clare at snyder dot ontario dot canada wrote in message
...

snip


True detonation is not just extremely fast burning (conflargation?).
It is the equivalent to a small charge of high explosive being set off
in the cyl.It is almost always detrimental to engine life as well as
power output.

Perhaps this is whed Ed is aluding to with the multiple modes of
detonation?

What I was referring to is just what was in the abstract I posted ("A
Theoretical and Experimental Study of the Modes of End Gas Autoignition
Leading to Knock in S.I. Engines") from the University of Leeds. I don't
have the full article, so I don't have a further explanation.

But that basic definition shows up in several papers I encountered on the
SAE website. There is conflagration (very rapid burning); developing
detonation; and explosion. Several papers say it is the developing
detonation phase that causes most of the damage.

--
Ed Huntress