Report on the Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition (DDT) in the High Explosive LX-04

摘要

Deflagration and detonation are two distinct modes of combustion possible in high explosives. Deflagration is ordinary slow combustion. It is propagated by heat transfer, an inherently slow physical process. Detonation is combustion that is propagated by a strong shock wave. Shock waves in condensed materials propagate in the thousands of meters per second range; hence detonation is extremely fast and consequently violent, with detonation in condensed materials propagating at 4000 - 7000 m/s and pressures of 100 - 400 kbar being obtained. Explosives can be initially ignited in the deflagration mode of combustion and under certain conditions this mode is unstable and will transit to detonation. This transition is undesirable in fuel-oxidizer mixtures specifically designed to deflagrate, such as firearm, rocket, and artillery propellants as well as combustion engine fuel-air charges.