Detonation Propagation in a Rotating Detonation Engine

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Aircraft turbo jet engines used for general aviation operate via constant pressure combustion following mechanical compression of the intake air. Thermodynamic cycle analysis shows that the cycle efficiency is higher if combustion proceeds via the detonation mode of combustion. Significant research effort has gone into developing a pulse-mode detonation engine, recent efforts world-wide have switched to the development of a Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE). RDEs are more compact and operate under steady conditions and therefore have less noise and vibration issues than their pulsed mode counterparts. In a RDE, the fuel and oxidizer are injected continuously into an annular combustion chamber through a matrix of holes on one end (the thrust wall). A detonation wave propagates around the annular combustor consuming the fuel as it enters the combustion chamber, and the combustion products expand out the open-end of the chamber producing thrust. Most research programs involve the design and testing of demonstration engines, where measurements are limited to combustion chamber pressure and detonation wave velocity. Although the importance of the fuel oxidizer mixing has been recognized, there has been very little experimental work done in this area. The objective of the proposed research program is to investigate the influence of the fuel-oxidizer mixing process on the stability and structure of the detonation wave in a single-shot, linear RDE. A linear RDE is essentially an unwrapped RDE that permits the use of state-of-the-art schlieren visualization and soot foil technique. These are techniques that have been perfected in my laboratory over the last decade in connection with industrial explosion safety research. This research is important because the direct visualization of the mixing and combustion will make it possible to optimize the fuel/air intake system design, which is the heart of the RDE. The outcomes of the research will be the development of a linear RDE that will be used to drive the design of prototype annular RDE. The experimental work will be supported by numerical simulations carried out using the open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code OpenFoam. The linear RDE will be an important test facility that will produce valuable data for code development. The results from this project will be used by researchers around the world working on RDE development, both experimental and computational. HQP will be trained in the use of state-of-the-art visualization and computational techniques. The aerospace industry is interested in developing new compact efficient propulsion systems, and Canadian engine company subsidiaries such as Pratt and Whitney, Siemens, and GE would benefit from the advancement of this technology, as well as the aircraft constructor Bombardier. The Department of National Defence is keenly interested as they have entered a Technical Cooperation Program dealing with RDEs with Australia, UK, and the USA.