam. A normal-mode analysis of this process revealed that the growth rate of the instability increases as the square root of the beam current. The treatment presented is restricted to the case where the radial width of the FEL radiation mode is larger than the beam radius, but smaller than the waveguide radius     

Nonlinear fast growth of water waves under wind forcing

In the wind-driven wave regime, the Miles mechanism gives an estimate of the growth rate of the waves under the effect of wind. We consider the case where this growth rate, normalised with respect to the frequency of the carrier wave, is of the order of the wave steepness. Using the method of multiple scales, we calculate the terms which appear in the nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation in this regime of fast-growing waves. We define a coordinate transformation which maps the forced NLS equation into the standard NLS with constant coefficients, that has a number of known analytical soliton solutions. Among these solutions, the Peregrine and the Akhmediev solitons show an enhancement of both their lifetime and maximum amplitude which is in qualitative agreement with the results of tank experiments and numerical simulations of dispersive focusing under the action of wind.     

Effect of strain on stripe phases in the quantum Hall regime

Preferential orientation of the stripe phases in the quantum Hall (QH) regime has remained a puzzle since its discovery. We show experimentally and theoretically that the direction of high and low resistance of the two-dimensional (2D) hole gas in the QH regime can be controlled by an external strain. Depending on the sign of the in-plane shear strain, the Hartree-Fock energy of holes or electrons is minimized when the charge density wave (CDW) is oriented along the [110] or [110] directions. We suggest that shear strains due to internal electric fields in the growth direction are responsible for the observed orientation of CDW in pristine electron and hole samples.     

Direct conversion of mixed phase into free hadronic gas and transverse pion momenta in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions

The deflagration model is developed for a physically substantiated situation when free pions are radiated directly from a time-like hypersurface formed by a rarefaction shock wave. It is shown that the shock front and pion collective flow velocities are enhanced in this approach as compared to the standard deflagration model. Exotic regimes are also possible. The stability conditions are investigated and analytic solutions are found. We calculate the pion transverse momentum spectra in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions and indicate their behavior in the region 0.2 GeV/c<p _⊥<1 Gev/c. The spectra are essentially different in this region depending on whether or not longitudinal collective flows are in a mixed phase.     

Interferometrical signature of mixed phase in A+A collisions

We have calculated the pion rapidity distribution, the transversal momentum spectrum and the pion correlator in outward, sideward and longitudinal directions for S+S collisions at high energy. We used a two-temperature model that allows us to explain the abundance of pions at smallp _T and highp _T . The first source, which is at high temperature, is in a quark-gluon-hadron mixed phase radiating pions due to a deflagration shock wave on the background of longitudinal expansion. The second source consists of the unburnt part of the matter in hadronic phase. The interferometrical analysis at differentp _T gives a signature for two expanding sources separated in time and allows the measurement of the lifetime and other parameters of each of them.     

Langmuir probe study in the nonresonant current drive regime of helicon discharge

Characterization of the current drive regime is done for helicon wave-generated plasma in a torus, at a very high operating frequency. A radiofrequency-compensated Langmuir probe is designed and used for the measurement of plasma parameters along with the electron energy distributions in radial scans of the plasma. The electron energy distribution patterns obtained in the operational regime suggest that Landau damping cannot be responsible for the efficient helicon discharge in the present study. A typical peaked radial density profile, high plasma temperature and absence of an appreciable amount of energetic electrons for resonant wave-particle interactions, suggest that the chosen operational regime is suitable for the study of nonresonant current drive by helicon wave. Successful and significant current drive achieved in our device clearly demonstrates the capability of nonresonant current drive by helicon waves in the present operational regime.      

铝粉-空气混合物爆燃转爆轰过程及爆轰波结构

 在长为32.4 m、内径为0.199 m的大型长直水平管道中,对铝粉-空气两相流的燃烧转爆轰（DDT）过程及爆轰波结构进行了实验研究。对铝粉-空气混合物弱点火条件下DDT过程不同阶段的特征进行了分析,实验结果显示混合物经历了缓慢反应压缩阶段、压缩波加速冲击波形成阶段、冲击反应过渡阶段、冲击反应向过压爆轰过渡阶段和爆轰阶段,得到了混合物各阶段的DDT参数,由此进一步分析了DDT浓度的上、下限。在1.4 m爆轰测试段的4个截面的环向上各均匀安装8个传感器,对爆轰波结果进行测试,并对铝粉-空气混合物爆轰波的单头结构进行了分析。     

