Flame Dynamics and Explosion Phenomena in Gas Mixtures

Gas-phase combustion in premixed and non-premixed systems underpins energy conversion processes, safety engineering and emerging clean-fuel technologies. Flame propagation in reactive mixtures spans a continuum from smooth laminar deflagrations to turbulent fronts exhibiting rapid acceleration and, in extreme conditions, transition to detonation. These dynamics are governed by thermal, diffusive and hydrodynamic instabilities, the interplay of chemical kinetics and transport phenomena, and geometrical confinement. In industrial contexts, hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuel mixtures present unique challenges: hydrogen’s low ignition energy and wide flammability range facilitate rapid flame acceleration, while hydrocarbon blends demand detailed understanding of flammable limits and soot formation. Advances in experimental diagnostics, such as high-speed imaging and pressure-wave analysis, alongside computational fluid dynamics and simplified predictive models, have clarified the mechanisms leading to pressure buildup, acoustic–combustion coupling and overpressure peaks in vented and closed enclosures. The global relevance of this research spans safe integration of hydrogen in transportation and stationary power, mitigation of explosion hazards in urban utility tunnels and underground facilities, and development of safety standards for pressure relief devices. Emerging work also explores turbulence-induced deflagration-to-detonation transition, emphasising the need for multiscale analysis from molecular kinetics to system-level design. These insights support engineering solutions that balance risk, efficiency and sustainability in the evolving energy landscape.

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Flame Dynamics and Explosion Phenomena in Gas Mixtures publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in flame dynamics and explosion phenomena in gas mixtures across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Deflagration: Subsonic combustion wave propagating through thermal conduction and molecular diffusion.

Detonation: Supersonic combustion involving a shock wave coupled to a reaction zone, producing abrupt pressure rise.

Flammability limit: Range of fuel–oxidiser concentrations within which a mixture can sustain combustion.

Flame acceleration: Increase in flame front speed due to instabilities, turbulence or confinement effects.

Darrieus–Landau instability: Hydrodynamic instability of premixed flames arising from density variations across the flame front.

Markstein number: Dimensionless parameter quantifying the sensitivity of flame speed to curvature and stretch.

References

1. Flame acceleration in unconfined lean hydrogen-oxygen mixtures using a hemispherical soap bubble method. Green Energy and Resources (2025).
2. Effect of TPRD diameter and direction of release on hydrogen dispersion and jet fires in underground parking. Journal of Energy Storage (2023).
3. A simple model for calculating peak pressure in vented explosions of hydrogen and hydrocarbons. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (2019).
4. Spontaneous runaway of fast turbulent flames for turbulence-induced deflagration-to-detonation transition. Physics of Fluids (2022).