Detonation initiation and propagation in gaseous ethanol-oxygen mixtures : experiments and calculations
Abstract
This study investigates the conditions required for detonation initiation and propagation in gaseous ethanol-oxygen mixtures. Ethanol is a liquid biofuel used across various industrial sectors and accidental leaks may generate detonable ethanol-oxidizer mixtures. The experimental setup consists of a square cross-section tube divided into two sections by a thin plastic film. A propane-oxygen mixture is contained in the first section. The second section is filled with gaseous oxygen, into which liquid ethanol is injected at ambient temperature, generating either saturated or under-saturated mixtures depending on the injected quantity. Ethanol vaporizes and diffuses uniformly within the oxidizing atmosphere. A detonation is first initiated in the propane-oxygen mixture and, upon impact on the film, transmits a shock wave to the ethanol-oxygen mixture. Front-and side-view soot foil recordings, high-speed shadowgraph imaging, and pressure measurements are employed to characterize the cellular structure of the detonation reaction zone and to determine wave velocities. In our geometry conditions and under conditions investigated, detonation initiation requires the ratio of the channel width h to the predicted cell mean width λ to exceed 1/π, while detonation propagation requires this ratio to exceed 2. Predictions of detonation cell width based on graph theory and geometric probability show good agreement with experimental measurements when the cell mean width constitutes a statistically robust quantity, essentially independent of the tube's transverse dimensions.
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BibTeX
@misc{fessard2026detonation,
title = {{Detonation initiation and propagation in gaseous ethanol-oxygen mixtures : experiments and calculations}},
author = {Titouan Fessard and Léa Vilasi and Vincent Rodriguez and Pierre Vidal},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05801229v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Detonation initiation and propagation in gaseous ethanol-oxygen mixtures : experiments and calculations
AU - Titouan Fessard
AU - Léa Vilasi
AU - Vincent Rodriguez
AU - Pierre Vidal
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/11
PB - HAL
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05801229v1
AB - This study investigates the conditions required for detonation initiation and propagation in gaseous ethanol-oxygen mixtures. Ethanol is a liquid biofuel used across various industrial sectors and accidental leaks may generate detonable ethanol-oxidizer mixtures. The experimental setup consists of a square cross-section tube divided into two sections by a thin plastic film. A propane-oxygen mixture is contained in the first section. The second section is filled with gaseous oxygen, into which liquid ethanol is injected at ambient temperature, generating either saturated or under-saturated mixtures depending on the injected quantity. Ethanol vaporizes and diffuses uniformly within the oxidizing atmosphere. A detonation is first initiated in the propane-oxygen mixture and, upon impact on the film, transmits a shock wave to the ethanol-oxygen mixture. Front-and side-view soot foil recordings, high-speed shadowgraph imaging, and pressure measurements are employed to characterize the cellular structure of the detonation reaction zone and to determine wave velocities. In our geometry conditions and under conditions investigated, detonation initiation requires the ratio of the channel width h to the predicted cell mean width λ to exceed 1/π, while detonation propagation requires this ratio to exceed 2. Predictions of detonation cell width based on graph theory and geometric probability show good agreement with experimental measurements when the cell mean width constitutes a statistically robust quantity, essentially independent of the tube's transverse dimensions.
ER -