Ignition of Flamelets Behind Incident Shock Waves and the Transition to Detonation

Abstract

Time-dependent numerical simulations are used to elucidate some of the details of weak ignition behind incident shocks and the subsequent transition to detonation. It is shown that a small amount of energy released in the shocked region can be the origin of pressure waves which accelerate the shock front. The simulations presented here show how this leads to the formation of reactive centers. The formation of a hot spot due to energy release at one of the reactive centers and the subsequent development of a pair of flamelets from the hot spot are studied using the numerical simulations. The results of the simulations are also compared to experimental observations.