Experimental investigation on propagation characteristics of rotating detonation wave fueled by diesel

Diesel fuel plays an indispensable role in the energy power sector. Detonation is a self-pressurizing combustion mode that can improve the utilization efficiency of diesel fuel. Through experiments, this paper explored the propagation characteristics of diesel/air RDWs within three different air-inlet slot width structures. A total of 24 high-pressure atomizing nozzles were evenly distributed circumferentially to inject diesel fuel into the combustor. The air, preheated by a heater, was injected into the combustor through the air-inlet slot. The results demonstrate the successful achievement of diesel/air rotating detonation under three different air-inlet slot width structures. As the width increases, the range of operating conditions for achieving detonation becomes more limited. As the air temperature rises, so does the detonation wave's propagation velocity, reaching up to 79 % of the theoretical CJ value. Both single-wave and two-wave collision modes were obtained in the experiments, with a constantly shifting collision point of the two-wave mode, forming the drift phenomenon. The establishment time for the detonation wave is comparatively short, ranging from 2.0 to 5.5 ms, and is minimally affected by the air-inject slot width and the total air temperature. The two-wave collision mode evolved from the single-wave form.