Oblique detonation waves stabilized in rectangular-cross-section bent tubes

Oblique detonation waves, which are generated by a fundamental detonation phenomenon occurring in bent tubes, may be applied to fuel combustion in high-efficiency engines such as a pulse detonation engine (PDE) and a rotating detonation engine (RDE). The present study has experimentally demonstrated that steady-state oblique detonation waves propagated stably through rectangular-cross-section bent tubes by visualizing these waves using a high-speed camera and the shadowgraph method. The oblique detonation waves were stabilized under the conditions of high initial pressure and a large curvature radius of the inside wall of the rectangular-cross-section bent tube. The geometrical shapes of the stabilized oblique detonation waves were calculated, and the results of the calculation were in good agreement with those of our experiment. Moreover, it was experimentally shown that the critical condition under which steady-state oblique detonation waves can stably propagate through the rectangular-cross-section bent tubes was the curvature radius of the inside wall of the rectangular-cross-section bent tube equivalent to 14–40 times the cell width.     

Transverse wave generation mechanism in rotating detonation

Detonation engines are expected to be included in a number of aerospace thrusters in the future. Several types of detonation engines are currently under examination, including the rotating detonation engine (RDE). Although the RDE has been explored experimentally, its rotating detonation propagation mechanism is not well understood. This paper clarifies the detonation mechanism and dynamics of the RDE by 2D and 3D simulation using compressible Euler equations with a full chemical reaction mechanism of H₂/O₂ and H₂/Air, especially from the triple-point and transverse detonation points of view. A total variation diminishing (TVD) scheme is used for the mixture of H₂/Air, and an advection upwind splitting method difference vector (AUSMDV) scheme is used for the mixture of H₂/O₂. The use of an AUSMDV scheme provides a much clearer detonation structure than does the TVD scheme. We focus on the complex interaction mechanism of the detonation front and burned mixture gases. We found out that at this interaction point, an unreacted gas pocket appears and ignites periodically to generate transverse waves at the detonation front and maintain detonation propagation.     

Enhancement of continuously rotating detonation in hydrogen and oxygen-enriched air

The enhancement of continuously rotating detonation in oxygen-enriched air was demonstrated in an annular rotating detonation combustor (RDC) under a diffusive supply of hydrogen and an oxidizer. Experimental tests were performed to reveal the effects of oxygen volume fraction, mass flow rate, and equivalent ratio on the propagation of continuously rotating detonation wave (CRDW). It is observed that an increase in the air mass flow rate from 25 g/s to 225 g/s causes an increase in the propagation velocity of the stable CRDW in the RDC. For an oxygen volume fraction up to 35%, the difference between the propagation velocity of detonation and the theoretical Chapman–Jouguet value is less than 5%. Under the chemical stoichiometric ratio condition for air, the CRDW is stabilized when the air mass flow rate reaches 185 g/s. However, stabilized CRDW is observed even when the air flow rate is only 45 g/s under the presence of 30% or 35% oxygen. Increase in the oxygen volume fraction leads to an extension of the rich/lean limit for generating a stable CRDW. This study aims to provide guidance for the modulation of continuously rotating detonation.     

Investigation of the structure of detonation waves in a non-premixed hydrogen–air rotating detonation engine using mid-infrared imaging

The structure of detonation waves propagating through the annular channel of an optically accessible non-premixed rotating detonation engine (RDE) are investigated using mid-infrared imaging. The RDE is operated on hydrogen–air mixtures for a range of air mass flow rates and equivalence ratios. Instantaneous images of the radiation intensity from water vapor are acquired using a mid-infrared camera and a band-pass filter (2.890?±?0.033?µm). The instantaneous mid-infrared images reveal the stochastic nature of the detonation wave structure, position and angle of oblique and reflected shock waves, presence of shear layer separating products from the previous and current cycles, and extent of mixing between the reactants and products in the reactant fill zone in front of the detonation wave. The images show negligible signal directly in front of the detonation waves suggesting that there is minimal mixing between the reactants and products from the previous cycle ahead of the detonation wave for most operating conditions. The mid-infrared images provide insights useful for improving fundamental understanding of the detonation structure in RDEs and benchmark data for evaluating modeling and simulation results of RDEs.     

