Detonations in H₂-N₂O-CH₄-NH₃-O₂-N₂ Mixtures

Abstract

This report describes experimental studies and analyses on the detonation properties of flammable gases that may be present in the waste storage tanks at Hanford, WA. These studies were carried out in the Explosion Dynamics Laboratory, part of the the Graduate Aeronautical Laboratories of the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT). Detonation cell sizes and pressures were measured in the GALCIT detonation tube facility for mixtures of hydrogen, ammonia, methane, nitrous oxide, oxygen and nitrogen. Measurements were made as a function of nitrogen and air dilution for stoichiometric mixtures of fuels and oxidizers and also specific retained gas compositions of tanks such as SY-101. Chemical kinetic modeling of these mixtures has been performed using the idealized ZND model. Existing reaction mechanisms and rate constant sets were benchmarked against shock tube data available in the literature. Correlations between reaction zone length and detonation cell width were developed that can be used to correlate and extrapolate the existing experimental data base.