Reinitiation process of detonation wave behind a slit-plate

Abstract

The propagation phenomenon of a detonation wave is particularly interesting, because the detonation wave is composed of a 3D shock wave system accompanied by a reaction front. Thus, the passage of a detonation wave draws cellular patterns on a soot-covered plate. The pressure and temperature behind the detonation wave are extremely high and may cause serious damages around the wave. Therefore, it is of great significance from a safety-engineering point of view to decay the detonation wave with a short distance from the origin. In the present study, experiments using high-speed schlieren photography are conducted in order to investigate the behaviors of the detonation wave diffracting from two slits. The detonation wave produced in a stoichiometric mixture of hydrogen and oxygen is propagated through the slits, and the behaviors behind the slit-plate are investigated experimentally. When a detonation wave diffracts from the slits, a shock wave is decoupled with a reaction front. Since the two shock waves propagate from the slits interact with each other at the center behind the plate, the detonation wave is reinitiated by generating a hot-spot sufficient to cause local explosions. Furthermore, it is clarified that the shock wave reflected from a tube-wall is also capable of reinitiating the detonation wave. The reinitiation distance of the detonation wave from the slit-plate is correlated using a number of cells emerged from each slit.