Fundamental Structure of High-Speed Reacting Flows: Supersonic Combustion and Detonation

An experimental investigation on detonation wave propagating across a row of reactant jets in a narrow channel has been performed. The principal objective of the research was to gain better understanding of the fundamental flow structure in a rotating detonation engine (RDE). A linear channel simulating an unwrapped RDE annulus was used for the investigation with an array of fifteen injectors lining the inlet plane. The resulting flow structure caused by a detonation wave propagating across the array of reactant jets was examined as a function of reactant composition and flow rates. This setup served as the baseline configuration for investigating the RDE flowfield with the curvature effect. T he overall research effort comprised of the following technical elements: (1) blast wave propagation under partial confinement, (2) detonation wave experiments in a transvers flow channel, (3) modeling of detonation wave in transvers flow using a method of characteristics approach. The specific objectives and results of the research of each of these program elements are summarized in this report.