Back-propagation suppression study based on intake configuration optimization for an air-breathing pulse detonation engine

Abstract

In order to reduce the back-propagation of an air-breathing pulse detonation engine efficiently, a suppression method based on the optimization of the intake configuration with wedge-shaped angle and blockage ratio was proposed and studied in this paper. The 2-D numerical simulation based on propane/air combustible mixture was carried out to study the configuration, wedge-shaped angle and the blockage ratio effects of the air intake segment on the back-propagation in the air-breathing pulse detonation engine. The reliability of the numerical simulation was verified with the experimental results. The simulation results indicated that the wedge-shaped configuration was the most efficient geometry for back-propagation suppression in this paper. The back-propagation suppression performance in the case of wedge-shaped angle of 30° was better than that of wedge-shaped angle of 45° and 60°. In addition, based on the wedge-shaped air intake segment with a wedge-shaped angle of 30°, the back-propagation intensity and the arrival range of the burnt gas both decreased accordingly at the increased blockage ratio. When the blockage ratio was 0.8, the burnt gas could not flow into the inlet. In order to achieve the optimal performance of back-propagation suppression, the configuration and the blockage ratio of the air intake segment should both be optimized further according to the characteristics of the back-propagation pressure.