Wave-converging pressure increase in curved cylindrical rotating detonation combustors

Abstract

The internal combustion structure of a curved cylindrical rotating detonation combustor (RDC) was experimentally investigated through optical observation and pressure measurements. Experiments were conducted under low back pressure conditions using two combustion chambers having, in both cases, an internal diameter of 17.5 mm, a curvature of radius of 38.1 mm, and an outlet angle of 90 deg, with gaseous CH and O as the propellants. One was made of SUS and the other of resin. In addition to vibrations and bottom center pressure, pressure distribution on the sidewalls was measured for the SUS combustor, and high-speed camera observations of self-luminescence from the radial direction were conducted for the resin combustor. These measurements were compared by varying the equivalence ratio. The frequency analysis results obtained from vibrations and self-luminescence indicated that the strongly-coupled detonation mode exhibited a higher peak frequency, suggesting that the detonation waves may have different propagation speeds or rotational positions. In terms of pressure distribution and self-luminescence, only the strongly-coupled detonation mode inside near the bottom surface exhibited high pressure and brightness values. This suggested the potential for converging pressure by employing rotating detonation waves and a curved tube.