Deflagration to Detonation Transition in Heterogeneous Mixtures Containing Ethanol/Acetone and Oxygen

Liquid fuel is the choice for volume-limited propulsion systems, including detonation-based propulsion. A liquid fuel with high vapor pressure has the advantage of more fuel vapor in the mixture, which supports the transition from deflagration to detonation. This paper reports on an experimental study of deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) in a pulse detonation engine with heterogenous mixtures of oxygen and ethanol or acetone. Single-cycle tests were taken for different fuels, equivalence ratios, and DDT enhancement methods. The size distribution of fuel droplets was characterized at the atomizer and engine exit. The effect of the fuel evaporation was dominant for the acetone spray only. Comparing the measured detonation velocities of the two mixtures, a lower velocity deficit relative to the theoretical Chapman–Jouguet detonation velocity was measured for the acetone–oxygen mixtures, and this behavior is related to the higher amount of fuel vapor that existed in the mixtures. Moreover, a shorter transition to detonation was observed in the acetone–oxygen mixture. The addition of a Shchelkin spiral reduced the DDT distance; however, the Chapman–Jouguet condition could be reached only downstream of the obstacle. The measured detonation cell size of the heterogeneous acetone–oxygen mixture was smaller than that of the ethanol–oxygen mixture, indicating that it is more detonable.