The role of compression waves in flame acceleration and transition to detonation inside confined volumes

Features of the unsteady flames propagating in channels filled with gaseous combustible mixtures are studied numerically. The analysis is based on the model treating the flame as a moving energy source. It is shown that the crucial role in flame dynamics and its structure evolution belongs to the compression waves emitted by non-steady flame itself. The compression waves establish flow pattern, temperature and pressure fields near the flame front, which in turn determine the features of flame evolution on the different stages of its propagation. (paper)