Thermal explosion of oxyhydrogen gas initiated by the wall of a quartz reactor

A criterion is proposed for ignition which begins on the combustion-chamber wall heated by the heterogeneous oxidation of hydrogen. Surface heating resulting in the formation of a chain-thermal avalanche and a hot flame front is calculated in accordance with Semenov’s postulate of low-temperature gas ignition on a surface. The surface self-heating (firing) occurs in the self-acceleration mode according to the Arrhenius law due to the burnup of substances that block the centers of heterogeneous catalysis. The criterion for ignition initiated by a heterogeneous reaction, in contrast to criteria for a homogeneous thermal explosion in reactors with an inert wall, was developed to calculate gas ignition in reactors with a catalytically active wall.