Paper detail

Propagation Distance Required to Reach Steady-State Detonation Velocity in Finite-Sized Charges

The decay of a detonation wave from its initial CJ velocity to its final, steady state velocity upon encountering a finite thickness or diameter charge is investigated numerically and theoretically. The numerical simulations use an ideal gas equation of state and pressure dependent reaction rate in order to ensure a stable wave structure. The confinement is also treated as an ideal gas with variable impedance. The velocity decay along the centerline is extracted from the simulations and compared to predictions base on a front evolution equation that uses the steady state detonation velocity-front curvature relation ($D_n-κ$). This model fails to capture the finite signaling speed of the leading rarefaction resulting from the interaction with the yielding confinement. This signaling speed is verified to be the maximum signal velocity occurring in the ideal ZND wave structure of the initial CJ velocity. A simple heuristic model based on the rarefaction generated by a one-dimensional interaction between the post-shock state and the confinement is proposed to provide an approximate description of the rest of the relaxation to steady state velocity.