Experimental investigation on delay time phenomenon in rotating detonation engine

Abstract

This study explored the phenomenon of the detonation formation delay time in an RDE with an annular combustion chamber with an array of holes fueled with hydrogen. It was determined that the delay time increased when the combustor prefilling time increased. Due to the explosion, the interaction of the shock wave and the pressure wave in the combustor leads to an increase in pressure near the inlet wall surface, thereby impeding the gas feeding. The wavelet transformation was used to analyze the pressure time signal associated with the detonation wave, which was found to be better than the fast Fourier transform typically used. Moreover, the phenomenon of single–double–single wave transformation was observed, of which the underlying mechanism can be explained by an interactive-adjusting process. Also, the experiment captured the reinitiation phenomenon of detonations after a long period of time (around 300 ms) of extinction.