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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1975

International Symposium on Combustion, 15th, Tokyo, Japan, August 25-31, 1974, Proceedings

Recent theoretical and experimental studies concerned with detonation and pressure wave combustion interaction, fire and explosion research and safety, heterogeneous combustion, flame-flow interactions, kinetics of elementary reactions, pollution control in and by combustion systems, and ignition are presented. Some of the topics covered include critical power density for direct initiation of unconfined gaseous detonations, extinction of laminar diffusion flames for liquid fuels, combustion of bulk titanium in oxygen, flame propagation in small spheres of unconfined and slightly confined flammable mixtures, kinetics of the reaction of nitric oxide with hydrogen, production of chemi-ions and formation of CH and CH2 radicals in methane-oxygen and ethylene-oxygen flames, NOx emission characteristics in two-stage combustion, and spherical ignition of oxyhydrogen behind a reflected shock wave. Individual items are announced in this issue.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2022

Investigating growth to detonation in vapor-deposited hexanitrostilbene and pentaerythritol tetranitrate films using high-throughput methods

In this work, a high-throughput experimental setup was used to characterize initiation threshold and growth to detonation in the explosives hexanitrostilbene (HNS) and pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN). The experiment sequentially launched an array of laser-driven flyers to shock samples arranged in a 96-well microplate geometry, with photonic Doppler velocimetry diagnostics to characterize flyer velocity and particle velocity at the explosive–substrate interface. Vapor-deposited films of HNS and PETN were used to provide numerous samples with various thicknesses, enabling characterization of the evolution of growth to detonation. One-dimensional hydrocode simulations were performed with reactions disabled to illustrate where the experimental data deviate from the predicted inert response. Prompt initiation was observed in 144 μm thick HNS films at flyer velocities near 3000 m/s and in 125 μm thick PETN films at flyer velocities near 2400 m/s. This experimental setup enables rapid quantification of the growth of reactions in explosive materials that can reach detonation at sub-millimeter length scales. These data can subsequently be used for parameterizing reactive burn models in hydrocode simulations, as discussed in Paper II [D. E. Kittell, R. Knepper, and A. S. Tappan, J. Appl. Phys. 131, 154902 (2022)].

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1975

On presupernova dynamical mass ejection by non-detonated stellar cores

Stars in the range of 4 to 8 solar masses are known to develop degenerate carbon-oxygen cores of about 1.4 solar masses. Arguments are presented why, contrary to past assumption, carbon ignition may not lead to the formation of a detonation wave. Rather, an initially subsonic burning front results which subsequently may be brought under control by adiabatic expansion. This dynamic phase leads to a centrally incinerated and expanded core. The loosely bound red-giant envelope is ejected to form an extended nebula. Neutrino cooling of the core finally induces collapse. Provided that sufficient energy is liberated in the dynamic formation of a neutron star, a supernova event will result. The distended nebula is ideally suited for the production of the visible supernova light curves. Thus, carbon nondetonation may give a viable alternative evolution to supernovae that avoids the impasse encountered by the detonation-disrupted models.

Buchler, J.-R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Cable Discharge System for fundamental detonator studies

Sandia National Laboratories has recently completed the modification and installation of a cable discharge system (CDS) which will be used to study the physics of exploding bridgewire (EBW) detonators and exploding foil initiators (EFI or slapper). Of primary interest are the burst characteristics of these devices when subjected to the constant current pulse delivered by this system. The burst process involves the heating of the bridge material to a conductive plasma and is essential in describing the electrical properties of the bridgewire foil for use in diagnostics or computer models. The CDS described herein is capable of delivering up to an 8000 A pulse of 3 micron duration. Experiments conducted with the CDS to characterize the EBW and EFI burst behavior are also described. In addition, the CDS simultaneous VISAR capability permits updating the EFI electrical Gurney analysis parameters used in our computer simulation codes. Examples of CDS generated data for a typical EFI and EBW detonator are provided.

