Oblique detonation waves (ODWs) have been studied widely as the basis of detonation-based hypersonic engines, but there are few studies on ODWs in a confined space. This study simulates ODW reflection on a solid wall before an outward turning corner for a simplified combustor–nozzle flow based on a two-step kinetic model. Numerical results reveal three types of ODW structures: stable, critical, and unstable. When the reflection occurs at the turning point, the stable ODW structure remains almost the same as before reflection. When the wave reflects at the wall before the turning point, either the critical structure or the unstable structure arises, which has never been investigated before. Both structures have the same initial two-section detonation surface: but the critical one becomes stationary at a certain position, while the unstable one keeps traveling upstream. By adjusting the location of the expansion wave and degree of the turning angle, the difference of the two structures is attributed to the thermal choking appearing only in the unstable structure. The thermal choking is achieved by the merging of subsonic zones, whose dependence on the various parameters is discussed.

A system for three-dimensional computed tomography of chemiluminescence was developed to measure flames over a large field angle. Nine gradient-index rods, with a 9 × 1 endoscope and only one camera are used. Its large field of view, simplicity, and low cost make it attractive for inner flow field diagnostics. To study the bokeh effect caused by the imaging system on reconstruction solutions, fluorescent beads were used to determine the blurring function. Experiments using a steady diffusion flame were conducted to validate the system. Three models, namely the clear-imaging, out-of-focus imaging, and deconvolution models, were utilized. Taking the bokeh effect into account, the results suggest that based on run-times the deconvolution model provides the best reconstruction accuracy without increasing computational time.

Two-dimensional oblique detonation wave (ODW) propagations in partially prevaporized n-heptane sprays are numerically simulated with a skeletal chemical mechanism. The influences of the droplet diameter and total equivalence on oblique detonation are considered. The initiation length is found to increase first and then decrease with increasing initial droplet diameter, and the effect of droplet size is maximized when the initial droplet diameter is approximately $10\ \mathrm {\mu } {\rm m}$ . As the initial droplet diameter varies, unsteady and steady ODWs are observed. In the cases of unsteady ODWs, temperature gradients and non-uniform distributions of the reactant mixture due to droplet evaporation lead to formation of unsteady detonation propagation, therefore leading to fluctuations in the initiation length. The fluctuations in initiation length decrease as the pre-evaporation gas equivalence ratio increases for the unsteady cases. The results further suggest that the relationship between the evaporation layer thickness along the streamline and the corresponding theoretical initiation length can be used to identify an unsteady or steady ODW in cases with large droplets that evaporate behind an oblique shock wave or ODW under the effects of different initial droplet diameters.

Initiation of an oblique detonation wave (ODW) results in a near-field region of curved detonation wave surface, which cannot be predicted by the detonation polar theory and lacks in-depth work on its features. In this study, Euler equations coupled with a two-step kinetic model are used to simulate ODW dynamics, and then the flow structures are analyzed by examining the asymptotic decay of local surface angle. The flow/reaction coupling is quantified by a non-dimensional Damköhler number Da_s that is defined as the ratio of the characteristic flow and chemical reaction length along streamlines. The results demonstrate a spectrum of local strong solutions forms, which always happens when the ODW transition pattern is abrupt, but the strong solutions deviate from the isolated strong solution predicted by the polar theory. Furthermore, the abrupt transition leads to a strong peak of Da_s, while the smooth one leads to a bump. Various simulated cases indicate that the transition pattern becomes abrupt and the local strong solution arises when the maximum Da_s reaches a critical range.