Experimentation of Premixed Rotating Detonation Engine Using Variable Slot Feed Plenum

Abstract

A premixed supply of fuel and oxidizer was fed through five concentric feed slots and detonated in a rotating detonation engine, representing the first known successful airbreathing premixed rotating detonation engine. The premixed feed system successfully arrested flashback. An operating map was constructed and compared to a nonpremixed rotating detonation engine. Mixing effects were shown to be important by comparing measured wave speeds to theoretical Chapman–Jouguet detonation velocities, published computational fluid dynamics results, and similar nonpremixed rotating detonation engines. High-speed imagery indicated that the wave speed measurements should account for the circumferential velocity of the gases relative to the detonation and that the Chapman–Jouguet calculation should account for partial mixing with combustion products.