Peevy, Gregg R.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Structure and Stability of One-Dimensional Detonations in Ethylene-Air Mixtures

The propagation of one-dimensional detonations in ethylene-air mixtures is investigated numerically by solving the one-dimensional Euler equations with detailed finite-rate chemistry. The numerical method is based on a second-order spatially accurate total-variation-diminishing scheme and a point implicit, first-order-accurate, time marching algorithm. The ethylene-air combustion is modeled with a 20-species, 36-step reaction mechanism. A multi-level, dynamically adaptive grid is utilized, in order to resolve the structure of the detonation. Parametric studies over an equivalence ratio range of 0.5 less than phi less than 3 for different initial pressures and degrees of detonation overdrive demonstrate that the detonation is unstable for low degrees of overdrive, but the dynamics of wave propagation varies with fuel-air equivalence ratio. For equivalence ratios less than approximately 1.2 the detonation exhibits a short-period oscillatory mode, characterized by high-frequency, low-amplitude waves. Richer mixtures (phi greater than 1.2) exhibit a low-frequency mode that includes large fluctuations in the detonation wave speed; that is, a galloping propagation mode is established. At high degrees of overdrive, stable detonation wave propagation is obtained. A modified McVey-Toong short-period wave-interaction theory is in excellent agreement with the numerical simulations.

Yungster, S.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Developing Reaction Chemistry Models from Reactive Molecular Dynamics: TATB

Reactive Molecular Dynamic (RMD) are used to simulate the cook-off chemistry of TATB at a variety of fixed density and fixed temperature conditions. The chemical transformations are monitored using a Coordination Geometry Analysis (CGA) approach which tracks which atom types are bonded to each specific atom. This particularly identifies oxidation state changes that occur during the transformations. Correlations between these different chemical changes are identified using a Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) approach. These identify reduced order chemistry models for the TATB system which contains six components whose concentration profiles are a function of both the temperature and density/pressure. The time histories of these transformations appear to show exponential growth/decay properties that could be fit with Arrhenius rates. These components should form the basis of deflagration rate models for these materials which could then be used in mesoscale simulations to analyze accidental initiation, shock-to-detonation and detonation propagation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2007

The Attenuation of a Detonation Wave by an Aircraft Engine Axial Turbine Stage

A Constant Volume Combustion Cycle Engine concept consisting of a Pulse Detonation Combustor (PDC) followed by a conventional axial turbine was simulated numerically to determine the attenuation and reflection of a notional PDC pulse by the turbine. The multi-stage, time-accurate, turbomachinery solver TURBO was used to perform the calculation. The solution domain consisted of one notional detonation tube coupled to 5 vane passages and 8 rotor passages representing 1/8th of the annulus. The detonation tube was implemented as an initial value problem with the thermodynamic state of the tube contents, when the detonation wave is about to exit, provided by a 1D code. Pressure time history data from the numerical simulation was compared to experimental data from a similar configuration to verify that the simulation is giving reasonable results. Analysis of the pressure data showed a spectrally averaged attenuation of about 15 dB across the turbine stage. An evaluation of turbine performance is also presented.

VanZante, Dale↗
DOE OSTI2020

Post-detonation fireball thermometry via femtosecond-picosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS)

Accurate knowledge of post-detonation fireball temperatures is important for understanding device performance and for validation of numerical models. Such measurements are difficult to make even under controlled laboratory conditions. Here, temperature measurements were performed in the fireball of a commercial detonator (RP-80, Teledyne RISI). The explosion and fragments were contained in a plastic enclosure with glass windows for optical access. A hybrid femtosecond-picosecond (fs-ps) rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) instrument was used to perform gas-phase thermometry along a one-dimensional measurement volume in a single laser shot. The 13-mm-thick windows on the explosive-containment housing introduced significant nonlinear chirp on the fs lasers pulses, which reduced the Raman excitation bandwidth and did not allow for efficient excitation of high-J Raman transitions populated at flame temperatures. To overcome this, distinct pump and Stokes pulses were used in conjunction with spectral focusing, achieved by varying the relative timing between the pump and Stokes pulses to preferentially excite Raman transitions relevant to flame thermometry. Light scattering from particulate matter and solid fragments was a significant challenge and was mitigated using a new polarization scheme to isolate the CARS signal. Fireball temperatures were measured 35–40 mm above the detonator, 12–25 mm radially outward from the detonator centerline, and at 18 and 28 µs after initiation. At these locations and times, significant mixing between the detonation products and ambient air had occurred thus increasing the nitrogen-based CARS thermometry signal. Initial measurements show a distribution of fireball temperatures in the range 300–2000 K with higher temperatures occurring 28 µs after detonation.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1971

Direct laser initiation of insensitive explosives.

