Research Summaries

Back Low-Loss Engine Inlets, Aerospike Nozzles, and Gas Dynamic Isolation Designs for Rotating Detonation Engines

Fiscal Year 2021
Division Graduate School of Engineering & Applied Science
Department Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Investigator(s) Brophy, Christopher M.
Codoni, Joshua R
Sponsor Office of Naval Research (Navy)
Summary Many of the advantages of Pressure Gain Combustion(PGC) may be deliverable by Rotating Detonation Engine(RDE) systems if careful design requirements are applied to the engine inlet design, channel gap selection, and selective nozzle design features. Results previously reported to ONR from past developmental efforts have shown that pressure gain is likely achievable with a practical system once engine inlet design is understood such that a well-mixed fuel/air mixture can be delivered to an RDE combustor with relatively large channel gaps under highly transient flow conditions. This must occur while maintaining a low total pressure drop such that pressure gain combustion can still be generated and simultaneously prevent the unstart of a supersonic intake and/or a final compressor stage. The proposed effort will continue to explore both a conventional jet-in-cross flow injector and the hypermixer design previously reported in an effort to apply the approach to liquid hydrocarbon fuels and determine how the proven mixing characteristics can be extrapolated to larger annular gaps required for high thrust per unit area systems. Passive wall treatments along the air inlet flow path will also be characterized experimentally to determine if the favorable properties observed computationally, result in the adequate suppression of forward-running pressure waves which could adversely affect upstream system components.
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Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal