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Review of the PDWA Concept for Combustion Enhancement in a Supersonic Air-Breathing Combustor EnvironmentThis paper reviews the design of the Pulsed Detonation Wave Augmentor (PDWA) concept and the preliminary computational fluid dynamics studies that supported it. The PDWA relies on the rapid generation of detonation waves in a small tube, which are then injected into the supersonic stream of the main combustor. The blast waves thus generated are used to stimulate the mixing and combustion inside the main combustor. The mixing enhancement relies on various forms of the baroclinic interaction, where misaligned pressure and density gradients combine to produce vortical flow. By using unsteady shock waves, the concept also uses the Richtmyer-Meshkov effect to further increase the rate of mixing. By carefully designing the respective configurations of the combustor and the detonation tubes, one can also increase the penetration of the fuel into the supersonic air stream. The unsteady shocks produce lower stagnation pressure losses than steady shocks. Combustion enhancement can also be obtained through the transient shock-heating of the fuel-air interface, and the lowering of the ignition delay in these regions. The numerical simulations identify these processes, and show which configurations give the best results. Engineering considerations are also presented, and discuss the feasibility of the concept. Of primary importance are the enhancements in performance, the design simplicity, the minimization of the power, cost, and weight, and the methods to achieve very rapid cycling.
Document ID
20020014834
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Canbier, Jean-Luc
(Eloret Corp. Palo Alto, CA United States)
Edwards, Thomas A.
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1995
Subject Category
Inorganic, Organic And Physical Chemistry
Meeting Information
Meeting: IUTAM Symposium on Combustion in Supersonic Flows
Location: Poitiers
Country: France
Start Date: October 2, 1995
End Date: October 6, 1995
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS2-14031
PROJECT: RTOP 527-10-01
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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