Numerical investigation of detonation propagation through small orifice holes

Abstract

Seeking to better understand the physical phenomena underlying detonation wave propagation through small holes (especially the phenomenon of detonation re-initiation or its failure), we investigated the propagation of a detonation wave along a tube filled with a hydrogen-oxygen mixture diluted with argon, in the presence of obstacles with a small orifice hole. Numerical simulations were performed in a two-dimensional domain using adaptive mesh refinement and by solving compressible Euler equations for multiple thermally perfect species with a reactive source term. A premixed mixture of H2:O2:Ar at a ratio 2:1:7 at 10.0 kPa and 298 K was used in a 90 mm diameter tube with a detonation wave travelling from one end. We found that a single orifice placed at 200 mm from one end of the tube, with varying diameters of 6, 10, 14, 16, 18, 30, and 50 mm, showed an initial decoupling of the detonation wave into a shockwave and flame front. The detonation wave fails to propagate along the tube for orifice diameters less than λ, while it propagates by different re-initiation pathways for orifice diameters greater than λ, where λ is the cell-width for regular detonation propagation.