Prospective Students: Please contact Prof. Jackson if you are interested in ongoing or similar topics. (US citizenship may be required.)
Current and recent projects include:
Detonation Ignition and Failure Characterization for Explosive Safety: Detonations consist of a coupled shock wave and exothermic chemical reaction zone and are able to generate very high pressure product states which can plastically deform many confining materials. As a result, unanticipated detonation ignition can be extremely destructive. We study both engineered systems designed to quench propagating detonations (detonation arrestors) and the underlying physics associated with detonation quenching and ignition.
Liquid Methane-Oxygen Ignition Sensitivity Characterization for Improved Space Access: Cryogenic liquid oxygen and methane are appealing as a space-storable propellant oxygen-fuel pair. We study the ignition, explosive sensitivity, and energy release of these miscible cryogenic liquids.
Dynamic Strength Measurements of Polymers, Matrix Materials, and Metals at High-Strain Rates: Most materials will exhibit dramatic increases in dynamic strength as a function of strain rate under dynamic loading. We characterize these values in polymers and matrix materials at plate impact facilities such as the Dynamic Compression Sector at Argonne National Laboratory. We also investigate the plastic flow stress of metals undergoing condensed-phase explosive loading in our laboratory. In both cases, the strain rates exceed 105 1/s.
Flame Quenching Characterization in Narrow Channels: Heat loss from flame reaction zones to solid channel walls is can slow or completely quench the exothermic chemical reactions. We quantitatively characterize these losses and their influence on the chemical reaction in small test cells.
Detonation and Deflagration Combustors for Propulsion Applications: There is interest in detonation-supported combustors for high-speed propulsion and high-power energy applications. Similarly, new fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia require modification of existing combustor designs. We study such concepts in a steady wind tunnel configuration as supported by a local compressor farm.
Large-Scale Detonation Research Tube Facility: In collaboration with Dr. Elaine Oran and Dr. Eric Petersen, we are developing facility for testing detonation propagation, ignition, and failure at large scales. The facility, which is currently under construction, is 2 meters in diameter and 150 meters in length. The products exhaust into a large vented exhaust chamber that also reduces the sound signature during testing.