The effect of operating frequency and ignition energy on JP-10/PO/aluminum powder multiphase-pulse-detonation-engine

Abstract

Pulse-Detonation-Engine is a new engine that uses pulse detonation wave to generate thrust. Previous studies have shown that JP-10/PO/Al dust multi-phase composite fuel has good ignition sensitivity and detonation strength, so the present work studies the application prospect of this optimized composite fuel in the detonation propulsion of Pulse-Detonation-Engine. A numerical model of Multiphase-Pulse-Detonation-Engine was established, and a high-precision Computational-Fluid-Dynamics simulation method was applied to study a series of cyclic processes such as multiphase fuel dispersion, ignition, detonation wave formation, and blowing during Multiphase-Pulse-Detonation-Engine operation. The effects of operating frequency (20–60 Hz) and ignition energy (25–400 J) on the flame acceleration law, thrust, and impulse characteristics in Multiphase-Pulse-Detonation-Engine were quantitatively discussed. The research results indicate that the propulsion effect produced by single-cycle Multiphase-Pulse-Detonation-Engine deteriorates as the operating frequency increases. On the other hand, as the number of operating cycles per unit time increases, the fuel specific impulse gradually increases. But the increase rate gradually decreases, and the operating frequency should not exceed 50 Hz under current inspection conditions. The ignition energy has a promoting effect on the early flame acceleration of multiphase explosions. Due to the cumulative effect of multiple cycles, the impact of ignition energy on the propulsion performance of continuous working Multiphase-Pulse-Detonation-Engine is more significant, with ignition energy increasing from 25 J to 400 J, and specific impulse increasing by approximately 18.3 %.