Direct detonation initiation with thermal deposition due to pore collapse in energetic materials – towards the coupling between micro- and macroscale

In this work we investigate the initiation of detonations in energetic materials through thermal power deposition due to pore collapse. We solve the reactive Euler equations, with the energy equation augmented by a power deposition term. The deposition term is partially based on previous results of simulations of pore collapse at the microscale, modelled at the macroscale as hotspots. It is found that a critical size of the hotspots exists. If the hotspots exceed the critical size, direct initiation of detonation can be achieved even with a low power input, in contrast to the common assumption that a sufficient power is necessary to initiate detonation. We show that sufficient power is necessary only when the size of the hotspots is below the critical size. In this scenario, the so-called ‘explosion in the explosion’, the initial ignition does not lead to a detonation directly, but detonation occurs later as a result of shock-to-detonation transition in the region processed by the shock wave generated by the initial ignition.     

Deflagration-to-detonation transition in air-binary fuel mixtures in an obstacle-laden channel

The results of studying deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) in hydrogen-methane (propane)-air in a detonation tube with uniformly spaced annular obstacles are presented. The effect of the scaling factor on the DDT was identified. The boundary between fast deflagration and detonation regimes was calculated using a criterion based on a comparison of the gasdynamic and chemical characteristic times for the ignition of the mixture behind the shock wave reflected from an obstacle.     

Deflagration to detonation transition in fast flames and tracking with chemical explosive mode analysis

In the context of vapour cloud explosion, the flame acceleration process can lead to conditions promoting deflagration to detonation transition (DDT), potentially leading to increased damages in accidental scenarios. This study focuses on this phenomenon by performing simulations of detonation reinitiation for fast flames in the Chapman–Jouguet deflagration regime. It is obtained experimentally by the attenuation of an incident detonation by an array of obstacles. A primary objective of the paper is to demonstrate the ability of the numerical model to reproduce the major experimental trends, namely the variation of the reinitiation propensity for different initial pressures and blockage ratios (BRs). Chemical explosive mode analysis (CEMA) is also adapted to the context of this study, in order to identify locally the propagation regime and to provide insights on the reinitiation mechanism. An a priori validation of the CEMA methodology is first performed on relevant canonical one-dimensional configurations. Subsequently, ensembles of five realizations are computed at different initial pressures and BRs and compared to experimental data. They are shown to reproduce the major observed trends in terms of detonation reinitiation length with respect to the operating conditions, with significant variability from one realization to another. In addition, the reinitiation mechanism is also found to be consistent with experimental observations and a previous numerical study of the same configuration. The CEMA methodology adapted to this context is able to identify locally the different propagation regimes, and to track the highly reactive zones that coherently couple with transverse pressure perturbations, leading to the formation of a strongly reacting kernel which eventually triggers the detonation reinitiation.     

Effect of acoustic flows on the structure of a constricted glow discharge in argon

Numerical experiments on the effect of acoustic flows on the structure of a constricted glow discharge in argon have been performed in the hybrid approximation. The possibility of controlling the combustion regime of the glow discharge with an extended positive column at a high pressure by means of the formation of acoustic flows at the excitation of a standing acoustic wave has been demonstrated. In this case, the discharge transfers from the constricted combustion regime to the diffuse one and becomes stable.     

Mixing and detonation structure in a rotating detonation engine with an axial air inlet

High-fidelity simulations of an experimental rotating detonation engine with an axial air inlet were conducted. The system operated with hydrogen as fuel at globally stoichiometric conditions. Instantaneous data showed that the detonation front is highly corrugated, and is considerably weaker than an ideal Chapman–Jouguet wave. Regions of deflagration are present ahead of the wave, caused by mixing with product gases from the previous cycle, as well as the injector recovery process. It is found that as the post-detonation high pressure flow expands, the injectors recover unsteadily, leading to a transient mixing process ahead of the next cycle. The resulting flow structure not only promotes mixing between product and reactant gases, but also increases likelihood of autoignition. These results show that the detonation process is very sensitive to injector design and the transient behavior during the detonation cycle. Phase-averaged statistics and conditionally averaged data are used to understand the overall reaction structure. Comparisons with available experimental data on this configuration show remarkable good agreement of the predicted reacting flow structure.