Rotating Chamber Pulse Detonation Engine

Pulse detonation engines hold promise to increase performance of air-breathing propulsion systems by taking advantage of the increase in cycle efficiency due to the constant-volume heat addition characteristics of detonative combustion. A pulse detonation engine (PDE) produces thrust through the high pressure of detonation to achieve improved efficiency relative to other, more traditional propulsion devices. The innovation covered in this proposal is for a novel approach to pulse detonation engine technology, utilizing multiple combustion chambers on a rotating spool to improve inlet and nozzle performance. Some of the major challenges of PDE?s are in providing high inlet and nozzle performance due to the unsteady nature of the flow. This concept provides a significant advantage in that the inlet and exhaust nozzle are aligned with the appropriate chambers and flow at a steady rate, optimizing performance and minimizing base drag. The Phase I effort will include a preliminary design of the proposed rotating detonation chamber PDE concept and the associated analytical results that support and validate its feasibility. The Phase II program will focus on the enabling technologies and on executing a plan to develop them sufficiently to establish a detailed design.