Buildup and Operation of a Rotating Detonation Engine

摘要

A rotating detonation engine (RDE), originally designed and built by Pratt & Whitney -Seattle Aerosciences Center and on loan to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/RZTC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB), was rebuilt and tested. New parts were acquired, fabricated, or modified to replace those damaged or missing from initial experimentation. Originally designed for ethylene and oxygen, the RDE was modified to run on hydrogen and air while the detonation initiator uses hydrogen and oxygen. Analytical mass-flow and pressure loss equations were used to estimate combustion chamber conditions. Estimation of detonation cell size was performed via comparison to published experimental data in terms of static pressure and stoichiometry. The experimental rig was instrumented to measure feed and fill temperatures and pressures, combustion chamber temperatures and pressures, and combustion chamber wave speed. The reactant feed system was characterized in terms of mass flow and pressure. A detonation initiation device showed successful light-off of the main chamber reactants. However, cold-flow testing revealed low static pressures in the combustion chamber unfavorable to detonation propagation. Limited combustion tests showed successful and predictable light-off, but no substantial evidence of detonation combustion. Low static pressure in the combustion chamber is thought to have inhibited propagation of the detonation from the initiation device into the main chamber.