Numerical simulation of a methane-oxygen rotating detonation rocket engine

The rotating detonation engine (RDE) is an important realization of pressure gain combustion for rocket applications. The RDE system is characterized by a highly unsteady flow field, with multiple reflected pressure waves following detonation and an entrainment of partially-burnt gases in the post-detonation region. While experimental efforts have provided macroscopic properties of RDE operation, limited accessibility for optical and flow-field diagnostic equipment constrain the understanding of mechanisms that lend to wave stability, controllability, and sustainability. To this end, high-fidelity numerical simulations of a methane-oxygen rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) with an impinging discrete injection scheme are performed to provide detailed insight into the detonation and mixing physics and anomalous behavior within the system. Two primary detonation waves reside at a standoff distance from the base of the channel, with peak detonation heat release at approximately 10 mm from the injection plane. The high plenum pressures and micro-nozzle injector geometry contribute to fairly stiff injectors that are minimally affected by the passing detonation wave. There is no large scale circulation observed in the reactant mixing region, and the fuel distribution is asymmetric with a rich mixture attached to the inner wall of the annulus. The detonation waves’ strengths spatially fluctuate, with large variations in local wave speed and flow compression. The flow field is characterized by parasitic combustion of the fresh reactant mixture as well as post-detonation deflagration of residual gases. By the exit plane of the RDRE, approximately 95.7% of the fuel has been consumed. In this work, a detailed statistical analysis of the interaction between mixing and detonation is presented. The results highlight the merit of high-fidelity numerical studies in investigating an RDRE system and the outcomes may be used to improve its performance.     

Characterizing continuously rotating detonation via nonlinear time series analysis

The sampled pressure signals in continuously rotating detonation combustors have the inherence of nonlinear dynamics. To dig out more information on combustion modes, the nonlinear time series analysis method is thus applied to the pressure-time series obtained at a hydrogen/air rotating detonation combustor by using the phase space reconstruction and wavelet entropy algorithm. The variation of wavelet entropy is approved to be associated with the periodicity variation of pressure signals. Different structures of attractor as well as wavelet entropy distribution in the phase diagram can distinguish the deflagration mode from the unstable and stable detonation modes under the conditions of different air flow rates. The limit-cycle oscillation is exhibited in the phase space diagram with a very low flow rate, here 25 g/s. The mean wavelet entropy of pressure-time series can be a quantitative index of different combustion modes occurring in the combustor. The present study is expected to enhance the understanding of the physical mechanism of continuously rotating detonation and contribute on the development of detonation propulsion technology.     

The dynamics of a non-premixed rotating detonation engine from time-resolved temperature measurements

The structure and dynamics of a hydrogen-air rotating detonation engine (RDE) are described based on 100-kHz laser absorption spectroscopy measurements of water temperature at four simultaneous locations within the detonation channel. The analysis focuses on the evolution of the flowfield over a 200 ms period for three separate air mass flow rate cases. Two-dimensional unwrapped visualizations of the temperatures show a flowfield structure containing regions with the detonation front, combustion products, oblique shock, and refilling reactants, qualitatively agreeing with previous simulations and experiments. A major conclusion is that water from the combustion products is measured throughout all space and time in the RDE, including near the injector, implying the presence of performance loss processes such as burning upstream of the detonation wave or the back recirculation of combustion products with fresh fuel–air. By analyzing the elevated temperatures of the reactants during the refill process, one estimation for the mass fraction of combustion products in the reactants is as high as 20–30% on average. This product mass fraction is found to be inversely proportional to the bulk air mass flow rate and decreases as time progresses. This indicates these non-ideal processes are more significant closer to RDE ignition for poorer performing operating conditions. For the largest air mass flow case, water temperatures near the nominally cold plenum conditions likely corroborate the presence of a recirculation region on the RDE inner body. Analysis of inter- and intra-cycle temperature dynamics further support non-ideal processes occurring behind the detonation wave and during the refill process. As a whole, the data indicates that the RDE performance is better as time progresses away from ignition or for higher air mass flow rates. These data are also important for comparison with numerical models.     

