SHOCK-TO-DETONATION TRANSITION - A MODEL PROBLEM

The process by which a trigger ignited shockless weak detonation is transformed into a classical Zeldovich-von Neumann-Doering (ZND) detonation as the trigger wave decelerates is considered in detail. This occurs as the trigger speed passes through the Chapman-Jouguet velocity D(CJ). The model that is developed describes the birth and subsequent growth of a shock in the weak detonation reaction zone. This shock ultimately sustains the shock-ignited ZND detonation. The time-dependent solution presented here fills one of the many gaps in the understanding of detonation flows; an understanding based almost entirely on steady wave structures.