Sponsors: Air Force Research Laboratories and DARPA-STTR (Phases 1 and 2)
Project with Hypercomp Inc

Collaborators: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Dr. Douglas Schwer

Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Dr. Craig Nordeen

Project Summary:

This project aims to understand the operational principles of a rotating detonation wave that can be configured in an annulus to provide a pressure gain combustor. The sensitivity of the rotating detonation wave to the details of the inlet flow and the flow field produced at the exit of the annulus are analyzed in this study. A design of a single stage turbine is being pursued to interface to the detonation chamber to create a simple detonation engine. Figures shown below are some sample results from this study.