DARRIEUS–LANDAU AND THERMO-ACOUSTIC INSTABILITIES IN CLOSED VESSEL EXPLOSIONS

Experiments involving a spherical explosion bomb are reported, in which Darrieus-Landau thermo-diffusive, D-L,T-D, flame instabilities interacted with primary and secondary, self-excited, thermo-acoustic oscillations. Explosions with central ignition demonstrated that rich i-octane and lean hydrogen-air mixtures generated strong pressure oscillations, a consequence of their negative Markstein numbers. Utilizing dual wall ignitions, the structures of high pressure flames were studied using appropriate optical techniques. The conditions that gave rise to the greatest increase in the rate of combustion were strong initial D-L,T-D, flame instabilities and a high rate of change of the heat release rate, sufficient to generate strong secondary pressure oscillations. These, in turn, generated Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities that further wrinkled the flames. The bomb was equipped with four fans which showed that an rms turbulent velocity in excess of about 0.6 m/s was sufficient to reduce, and almost eradicate, the effect of these instabilities on the flame speed.