Stability of acetylene–propane–butane and acetylene–hydrogen gas mixtures subjected to shock wave action

Inhibition of exothermal spontaneous decomposition of acetylene by dilution with a gaseous propane–butane mixture or with hydrogen, which themselves serve as fuels, was carried out experimentally. Mixtures of acetylene with the inhibitors, located in a cylindrical shock tube, were heated by a reflected shock wave. The source of the shock wave was provided by a detonation wave initiated in a stoichiometric acetylene–oxygen mixture and then converted to a shock wave in the acetylene-inhibitor mixture. Minimal limits of bulk concentrations of inhibitors were obtained over a range of initial pressure 0.1–0.25 MPa at which no spontaneous decomposition of acetylene occurred.