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Summary of Pressure Gain Combustion Research at NASANASA has undertaken a systematic exploration of many different facets of pressure gain combustion over the last 25 years in an effort to exploit the inherent thermodynamic advantage of pressure gain combustion over the constant pressure combustion process used in most aerospace propulsion systems. Applications as varied as small-scale UAV's, rotorcraft, subsonic transports, hypersonics and launch vehicles have been considered. In addition to studying pressure gain combustor concepts such as wave rotors, pulse detonation engines, pulsejets, and rotating detonation engines, NASA has studied inlets, nozzles, ejectors and turbines which must also process unsteady flow in an integrated propulsion system. Other design considerations such as acoustic signature, combustor material life and heat transfer that are unique to pressure gain combustors have also been addressed in NASA research projects. In addition to a wide range of experimental studies, a number of computer codes, from 0-D up through 3-D, have been developed or modified to specifically address the analysis of unsteady flow fields. Loss models have also been developed and incorporated into these codes that improve the accuracy of performance predictions and decrease computational time. These codes have been validated numerous times across a broad range of operating conditions, and it has been found that once validated for one particular pressure gain combustion configuration, these codes are readily adaptable to the others. All in all, the documentation of this work has encompassed approximately 170 NASA technical reports, conference papers and journal articles to date. These publications are very briefly summarized herein, providing a single point of reference for all of NASA's pressure gain combustion research efforts. This documentation does not include the significant contributions made by NASA research staff to the programs of other agencies, universities, industrial partners and professional society committees through serving as technical advisors, technical reviewers and research consultants.
Document ID
20180002980
Acquisition Source
Glenn Research Center
Document Type
Technical Memorandum (TM)
Authors
Perkins, H. Douglas
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Paxson, Daniel E.
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Date Acquired
May 21, 2018
Publication Date
April 1, 2018
Subject Category
Aircraft Design, Testing And Performance
Report/Patent Number
NASA/TM-2018-219874
E-19499
GRC-E-DAA-TN53528
Funding Number(s)
WBS: WBS 109492.02.03.02.30.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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