Rotating detonation engine

Last updated
A prototype RDE under test at the Marshall Space Flight Centre NASA RDE.jpg
A prototype RDE under test at the Marshall Space Flight Centre

A rotating detonation engine (RDE) uses a form of pressure gain combustion, where one or more detonations continuously travel around an annular channel. Computational simulations and experimental results have shown that the RDE has potential in transport and other applications. [1] [2]

Contents

In detonative combustion, the flame front expands at supersonic speed. It is theoretically more efficient than conventional deflagrative combustion by as much as 25%. [3] Such an efficiency gain would provide major fuel savings. [4] [5]

Disadvantages include instability and noise.

Concept

The basic concept of an RDE is a detonation wave that travels around a circular channel (annulus). Fuel and oxidizer are injected into the channel, normally through small holes or slits. A detonation is initiated in the fuel/oxidizer mixture by some form of igniter. After the engine is started, the detonations are self-sustaining. One detonation ignites the fuel/oxidizer mixture, which releases the energy necessary to sustain the detonation. The combustion products expand out of the channel and are pushed out of the channel by the incoming fuel and oxidizer. [2]

Although the RDE's design is similar to the pulse detonation engine (PDE), the RDE is superior because the waves cycle around the chamber, while the PDE requires the chambers to be purged after each pulse. [6]

Development

Several organizations work on RDEs.

General Electric

In 2023 GE demonstrated a subscale laboratory turbine based combined cycle (TBCC) system that combined a Mach 2.5-class turbofan paired with a rotating detonation-dual-mode ramjet (RD-DMRJ). The test came 18 months after program launch. The company reported rotating detonations of a compressed fuel-air mixture in the presence of the supersonic airflow necessary for speeds above Mach 5. [7]

DARPA

DARPA is working with RTX on Gambit, researching the application of rotating detonation engines for supersonic air-launched standoff missiles. [8] [9] DARPA is also working with Venus Aerospace which successfully tested its RDRE engine in March 2024. [10]

US Navy

The US Navy has been pushing development. [11] Researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have a particular interest in the capability of detonation engines such as the RDE to reduce the fuel consumption of their ships. [12] [11] Several obstacles must still be overcome in order to use the RDE in the field. As of 2012, NRL researchers were focusing on better understanding how the RDE works. [13]

Aerojet Rocketdyne

Since 2010, Aerojet Rocketdyne has conducted over 520 tests of multiple configurations. [14]

NASA

Daniel Paxson [15] at the Glenn Research Center used simulations in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to assess the RDE's detonation frame of reference and compare performance with the PDE. [16] He found that an RDE can perform at least on the same level as a PDE. Furthermore, he found that RDE performance can be directly compared to the PDE as their performance was essentially the same.

On January 25, 2023, NASA reported successfully testing its first full-scale rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE). This engine produced 4,000 lbf (18 kN) of thrust. NASA has stated their intention to create a 10,000-pound-force (44 kN) thrust unit as the next research step. [17] On December 20, 2023, a full-scale Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine combustor was reportedly fired for 251 seconds, achieving more than 5,800-pound-force (26 kN) of thrust. Test stand video captured at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville Alabama USA, demonstrated ignition. [18]

Energomash

According to Russian Vice Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, in mid-January 2018 NPO Energomash company completed the initial test phase of a 2-ton class liquid propellant RDE and plans to develop larger models for use in space launch vehicles. [19]

Purdue University

In May 2016, a team of researchers affiliated with the US Air Force developed a rotating detonation rocket engine operating with liquid oxygen and natural gas as propellants. [20] Additional RDE testing was conducted at Purdue University, including a test article called "Detonation Rig for Optical, Non-intrusive Experimental measurements (DRONE)", an "unwrapped" semi-bounded, linear detonation channel experiment. [21] IN Space LLC, in a contract with the US Air Force, tested a 22,000 N (4,900 lbf) thrust rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) while testing with liquid oxygen and gaseous methane at Purdue University in 2021. [22]

University of Central Florida

In May 2020, a team of engineering researchers affiliated with the US Air Force claimed to have developed a highly experimental working model rotating detonation engine capable of producing 200 lbf (890 N) of thrust operating on a hydrogen/oxygen fuel mix. [23]

In 2021 the group demonstrated an oblique detonation wave engine with a ramp angle of 30 degrees. [24] [25]

JAXA

On July 26, 2021 (UTC), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) succeeded in testing the RDE in space for the first time in the world by launching the S-520-31 sounding rocket equipped with a 500 N class RDE in the second stage. [26] The engine used gaseous methane and oxygen as propellants, generating an average thrust of 518 N and delivering 290 seconds of specific impulse. Rotating combustion also created a torque of 0.26 N·m, so a S-shaped pulse detonation engine was used to reduce the spin of the stage. [27] [28]

Łukasiewicz Research Network - Institute of Aviation

On September 15, 2021, the Warsaw Institute of Aviation performed the first successful flight test of an experimental rocket powered by a rotating detonation rocket engine, powered by liquid propellants. The test took place on September 15, 2021, at the testing ground of the Military Institute of Armament Technology in Zielonka near Warsaw in Poland. The rocket engine, according to the plan, worked for 3.2 s, accelerating the rocket to a speed of about 90 m/s, which allowed the rocket to reach an altitude of 450 m. [29]

Beijing Power Machinery Institute

In 2023 researchers announced a demonstration unit of a hybrid air-breathing engine. It combines a continuous RDE for propulsion at below Mach 7 with an oblique detonation engine for use at speeds up to Mach 16. The oblique detonation waves are stationary and stabilized. BPMI is China’s leading ramjet manufacturer. [30]

Chongqing University Industrial Technology Research Institute/Thrust-to-Weight Ratio Engine

