Two-Phase Model of Combustion in Explosions

A two-phase model for Aluminum particle combustion in explosions is proposed. It combines the gas-dynamic conservation laws for the gas phase with the continuum mechanics laws of multi-phase media, as formulated by Nigmatulin. Inter-phase mass, momentum and energy exchange are prescribed by the Khasainov model. Combustion is specified as material transformations in the Le Chatelier diagram which depicts the locus of thermodynamic states in the internal energy-temperature plane according to Kuhl. Numerical simulations are used to show the evolution of two-phase combustion fields generated by the explosive dissemination of a powdered Al fuel

Numerical Simulations of Thermobaric Explosions

A Model of the energy evolution in thermobaric explosions is presented. It is based on the two-phase formulation: conservation laws for the gas and particle phases along with inter-phase interaction terms. It incorporates a Combustion Model based on the mass conservation laws for fuel, air and products; source/sink terms are treated in the fast-chemistry limit appropriate for such gas dynamic fields. The Model takes into account both the afterburning of the detonation products of the booster with air, and the combustion of the fuel (Al or TNT detonation products) with air. Numerical simulations were performed for 1.5-g thermobaric explosions in five different chambers (volumes ranging from 6.6 to 40 liters and length-to-diameter ratios from 1 to 12.5). Computed pressure waveforms were very similar to measured waveforms in all cases - thereby proving that the Model correctly predicts the energy evolution in such explosions. The computed global fuel consumption {mu}(t) behaved as an exponential life function. Its derivative {dot {mu}}(t) represents the global rate of fuel consumption. It depends on the rate of turbulent mixing which controls the rate of energy release in thermobaric explosions

Simulation of Turbulent Combustion Fields of Shock-Dispersed Aluminum Using the AMR Code

We present a Model for simulating experiments of combustion in Shock-Dispersed-Fuel (SDF) explosions. The SDF charge consisted of a 0.5-g spherical PETN booster, surrounded by 1-g of fuel powder (flake Aluminum). Detonation of the booster charge creates a high-temperature, high-pressure source (PETN detonation products gases) that both disperses the fuel and heats it. Combustion ensues when the fuel mixes with air. The gas phase is governed by the gas-dynamic conservation laws, while the particle phase obeys the continuum mechanics laws for heterogeneous media. The two phases exchange mass, momentum and energy according to inter-phase interaction terms. The kinetics model used an empirical particle burn relation. The thermodynamic model considers the air, fuel and booster products to be of frozen composition, while the Al combustion products are assumed to be in equilibrium. The thermodynamic states were calculated by the Cheetah code; resulting state points were fit with analytic functions suitable for numerical simulations. Numerical simulations of combustion of an Aluminum SDF charge in a 6.4-liter chamber were performed. Computed pressure histories agree with measurements

Quadractic Model of Thermodynamic States in SDF Explosions

We study the thermodynamic states encountered during Shock-Dispersed-Fuel (SDF) explosions. Such explosions contain up to six components: three fuels (PETN, TNT and Aluminum) and their products corresponding to stoichiometric combustion with air. We establish the loci in thermodynamic state space that correctly describes the behavior of the components. Results are fit with quadratic functions that serve as fast equations of state suitable for 3D numerical simulations of SDF explosions

On the possibility to modify the performance of propellant mixtures used in RAMAC by addition of metallic particles

To explain the experimental results obtained in the 30 mm Ram accelerator at ISL, showing that in the subdetonative mode, the terminal velocity of magnesium projectiles at the end of Ramac tube is higher than the CJ detonation of the propellant gaseous mixture, whereas the projectile undergoes a mass loss during the propagation, the assumption is made that metallic particles ablated from the projectile react with the gaseous species and modify the performances of the propellant mixture. The problem is examined by comparing experimental and calculation results in an analogous situation of fine aluminum particles suspended in hydrogen-air mixtures. It is demonstrated that the classical thermodynamic model is unsuitable for explaining correctly the experimental observations. Prediction of changes in performances of the propellant mixture requires that two-phase flow effects be taken into account. These changes depend on the mass concentration, size and shape of the solid particles