Preliminary Criterion for Positive Total Pressure Gain in Kerosene/Air Rotating Detonation Combustor

Abstract

The rotating detonation combustor is promising to be a total pressure gain combustor and receives considerable attention in the past decade. Many studies have pointed out that the pressure gain performance is significantly related to the inlet area ratio, whereas no criterion for obtaining positive total pressure gain has been established until now. This study performed a series of numerical simulations to investigate the idealized total pressure gain performance of vapor kerosene/air rotating detonation combustor by varying the inlet area ratios and injection total pressures. A preliminary criterion for obtaining positive total pressure gain in vapor kerosene/air rotating detonation combustor is established and then validated with simulation cases and existing research. The results indicate that the total pressure gain increases with the increase of the inlet area ratio and chamber diameter, whereas it decreases with the increase of the injection total pressure. The established criterion can serve as a reference value for the design of the vapor kerosene/air rotating detonation combustor, above which a positive total pressure gain can be obtained.