Continuously Rotating Detonation Engine Development and Design
Faculty Mentor Name
Amabady Suresh
Format Preference
Poster
Abstract
Conventional chemical rocket engines are fundamentally limited by deflagration-based combustion, in which subsonic flame propagation restricts achievable pressure gain and thermodynamic efficiency. Detonation-based combustion offers a pressure-gain alternative in which chemical energy release is coupled with a supersonic shock front, but practical implementation presents challenges in ignition, stability, and controllability. Continuously rotating detonation engines (CRDEs) represent a promising architecture for harnessing detonative combustion; however, early-stage development is constrained by incomplete understanding of deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) and associated pressure loading.
This work presents a numerical analysis and precursor detonation tube design developed to support CRDE maturation through risk-reduction experimentation. A linear detonation tube is used as a simplified platform to investigate ignition behavior, flame acceleration, transient pressure rise, and diagnostic survivability relevant to DDT, while bounding structural loading trends applicable to early CRDE design. Although the tube does not reproduce the full azimuthal stresses of a rotating engine, it preserves key physical mechanisms with reduced geometric and operational complexity.
The detonation tube and CRDE geometries were developed in parallel using internally generated analytical tools and three-dimensional CFD simulations in ANSYS Fluent. Numerical analysis was used to bound detonation velocities, pressure magnitudes, confinement behavior, and structural stress limits, guiding decisions related to chamber geometry, wall thickness, and exhaust expansion without claiming predictive validation. Results indicate that the proposed precursor architecture supports pressure environments consistent with early-stage DDT while remaining within feasible structural and diagnostic limits.
The combined numerical framework and precursor design provide quantitative justification for progression to hardware fabrication and staged experimental testing. Future work will focus on validating ignition behavior, pressure loading, and model fidelity through detonation tube experiments followed by CRDE integration, enabling continued development of a detonation-based propulsion system.
Continuously Rotating Detonation Engine Development and Design
Conventional chemical rocket engines are fundamentally limited by deflagration-based combustion, in which subsonic flame propagation restricts achievable pressure gain and thermodynamic efficiency. Detonation-based combustion offers a pressure-gain alternative in which chemical energy release is coupled with a supersonic shock front, but practical implementation presents challenges in ignition, stability, and controllability. Continuously rotating detonation engines (CRDEs) represent a promising architecture for harnessing detonative combustion; however, early-stage development is constrained by incomplete understanding of deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) and associated pressure loading.
This work presents a numerical analysis and precursor detonation tube design developed to support CRDE maturation through risk-reduction experimentation. A linear detonation tube is used as a simplified platform to investigate ignition behavior, flame acceleration, transient pressure rise, and diagnostic survivability relevant to DDT, while bounding structural loading trends applicable to early CRDE design. Although the tube does not reproduce the full azimuthal stresses of a rotating engine, it preserves key physical mechanisms with reduced geometric and operational complexity.
The detonation tube and CRDE geometries were developed in parallel using internally generated analytical tools and three-dimensional CFD simulations in ANSYS Fluent. Numerical analysis was used to bound detonation velocities, pressure magnitudes, confinement behavior, and structural stress limits, guiding decisions related to chamber geometry, wall thickness, and exhaust expansion without claiming predictive validation. Results indicate that the proposed precursor architecture supports pressure environments consistent with early-stage DDT while remaining within feasible structural and diagnostic limits.
The combined numerical framework and precursor design provide quantitative justification for progression to hardware fabrication and staged experimental testing. Future work will focus on validating ignition behavior, pressure loading, and model fidelity through detonation tube experiments followed by CRDE integration, enabling continued development of a detonation-based propulsion system.