Front shock behavior of stable curved detonation waves in rectangular-cross-section curved channels

The propagation of curved detonation waves of gaseous explosives stabilized in rectangular-cross-section curved channels is investigated. Three types of stoichiometric test gases, C₂H₄ + 3O₂, 2H₂ + O₂, and 2C₂H₂ + 5O₂ + 7Ar, are evaluated. The ratio of the inner radius of the curved channel (r_i) to the normal detonation cell width (λ) is an important factor in stabilizing curved detonation waves. The lower boundary of stabilization is around r_i/λ = 23, regardless of the test gas. The stabilized curved detonation waves eventually attain a specific curved shape as they propagate through the curved channels. The specific curved shapes of stabilized curved detonation waves are approximately formulated, and the normal detonation velocity (D_n)?curvature (κ) relations are evaluated. The D_n nondimensionalized by the Chapman–Jouguet (CJ) detonation velocity (D_CJ) is a function of the κ nondimensionalized by λ. The D_n/D_CJ?λκ relation does not depend on the type of test gas. The propagation behavior of the stabilized curved detonation waves is controlled by the D_n/D_CJ?λκ relation. Due to this propagation characteristic, the fully-developed, stabilized curved detonation waves propagate through the curved channels while maintaining a specific curved shape with a constant angular velocity. Self-similarity is seen in the front shock shapes of the stabilized curved detonation waves with the same r_i/λ, regardless of the curved channel and test gas.     

Three-dimensional numerical thrust performance analysis of hydrogen fuel mixture rotating detonation engine with aerospike nozzle

The propulsive performance for an H₂/O₂ and H₂/Air rotating detonation engine (RDE) with conic aerospike nozzle has been estimated using three-dimensional numerical simulation with detailed chemical reaction model. The present paper provides the evaluation of the specific impulse (I_sp), pressure gain and the thrust coefficient for different micro-nozzle stagnation pressures and for two configurations of conic aerospike nozzle, open and choked aerospike. The simulations show that regardless of the nozzle, increase the micro-nozzles stagnation pressure increases the mass flow rate, the pre-detonation gases pressure and consequently the post-detonation pressure. This gain of pressure in the combustion chamber leads to a higher pressure thrust through the nozzle, improving the I_sp. It was also found that the choked nozzle increases the chamber time-averaged static pressure by 50–60% compared with the open nozzle, inducing higher performance for the same reason explained before.     

涡轮导向器对旋转爆轰波传播特性影响的实验研究

为了研究涡轮导向器对旋转爆轰波传播特性的影响,以氢气为燃料,空气为氧化剂,在不同当量比下开展了实验研究.基于高频压力传感器及静态压力传感器的信号,详细分析了带涡轮导向器的旋转爆轰燃烧室的工作模式以及涡轮导向器对非均匀不稳定爆轰产物的影响.实验结果表明:在当量比较低时,爆轰燃烧室以快速爆燃模式工作;逐渐增大当量比,爆轰燃烧室开始以不稳定旋转爆轰模式工作;继续增大当量比,爆轰燃烧室以稳定旋转爆轰模式工作,且旋转爆轰波的传播速度和稳定性均随当量比的增大逐渐提高.爆轰波下游的斜激波与涡轮导向器相互作用,涡轮导向器对压力振荡的幅值具有明显的抑制作用,但对压力振荡频率的影响较小.随着当量比的增大,涡轮导向器上下游的静压均同时增大,经过涡轮导向器的作用,涡轮下游静压明显降低.     

Experimental study of internal flow structures in cylindrical rotating detonation engines

The internal flow structures of detonation wave were experimentally analyzed in an optically accessible hollow rotating detonation combustor with multiple chamber lengths. The cylindrical RDC has a glass chamber wall, 20 mm in diameter, which allowed us to capture the combustion self-luminescence. A chamber 70 mm in length was first tested using C₂H₄O₂ and H₂–O₂ as propellants. Images with a strong self-luminescence region near the bottom were obtained, confirming the small extent of the region where most of the heat release occurs as found in our previous research. Based on the visualization experiments, we tested RDCs with shorter chamber walls of 40 and 20 mm. The detonation wave was also observed in the shorter chambers, and its velocity was not affected by the difference in chamber length. Thrust performance was also maintained compared to the longer chamber, and the short cylindrical RDC had the same specific impulse tendency as the cylindrical (hollow) or annular 70-mm chamber RDC. Finally, we calculated the pressure distributions of various chamber lengths, and found they were also consistent with the measured pressure at the bottom and exit. We concluded that the short-chamber cylindrical RDC with equal length and diameter maintained thrust performance similar to the longer annular RDC, further expanding the potential of compact RDCs.     

