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Bifurcation of cellular detonation structure in a mixture with two-stage reactions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2025

Jie Sun Open the ORCID record for Jie Sun [Opens in a new window]  and
Zheng Chen Open the ORCID record for Zheng Chen [Opens in a new window]
Jie Sun
Affiliation:
SKLTCS, HEDPS, School of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Peking University , Beijing 100871, PR China
Zheng Chen*
Affiliation:
SKLTCS, HEDPS, School of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Peking University , Beijing 100871, PR China
*
Corresponding author: Zheng Chen, cz@pku.edu.cn
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Abstract

We numerically investigate the cellular detonation dynamics in ethylene/oxygen/ozone/nitrogen mixtures considering detailed chemical kinetics. The aim is to elucidate emergent detonation structures and reveal the transition mechanism from single- to double-cellular structures. Ozone is used to induce two-stage reactions within the mixture. Through systematic initiation strength analysis, we demonstrate two distinct propagation regimes: (i) under strong initiation, a stable double-cellular detonation is established; (ii) weak initiation triggers a multi-stage evolutionary process, beginning with a low-speed single-cellular detonation in the initiation zone. During the initial weak stage, the detonation propagates at a quasi-steady velocity with uniform cellular patterning. The subsequent transition phase features spontaneous acceleration accompanied by structural bifurcation into double cells, ultimately stabilising in a normal stage with sustained double-cellular structures. Further analysis reveals that the weak-stage dynamics is governed exclusively by first-stage chemical reactions, resulting in a single-cellular structure propagating at a velocity much lower than the Chapman–Jouguet speed. In contrast, the double-cellular structure observed at the normal stage results from the two-stage exothermic reactions. Thermodynamic perturbations arising from cellular instability and fluid dynamic instability are identified as critical drivers for the transition from single- to double-cellular detonation. Besides, conditions for the formation of double-cellular detonation are explored, and two qualitative requirements are summarised: the reactions of the two stages must proceed as independently as possible, and both heat releases from the two stages must be high enough to sustain the triple-shock configurations.

JFM classification

Nonlinear Dynamical Systems: Bifurcation

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Type
JFM Papers
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Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 1022 , 10 November 2025 , A14
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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