PLANE INITIATION OF A DETONATION

The conditions for exciting a plane detonation wave were experimentally observed to be independent of the initial [gas] pressure. The explanation is based on the concept that impacts of transverse waves play a leading role in initiating and propagating the detonation. The dimension of the effective zone which is responsible for initiating the detonation is close to the dimension of the chemical [energy] peak. Formulas are presented for estimating the energy equivalent of the initiator, based on the concept of transforming the plane detonation wave into a spherical, cylindrical, or plane detonation by diffracting the initial wave by a convex angle. The basic analytical conclusions of the concept are confirmed by experiment.