Modeling of thermonuclear fusion flames : transition to detonation

The paper is concerned with identification of the key mechanisms controlling deflagration-to-detonation transition in stellar medium. The issue of thermal runaway triggered by positive feedback between the advancing flame and the flame-driven precompression is discussed in the framework of a one-dimensional flame-folding model. The paper is an extension of the authors' previous study dealing with the non-stoichiometric fusion, $fuel \to products$, kinetics (Phys.Rev.E, 103(2021)) over physically more relevant, $fuel+fuel \to products$, kinetics. Despite this change the runaway effect endures. The transition occurs prior to merging of the flame with the flame-supported precursor shock, i.e. the pretransition flame does not reach the threshold of Chapman-Jouguet deflagration.

Peter V. Gordon, Leonid Kagan, Gregory Sivashinsky · 2021