Structure and Stability of Deflagrations in Porous Energetic Materials

Abstract

Theoretical two-phase-flow analyses have recently been developed to describe the structure and stability of multi-phase deflagrations in porous energetic materials, in both confined and unconfined geometries. The results of these studies are reviewed, with an emphasis on the fundamental differences that emerge with respect to the two types of geometries. In particular, pressure gradients are usually negligible in unconfined systems, whereas the confined problem is generally characterized by a significant gas-phase pressure difference, or overpressure, between the burned and unburned regions. The latter leads to a strong convective influence on the burning rate arising from the pressure-driven permeation of hot gases into the solid/gas region and the consequent preheating of the unburned material. It is also shown how asymptotic models that are suitable for analyzing stability may be derived based on the largeness of an overall activation-energy parameter. From an analysis of such models, it is shown that the effects of porosity and two-phase flow are generally destabilizing, suggesting that degraded propellants, which exhibit greater porosity than their pristine counterparts, may be more readily subject to combustion instability and nonsteady deflagration.