Formation and Structure of Steady Oblique and Conical Detonation Waves

The formation and structure of oblique detonation waves initiated by semi-infinite wedges and cones are presented. For wedge or cone angles less than the deflection angle required for an oblique Chapman–Jouguet (CJ) detonation, different wave structures have been previously reported. Using the method of characteristics and numerical simulations, it is shown that, for such low wedge or cone angles, a CJ oblique detonation is eventually initiated following an induction process. It its thus demonstrated that shock-induced combustion with the reaction front remaining uncoupled to the oblique shock in the far field is not a valid solution. Simulations with semi-infinite cones reveal that the effect of the front curvature around the cone axis allows oblique detonations to be formed at angles lower than that of a planar CJ oblique detonation.