Operability of a Natural Gas–Air Rotating Detonation Engine

Walters, Ian V.; Journell, Christopher L.; Lemcherfi, Aaron; Gejji, Rohan M.; Heister, Stephen D.; Slabaugh, Carson D.

doi:10.2514/1.b37735

Operability of a Natural Gas–Air Rotating Detonation Engine

Journal Article · Fri Feb 21 04:00:00 EST 2020 · Journal of Propulsion and Power (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2514/1.b37735· OSTI ID:1774971

Walters, Ian V. ^[1]; Journell, Christopher L. ^[2]; Lemcherfi, Aaron ^[2]; Gejji, Rohan M. ^[2]; Heister, Stephen D. ^[2]; Slabaugh, Carson D. ^[2]

Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Purdue University
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

A combustor was developed to operate with natural gas and air as the primary propellants at elevated chamber pressures and air preheat temperatures representative of land-based power generation gas turbine engines. Detonation dynamics were studied to characterize the operability of rotating detonation-based pressure gain combustion systems for this application. Measurements of chamber wave dynamics were performed using high-frequency pressure transducers and high-speed imaging of broadband combustion chemiluminescence. The rotating detonation engine was tested with two injector configurations across a broad range of mass flux (200–500 kg/m²/s), equivalence ratio (0.85–1.2), and oxygen mass fraction (23.2–35%) conditions to determine the effect of operating parameters on the propagation of detonation waves in the combustor. Wave propagation speeds of up to 70% of the mixture Chapman–Jouguet detonation velocity and chamber pressure fluctuations greater than 4 times the mean chamber pressure were observed. Supplementing the air with additional oxygen, varying the equivalence ratio, and enriching the fuel with hydrogen revealed that combustor operability is sensitive to the chemical kinetics of the propellant mixture. Comparing the operational trends of the two injector configurations suggests that one design mixes the incoming propellants more effectively. Although most test conditions exhibited counter-rotating detonation waves within the chamber, the injector design with superior mixing characteristics was able to support single-wave propagation.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE), Oil & Natural Gas

Grant/Contract Number:: FE0025343

OSTI ID:: 1774971

Journal Information:: Journal of Propulsion and Power (Online), Journal Name: Journal of Propulsion and Power (Online) Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 36; ISSN 1533-3876

Publisher:: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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