Fundamentals of Detonation Propagation

Abstract

Fundamentals of the propagation characteristics of a detonation are reviewed. First, the propagation characteristics of a detonation are discussed from the one-dimensional point of view. In this discussion, the characteristics of a steadily-propagating detonation and how to determine its static parameters are elucidated. Second, the non-planarity and transverse-wave structure of an actual detonation front are discussed. The transverse waves propagating along the leading shock wave of a detonation front and colliding with each other depict a cellular pattern after the passage of the detonation. The importance of the characteristic size of this cellular pattern is emphasized introducing so-called dynamic parameters of detonations. Finally, the stability issue of the transverse-wave structure of a detonation front is touched on. This issue has been drawing the attention of many researchers for more than a decade.