Rotary-Valved, Multiple-Cycle, Pulse Detonation Engine Experimental Demonstration

The experimental demonstration of two boiler-plate Pulse Detonation Engines (PDEs) which incorporated a proprietary rotary valve design, multiple combustors, and utilized hydrogen and/or hydrocarbon fuels is described in this paper. A series of experiments with a rotary-valved single-combustor pulse detonation engine (RVSPDE) and a rotary-valved, multiple-combustor pulse detonation engine (RVMPDE) are described. Single and multiple combustors with 2 inch internal diameters and 36 inch length were utilized with a rotary valve mechanism to meter the flow of air into the combustors as well as isolate the air inlet from the high pressures produced by the detonative combustion process. Measured parameters of interest included thrust force histories, thrust wall pressure histories, combustor wall pressure histories, and oxidizer and fuel mass flow rates. Firing rates of up to approximately 12 Hz per combustor were achieved for durations of several seconds and were limited solely by the design of the experiment apparatus and not by fundamental physics of PDE operation. Proof of concept of RVMPDE operation was successfully demonstrated.