ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the structures and propagation velocities of the deflagration waves. It explains a mathematical amplification of the concepts and aims to develop equations capable of describing the structures of both deflagrations and detonations. The chapter presents a simple physical picture of the deflagration wave, leading to a crude estimate of the burning velocity. Laminar deflagration waves may be produced in a number of other experiments. A configuration useful for studying laminar flames in the laboratory is the flat-flame burner, in which a planar flame is stabilized one or between two porous plates in a flow that is essentially one-dimensional. Motions of propagating laminar flames and shapes of steady flames often are influenced by buoyancy and by various instabilities. The most challenging problem in laminar-flame theory is to predict the distributions of chain carriers in flames. A number of different model mechanisms have been studied on the basis of analytical approximations designed to provide estimates of flame speeds.
