An active direction control method in rotating detonation combustor

rotating direction of detonation waves is one of the essential characteristics of the unsteady flow fields in the rotating detonation combustors (RDCs). However, it changes over time and is challenging to predict. Pre-detonator is commonly used to initiate the RDC in experiments. Intuitively, the detonation wave should continue in the direction of the pre-detonator. Unfortunately, experimental results often contradict this expectation. Three-dimensional numerical simulations of a rotating detonation combustor installed with a pre-detonator are performed in the present study. The numerical experiments show that the pre-detonator induces two counter-rotating detonation waves in the annular chamber and fails in fixed-direction initiation. Furthermore, we propose an active direction control method in the present study. This method utilizes the pre-detonator as a control device and successfully regulates the detonation waves along the pre-detonator direction. The active direction control method allows adjusting the propagating direction of detonation waves anytime during the RDC operation. By this method, multiple waves tend to be produced in the flow field, enhancing the stability of the rotating detonation combustor.