An Explosive Subsoiler for the Improvement of Meadow Soil, Part 1: Thermodynamics

The objective of this work was to develop a special subsoiler which would break down the impermeable horizons of meadow soil by using gas pressure explosions produced by injecting a fuel and air mixture. A major part of the soil volume would fail to withstand the gas pressure, and longer sustainability would be obtained. In this paper, an explosive subsoiler was envisaged and designed, and the gas pressure and temperature produced in an explosive gas producer were theoretically analysed. The results showed that the maximum temperature and pressure predicted in the combustion chamber was 3307 K and 16 MPa, respectively. These values decreased to 2607 K and 5·5 MPa when the engine crank angle was +25° where the explosive gas could be taken from the combustion chamber and be utilized. These values also decreased steeply at larger dead volumes of the subsoiler body. The predicted temperature and pressure varied from 498 to 1780 K and from 0·4 to 1·5 MPa, respectively, with the range of the fuel injection.