Mechanism and Kinetic Laws of Reactions Determining Flame Propagation, Gas Explosion, and Detonation (Review)

It has been established that, contrary to previous ideas, chemical processes in flame propagation, explosion, and detonation of gases are chain reactions proceeding according to previously unknown laws of nonisothermal chain processes. The characteristic reaction times in deflagration and detonation in the combustion zone are less than a ten-thousandth and millionth of a second, respectively. The mechanisms and laws that determine these high rates and accelerations of reactions and their extremely strong temperature dependence were revealed. The critical role of atoms and radicals, formed in concentrations reaching tens of percent of the concentrations of the initial reagents, was shown using kinetic and spectroscopic methods. Efficient chemical methods for controlling all combustion modes were developed.