High-Pressure Combustion and Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition in Ethylene/Nitrous Oxide Mixtures

In this paper, the combustion of nitrous oxide with a simple hydrocarbon, ethylene, at high initial pressures is investigated. A series of experiments were conducted using a stoichiometric C2H4-N2O mixture in a round, smooth-walled tube with initial pressures of 125 to 337 psi. A low-energy ignition mechanism (heated wire) to prevent direct initiation of a detonation, and the flame acceleration and subsequent deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) was observed. According to Joannon (1991), one of the critical parameters that determines the detonability of given gas mixture is the initial pressure, and so the effect of pressure on DDT was examined.