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Detonation
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<h2 id="theories">Theories</h2> <p>The simplest theory to predict the behaviour of detonations in gases is known as the <a href="/facts/Chapman%25E2%2580%2593Jouguet_condition/2tfLRLjJ">Chapman–Jouguet</a> (CJ) condition, developed around the turn of the 20th century. This theory, described by a relatively simple set of algebraic equations, models the detonation as a propagating shock wave accompanied by exothermic heat release. Such a theory describes the chemistry and diffusive transport processes as occurring abruptly as the shock passes. </p><p>A more complex theory was advanced during World War II independently by <a href="/facts/Yakov_B._Zel%2527dovich/JEpdtxIM">Zel'dovich</a>, <a href="/facts/John_von_Neumann/aUk6urof">von Neumann</a>, and <a href="/facts/Werner_D%25C3%25B6ring/67E0r7Un">Döring</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> This theory, now known as <a href="/facts/ZND_theory/mkljyn64">ZND theory</a>, admits finite-rate chemical reactions and thus describes a detonation as an infinitesimally thin shock wave, followed by a zone of exothermic chemical reaction. With a reference frame of a stationary shock, the following flow is subsonic, so that an acoustic reaction zone follows immediately behind the lead front, the <a href="/facts/Chapman%25E2%2580%2593Jouguet_condition/2tfLRLjJ">Chapman–Jouguet condition</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> </p><p>There is also some evidence that the reaction zone is <a href="/facts/Semimetal/ELtXVlI5">semi-metallic</a> in some explosives.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> </p><p>Both theories describe one-dimensional and steady wavefronts. However, in the 1960s, experiments revealed that gas-phase detonations were most often characterized by unsteady, three-dimensional structures, which can only, in an averaged sense, be predicted by one-dimensional steady theories. Indeed, such waves are quenched as their structure is destroyed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> The Wood-Kirkwood detonation theory can correct some of these limitations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> </p><p>Experimental studies have revealed some of the conditions needed for the propagation of such fronts. In confinement, the range of composition of mixes of fuel and oxidant and self-decomposing substances with inerts are slightly below the flammability limits and, for spherically expanding fronts, well below them.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a> The influence of increasing the concentration of diluent on expanding individual detonation cells has been elegantly demonstrated.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a> Similarly, their size grows as the initial pressure falls.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25"><sup>25</sup></a> Since cell widths must be matched with minimum dimension of containment, any wave overdriven by the initiator will be quenched. </p><p>Mathematical modeling has steadily advanced to predicting the complex flow fields behind shocks inducing reactions.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26"><sup>26</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27"><sup>27</sup></a> To date, none has adequately described how the structure is formed and sustained behind unconfined waves. </p> <h2 id="applications">Applications</h2> <p>When used in explosive devices, the main cause of damage from a detonation is the supersonic blast front (a powerful <a href="/facts/Shock_wave/CqrG1Xm5">shock wave</a>) in the surrounding area. This is a significant distinction from <a href="/facts/Deflagration/wIR4pGtC">deflagrations</a> where the exothermic wave is subsonic and maximum pressures for non-metal specks of dust are approximately 7–10 times atmospheric pressure.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28"><sup>28</sup></a> Therefore, detonation is a feature for destructive purposes while deflagration is favored for the acceleration of <a href="/facts/Firearm/GuHx4aGE">firearms</a>' projectiles. However, detonation waves may also be used for less destructive purposes, including deposition of coatings to a surface<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29"><sup>29</sup></a> or cleaning of equipment (e.g. slag removal<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:30" href="#fn:30"><sup>30</sup></a>) and even <a href="/facts/Explosive_welding/movffcxx">explosively welding</a> together metals that would otherwise fail to fuse. <a href="/facts/Pulse_detonation_engine/5Qhp5Ghf">Pulse detonation engines</a> use the detonation wave for aerospace propulsion.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:31" href="#fn:31"><sup>31</sup></a> The first flight of an aircraft powered by a pulse detonation engine took place at the <a href="/facts/Mojave_Airport_%2526_Spaceport/BRUofdUg">Mojave Air & Space Port</a> on January 31, 2008.