Nozzle Design for Rotating Detonation Engine

Abstract

This work proposes a nozzle design procedure that uses an area-variational source term in the two-dimensional numerical simulations for rotating detonation engines. The derivation of this source term is carried out in detail, and the influences of area ratios, total lengths, and curve transitions on the aerodynamic performance are discussed. For a nozzle with no curve transition at critical cross-sections, the combination of contraction ratio and expansion ratio corresponds to the maximum axial thrust and maximum specific impulse at and , which exceed those of the diverging and converging nozzles by 11.3 and 27.6%, respectively. The extension of the total length is not recommended to attenuate fluctuations due to the thrust performance penalties. Concerning the curve transitions of the diverging part, the parabolic profile subp2 shows a 2.22% increase in thrust and specific impulse compared with four other types. The positive influence of a geometrical throat on the thermodynamic efficiency is demonstrated by the fluid particle tracing technique and the pressure gain analysis. Moreover, the feasibility of adding the area-variational source term is validated by three-dimensional simulations.