Validation of a Simplified Kinetic Mechanism for Simulating Regimes of Oblique Detonation Waves in Acetylene–Oxygen Mixtures

This paper presents a methodology for simulating detonation initiation in acetylene–oxygen mixtures by a small-diameter sphere flying with a velocity exceeding the Chapman–Jouguet detonation velocity. A reduced chemical kinetic scheme is tested against experimental data on the ignition delay time, detonation velocity, and detonation cell size of the mixture. For an acetylene–oxygen mixture diluted with argon, the experimentally observed oblique detonation and combustion regimes were obtained in the pressure range from 21.1 to 60.7 kPa. The energy of detonation initiation by a high-velocity projectile is estimated showing agreement between analytical, simulation, and experimental data. Based on this estimate, oblique detonation initiation by a high-velocity projectile in an acetylene–air mixture is calculated. A correlation is obtained between the numerically predicted flow regimes and analytical estimates.