Instantaneous longitudinal detonations have been observed in confined columns of PETN, RDX, and tetryl when pulsed with light energy from a focused Q-switched ruby laser. The laser energy ranged from 0.5 to 4.2 J with a pulse width of 25 nsec. Enhancement of the ignition mechanism is hypothesized when a 1000 A thick aluminum film is vacuum deposited on the explosive side of the window. Upon irradiation from the laser, a shock is generated at the aluminum-explosive interface. Steady-state detonations can be reached in less than 0.5 microsec with less than 10% variation in detonation velocity for PETN and RDX.

Menichelli, V. J.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Experimental measurement of energy release from an initiating layer in an insensitive explosive

When subjected to a shock of insufficient strength to trigger prompt reaction, heterogenous condensed phase explosives can form regions where significant amounts of the explosive remain unreacted for times much greater than the reaction time of the detonating explosive. This phenomena is observed for the explosive PBX 9502 (95 wt% TATB) both for planar and oblique input shocks. Here, we build on previous results by performing cylinder expansion (CYLEX) tests where the explosive charge is comprised of a faster core of PBX 9501 (95 wt% HMX) inside a slower annulus of PBX 9502. The detonation in the faster PBX 9501 drives an oblique shock into the adjacent PBX 9502, and an annular transverse initiating layer (IL) results. In the test geometry, the IL travels steadily down the length of the test after a short run distance. At radial positions beyond the IL, an annular region of detonating PBX 9502 is observed. Using standard CYLEX test diagnostics, we infer the total energy release of this experiment. By making the assumptions that (1) the combined energy release is comprised of contributions from detonating PBX 9501, detonating PBX 9502, and the IL in the PBX 9502 and (2) mass-specific energy release for the detonating explosives is approximately the same as typically observed for each explosive, the IL energy release and reaction efficiency can be computed. Results are compared to prior results for a similar geometry, and indicate that while shock deadened PBX 9502 does not detonate promptly, it does eventually release a significant portion of its chemical potential energy over longer timescales on the order of 10 µs.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Visualization of Hemispherical Post‐Detonation Fireball Internal Structures

Hemispherical charges are initiated above a transparent plate in a half‐plane configuration, allowing optical access to the internal regions of the luminous fireball. High‐speed visualization enables characterization of the internal luminous structure, showing clearly the bright shell and dark core regions. Spectroscopic and pyrometric diagnostics are applied to these flows, generating quantitative information on the spatial distribution of temperature inside the fireball. Both cased and uncased charges can be examined using this methodology, and several different high explosives are tested. This approach can be useful in validation of detailed explosive fireball models. Initial comparisons with such models are presented.

detonation↗
NASA NTRS1973

Photographic laboratory studies of explosions.

Description of a series of cinematographic studies of explosions made with a high-speed rotating-mirror streak camera which uses a high-frequency stroboscopic ruby laser as the light source. The results obtained mainly concern explosions initiated by focused laser irradiation from a pulsed neodymium laser in a detonating gas consisting essentially of an equimolar mixture of acetylene and oxygen at an initial pressure of 100 torr at room temperature. Among the most significant observations were observations of a spherical blast wave preceded by a Chapman-Jouguet detonation which is stabilized immediately after initiation, the merging of a spherical flame with a shock front of the blast wave in which the flame is propagating, the division of a spherical detonation front into a shock wave and flame, and the generation of shock waves by a network of spherical flames.

