Observations of the Structure of Spinning Detonation

Abstract

Spinning detonation waves in acetylene-oxygen mixtures highly diluted with argon have been studied in circular tubes by a variety of simple photographic, electrical, and mechanical (soot inscription) techniques. The combined results of these experiments permit the deduction of a fairly detailed description of the system of shock waves, reaction zones, and contact zones which exists at the front of the spinning detonation. The outstanding feature of the observed structure is that about half of the gas near the tube wall is burned in a wave which propagates in a nearly circumferential direction through shocked, unburned gas behind the nonplanar primary shock front. The relation of this structure to that of White's ``laminar detonations'' in rectangular nozzles and to spinning detonation wave structures recently proposed by certain Russian workers is discussed.

State of Detonation Stability Theory and Its Application to Propulsion

“…Although there are predecessors, the modern theory of detonation stability starts with the work of J. Erpenbeck at Los Alamos National Laboratory who from 1962 to 1970 wrote an interconnected series of 13 articles (eleven of which appeared in the fairly young journal Physics of Fluids and two in the Proceedings of the Combustion Institute), that laid out the entire framework of the current theory for the basic detonation model for a mixture of premixed explosive gases. The period from late 1950s to mid 1960s was a time when fuel-air explosives were being studied extensively and key early experimental observations of transverse structure in gaseous detonation were obtained by Voitsekhovskii et al [19,20], Denisov, Shchelkin, and Troshin [21,22], Duff [23], White [24], Schott [25], Strehlow [26], Soloukhin [27], and others. Fickett and Davis [28] describe the state of understanding of detonation theory and detonation stability theory and provide an extensive bibliography of works through 1979 (including Erpenbeck's papers).…”

Spinning instability of gaseous detonations

“…During its long history the spin phenomenon has been investigated in much detail experimentally using photographic and smoke-foil techniques (see e.g. Voitsekhovskii, Mitrofanov & Topchian 1963;Schott 1965). The structure of the spinning wave close to the wall has been well established and is shown to represent complex Mach configurations consisting of shock and detonation fronts and tangential discontinuities.…”

“…The structure of spin detonation was most carefully studied by Voitsekhovski et al (1963) and independently by Schott (1965). Using photographic and smoke-foil techniques they investigated the complex details of the structure of the spinning front near the wall.…”

Multiple-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann kinetic model for combustion

“…To achieve low emissions, fuel lean and high speed combustion and enable new engine technologies, in recent years, some new combustion concepts, such as pulsed and spinning detonation engines [4,5], microscale combustion [6,7] and nanopropellants [8,9], partially premixed and stratified combustion [10], plasma assisted combustion [11][12][13], and cool flames [14], have been proposed and developed.…”