Characteristic of rotating detonation wave in the H2/Air hollow chamber with Laval nozzle

To pinpoint the relationship between high frequency tangential instability(HFTI) and continuous rotating detonation (CRD), series of H₂/Air rotating detonations are experimentally achieved in the hollow chamber with Laval nozzle. The contraction ratio of the nozzle has a significant effect on the detonation. The detonation waves number increases with the increasing of equivalence ratio (ER) or nozzle contraction ratio. Based on its character, a new type of detonation is defined as two dominant peak one wave mode (TDPO). The velocities of detonation waves propagating in this new mode are larger than the Chapman-Jouguet (CJ) theoretic value. On the assumption that the reflection wave is rotated with the detonation wave, this mode is well illustrated. The forming process of two waves is also given. The results show that the appearance of combustion mode is relative to the reflection wave generated at the contraction section of the nozzle. The inner mechanism of the refection wave is illustrated. These works make a foundation to investigate the relationship between rotating detonation and tangential instability.     

Numerical investigation of two-wave collision and wave structure evolution of rotating detonation engine with hollow combustor

A three-dimensional numerical simulation of rotating detonation engine (RDE) with hollow combustor is performed to analyze wave structure evolution systematically. Wave structure evolution is classified into four categories, namely two-wave collision (counter-rotating waves), abscission of detonation tail, and shock wave to detonation transition. Two-wave collision consists of symmetric detonation collision, asymmetric detonation collision, and detonation/shock collision. Two symmetric detonation waves turn into shock waves after collision. Collision of asymmetric detonation waves creates single detonation wave. The detonation/shock collision decreases the detonation wave intensity. Abscission of detonation tail and shock to detonation transition can both create single detonation wave or two opposite-direction detonation waves, depending on the wave hitting angle and the amount of fresh gas. All phenomena mentioned above affect the number of detonation waves in the combustion chamber.     

Research on H2/Air rotating detonation in the hollow chamber with double injection

In order to investigate the relationship between high frequency tangential instability and continuous rotating detonation, series of H₂/Air rotating detonations are experimentally achieved in the hollow chamber with double injection sections. In the center part, gaseous H₂ and air injected by co-axial injector. Near the outer wall, the same propellants are injected in the form of slit-orifice collision. By keeping the total air mass flow rate approximately constant, varying the mixture of the inner and outer injection, series experiments are conducted in the test model with or without Laval nozzle. The results verify the possibility of rotating detonation in the hollow chamber with co-axial injector. To clarify the relationship between continuous rotating detonation and high frequency tangential combustion instability, the intrinsic frequencies of the test model are captured to be compared with propagation frequencies of detonation waves. The results show that they are close to each other when enough propellant assembled near the outer wall. In the combustor, the flame direction in constant pressure mode can change itself into rotating direction spontaneously. The results indicate that rotating detonation is an implication to high frequency tangential instability.     

Numerical investigation of pre-detonator in rotating detonation engine

Pre-detonators are commonly used in rotating detonation engine (RDE) experiments. Current experimental studies focus on the performance of pre-detonator while ignoring the influence of pre-detonator on the flow field. In numerical simulations one-dimensional detonation wave is usually used to ignite the fresh gas in RDE. This is a simplification of the pre-detonator used in practical hotfire tests. But the coupling between the pre-detonator and the combustor is ignored. The aim of the present study is to study the influence of pre-detonator on the flow field in the RDE. A model of RDE with a pre-detonator is built, in which three-dimensional numerical simulations fueled with hydrogen/air is performed. The influence of pre-detonator on the combustor in different stages is studied. After initiation, detonation wave from the pre-detonator forms two counter-rotating detonation waves. The tangential installation of pre-detonator fails in directional initiation of detonation wave. The coupling effect is shown as the reflection and expulsion of shock wave. Detonation wave or oblique shock wave in the combustion chamber enters the pre-detonator and turns into shock wave before colliding with the end and re-entering the combustion chamber. Under some circumstances, the reflected shock wave will initiate a detonation wave and affect the wave structure in the combustion chamber. In the stable stage, the reflected shock wave has no effect on the flow field. However, periodic collision of reflected shock wave with detonation wave at the junction causes ablation in long-time experiments. Increasing the axial distance between pre-detonator and injection wall is expected to be a solution for the ablation problem.     

