Small-gas detonation in low-density mechanically activated powder mixtures

Experimental data on supersonic self-sustaining propagation of the energy release wave in low-density mechanically activated powder mixtures are analyzed. Various mechanisms that may be responsible for this process are analyzed, and a mechanism for the detonation-like propagation of the reaction in powder mixtures is proposed. It is shown that under certain conditions this process has all the signs of detonation and should be recognized as one of the types of detonation. It is shown that this type of detonation is fundamentally different from the classical “ideal” detonation, for example, in gases: instead of a shock wave, a compaction wave propagates through the powder mixture, in which there is basically no compression of the particle material, but powder compaction occurs due to the mutual rearrangement of particles. In this case, the initiation of a chemical reaction occurs due to the mutual friction of the oxidizer and fuel particles in the powder compaction wave.