An experimental study on DDT distance of JP-8 mixtures

Previous research into detonation physics has mostly utilized gaseous fuels such as hydrogen, acetylene, ethylene, and propane. If these fuels were to be used for a pulse detonation engine, they have to be stored under high pressure in steel containers which increase weight safety risks. In order to increase energy density of fuel, liquid fuel was chosen. Tests were conducted on detonation initiation of JP-8/oxygen mixtures at different initial temperatures and equivalence ratios. These tests found a reduction in the rich limit with increasing initial temperature, and the minimum deflagration-to-detonation run-up distance was approximately 200 mm, which was similar to propane/oxygen mixture results. A rapid increase in deflagration-to-detonation run-up distance was observed at equivalence ratios close to the lean and rich limits. Experiments of JP-8/oxygen and propane/oxygen mixtures with nitrogen dilution were also conducted. As the nitrogen/oxygen ratio increased, the lean and rich limits decreased while the detonation wave could not be successfully initiated as the nitrogen-to-oxygen ratio was greater than 0.4.     

Minimum tube diameters for steady propagation of gaseous detonations

Recent experimental results on detonation limits are reported in this paper. A parametric study was carried out to determine the minimum tube diameters for steady detonation propagation in five different hydrocarbon fuel–oxygen combustible mixtures and in five polycarbonate test tube diameters ranging from 50.8 mm down to a small scale of 1.5 mm. The wave propagation in the tube was monitored by optical fibers. By decreasing the initial pressure, hence the sensitivity of the mixture, the onset of limits is indicated by an abrupt drop in the steady detonation velocity after a short distance of travel. From the measured wave velocities inside the test tube, the critical pressure corresponding to the limit and the minimum tube diameters for the propagation of the detonation can be obtained. The present experimental results are in good agreement with previous studies and show that the measured minimum tube diameters can be reasonably estimated on the basis of the \(\lambda \) /3 rule over a wide range of conditions, where \(\lambda \) is the detonation cell size. These new data shall be useful for safety assessment in process industries and in developing and validating models for detonation limits.     

Influence of mixture sensitivity and pore size on detonation velocities in porous media

Experiments have been carried out to determine the dependence of the detonation velocity in porous media, on mixture sensitivity and pore size. A detonation is established at the top end of a vertical tube and allowed to propagate to the bottom section housing the porous bed, comprised of alumina spheres of equal diameter (1–32 mm). Several of the common detonable fuels were tested at atmospheric initial pressure. Results indicate the existence of a continuous range of velocities with change in Φ, spanning the lean and the rich propagation limits. For all fuels in a given porous bed, the velocity decreases from a maximum value at the most sensitive mixture near Φ≈1 (minimum induction length), toV/V _CJ≈0.3 at the limits. A decrease in pore size brings about a reduction inV/V _CJ and a narrowing of the detonability range for each fuel. For porous media comprised of spherical particles, it was possible to correlate the velocity data corresponding to a variety of different mixtures and for a broad range of particle sizes, using the following empirical expression:V/V _CJ=[1–0.35 log(d _c /d _p)]±0.1. The critical tube diameterd _c is used as a measure of mixture sensitivity andd _p denotes the pore diameter. An examination of the phenomenon at the composition limits, suggests that wave failure is controlled by a turbulent quenching mechanism.     

液体碳氢燃料云雾爆轰特性的实验研究

采用升降法和烟迹技术在立式激波管中分别实测了液态燃料（环氧丙烷、硝酸异丙酯、己烷、C5~C6、庚烷、癸烷）与空气混合物直接起爆的临界起爆能和胞格尺寸。数据表明,气液两相云雾爆轰的临界起爆能与当量比呈U形曲线关系,这与气相爆轰得到的结论是一致的;临界起爆能的最小值并不是对应于等化学当量的混合物而是偏向于富燃料;根据三波点运动的烟迹记录,分析了云雾爆轰作用机制,认为液滴的碎解、汽化过程以及燃烧区前导是控制气液两相云雾爆轰的主要步骤。此外,还测定了无限空间下可燃气云的临界起爆能,并将激波管内得到的临界起爆能数据外推到无约束气云的临界起爆能,理论推算结果与实验值吻合较好。     