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:32" href="#fn:32"><sup>32</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="in-engines-and-firearms">In engines and firearms</h2> <p>Unintentional detonation when <a href="/facts/Deflagration/wIR4pGtC">deflagration</a> is desired is a problem in some devices. In <a href="/facts/Otto_cycle/jP5s560r">Otto cycle</a>, or gasoline engines it is called <a href="/facts/Engine_knocking/k9rhaaYD">engine knocking</a> or pinging, and it causes a loss of power. It can also cause excessive heating, and harsh mechanical shock that can result in eventual engine failure.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:33" href="#fn:33"><sup>33</sup></a> In firearms, it may cause catastrophic and potentially lethal failure. </p><p><a href="/facts/Pulse_detonation_engine/5Qhp5Ghf">Pulse detonation engines</a> are a form of pulsed jet engine that has been experimented with on several occasions as this offers the potential for good fuel efficiency. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Detonator/SoXrXl08">Detonator</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Explosive/sUme5Pp8">Detonation of an explosive charge</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Detonation_diamond/SurBV2cy">Detonation diamond</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Detonation_flame_arrester/Pct5vBPL">Detonation flame arrester</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Sympathetic_detonation/MfrdnEPH">Sympathetic detonation</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nuclear_testing/s2srGDFP">Nuclear testing</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nuclear_chain_reaction/3l0lHBM4">Predetonation</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Chapman%25E2%2580%2593Jouguet_condition/2tfLRLjJ">Chapman–Jouguet condition</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Engine_knocking/k9rhaaYD">Engine knocking</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Deflagration/wIR4pGtC">Deflagration</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Relative_effectiveness_factor/nEQ5z8mp">Relative effectiveness factor</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Look up <i>detonation</i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Detonations. <ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjC4SvZIARY">Youtube video demonstrating physics of a blast wave</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.galcit.caltech.edu/detn_db/html/db.html">GALCIT Explosion Dynamics Laboratory Detonation Database</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140311212147/http://www2.galcit.caltech.edu/detn_db/html/db.html">Archived</a> 2014-03-11 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Oxford Living Dictionaries. "detonate". British & World English. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019. <a href="/wiki/Oxford_Living_Dictionaries" target="_blank">/wiki/Oxford_Living_Dictionaries</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering (5 ed.). Society of Fire Protection Engineers. 2016. p. 390. <a href="https://www.sfpe.org/standards-guides/sfpehandbook" target="_blank">https://www.sfpe.org/standards-guides/sfpehandbook</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Fickett, Wildon; Davis, William C. (1979). Detonation. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-486-41456-0. <a href="978-0-486-41456-0" target="_blank">978-0-486-41456-0</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Stull, Daniel Richard (1977). Fundamentals of fire and explosion. Monograph Series. Vol. 10. American Institute of Chemical Engineers. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-816903-91-7. <a href="978-0-816903-91-7" target="_blank">978-0-816903-91-7</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Urben, Peter; Bretherick, Leslie (2006). Bretherick's Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards (7th ed.). London: Butterworths. ISBN 978-0-123725-63-9. <a href="978-0-123725-63-9" target="_blank">978-0-123725-63-9</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Berthelot, Marcellin; and Vieille, Paul Marie Eugène; « Sur la vitesse de propagation des phénomènes explosifs dans les gaz » ["On the velocity of propagation of explosive processes in gases"], Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, vol. 93, pp. 18–22, 1881 <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Mallard, Ernest-François; and Le Chatelier, Henry Louis; « Sur les vitesses de propagation de l’inflammation dans les mélanges gazeux explosifs » ["On the propagation velocity of burning in gaseous explosive mixtures"], Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, vol. 93, pp. 145–148, 1881 <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Chapman, David Leonard (1899). "VI. On the rate of explosion in gases", The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 47(284), 90-104. <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Jouguet, Jacques Charles Émile (1905). "Sur la propagation des réactions chimiques dans les gaz" ["On the propagation of chemical reactions in gases"] (PDF). Journal de mathématiques pures et appliquées. 