a deflagration is a rapid combustion that results from

A deflagration is a rapid combustion that results from subsonic flame propagation through a fuel–oxidizer mixture, driven primarily by heat transfer into the unburned material ahead of the flame front.

Core idea

• In deflagration, the flame front moves at a subsonic speed relative to the unburned gases, unlike a detonation, which is supersonic.

• The combustion spreads because heat from the reaction zone preheats and ignites the nearby unburned fuel–oxidizer mixture, causing a rapid but still subsonic burn.

“Results from” – how to phrase it

When completed in sentence form, “a deflagration is a rapid combustion that results from…” is typically described as:

• “…subsonic propagation of a flame through a premixed fuel and oxidizer due to heat transfer into the unreacted material.”

This captures both the speed (subsonic) and the mechanism (heat transfer into the unburned mixture).