Initiation of detonation in flows of fuel-air mixtures

Regimes of self-ignition of the fuel mixture obtained by controlled separate injection of hydrogen and air into a plane-radial vortex chamber with a rapid (0.2 msec) transition to detonation have been realized for the first time. Self-ignition occurs in the stoichiometric region with a slightly higher (up to 6–30%) content of hydrogen and, normally, in a subsonic flow. The energy of guaranteed detonation initiation is determined for combustors of different geometries and different ratios of fuel components by using a thermal pulse produced by blasting a wire by electric current. Detonation initiation is ensured by using energy of 0.1 J. It is found that the main contribution of energy into the flow of the mixture occurs at the stage of evaporation (ionization) of copper of the blasted wire. The continuous spin detonation regime is found to decay as the exit cross section of the combustor is reduced. In the regime of combustion, both detonation and conventional turbulent combustion, the pressure at the periphery of the plane-radial vortex chamber is lower and the pressure at the edge of the exit orifice is higher than that in the case of exhaustion of cold fuel components.