Research on Detonation and Explosion

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Detonations are shock waves sustained by rapid energy release from chemical reactions in an explosive medium. It is of interest to the field of safety in the chemical industries since realistic assessment of risks due to accidental explosions and the design of explosion suppression and mitigation methods require a good knowledge of the detonation phenomenon. Detonation research also contributes towards the understanding of compressible chemical reacting flows, which is of importance to engineers working in hypersonic flows and on advanced propulsion systems. The outstanding problem of detonation research is the lack of the ability to determine the unstable structure of the detonation front. This is required to obtain a length scale to characterize the reaction thickness of the cellular detonations. The thickness of the detonation is required for the determination of all the dynamic detonation parameters (i.e., propagation velocity, initiation energy, detonation limits, etc.). The proposed research focuses on the investigation of the formation and failure of the detonation wave for it is during these processes that the essential propagation mechanisms are prominently revealed. The propagation mechanisms refer to the physical and chemical processes within the detonation structure that are responsible for the self-sustained propagation of the detonation wave. During the formation phase of the detonation, the propagation mechanisms are being developed, whereas during failure, the essential mechanisms are being destroyed. The proposed work is of interest to explosion safety engineers and scientists in defense research establishments. NSERC supported research on explosions at McGill over the past four decades has contributed to establishing the internationally acknowledged expertise of Canada in the field of explosion and detonation. The continuing research of the proposed program serves to maintain this expertise.