ABSTRACT
Based on the nature of the reaction exhibited
by materials when heated, they may be classified as
follows:
1. Deflagrating or detonating explosives
2. Materials that exhibit violent exothermic reac-
tion even in the absence of air (e.g., certain
peroxides)
3. Materials that undergo exothermic oxidation or
decomposition in layer, bulk, or fluidized form,
or that can disperse into flammable clouds in air
The differentiation between a detonation type of
combustion and deflagration is based on the velocity
of combustion zone. According to NFPA Standard
69 (1986) edition the deflagration is defined as a
propagation of combustion zone at a velocity that is
less than the speed of sound in the unreacted medium.
The opposite feature is characteristic for the deton-
ation type of the velocity combustion.