Detonation properties of dense methane-oxygen-diluent gaseous mixtures: application to ram accelerators

Using a 90mm-bore, 3.15 m long detonation tube, experimental detonation characteristics (detonability limits, detonation velocities and peak pressures) of stoichiometric methane-oxygen-diluent mixtures at an initial pressure up to 3.5 MPa have been experimentally investigated. A parametric study has been carried out as a function of both amount and nature of diluent, namely carbon dioxide, nitrogen and helium. The experimental results allowed the adjustment and validation of computations of the Chapman-Jouguet characteristics by means of a thermochemical code. These experimental data associated with validated computations provide a valuable tool, among others, for the choice of the most appropriate mixture composition in the superdetonative combustion mode for ram accelerator (ramac) experiments. The investigations were organized to determine the upper detonable areas of dense ternary mixtures, and to provide detonation velocity data in order to adjust a series of intermolecular parameters involved in the thermochemical code. Received 8 May 1997 / Accepted 15 December 1997     

Ignition of liquid and dust fuel layers by gaseous detonation

Abstract. Ignition of a liquid layer and dust fuel layer by a detonation wave propagating in hydrogen-oxygen and acetylene-oxygen mixtures is reported. Experiments were carried out using a shock tube equipped with optical-quality observation windows. A schlieren system and a high-speed camera were used for measurements of ignition delay. Pressure transducers provided data necessary for measurements of the detonation wave velocity and pressure variation within the front of the interacted detonation wave and fuel layer. Kerosene, nitroglycerin and PETN were used as fuels. Investigation shows that the layer of liquid fuel can be efficiently ignited by detonation wave. It was found that the ignition delay of the fuel layer depends mostly on the detonation wave velocity and sensitivity of igniting fuels, and slightly on the layer thickness. Received 12 August 2001 / Accepted 1 July 2002 Published online 4 February 2003 Correspondence to: P. Wolanski (e-mail: wolanski@itc.pw.edu.pl) An abridged version of this paper was presented at the 18th Int. Colloquium on the Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems at Seattle, USA, from July 29 to August 3, 2001     

DDT in fuel–air mixtures at elevated temperatures and pressures

An experimental study was carried out to investigate flame acceleration and deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) in fuel–air mixtures at initial temperatures up to 573 K and pressures up to 2 atm. The fuels investigated include hydrogen, ethylene, acetylene and JP-10 aviation fuel. The experiments were performed in a 3.1-m long, 10-cm inner-diameter heated detonation tube equipped with equally spaced orifice plates. Ionization probes were used to measure the flame time-of-arrival from which the average flame velocity versus propagation distance could be obtained. The DDT composition limits and the distance required for the flame to transition to detonation were obtained from this flame velocity data. The correlation developed by Veser et al. (run-up distance to supersonic flames in obstacle-laden tubes. In the proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Hazards, Prevention and Mitigation of Industrial Explosions, France (2002)) for the flame choking distance proved to work very well for correlating the detonation run-up distance measured in the present study. The only exception was for the hydrogen–air data at elevated initial temperatures which tended to fall outside the scatter of the hydrocarbon mixture data. The DDT limits obtained at room temperature were found to follow the classical d/λ = 1 correlation, where d is the orifice plate diameter and λ is the detonation cell size. Deviations found for the high-temperature data could be attributed to the one-dimensional ZND detonation structure model used to predict the detonation cell size for the DDT limit mixtures. This simple model was used in place of actual experimental data not currently available. PACS 47.40.-x; 47.70.Fw This paper was based on work that was presented at the 19th Interna-tional Colloquium on the Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Sys-tems, Hakone, Japan, July 27 - August 1, 2003     

