Numerical investigation on propagation mechanism of spinning detonation in a circular tube

Abstract

Spinning detonations propagating in a circular tube were numerically investigated with a one-step irreversible reaction model governed by Arrhenius kinetics. The time evolution of the simulation results was utilized to reveal the propagation mechanism of single-headed spinning detonation. The track angle of soot record on the tube wall was numerically reproduced with various levels of activation energy, and the simulated unique angle was the same as that of the previous reports. The maximum pressure histories of the shock front on the tube wall showed stable and unstable pitch modes for the lower and higher activation energies, respectively. The shock front shapes and the pressure profiles on the tube wall clarified the mechanisms of two modes. The maximum pressure history in the stable pitch remained nearly constant, and the single Mach leg existing on the shock front rotated at a constant speed. The high and low frequency pressure oscillations appeared in the unstable pitch due to the generation and decay of complex Mach interaction on the shock front shape. The high-frequency oscillation was self-induced because the intensity of the transverse wave was changed during propagation in one cycle. The high-frequency behavior was not always the same for each cycle, and therefore the low frequency oscillation was also induced in the pressure history.