Variable initiation location system for pulse detonation combustor

摘要

A pulse detonation combustor (PDC) includes a combustion tube, an inlet located on an upstream end of the combustion tube which receives a flow of a fuel/air mixture, an enhanced DDT region located within the tube downstream of the inlet, a nozzle disposed on a downstream end of the tube and a fortified region disposed downstream of the enhanced DDT region and upstream of the nozzle. A combustion initiation system that provides multiple initiation locations at different axial stations along the length of the tube are positioned downstream of the inlet and upstream of the fortified region. The initiator system is operable to initiate combustion of a fuel-air mixture within the tube at a selected one of the initiation locations.

主权项

1. A method of operating a pulse detonation combustor (PDC) having a combustion tube, an inlet disposed on an upstream end of the combustion tube, an enhanced deflagration-to-detonation (DDT) region located within the combustion tube downstream of the inlet, a nozzle disposed on a downstream end of the combustion tube, a fortified region disposed downstream of the enhanced DDT region and upstream of the nozzle, and a combustion initiation system providing a plurality of initiation locations along an axial length of the combustion tube, the method comprising:
providing a flow of a fuel/air mixture to the combustion tube via the inlet; activating the combustion initiation system at a selected initiation location of the plurality of initiation locations along the length of the combustion tube to ignite the fuel/air mixture within the combustion tube at the selected initiation location, in order to select a detonation region at which combustion of the fuel/air mixture transitions to a detonation, wherein the detonation region is the fortified region of the combustion tube; detecting a location of a transition to detonation of a previous combustion; adjusting the selected initiation location at which to activate the combustion initiation system based on the detected location of the transition to detonation of the previous combustion; and exhausting combustion products from the combustion tube through the nozzle.