Pulse Combustion Applications: Past, Present and Future

Abstract

This paper presents an introduction to pulse combustion and a discussion of its past, present and future applications. The types and principles of operation of pulse combustors are discussed. A linear theoretical treatment of the driving of pulsations by a periodic heat addition process is presented. This model shows that the combustion process drives or damps acoustic oscillations when the magnitude of the phase difference between the combustion process and flow oscillations is smaller or larger than 90°, respectively. Furthermore, the frequency of the pulse combustor oscillations is larger or smaller than the natural acoustic mode frequency of the pulse combustor when the magnitude of the phase difference between the combustion and pressure oscillations is smaller or larger than 180°, respectively. The theoretical discussion is followed by a brief historical review of pulse combustion applications. Next, the advantages of pulse combustion heating applications, which have been successfully commercialized in the US, Europe and Japan in recent years, are discussed. The article closes with a discussion of the recently developed resonant driving method that uses a tunable pulse combustor to drive large amplitude beneficial pulsations in energy intensive, combustion and incineration processes. It is shown that this approach can be used to produce fuel savings, increased productivity, reduced emissions and improved product quality in a wide range of industrial processes.