Photoionization of the Xe atom and Xe@C<Subscript>60</Subscript> molecule

Photoionization of the Xe atom and Xe@C₆₀ molecule have been studied usingthe random phase approximation with exchange (RPAE) method. The Xe atom was described byrelaxed orbitals including overlap integrals. The C₆₀ fullerene has beenrepresented by an attractive short range spherical well with potentialV(r), given byV(r) =  ?V ₀ forr _i  < r < r _o ,otherwise V(r) = 0 wherer _i andr _o are respectively, the inner and outerradii of the spherical shell. The time independent Schrödinger equation was solved usingboth regular and irregular solutions and the continuous boundary conditions atr _i andr _o . The results demonstrate improvementto previous calculations for both the Xe atom and Xe@C₆₀ molecule and comparevery well with the recent experimental data.     

Single-ended mid-infrared laser-absorption sensor for time-resolved measurements of water concentration and temperature within the annulus of a rotating detonation engine

A novel single-ended mid-infrared laser-absorption sensor for time-resolved measurements of water mole fraction and temperature was developed and deployed within the annulus of a hydrogen/air-fed rotating detonation engine (RDE). The sensor transmitted two laser beams targeting mid-infrared water transitions through a single optical port on the outer wall of the cylindrical RDE annulus and measured the backscattered radiation from the RDE inner surface using a photodetector for a round-trip path of 1.52?cm. Optimizing the sensor's optical arrangement using numerical ray tracing to minimize interference from optical emission, beam steering, and scattered laser light from window surfaces was essential to sensor performance. Scanned-wavelength-modulation spectroscopy with second-harmonic detection and first-harmonic normalization was implemented to allow for frequency-domain multiplexing of the two lasers and to suppress non-absorbing interference sources such as beam-steering and emission. Tunable diode lasers near 2551 and 2482?nm were modulated at 100 and 122?kHz, respectively, and sinusoidally scanned across the peaks of their respective water transitions at 10?kHz to provide a measurement rate of 20?kHz and detection limit of 0.5% water by mole. Experimentally derived spectroscopic parameters enabled water and temperature sensing with respective uncertainties of 7.3% and 5.3% relative to the measured values. Time-resolved and time-averaged sensor measurements of gas temperature and water vapor mole fraction allow quantitative evaluation of the combustion progress at the measurement location and thus provide a design tool for RDE optimization. Broadly, this single-ended laser sensor should find applications in other combustion systems where optical access is limited.     

Fluid dynamics of rotating detonation engines with hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuels

Rotating detonation engines (RDE’s) represent a logical step from pulsed detonation engine concepts to a continuous detonation engine concept for obtaining propulsion from the high efficiency detonation cycle. The hydrogen/air and hydrogen/oxygen RDE concepts have been most extensively studied, however, being able to use hydrocarbon fuels is essential for practical RDE’s. The current paper extends our hydrogen/air model to hydrocarbon fuels with both air and pure oxygen as the oxidizer. Before beginning the RDE calculations, several detonation tube results are summarized showing the ability of the code to reproduce the correct detonation velocity and CJ properties. In addition, a calculation capturing the expected irregular detonation cell patterns of ethylene/air is also shown. To do the full range of fuels and oxidizers, we found the use of temperature-dependent thermodynamic properties to be essential, especially for hydrocarbon/oxygen mixtures. The overall results for air-breathing RDE’s with hydrocarbons ranged from 1990 to 2540 s, while in pure oxygen mode the specific impulse varied from 700 to 1070 s. These results were between 85% and 89% of the expected ideal detonation cycle results, and are in line with previous hydrogen/air estimates from our previous work. We conclude from this that hydrocarbon RDE’s are viable and that the basic flow-field patterns and behaviors are very similar to the hydrogen/air cases detailed previously.     