调控燃烧室燃料初始分布建立稳定旋转爆轰波的方法

旋转爆轰发动机具有比传统航空航天发动机更高的燃烧效率,近年来引起人们的关注。其中,点火启动过程尤为重要。为达到一次点火就能在燃烧室内建立稳定旋转爆轰波的目的,本文提出通过控制点火前燃料初始分布来建立稳定旋转爆轰波的方法,并基于纳维-斯托克斯方程与10组分27可逆反应基元化学反应模型的数值模拟验证了该方法的可行性。对旋转爆轰波传播特性的研究表明,燃料在发动机燃烧室中的分布是影响旋转爆轰波建立的关键。在燃料喷注压力较低时此影响尤为明显,它决定了爆轰波发展第一周期内波前燃料层厚度。而波前燃料层与波的稳定传播密切相关。基于该方法,本文对燃烧室初始流速为360 m/s,喷注总压0.4 MPa的旋转爆轰发动机实现了点火至稳定爆轰,得到的爆轰波传播平均速度为1 604 m/s,频率为5 347.6 Hz。此外,燃料初始填充率作为燃料初始分布的量化指标,文中给出了它建立稳定旋转爆轰时的临界范围。     

模拟高原环境条件下C5-C6燃料的爆轰特性研究

针对军事上使用的碳氢燃料C₅-C₆,借助自行设计的立式爆轰管装置,通过改变管体内初始环境温度和压力,研究当温度低于常温,压力小于一个大气压时此种碳氢燃料的爆轰性能,得到爆轰参数分别随初始温度和初始压力变化的规律,并将实验数据与常温常压条件下的数据相对比。结果表明:在常温条件下,环境初始温度对燃料爆轰参数的影响远小于初始压力的影响,当环境初始压力下降至常压的一半时,燃料的爆轰状态接近临界爆轰状态。研究成果可为云爆武器在高原条件下使用的性能预计提供实验数据补充和支持。     

Effect of scale on the onset of detonations

Critical conditions for onset of detonations are compared at (1) two significantly different scales, (2) for a range of -air mixtures diluted with C, O, and (3) for two types of geometry – one a long obstructed channel and the other a room with a relatively small aspect ratios. For the range of scales, mixtures, and initial conditions tested, the detonation cell size was shown to be a reliable scaling parameter for characterization of detonation onset conditions. An experimental correlation is suggested for the critical detonation onset conditions. This correlation is based on a wide variety of available experimental data on DDT in mixtures of hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuels with air and on the use of detonation cell size as a scaling parameter characterizing the mixture. Received 14 November 1999 / Accepted 16 February 2000     

Thermal degradation of two liquid fuels and detonation tests for pulse detonation engine studies

The use of liquid fuels such as kerosene is of interest for the pulse detonation engine (PDE). Within this context, the aim of this work, which is a preliminary study, was to show the feasibility to initiate a detonation in air with liquid-fuel pyrolysis products, using energies and dimensions of test facility similars to those of PDEs. Therefore, two liquids fuels have been compared, JP10, which is a synthesis fuel generally used in the field of missile applications, and decane, which is one of the major components of standard kerosenes (F-34, Jet A1, ...). The thermal degradation of these fuels was studied with two pyrolysis processes, a batch reactor and a flow reactor. The temperatures varied from 600°C to 1,000°C and residence times for the batch reactor and the flow reactor were, respectively, between 10–30 s and 0.1–2 s. Subsequently, the detonability of synthetic gaseous mixtures, which was a schematisation of the decomposition state after the pyrolysis process, has been studied. The detonability study, regarding nitrogen dilution and equivalence ratio, was investigated in a 50 mm-diameter, 2.5 m-long detonation tube. These dimensions are compatible with applications in the aircraft industry and, more particularly, in PDEs. Therefore, JP10 and decane were compared to choose the best candidate for liquid-fuel PDE studies. This paper was based on work that was presented at the 20th International Colloquium on the Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems, Montreal, Canada, July 31 – August 5, 2005.     

氢气/丙烷/空气预混气体爆轰性能的实验研究

通过采用压力传感器和烟灰板两种测试设备,开展了常温常压下氢气/丙烷和空气混合气体爆轰性能的实验研究。实验过程中观察到自持爆轰波,爆轰速度比值在0.99~1之间,爆轰压力比值在0.8~1.2之间。爆轰胞格尺寸在10~50 mm范围内,建立了爆轰胞格尺寸和化学诱导长度的关系式。随着丙烷不断添加,爆轰速度减小,而爆轰压力和胞格尺寸增加。这种变化趋势起初较快,而后变缓。因为起初氢气摩尔分数较大,混合气体趋向于氢气/空气的爆轰性能;而后因丙烷摩尔质量较大,丙烷逐渐起主要作用,混合气体表现出丙烷/空气的爆轰性能。     

Numerical study of flows of reacting composite mixtures

A distributed mathematical model is proposed to describe a flow of a mixture of gases, fine particles of a reacting metal, and droplets of a hydrocarbon fuel. The heterogeneous chemical reaction of low-temperature oxidation of the metal, the homogeneous oxidation reaction of the reacting vaporized liquid fuel, and the difference in phase velocities and temperatures are taken into account. It is shown that this model can be used to describe the problems of detonation in a mixture of a reacting gas and reacting solid particles, and the problems of ignition of a mixture of aluminum particles and tridecane droplets. Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 128–136, March–April, 1999.     

液体燃料云雾爆轰参数实验

为深入了解液体燃料云雾爆轰机理,借助自行设计和建造的立式爆轰管,并采用升降法和烟迹技 术,对环氧丙烷等液体燃料云雾爆轰参数(爆速、爆压、临界起爆能和爆轰胞格尺寸)与当量比的关系进行了实 验研究。结果表明,环氧丙烷的爆速和爆压随当量比的增加先增大后平缓减小;碳氢液体燃料云雾爆轰的临 界起爆能与当量比呈U型关系,最佳值点偏向富燃料一侧;临界起爆能的大小与燃料的分子结构和挥发性 有密切关系,IPN和PO 临界起爆能相当,而烷烃类临界起爆能均较大。环氧丙烷在25和50 ℃时的爆轰胞 格宽度与当量比皆呈U型关系,最小值点偏向富燃料一侧;气相爆轰胞格宽度比云雾爆轰略小。常温下环 氧丙烷云雾爆轰主要由气相反应所控制。     

Structure of detonation waves in gas suspensions of fuel containing the oxidant

The structure of detonation waves in air suspensions of unitary fuels (fuels containing an oxidant such as gunpowder and high explosives) is investigated. In such systems, complete combustion of the particles is possible at a high mass concentration of the fuel. As a result, the structure of detonation differs from that in gas-drop [1–3] and gas [4, 5] mixtures. The shock adiabats characteristic for air suspensions [6, 7] are used to investigate the field of integral curves which describe the structure of detonation waves in disperse media. Calculated distributions of the parameters which characterize the gas and particles in the detonation front are given. The influence of the rate of combustion of the particles and the intensity of interphase friction on the structure of the detonation is investigated. Results of the calculation of the structure of relaxation shock waves in gas suspensions of the solid fuel of rockets are given in [8]. Unsteady problems of convective combustion and the transition of combustion of air suspensions into detonation are analyzed in [9, 10].Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 47–53, September–October, 1981.     

