Effect of laser supported detonation wave confinement on termination conditions

A laser supported detonation (LSD) wave was driven using line-focusing laser optics, in which an induced blast wave expanded laterally from the LSD region to surrounding air in two-dimensional space. The LSD wave was confined in quasi-1D space using a wedge nozzle to restrict the lateral expansion of a blast wave. The LSD termination threshold and the blast wave energy were deduced from shadowgraphs showing the blast wave expansion. The respective threshold laser intensities for cases with and without confinement were estimated as 17 and 34 GW/m(2), indicating that the lateral expansion strongly influenced on the LSD termination condition.