Detonation combustion of gas mixtures using a hypervelocity projectile

This paper considers, from a unified point of view, problems of initiation of detonation combustion of a gaseous mixture using a hypervelocity projectile (HVP), The consideration is based on the energy criterion for HVP-induced detonation initiation. Experimental results are given that support the correctness of the criterion in a wide range of diameters (5–250 mm), HVP velocities (800–3500 m/sec), and compositions of explosive mixtures (from active fuel-oxygen to hard-to-detonate fuel-air mixtures). The processes of HVP interaction with an explosive mixture are classified. The previously unknown effect of jet formation of a detonation wave from a ballistic wave (at velocities less than the detonation velocities) was discovered for an HVP with a plane bow.