The detonation burning of a fuel mixture resulting from a double explosion

A study is made of the propagation of a multifront detonation burning in a fuel mixture consisting of a gaseous fuel and an oxidant with additions of combustible solid or liquid particles arising as a result of a double point explosion. In such combustible media it is possible for there to be propagation of several detonation or burning fronts following one after the other. The easily igniting gaseous fuel burns in the first detonation wave, which propagates in the gaseous mixture with particles which are heated by the products of the explosion, ignite and burn in the second detonation wave or in the flame front. Self-similar regimes of propagation of such waves in an idealized formulation were studied in [1].Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 126–131, March–April, 1985.     

Existence of the detonation cellular structure in two-phase hybrid mixtures

The cellular detonation structure has been recorded for hybrid hydrogen/air/aluminium mixtures on 1.0 m 0.110 m soot plates. Addition of aluminium particles to the gaseous mixture changes its detonation velocity. For very fine particles and flakes, the detonation velocity is augmented and, in the same time, the cell width diminishes as compared with the characteristic cell size of the mixture without particles. On the contrary, for large particles, the detonation velocity decreases and the cell size becomes larger than . It appears that the correlation law between the cell size and the detonation velocity in the hybrid mixture is similar to the correlation between the cell size and the rate of detonation overdrive displayed for homogeneous gaseous mixtures. Moreover, this correlation law remains valid in hybrid mixtures for detonation velocities smaller than the value D of the mixture without particles. Received 10 May 2001 / Accepted 12 August 2002 Published online 19 December 2002 Correspondence to: B. Veyssiere (e-mail: veyssiere@lcd.ensma.fr)     

Detonation initiation of JP-8–oxygen mixtures at different initial temperatures

Liquid fuel with sufficient vapor proportion at micron scale is essentially required to increase specific energy density and reduce volume requirements for application of pulse detonation engine. For JP-8, the fully vaporized temperature ranges from 380 to 410 K. In this study, the fuel vapor with oxygen is not enough to induce the reaction and leads to failure of detonation initiation at the initial temperature of 373 K. Condensed fuel was also observed on the bottom of detonation tube. At 393 K, the detonation wave was successfully generated even though a portion of fuel was in a liquid state. The deflagration-to-detonation run-up distance and the pressure trace at fully vaporized conditions, in which the initial temperatures were at 413, 433, and 453 K, were similar to those of gaseous mixtures, such as propane–oxygen mixture.     

Detonability of simple and representative components of pyrolysis products of kerosene: pulsed detonation engine application

The use of liquid fuels such as kerosene is of interest for the Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE). In this context, a representative gaseous mixture of the lighter products resulting from the decomposition of a kerosene of type JP-10 was studied. The detonability limits of simple components (hydrogen, ethylene, propylene) and mixtures of these components were tested in a 50 mm diameter and 2.5 m long detonation tube. This dimension is compatible with the applications of the aircraft industry and more particularly the PDE. The influences of the nitrogen dilution, geometry of the DDT device (Schelkin spiral), ignition energy and initial pressure were investigated. This paper was based on work that was presented at the 19th International Colloquium on the Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems, Hakone, Japan, July 27 - August 1, 2003. Communicated by J.E. Shepherd     

边界条件对甲烷预混气爆轰特性的影响

通过实验研究及数字化处理研究了边界条件对CH₄预混气体爆轰特性的影响。在内径为63.5、50.8 mm圆柱形管道及长方体管道进行爆轰实验,得到胞格结构和爆轰速度曲线。烟膜数字化处理量化了预混气体的爆轰不稳定性,并计算出胞格尺寸。3种管道内测得的平均爆轰速度与CJ速度接近,边界条件的影响不明显。分析爆轰速度曲线发现,极限压力受到边界条件的影响,?50.8和?63.5 mm管道内预混气的极限压力分别为5和4.05 kPa,即随着管径增大,爆轰极限压力降低。数字化处理所得不同管道内烟膜轨迹的不规则程度无明显差别,因此可以认为不稳定性是预混气固有的性质。在相同爆轰初始压力下,管径增大,胞格数量变多,表明爆轰传播时爆轰螺旋头数增多以维持传播。