6. 1: 347–425. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2013-10-19. Continued in Jouguet, Jacques Charles Émile (1906). "Sur la propagation des réactions chimiques dans les gaz" ["On the propagation of chemical reactions in gases"] (PDF). Journal de mathématiques pures et appliquées. 6. 2: 5–85. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-16. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131019171453/http://math-doc.ujf-grenoble.fr/JMPA/PDF/JMPA_1905_6_1_A9_0.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20131019171453/http://math-doc.ujf-grenoble.fr/JMPA/PDF/JMPA_1905_6_1_A9_0.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Jouguet, Jacques Charles Émile (1917). L'Œuvre scientifique de Pierre Duhem, Doin. <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>von Neumann, John (1942). Progress report on "Theory of Detonation Waves" (Report). OSRD Report No. 549. Ascension number ADB967734. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2017-12-22. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110717145048/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110717145048/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Döring, Werner (1943). ""Über den Detonationsvorgang in Gasen"" ["On the detonation process in gases"]. Annalen der Physik. 43 (6–7): 421–436. Bibcode:1943AnP...435..421D. doi:10.1002/andp.19434350605. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Zel'dovich, Yakov B.; Kompaneets, Aleksandr Solomonovich (1960). Theory of Detonation. New York: Academic Press. ASIN B000WB4XGE. OCLC 974679. <a href="/wiki/ASIN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ASIN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Zel'dovich, Yakov B.; Kompaneets, Aleksandr Solomonovich (1960). Theory of Detonation. New York: Academic Press. ASIN B000WB4XGE. OCLC 974679. <a href="/wiki/ASIN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ASIN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>von Neumann, John (1942). Progress report on "Theory of Detonation Waves" (Report). OSRD Report No. 549. Ascension number ADB967734. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2017-12-22. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110717145048/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110717145048/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Döring, Werner (1943). ""Über den Detonationsvorgang in Gasen"" ["On the detonation process in gases"]. Annalen der Physik. 43 (6–7): 421–436. Bibcode:1943AnP...435..421D. doi:10.1002/andp.19434350605. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Chapman, David Leonard (January 1899). "On the rate of explosion in gases". Philosophical Magazine. Series 5. 47 (284). London: 90–104. doi:10.1080/14786449908621243. ISSN 1941-5982. LCCN sn86025845. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=N4u8y0Kf8NQC&pg=PA90" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=N4u8y0Kf8NQC&pg=PA90</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Jouguet, Jacques Charles Émile (1905). "Sur la propagation des réactions chimiques dans les gaz" ["On the propagation of chemical reactions in gases"] (PDF). Journal de mathématiques pures et appliquées. 6. 1: 347–425. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2013-10-19. Continued in Jouguet, Jacques Charles Émile (1906). "Sur la propagation des réactions chimiques dans les gaz" ["On the propagation of chemical reactions in gases"] (PDF). Journal de mathématiques pures et appliquées. 6. 2: 5–85. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-16. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131019171453/http://math-doc.ujf-grenoble.fr/JMPA/PDF/JMPA_1905_6_1_A9_0.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20131019171453/http://math-doc.ujf-grenoble.fr/JMPA/PDF/JMPA_1905_6_1_A9_0.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Reed, Evan J.; Riad Manaa, M.; Fried, Laurence E.; Glaesemann, Kurt R.; Joannopoulos, J. D. (2007). "A transient semimetallic layer in detonating nitromethane". Nature Physics. 4 (1): 72–76. Bibcode:2008NatPh...4...72R. doi:10.1038/nphys806. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Edwards, D. H.; Thomas, G. O. & Nettleton, M. A. (1979). "The Diffraction of a Planar Detonation Wave at an Abrupt Area Change". Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 95 (1): 79–96. Bibcode:1979JFM....95...79E. doi:10.1017/S002211207900135X. S2CID 123018814. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Edwards, D. H.; Thomas, G. O.; Nettleton, M. A. (1981). A. K. Oppenheim; N. Manson; R. I. Soloukhin; J. R. Bowen (eds.). "Diffraction of a Planar Detonation in Various Fuel-Oxygen Mixtures at an Area Change". Progress in Astronautics & Aeronautics. 75: 341–357. doi:10.2514/5.9781600865497.0341.0357. 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