Kamel, M. M.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Investigation of thermal damage in explosive bridgewire detonators via discrete element method simulations

Exploding bridgewire (EBW) detonators are used to rapidly and reliably initiate energetic reactions by exploding a bridgewire via Joule heating. While the mechanisms of EBW detonators have been studied extensively in nominal conditions, comparatively few studies have addressed thermally damaged detonator operability. We present a mesoscale simulation study of thermal damage in a representative EBW detonator, using discrete element method (DEM) simulations that explicitly account for individual particles in the pressed explosive powder. We use a simplified model of melting, where solid spherical particles undergo uniform shrinking, and fluid dynamics are ignored. The subsequent settling of particles results in the formation of a gap between the solid powder and the bridgewire, which we study under different conditions. In particular, particle cohesion has a significant effect on gap formation and settling behavior, where sufficiently high cohesion leads to coalescence of particles into a free-standing pellet. This behavior is qualitatively compared to experimental visualization data, and simulations are shown to capture several key changes in pellet shape. We derive a minimum and maximum limit on gap formation during melting using simple geometric arguments. In the absence of cohesion, results agree with the maximum gap size. With increasing cohesion, the gap size decreases, eventually saturating at the minimum limit. In conclusion, we present results for different combinations of interparticle cohesion and detonator orientations with respect to gravity, demonstrating the complex behavior of these systems and the potential for DEM simulations to capture a range of scenarios.

cohesive powders↗
NASA NTRS1988

On the hazard of hydrogen explosions at space shuttle launch pads

This report was prepared in support of efforts to assess the hazard of accidental explosions of unburned hydrogen at space shuttle launch pads. It begins with presentation of fundamental detonation theory and a review of relevent experiments. A scenario for a catastrophic explosion at a KSC launch pad and a list of necessary conditions contributing to it is proposed with a view to identifying those conditions which, if blocked, would prevent a catastrophe. The balance of the report is devoted to juxtaposition of reassuring and disquieting facts, presentation of a set of recommendations that ignition of hydrogen-air mixtures by weak ignition sources in unconfined geometries may produce a detonation, provided the effective flame area in the initial fireball is rapidly increased by turbulent mixing. Another conclusion is that detonability limits can be different from and narrower than flammability limits only if one restricts the rate of work that can be done on a flammable gas by mechanical agencies acting on its boundaries.

Russell, John M.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effects of non-thermal termolecular reactions on detonation development in hydrogen (H 2 )/methane (CH 4 ) - air mixtures

The binary fuel blend of H 2 /CH 4 is one of the most promising hydrogen-enriched hydrocarbon fuels in spark-ignition (SI) engines. Yet, the undesirable phenomenon of super-knock, which can severely and in-stantaneously damage an SI engine, limits its widespread adoption. Moreover, there is still a lack of con-sensus on the precise mechanism by which this phenomenon occurs i.e. via flame acceleration or spon-taneous ignition, despite numerous previous investigations. At the same time, recent studies [M. P. Burke, S. J. Klippenstein, Nat. Chem. 9 (2017) 1078 -1082, Y. Tao, A. W. Jasper, Y. Georgievskii, S. J. Klippenstein, R. Sivaramakrishnan, Proc. Combust. Inst. 38 (2021) 515-522] have demonstrated a high probability of occurrence of non-thermal reactions in premixed flames of such H 2 /CH 4 fuel blends with air due to the presence of non-trivial amounts of highly reactive radicals including H, O and OH apart from O 2 . The present study focuses on the evolution of an initial deflagration front to a detonation wave in H 2 /CH 4 - air mixtures under SI engine relevant conditions through fully resolved, constant volume 1D simulations with and without non-thermal reactivity. Non-thermal reactions were included in the macroscopic kinetics model as chemically termolecular reactions facilitated by the H + CH 3 and H + OH radical-radical recombination and the H + O 2 radical-molecule association reactions. Further, the nonthermal reactions result in a corresponding decrease in the reaction fluxes of the incipient recombination/association reactions. Therefore, an additional set of simulations were performed by applying corrections to the respective incipient recombination/association rate constants using the methodology demonstrated by Tao et al. [Y. Tao, A. W. Jasper, Y. Georgievskii, S. J. Klippenstein, R. Sivaramakrishnan, Proc. Combust. Inst. 38 (2021) 515-522]. Compared to the baseline case, the onset of spontaneous ignition in the end-gas region was observed to be delayed in the presence of non-thermal termolecular reactions. Concurrently, the developing detonation was observed to be significantly stronger. In contrast, applying corrections to the recombi-nation/association rate constants resulted in a completely different behavior. Specifically, detonation was observed to occur due to self acceleration of the primary flame in the absence of spontaneous ignition in the end-gas region. Sensitivity analysis was performed to quantify the effects of non-thermal reactions on the duration of heat release rate and thereby the mechanism of detonation formation. In addition, chemical explosive mode analysis (CEMA) was performed to identify the dominant species/reactions re-sponsible for the observed results.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Shock Initiation Microscopy with High Time and Space Resolution