Numerical study on the characteristics of rotating detonation wave with multicomponent mixtures

In order to investigate the effects of gas mixture components on the combustion characteristics of rotating detonation wave, two-dimensional simulation is presented to simulate the propagation process of rotating detonation wave with different methane conversions. The results indicate that there are five propagation modes of rotating detonation wave with different components: single-wave mode, single wave with counter-rotating components mode, double-waves mode, triple-waves mode and quadruple-waves mode. The detonation wave propagates along the forward direction in all five modes. With the increase of methane conversion, multi-wave mode appears in the combustion chamber. The fuel component has a great influence on the heat release ratio of detonation combustion. The velocity of detonation wave decreases with the increase of methane conversion. With the increase of methane conversion, the chemical reaction rate gradually increases, which leads to the intensification of chemical reaction on the deflagration surface. The reaction on the deflagration surface develops to the unburned fuel zone, which eventually leads to the formation of compression waves and shock waves in the fuel refill zone. When the shock wave sweeps through the fresh premixed gas, the reactant is compressed to form a detonation point and then ignite the fuel. A new detonation wave is finally formed. The total pressure ratio decreases with the increasing methane conversion, and the uniformity of the total pressure of outlet decreases with increasing methane conversion.     

Busemann diffuser for supersonic ramjet engine with detonation combustion of hydrogen-air mixture

The expediency of using a Busemann diffuser in a scramjet engine with detonation combustion of hydrogen-air mixtures is studied. A method is developed for calculating an air intake that provides spontaneous initiation of oblique detonation in a hydrogen-air mixture under conditions of rarefied atmosphere at hypersonic freestream Mach numbers. The geometry of the Laval nozzle (convergent-expanding) with the Busemann diffuser for the free flow Mach number 9 is determined. It is shown that at an altitude of about 40 km, the detonation combustion of the hydrogen-air mixture in this nozzle can provide more than 0.4 tons of thrust and more than 35% efficiency. The mathematical model is based on unsteady two-dimensional Euler equations for axisymmetric multicomponent reacting gas flow. To simulate chemical transformations, the detailed kinetic scheme is used that takes into account 33 non-equilibrium reactions for nine components of the mixture. The heat capacity, enthalpy, and entropy of a mixture are calculated using the reduced Gibbs energy of the gas components. Numerical modeling is carried out according to the modified Godunov scheme of the second order of approximation in spatial variables.     

Induction for multiple rotating detonation waves in the hydrogen–oxygen mixture with tangential flow

Rotating detonation engines are studied more and more widely because of high thermodynamic efficiency and high specific impulse. Generally one detonation wave exists in the engines but sometimes multiple detonation waves appear, as is complicated and difficult to explain. Increasing the number of rotating detonation waves uniforms the flow field and weakens the combustion instabilities. A controllable way to induce multiple detonation waves is introduced here. Rotating detonation engine runs with a single detonation wave or multiple detonation waves were both conducted. Pressure sensors were used to record the pressure traces of rotating detonation waves and gas flow controllers controlled the flow rates of reactants. Tangential flow of reactants from the predetonator produces shock waves moving upstream, inducing multiple rotating detonation waves when there is axial flow of reactants from the head of the combustor. The maximum number of detonation waves is subject to the flow rates.     

Supersonic driven detonation dynamics for rotating detonation engines

In this paper we present the first exploration of detonation wave propagation dynamics in premixed supersonic flows using a novel rotating detonation engine (RDE) configuration. An RDE with a coupled linear extension, referred to as ρDE, is used to divide detonations traveling radially in the RDE into linearly propagating waves. A tangential propagating wave is directed down a modular tangential linearized extension to the engine for ease of optical diagnostics and hardware configuration investigations. A premixed Mach 2 supersonic linear extension is coupled to the ρDE to investigate the effects of varying crossflow configurations for detonation propagation, particularly the interaction between detonations and supersonic reactive mixtures. Detonation waves are generated at the steady operating frequency of the RDE and visualized using high speed schlieren and broadband OH* chemiluminescence imaging. The stagnation pressure was varied from over- to ideally-expanded supersonic regimes. Experimental analysis of detonation interaction with the supersonic regimes show that the detonation propagates freely in the ideally-expanded regime. Deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) occurs in the over-expanded regime. Based on the data collected, the DDT process favors supersonic flow with higher source pressures.     

