Detonation Initiation Studies and Performance Results for Pulsed Detonation Engine Applications

An in-house computational and experimental program to investigate and develop an air breathing pulse detonation engine (PDE) that uses a practical fuel (kerosene based, fleet-wide use, JP type) is currently underway at the Combustion Sciences Branch of the Turbine Engine Division of the Air Force Re...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Schauer, Fred, Stutrud, Jeff, Bradley, Royce
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
AIR BREATHING ENGINES
DETONATIONS
EXPLOSIVES INITIATORS
FUELS
HEAT TRANSFER
HYDROGEN
Jet and Gas Turbine Engines
KEROSENE
LIGHTWEIGHT
LOW COSTS
OXYGEN
PDE(PULSE DETONATION ENGINE)
PURGING
REPETITION RATE
THRUST
TIMING DEVICES
TRANSITIONS
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Summary:An in-house computational and experimental program to investigate and develop an air breathing pulse detonation engine (PDE) that uses a practical fuel (kerosene based, fleet-wide use, JP type) is currently underway at the Combustion Sciences Branch of the Turbine Engine Division of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/PRTS). PDE's have the potential of high thrust, low weight, low cost, high scalability, and wide operating range, but several technological hurdles must be overcome before a practical engine can be designed. This research effort involves investigating such critical issues as: detonation initiation and propagation; valving, timing and control; instrumentation and diagnostics; purging, heat transfer, and repetition rate; noise and multi-tube effects; detonation and deflagration to detonation transition modeling; and performance prediction and analysis. An innovative, four-detonation-tube engine design is currently in test and evaluation. Preliminary data are obtained with premixed hydrogen/air as the fuel/oxidizer to demonstrate proof of concept and verify models. Techniques for initiating detonations in hydrogen/air mixtures are developed without the use of oxygen enriched air. An overview of the AFRL/PRTS PDE development research program and hydrogen/air results are presented. The original document contains color images. Presented at AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting & Exhibit (39th) held in Reno, NV on 8-11 Jan 2001.