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Multiscale understanding of explosion-induced particle jetting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2026

Lvlan Miao Open the ORCID record for Lvlan Miao [Opens in a new window] ,
Min Lin ,
Jiarui Li Open the ORCID record for Jiarui Li [Opens in a new window] ,
Chuan-Yu Wu ,
Binfeng Sun  and
Kun Xue Open the ORCID record for Kun Xue [Opens in a new window]
Lvlan Miao
Affiliation:
Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, PR China
Min Lin
Affiliation:
Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, PR China
Jiarui Li
Affiliation:
Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing 1000871, PR China
Chuan-Yu Wu
Affiliation:
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Binfeng Sun
Affiliation:
Engineering and Safety Technology Research Institute, NORINCO, Beijing 1000871, PR China
Kun Xue*
Affiliation:
Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, PR China
*
Corresponding author: Kun Xue, xuekun@bit.edu.cn
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Abstract

The explosive dispersal of granular media, exemplified by the rapid radial expansion of a dense particle ring driven by internal pressurised gases, serves as a paradigmatic system for investigating multiphase blast dynamics. Despite the ubiquity of jetting and clustering phenomena in explosive dispersal scenarios, their governing mechanisms remain poorly resolved. In this work, we combine compressible computational fluid dynamics–discrete parcel method simulations, and theoretical modelling to elucidate the multiscale physics underlying explosion-induced particle jetting. We reveal a hierarchy of jetting structures, comprising non-jetting, suppressed jetting and prominent jetting, which are governed by the interplay between microscale particle force-chain evolution, mesoscale gas–particle coupling and macroscale ring dynamics. Jetting initiation emerges from the transient competition between shock-induced particle compaction and gas filtration during the early expansion phase, whereas sustained jet development requires subsequent ring implosion driven by adverse pressure gradients. By unifying this multiscale dynamics, we reduce the system’s complexity into two dimensionless parameters: one characterising mesoscale gas–particle interactions and another quantifying macroscale implosion intensity. A phase diagram for jetting morphology under weak-shock conditions is established in this dimensionless parameter space, delineating two necessary criteria for jet formation. Systems failing either criterion exhibit no jetting, resolving long-standing ambiguities in the prediction of explosive dispersal structures.

JFM classification

Compressible Flows: Shock waves Flow Control: Mixing enhancement Multiphase and Particle-laden Flows: Particle/fluid flow

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Type
JFM Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 1033 , 25 April 2026 , A36
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© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

†

first author.

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