Numerical investigation of the effect of equivalence ratio on the propagation characteristics and performance of rotating detonation engine

The equivalence ratio is one of the significant factors affecting the propagation characteristics and performance of the rotating detonation engine (RDE). Using the compressible reacting flow solver based on the OpenFOAM open-source platform, the effect of different equivalence ratios of premixed H₂/Air gases on the propagation characteristics and performance of RDE under different total inlet pressures (P₀) is investigated. The reactants are injected through the discrete inlet to mimic the spatial inhomogeneity of the reactants in the actual RDE combustor. The results indicate a Y-shaped flow field structure is formed behind the rotating detonation wave (RDW) using the discrete inlet. There is only one RDW in the flow field with the change of the equivalence ratio when the P₀ is 0.5 MPa, and the primary factors affecting the RDW propagation velocity differ under fuel-lean and fuel-rich conditions. The RDW propagation mode switches from single-wave to co-directional double-wave and double-wave collision with the change of the equivalence ratio when the P₀ is 1.2 MPa. The velocity deficit of RDW in the double-wave mode is larger than that in the single-wave mode. Additionally, in the single-wave mode, the specific impulse decreases as the equivalence ratio increases, but the specific thrust increases as the equivalence ratio increases. When the propagation mode changes, the specific impulse and specific thrust show different trends with the change of the equivalence ratio. It demonstrates that multiple co-directional RDWs have the effect of stabilizing the thrust.     

Numerical investigation of the effect of inlet mass flow rates on H2/air non-premixed rotating detonation wave

In this paper, a three dimensional numerical investigation was carried out to study the formation and propagation characteristics of non-premixed rotating detonation wave using H₂/air as reactive mixtures. At a constant global equivalence ratio, the effects of inlet mass flow rates of H₂ and air on various performance parameters of rotating detonation wave and based on it combustor were analyzed in detail. On this basis, the mode switching process of rotating detonation wave caused by transiently changing the inlet mass flow rates was also discussed. The numerical results showed that inlet mass flow rates of H₂ and air played a very critical role in the formation, propagation and mode switching of rotating detonation wave. With the increase of inlet mass flow rates, rotating detonation wave could be switched from single wave to double waves. The propagation direction of double waves depended on the changing process of inlet mass flow rates. Meanwhile, compared to the single wave, double waves or its based combustor had the obvious advantages in formation time, stability and thrust, but had disadvantage in pressure ratio. In addition, both fill characteristics and mixing quality of fresh reactive mixtures are the underlying important mechanisms to explain the effects of inlet mass flow rates on rotating detonation waves.     

Experimental investigation on propagation characteristics of liquid-fuel/preheated-air rotating detonation wave

The rotating detonation combustor can be applied to the turbine engine to develop into a new power device, and the liquid-fuel/air rotating denotation has important research significance for engine applications. In this research, the propagation characteristics of liquid-fuel/air rotating detonation wave were experimentally investigated. A hydrocarbon mixture—liquid gasoline was employed for the fuel, the oxidizer was high-temperature air preheated by a hydrogen-oxygen heater, and the rotating detonation wave was initiated via a hydrogen-oxygen pre-detonator. The effects of the equivalence ratio, ignition pressure, and air total temperature on the propagation characteristics of the liquid-fuel rotating detonation wave were analyzed. The liquid-fuel/air continuous rotating detonation wave can be successfully obtained with a single-wave mode, and the velocity and peak pressure of the rotating detonation waves increase as the equivalence ratio increases. As the detonation-wave pressures at the outlet of the pre-detonator increase, the establishment time of the rotating detonation wave gradually decreases, and the average establishment time is 4.01 ms. Stable rotating detonation waves are obtained with the air total temperature of 600–800 K, but the intensity of the detonation wave has a large deficit due to some instabilities.     

脉冲爆震燃烧强化混合过程的实验研究

对脉冲爆震发动机的混合室进行了实验研究．实验针对爆震频率为6Hz、当量比为1的汽油和压缩空气混合气,实验研究了脉冲爆震发动机模型混合室内5种不同扰流螺纹螺距内径比对其性能的影响．实验结果表明,在混合段内加入扰动装置可以大大加强燃料和氧化剂的混合程度．不同扰动螺纹螺距内径比对爆震波的形成有一定的影响,当螺距内径比约为0．77时可以产生稳定的、充分发展的爆震,而且对应的DDT距离较短．     

Numerical investigation of wavelet features in rotating detonations with a two-step induction-reaction model

The wavelet features of rotating detonation waves (RDWs) are numerically investigated using Euler equations and a two-step induction-reaction model. The effects of the inflow stagnation temperature T_st and the heat release rate k_R on the number, height and intensity of the RDWs are discussed in this study. An increase in the stagnation temperature results in more detonation waves in a combustion chamber, which indicates the number of RDWs is sensitivity to the thermodynamic state of the reactants. As the heat release rate decreases, the number of detonation wave decreases and an unstable wavelet pattern is observed. This is represented as the oscillation in height and intensity of the detonation. In addition, some numerical cases are performed to determine the effects of ignition patterns on the number of RDWs. The features of the flow fields are analyzed using varied inflow stagnation temperature and initiation patterns, identifying the co-existence of different wavelet configurations.     

Investigation of counter-rotating shock wave phenomenon and instability mechanisms of rotating detonation engine with hollow combustor and Laval nozzle

The counter-rotating shock wave phenomenon and instability mechanisms in the hollow rotating detonation combustor with a Laval nozzle are investigated. The in-house solver BYRFoam based on the OpenFOAM platform and the detailed chemical reaction kinetic mechanism are used. The coupling of the detonation wave and the shock wave is revealed, with the continuous presence of the counter-rotating shock wave in the combustor that propagates in the opposite direction to the detonation wave and oscillates in intensity. The intensities of both the detonation wave and the counter-rotating shock wave are found to be constantly oscillating, and this instability is referred to as the collision-oscillation instability. It is caused by the complex interaction between the detonation wave, the fresh gas and the counter-rotating shock wave. The velocity difference between the detonation wave and the counter-rotating shock wave is found to lead to the migration of the collision point, which in turn leads to the peak periodic undulation phenomenon of the pressure curve, that is, the wave packet. This instability is called the counter-rotating instability, which co-exists with the collision-oscillation instability for a long time. The results of this study are compared with the experimental data, and the reasons for the oscillation of the experimental pressure signal are explained.     

Study of thrust vector control for the rotating detonation model engine

The detonation wave in a rotating detonation engine is highly adaptable to the incoming flow, making the wave easier to control. In this study, a numerical simulation method is used to analyze the working process and flow field structure of a rotating detonation model engine with dual cavity injection of an H₂/air mixture by controlling the injection pressure ratio of the dual cavity and the number of detonation wave heads. It is found that the rotating detonation engine offers the possibility to control the thrust vector with two different modes. The first is a one-cycle alternate control mode with a small injection pressure ratio. Here two deflections occur in different directions occur across one detonation wave propagation cycle, but the overall deflection direction is in the low-pressure region. The second is a one-way control mode, with a large injection pressure ratio, and the deflection direction towards the low-pressure region. For the multi wave-mode, it belongs to one-way control mode because of constant deflection direction in the low-pressure area. From the perspective of thrust distribution along the circumference, the one-way control strategy satisfies the ability of a rotating detonation thrust vector control.     

Numerical investigation on H2/Air non-premixed rotating detonation engine under different equivalence ratios

In this paper, three-dimensional numerical simulations are performed to investigate the formation and propagation characteristics of rotating detonation wave in a non-premixed engine. By changing the mass flow rate of H₂ and fixing air mass flow rate, the effects of equivalence ratio involving fuel lean and rich operating conditions are mainly discussed. Numerical results show that equivalence ratio plays a very critical role in the formation process and propagation mode, which further affects the propulsion performance of rotating detonation engine significantly. For current numerical geometry and operating conditions, the lean limit of equivalence ratio for formatting a stable RDW is about 0.4, dual-wave mode (at equivalence ratio of 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 and 1.4) and single-wave mode (at equivalence ratio of 1.2) are obtained, respectively. When equivalence ratio is 1.0, rotating detonation engine can exhibit excellent operating performance with the shortest formation time, best propagation stability, middling class thrust and specific impulse. Besides, the pressure contour analysis indicates that the effects of equivalence ratio and mass flow rate of H₂ on the collision strength and times during the re-initiation process are the main mechanisms for determining the formation possibility and propagation mode of rotating detonation wave. Besides, the intensity of accumulated pressure wave and distributions of equivalence ratio are two important factors for the generation of new detonation wave front. Furthermore, it is also detected from the comparisons of the propulsion performance that the effects of equivalence ratio on thrust and specific impulse under fuel lean conditions are more significant than those under fuel-rich conditions.     

Effects of a turbine guide vane on hydrogen-air rotating detonation wave propagation characteristics

The rotating detonation engine is a new machine that can generate thrust via continuous rotating detonation waves (RDWs). In this study, experiments were performed on a structure combining a rotating detonation combustor (RDC) and a turbine guide vane to investigate the propagation characteristic of hydrogen-air RDW. The results showed that the velocity of detonation wave initially increased and then decreased with the increase of equivalence ratio, and it got a velocity of 84% Chapman-Jouguet value. The velocity of detonation wave generally rose by 4.31% comparing with the no guide vane tests, while the scope of steady-operation state became narrow. The oscillation pressure was reduced by 64% after passing through the guide vane, and the magnitude of pressure was only 0.4 bar at the guide vane exit. Meanwhile, part of the shock wave was reflected back to combustor resulting in some small pressure disturbances, and the propagation mode of reflected wave was related to the propagation direction of RDW.     

一种新的小缸径柴油机单孔直喷燃烧系统的研究

小缸径柴油机燃烧系统直喷化已经成为发展趋势，但仍面临实现柔和运行及降低有害排放产物的难题，燃烧室周边混合式燃烧系统具有工作柔和，变速适应性好等优点。但由于形成较多的壁面面膜，而使燃烧速率低，ＨＣ和微粒排放品质差，为此，本研究了旋转流场中轴针喷嘴油束扩展与混合的特性，提出了利用油束撞壁效应加速混合，改善燃烧过程的概念。在Ｓ１９５涡流室柴油机基础上设计了一种新的单孔直喷式燃烧系统。研究结果表明，该系     

Experimental study of a hydrogen-air rotating detonation combustor

The rotating detonation engine can generate continuous thrust via one or more detonation waves. In this study, rotating detonation experiments were performed on a combined structure which included a rotating detonation combustor (RDC) and a centrifugal compressor. Air, which functioned as an oxidiser, was obtained from the environment by the compressor, and hydrogen, which was used as fuel, was provided by the supply system. The propagation velocity of the rotating detonation wave (RDW) reached 81% of the Chapman–Jouguet value in experiments. With the increase of the air-injection area, the detonation-wave pressure increased, but the stability decreased. An air-injection area of 495 mm² was selected for long-duration experiments, and the frequency of the RDW ranged from 3 to 3.5 kHz. Through the self-adjustment of the combined structure, the air pressure ultimately reached a stable state after a certain period of time, and a stable detonation wave was formed in the RDC.     

高速直喷柴油机燃烧室形状与喷孔结构匹配规律的三维仿真研究

对某高速直喷柴油机的燃烧过程进行了多维仿真计算,研究了燃烧室形状和喷孔结构参数之间的匹配规律.通过变参数研究确定了燃烧室形状和喷孔结构参数之间的匹配规律.为了定量描述燃烧过程中燃油雾化、液体蒸发、油气混合的特性,建立了缸内平均湍流混合速率、燃油蒸气质量分数方差的中间特征参数,同时详细分析了不同当量比油气混合气在燃烧过程中的贡献率.从燃烧的宏观和微观角度综合分析了柴油机燃烧室形状与喷孔结构间的耦合作用机制.结果表明,对于所研究的机型,0.64口径比燃烧室匹配10孔喷油器的方案最优:预混过程好,燃烧速度快,后期扩散燃烧阶段过稀和过浓混合气参与燃烧的比例较小且预混与扩散燃烧放热情况差别小,放热情况更均匀.