A Unified Approach for the Explosion Limits of the Hydrogen-Oxygen System

We present a new model for the prediction of the explosion limits of the hydrogen-oxygen system. Our model is based on the principle of ignition delay time, postulating that crossing the explosion limit (by increasing the pressure or temperature above it) causes a sharp decrease in the ignition delay time. By using fundamentals of the chain ignition theory, and by employing the Le-Chatelier rule for the explosion limits of fuel mixtures, we develop our model equations. We use numerical analysis to calibrate the constants, and show that our proposed model can accurately capture the unique trend of the peninsula shaped explosion limits. We believe that the relative simplicity of our model will be useful in the analysis of more complex hydrocarbon fuels.