On the pressure wave emanating from a deflagration flame front

Abstract

We consider a spherical flame expanding from an ignition point through a homogeneous, flammable gaseous mixture. We analytically predict the transient pressure and velocity fields ahead of the flame as a function of the flame front position, which is assumed to evolve in time according to a power-law relation. The predictions are successfully validated by CFD simulations. We show that the model is also effective for analyzing real deflagration problems, by predicting measurements taken in hydrocarbon deflagration tests.