Session: 05-02-01: Advances in Aerodynamics and Aerospace Propulsion Systems

Paper Number: 145884

145884 - Influence of Number of Shock Waves on Rotating Detonation Engines Performance 

Combustion is one of the key processes in engineering and is present daily in human life. The “thermodynamic instabilities” observed in propulsion systems were, for many years, constant adversities to their development and difficult to control. The concept of detonation came to designate, precisely, these occurrences. The deflagration phenomenon is more easily controllable than detonation, a much more energetic and intrinsically unstable phenomenon, given that, for many years, the deflagration combustion mode was the chosen solution. However, detonation combustion as a propulsive method for aerospace systems is promising, making it possible to achieve higher efficiencies and mechanical simplicity through rotary detonation engine technology.

Currently, RDE has been the target of investigations that intend to apply this concept to significantly improve the performance of traditional liquid rocket engine technologies, mostly. The Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) is an innovative concept that generates traction through supersonic combustion, producing a greater specific impulse for the same amount of fuel. This concept has already been successful in the first spaceflight demonstration in 2021 using the S-520-31 sounding rocket and in tests carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2022, from RDRE on a large scale, with the scientific community one step closer to making space exploration more sustainable, by providing increased payload capacity for space vehicles and reductions in specific fuel consumption.

The simplicity of the RDE structure and its advantageous features make this innovative concept a possible future solution as a stand-alone engine for aerospace propulsion. However, this concept still requires a great deal of research and development work. Therefore, taking into account the investigations on this topic, the motivation for this work is related to the need to understand the phenomenon of detonation that governs the operation of the RDE, whose performance depends on the inevitable irreversibilities of its achievable project.

Presenting Author: Francisco Brºojo University of Beira Interior

Presenting Author Biography: Francisco Miguel Ribeiro Proença Brojo is the Head of the Department of Aerospace Sciences of the University of Beira Interior (Portugal) and member of the C-MAST (Center for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies) research unit. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering (1991) at Coimbra University (Portugal), specialised in Energy (1996) at Beira Interior University (Portugal), and received his PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering (2004) from the Cranfield University (UK). His current research interests include Propulsion Systems and Fuels.

Authors:

Rita Pereira University of Beira Interior
Francisco Brºojo University of Beira Interior
João Silva University of Beira Interior