Attenuation and Suppression of Detonation Waves in Reacting Gas Mixtures by Clouds of Inert Micro- and Nanoparticles

Physicomathematical models are proposed to describe the processes of detonation propagation, attenuation, and suppression in hydrogen-oxygen, methane-oxygen, and silane-air mixtures with inert micro- and nanoparticles. Based on these models, the detonation velocity deficit is found as a function of the size and concentration of inert micro- and nanoparticles. Three types of detonation flows in gas suspensions of reacting gases and inert nanoparticles are observed: steady propagation of an attenuated detonation wave in the gas suspension, propagation of a galloping detonation wave near the flammability limit, and failure of the detonation process. The mechanisms of detonation suppression by microparticles and nanoparticles are found to be similar to each other. The essence of these mechanisms is decomposition of the detonation wave into an attenuated frozen shock wave and the front of ignition and combustion, which lags behind the shock wave. The concentration limits of detonation in the considered reacting gas mixtures with particles ranging from 10 nm to 1 mu m in diameter are also comparable. It turns out that the detonation suppression efficiency does not increase after passing from microparticles to nanoparticles.