Mechanism of deflagration-to-detonation transition in gas

TL;DR

This paper investigates the process by which a slow flame accelerates into a detonation in gases, identifying a bifurcation mechanism that causes pressure runaway, supported by experimental validation.

Contribution

It reveals that the deflagration-to-detonation transition is driven by a saddle-node bifurcation in the flame structure, providing a new dynamical understanding of this process.

Findings

Good agreement between theory and experiments

Identification of saddle-node bifurcation as key mechanism

Pressure runaway occurs in finite time

Abstract

The deflagration-to-detonation transition on the tip of an elongated flame in a tube is shown to be related to a dynamical saddle-node bifurcation of the inner flame structure leading to a runaway of the pressure in finite time. The comparison with the experiments shows a good agreement.