Experimental study on the propagation characteristics of detonation wave in annular channels with convergent cross-sections

Abstract

Methane (CH4) is an environmental-friendly fuel with a wide range of applications. The explosion and detonation hazards with respect to methane in tubes with different shapes should be paid in special attention. In this study, experiments were performed to investigate the propagation characteristics of detonation waves in annular channels with convergent cross-sections in stoichiometric methane-oxygen mixture at sub-atmospherical pressures (10 kPa-40 kPa). The annular channels with convergent cross-sections were assembled by inserting 0.5-m long cones into a 48-mm circular tube. Three conicities (dend/L) were employed, i.e., dend/L = 0.048, 0.072, 0.096, in which dend and L represent the bottom diameter and the length of the cone, respectively. The detonation velocity was obtained based on the time of arrival of the wave front. Smoked foils were used to register the detonation cellular evolution in the annular channels. The results show that the convergence of the channel has a great impact on the detonation velocity and cell sizes. Depending on the conicity, the detonation velocity and cellular structure exhibit different behaviors. For the smallest conicity, the continuous velocity deficit can be observed after detonation propagating into the annular tube. However, the characteristic of detonation velocity evolution shows distinct with the increase of the conicity, which is governed by the chemical scale (the detonation cell size) as well as the physical geometry (the channel width). The interaction between Mach reflection, boundary layer effect and the wall can be served as the dominating reason for the velocity behavior.