Sensitizing gaseous detonations for hydrogen/ethylene-air mixtures using ozone and H2O2 as dopants for application in rotating detonation engines

The effect of ozone and hydrogen peroxide as dopants on hydrogen-air and ethylene-air detonations was investigated with one-dimensional ZND calculations. Also, the effects of dopants were studied numerically with argon and helium as diluents with an aim to reduce the temperature of detonation products while maintaining a detonation wave of sufficient strength such that its propagation is stable near its propagation limits. The primary goal of the present investigation is to isolate the chemical kinetic effects from fluid and gas dynamic effects by altering the ignition chemistry of an unburned mixture without significantly changing its thermodynamic and physical properties. The ZND calculations demonstrate that the addition of O₃ and H₂O₂ in small quantities will substantially reduce the induction length (Δ_i) and time (τ_i), even with higher diluent percentages of argon and helium, making it a viable solution for reducing the operating temperatures of rotating detonation engines (RDEs). The effects of O₃ and H₂O₂ are also studied numerically at lower equivalence ratios for H₂/C₂H₄-air detonations with an aim to reduce the post-detonation temperatures below 2000 K for its application in practical engine cycles. Also, the efficacy of CF₃I, as an ignition promoter at small quantities, is studied numerically for hydrogen-air detonations, and its performance is compared with O₃ and H₂O₂.     

The characteristics of void distribution in spalled high purity copper cylinder under sweeping detonation

The effects of different peak compression stresses (2–5 GPa) on the spallation behaviour of high purity copper cylinder during sweeping detonation were examined by Electron Backscatter Diffraction Microscopy, Doppler Pins System and Optical Microscopy techniques. The velocity history of inner surface and the characteristics of void distributions in spalled copper cylinder were investigated. The results indicated that the spall strength of copper in these experiments was less than that revealed in previous reports concerning plate impact loading. The geometry of cylindrical copper and the obliquity of incident shock during sweeping detonation may be the main reasons. Different loading stresses seemed to be responsible for the characteristics of the resultant damage fields, and the maximum damage degree increased with increasing shock stress. Spall planes in different cross-sections of sample loaded with the same shock stress of 3.29 GPa were found, and the distance from the initiation end has little effect on the maximum damage degree (the maximum damage range from 12 to 14%), which means that the spallation behaviour was stable along the direction parallel to the detonation propagation direction under the same shock stress.     

A theoretical deduction of the shape and size of nanocarbons suitable for hydrogen storage

We evaluated the adsorption energy of a hydrogen molecule in nanocarbons consisting of graphene sheets. The nanocarbon shapes were a pair of disks with separation 2d, a cylinder with radius d, and a truncated sphere with radius d. We obtained the adsorption energy in the form of a 10–4 Lennard–Jones function with respect to 1/d. The values of the potential depth (D) and equilibrium distance (d _e), respectively, were 94 meV and 2.89 Å for the disk pair, 158 meV and 3.14 Å for the cylinder, and 203 meV and 3.37 Å for the sphere. When d=d _e, the adsorption energy of the disk pair (cylinder) became deeper than ?0.9D, and it approached ?D when the radius (length) increased to more than twice its separation (radius). The adsorption energy of the sphere was increased from ?D to ?0.5D when the radius of the opening increased from 0 to d _e. These results suggest that porous carbon materials can increase the adsorption energy by up to ～200 meV if the carbon atoms are arranged on a spherical-like surface with ～7 Å separation. This may lead to practical hydrogen storage for fuel cells.     

Energy release effect of mixture on single spinning detonation structure

Unsteady three-dimensional numerical simulation on a single spinning detonation in a circular tube are presented in order to understand the effects of energy release of the mixture on the detonation structure. Overall structures of the spinning detonations such as the shock structure around the spin head, the long pressure trail, and the track angle on the wall are not affected by these effects because they depend on the specific heat ratio of the products which has approximately a constant value. The calculated averaged detonation velocities on the symmetry axis during one cycle decrease inversely with an exponential curve to become the value lower than the CJ detonation velocity. Those for p₀ = 0.1 MPa and p₀ = 0.01 MPa become approximately 0.98 D_CJ and 0.92 D_CJ, respectively, because the energy release in the CJ state for p₀ = 0.01 MPa is 10% lower than that for p₀ = 0.1 MPa. The state of gas behind the head of spinning detonation is also evaluated by the classical oblique shock theory and equilibrium calculation by using the track angle, shock wave angle, and detonation velocity in order to compare with the present and other researcher’s numerical results. The effects of the energy release in the mixture are large on the strength of the transverse detonation.