In this paper, we describe studies of shock initiation and shock-to-detonation transitions in energetic materials using a tabletop shock compression microscope with nanosecond time resolution and micrometer spatial resolution. Planar input shocks with durations of 4–20 ns are produced using 0–4.5 km/s laser-launched flyer plates. Emphasis is on measurements of temperature, velocities, pressure, and microstructure using photon Doppler velocimetry (PDV), optical pyrometry and high-speed videography. Techniques are discussed for fabricating disposable shock target arrays of tiny plastic-bonded explosives (PBX), liquid and powder explosives, and single-crystal explosives for high-throughput studies. Optical temperature measurements of shocked triaminotrinitrobenzene (TATB) are discussed. Since TATB is yellow, we developed methods to correct for the blue absorption to obtain more accurate temperatures. Hot spots in shocked polymer-encased HMX (octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine) crystals are observed in real-time, showing a hot spot produced in a collapsing void that ignites a deflagration. Despite the small dimensions of our explosive charges (typically 1 mm diameter and 250 μm length), we produced reproducible detonation states in solid and liquid explosives using short-duration shocks near the von Neumann spike (VNS) pressure. We show the VNS pressure is associated with a transition to high-efficiency gas production from the explosives. In studies of NM, prior to detonation, we see reaction originating at hot spots which coalesce to form a superdetonation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Potential Energy Hotspot: Effects of Impact Velocity, Defect Geometry, and Crystallographic Orientation

In energetic materials, the localization of energy into “hotspots” is known to dictate the initiation of chemical reactions and detonation. Recent all-atom simulations have shown that more energy is localized as internal potential energy (PE) than can be inferred from the kinetic energy (KE) alone. The mechanisms associated with pore collapse and hotspot formation are known to depend on pore geometry and dynamic material response such as plasticity. Therefore, we use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to characterize shock-induced pore collapse and the subsequent formation of hotspots in 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB), a highly anisotropic molecular crystal, for various defect shapes, shock strengths, and crystallographic orientations. We find that the localization of energy as PE is consistently larger than the KE in cases with significant plastic deformation. Additionally, an analysis of MD trajectories reveals the underlying molecular- and crystal-level processes that govern the effect of orientation and pore shape on PE localization. We find that the regions of highest PE relate to the areas of maximum plastic deformation, while KE is maximized at the point of impact. Comparisons against octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) reveal less energy localization in TATB, which could be a contributing factor to the latter’s insensitivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Reactive burn model calibration using high-throughput initiation experiments at sub-millimeter length scales

We report a first-of-its-kind model calibration was performed using Sandia National Laboratories’ high-throughput initiation (HTI) experiment for two types of vapor-deposited explosive films consisting of hexanitrostilbene (HNS) or pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN). These films exhibit prompt initiation, and they reach steady detonation at sub-millimeter length scales. Following prior work on HNS, we test the hypothesis of approximating these explosive films as fine-grained homogeneous solids with simple Arrhenius kinetics burn models. The model calibration process is described herein using a single-step as well as a two-step Arrhenius rate law, and it consists of systematic parameter sampling leading to a reduction in the model degrees of freedom. Multiple local minima are observed; results are given for seven different optimized parameter sets. Each model set is further evaluated in a two-dimensional simulation of the critical failure thickness for a sustained detonation. Overall, the two-step Arrhenius kinetics model captures the observed behavior for HNS; however, neither model produces a good fit to the PETN data. We hypothesize that the HTI results for PETN correspond to a heterogeneous response, owing to the smaller reaction zone of PETN compared to HNS (i.e., it does not homogenize the fine-grained hot spots as well). Future work should consider using the ignition and growth model for PETN, as well as other reactive burn models such as xHVRB, AWSD, PiSURF, and CREST.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