Characteristics of cloud explosion of diethyl ether/isopropyl nitrate/air mixtures in a vertical detonation tube

Based on the extensive application of liquid fuels in the field of fuel–air-explosives, the paper systematically investigated the effects of different ignition delay times, different equivalence ratios, different ignition energies, and different isopropyl nitrate contents on the explosion characteristics of diethyl ether fuels using a large vertical detonation tube. The results indicate that at a jet pressure of 0.4 MPa, with a jet duration of 1 s, the optimal ignition delay time is 10 ms. With the increase of the diethyl ether equivalence ratio, the explosion pressure increased initially and then decreased overall, showing an ‘inverted U-shaped’ distribution. The critical initiation energy of diethyl ether is 369.65 kJ m⁻². When the ignition energy exceeds the critical initiation energy, its effect on the average explosion pressure is relatively small. When the planar initiation energy is larger, the detonation velocity is larger, the flame accelerates faster to the overdrive detonation state, and the propagation distance of overdrive detonation is larger. The explosion pressure of the diethyl ether/isopropyl nitrate/air mixture is inversely proportional to the content of isopropyl nitrate. The results can provide data reference for the prevention and control of vapor explosion disasters and the optimization design of fuel formulas for fuel–air-explosive.