Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-2tv5m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-03-28T05:55:10.590Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Flame acceleration and detonation transition in premixed and inhomogeneous supersonic flows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2024

Wandong Zhao
Affiliation:
College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, PR China
Ralf Deiterding
Affiliation:
AMROC CFD, Brookweg 167, 26127 Oldenburg, Germany
Xiaodong Cai
Affiliation:
College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, PR China
Jianhan Liang*
Affiliation:
College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, PR China
Xiong Yang
Affiliation:
College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, PR China
Mingbo Sun*
Affiliation:
College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, PR China
*
 Email addresses for correspondence: jhleon@vip.sina.com, sunmingbo@nudt.edu.cn
 Email addresses for correspondence: jhleon@vip.sina.com, sunmingbo@nudt.edu.cn

Abstract

The reactive Navier–Stokes equations with adaptive mesh refinement and a detailed chemical reactive mechanism (11 species, 27 steps) were adopted to investigate a detonation engine considering the injection and supersonic mixing processes. Flame acceleration and deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) in a premixed/inhomogeneous supersonic hydrogen–air mixture with and without transverse jet obstacles were addressed. Results demonstrate the difficulty in undergoing DDT in the premixed/inhomogeneous supersonic mixture within a smooth chamber. By contrast, multiple transverse jets injected into the chamber aid detonation transition by introducing perturbed vortices, shock waves and a suitable blockage ratio. Increasing distance between the leading shock and the flame tip impedes detonation transition due to an insufficient blockage ratio. The extremely perturbed distributions of fuel-lean and fuel-rich mixtures lead to more complicated flame structures. Also, a larger flame thickness appears in the inhomogeneous mixture compared with the premixed mixture, resulting in a lower combustion temperature. The key findings are that the DDT, detonation quenching and reinitiation are generated in the inhomogeneous supersonic mixture, but both DDT mechanisms are ascribed to a strong Mach stem with the Zel'dovich gradient mechanism. Additionally, the obtained results demonstrate that an intensely fuel-lean mixture (equivalence ratio = 0.15) results in a partially decoupled flame front. However, detonation reinitiation and subsequent self-sustained detonation occur when a fierce shock wave propagates through a highly sensitive mixture, even within a smaller and elongated area. Moreover, the inhomogeneous mixture also augments the propagation speed and detonation cell structure instabilities and delays the sonic point resulting from the extending non-equilibrium reaction.

Information

Type
JFM Papers
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable