Item: THE EFFECT OF GEOMETRY ON THE GAS DYNAMICS IN AVALANCHE CONTROL GAS EXPLODERS
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Title: THE EFFECT OF GEOMETRY ON THE GAS DYNAMICS IN AVALANCHE CONTROL GAS EXPLODERS
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Kevin Cheevers [ University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON. Canada ]
- Logan Maley [ Okanagan College - Kelowna Campus, Kelowna, BC, Canada ]
- Elizabeth Ramey [ University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON. Canada ]
- Matei Radulescu [ University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON. Canada ]
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: The avalanche control industry is shifting towards the Remote Avalanche Control Systems (RACS) to protect both public and private infrastructure such as ski areas and transportation corridors. Though these systems originally employed condensed phase (solid) explosives, over recent decades, detonation tubes, also known as gas exploders in the snow community, have become increasingly popular. Currently, the bulk of the research into RACS has been conducted for solid point-source explosives. The growing popularity and prevalence of gas exploders in the field have led to an increase into gas RACS research. From experimental and field pressure measurements on the snowpack, it has been shown that spherical expansion of solid point-source explosions develop different pressure profiles compared to the directional blast waves of gas exploders. There remains a lack of clarity regarding the gas dynamics leading to the observed pressure waves above the snowpack. In this study, we characterize the dynamics of the shock wave driven by a gas exploder through state-of-the-art numerical simulations and provide a closed form analytical solution that identifies the relevant parameters and scaling laws. The model developed was found in excellent agreement with simulations. The dynamics of the air blast wave established by the detonation tube is shown to consist primarily in a layer of compressed air, driven by the momentum transfer from the combustion products exiting the tube and the slowing down effect of air accumulation in the geometrically growing layer. Calculations of reflection of the compressed air layer with a reflective surface clarifies the momentum transfer mechanism involving the re-direction of momentum as the jet impacts the ground and gets re-directed.
Object ID: ISSW2026_P1.44.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790098812
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Matei Radulescu
Keywords: Remote Avalanche Control Systems, Gas Dynamics, Shock Dynamics, CFD
Page Number(s): 1662 - 1669
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