THE DETONATION WAVE Steady-State Detonations

Detonations are reactive wave phenomena whose propagation is controlled by shock waves. If the reaction rates are essentially infinite and chemical equilibrium is attained, one has a steady-state detonation whose propagation rate is governed solely by thermodynamics and hydrodynamics. 

The laws of conservation of mass and momentum applied across the shock front lead 

Here P and V denote the pressure and specific volume of the reaction products - previously written (P2, V2) - and Up is the particle velocity of the material ahead of the shock (and is generally zero). 

The law of conservation of energy together with the equations above can be used to derive the so-called Hugoniot equation. 

The C-J point has several properties of interest. First, Dcj is the minimum possible value of D. Second, the energy change along the Hugoniot is given from Eq. (1.3) by 

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