DETONATION DUCT GAS GENERATOR DEVELOPMENT

IT IS PROPOSED TO INVESTIGATE EXPERIMENTALLY THE PERFORMANCEOF A DETONATION DUCT GAS GENERATOR WHICH IN THEORETICAL STUDIES OF GAS TURBINE PERFORMANCE WAS SHOWN TO INCREASE THEEFFICIENCY OF A PRESSURE RATIO 5 GAS TURBINE FROM 26% TO 43%. TRANSIENT TRANSVERSE DETONATION WAVES HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO EFFECTIVELY ADD HEAT ISOCHORICALLY SO THAT THE EFFECTIVE CYCLE PRESSURE RATIO OF A GAS TURBINE IS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. IN THE PROPOSED PROGRAM, A DETONATION DUCT GAS GENERATOR WILL BE BUILT AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS WILL BE DETERMINED THROUGH EXTENSIVE PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE SURVEYS. OUTPUT OF THE DUCT ITSELF WILL BE DETERMINED USINGHIGH FREQUENCY PRESSURE TRANSDUCERS AND THIN FILM TEMPERATURE GAGES. GAS STATES AT COLLECTOR EXIT WHERE THE FLOW IS MIXED AND COMPRESSED BY THE DETONATION WAVE WILL BE MEASURED. MAXIMUM DUCT CYCLING FREQUENCY AND SHOCK STRENGTHS IN THE PLENUM WILL BE MEASURED. PERFORMANCE DATA WILL BE USED TO ASSESS THE ADVANTAGES OF DETONATION DUCTS INACTUAL GAS TURBINES. IF CLEAR ADVANTAGES CAN BE SHOWN THEN THE DATA WILL BE USED TO PLAN A MUCH MORE DETAILED, FUNDAMENTAL STUDY OF THE PHENOMENA INVOLVED.