Earlier in 2023, China achieved the world’s first RDE drone flight. The drone successfully flew at an undisclosed airfield in Gansu province. The FB-1 Rotating Detonation Engine was developed jointly by Chongqing University Industrial Technology Research Institute and private company Thrust-to-Weight Ratio Engine (TWR). [30]

Other research

Other experiments have used numerical procedures to better understand the flow-field of the RDE. [31] In 2020, a study from the University of Washington explored an experimental device that allowed control of parameters such as the width of the annulus. Using a high-speed camera, researchers were able to view it operating in extreme slow motion. Based on that they developed a mathematical model to describe the process. [32]

In 2021, the Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, successfully tested the world's first hypersonic detonation wave engine powered by kerosene, which could propel a plane at Mach 9. [33]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramjet</span> Supersonic atmospheric jet engine

A ramjet is a form of airbreathing jet engine that requires forward motion of the engine to provide air for combustion. Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 and can operate up to Mach 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear thermal rocket</span> Nuclear spacecraft propulsion technology

A nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) is a type of thermal rocket where the heat from a nuclear reaction replaces the chemical energy of the propellants in a chemical rocket. In an NTR, a working fluid, usually liquid hydrogen, is heated to a high temperature in a nuclear reactor and then expands through a rocket nozzle to create thrust. The external nuclear heat source theoretically allows a higher effective exhaust velocity and is expected to double or triple payload capacity compared to chemical propellants that store energy internally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnetohydrodynamic drive</span> Vehicle propulsion using electromagnetic fields

A magnetohydrodynamic drive or MHD accelerator is a method for propelling vehicles using only electric and magnetic fields with no moving parts, accelerating an electrically conductive propellant with magnetohydrodynamics. The fluid is directed to the rear and as a reaction, the vehicle accelerates forward.

A pulse detonation engine (PDE) is a type of propulsion system that uses detonation waves to combust the fuel and oxidizer mixture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scramjet</span> Jet engine where combustion takes place in supersonic airflow

A scramjet is a variant of a ramjet airbreathing jet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow. As in ramjets, a scramjet relies on high vehicle speed to compress the incoming air forcefully before combustion, but whereas a ramjet decelerates the air to subsonic velocities before combustion using shock cones, a scramjet has no shock cone and slows the airflow using shockwaves produced by its ignition source in place of a shock cone. This allows the scramjet to operate efficiently at extremely high speeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lightcraft</span> Aerospace craft utilizing beam-powered propulsion

The Lightcraft is a space- or air-vehicle driven by beam-powered propulsion, the energy source powering the craft being external. It was conceptualized by aerospace engineering professor Leik Myrabo at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1976, who developed the concept further with working prototypes, funded in the 1980s by the Strategic Defense Initiative organization, and the decade after by the Advanced Concept Division of the US Air Force AFRL, NASA's MFSC and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA X-43</span> Unmanned US experimental hypersonic aircraft, 1991-2000

The NASA X-43 was an experimental unmanned hypersonic aircraft with multiple planned scale variations meant to test various aspects of hypersonic flight. It was part of the X-plane series and specifically of NASA's Hyper-X program developed in the late 1990s. It set several airspeed records for jet aircraft. The X-43 is the fastest jet-powered aircraft on record at approximately Mach 9.6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SABRE (rocket engine)</span> Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine - a hybrid ramjet and rocket engine

SABRE is a concept under development by Reaction Engines Limited for a hypersonic precooled hybrid air-breathing rocket engine. The engine is designed to achieve single-stage-to-orbit capability, propelling the proposed Skylon spaceplane to low Earth orbit. SABRE is an evolution of Alan Bond's series of LACE-like designs that started in the early/mid-1980s for the HOTOL project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing X-51 Waverider</span> Unmanned hypersonic experimental aircraft

The Boeing X-51 Waverider is an unmanned research scramjet experimental aircraft for hypersonic flight at Mach 5 and an altitude of 70,000 feet (21,000 m). The aircraft was designated X-51 in 2005. It completed its first powered hypersonic flight on 26 May 2010. After two unsuccessful test flights, the X-51 completed a flight of over six minutes and reached speeds of over Mach 5 for 210 seconds on 1 May 2013 for the longest duration powered hypersonic flight.

Scramjet programs refers to research and testing programs for the development of supersonic combustion ramjets, known as scramjets. This list provides a short overview of national and international collaborations, and civilian and military programs. The USA, Russia, India, and China (2014), have succeeded at developing scramjet technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spacecraft electric propulsion</span> Type of space propulsion using electrostatic and electromagnetic fields for acceleration

Spacecraft electric propulsion is a type of spacecraft propulsion technique that uses electrostatic or electromagnetic fields to accelerate mass to high speed and thus generating thrust to modify the velocity of a spacecraft in orbit. The propulsion system is controlled by power electronics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hypersonic flight</span> Flight at altitudes lower than 90km (56 mi) and at speeds above Mach 5

Hypersonic flight is flight through the atmosphere below altitudes of about 90 km (56 mi) at speeds greater than Mach 5, a speed where dissociation of air begins to become significant and high heat loads exist. Speeds over Mach 25 have been achieved below the thermosphere as of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayaks</span> Russian hypersonic aircraft program

The Ayaks is a hypersonic waverider aircraft program started in the Soviet Union and currently under development by the Hypersonic Systems Research Institute (HSRI) of Leninets Holding Company in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Aluminum-Ice Rocket Propellant, or ALICE, is a rocket propellant that consists of nano-aluminum powder and water. After mixing, the material is frozen to keep it stable.

HyShot is a research project of The University of Queensland, Australia Centre for Hypersonics, to demonstrate the possibility of supersonic combustion under flight conditions using two scramjet engines, one designed by The University of Queensland and one designed by QinetiQ.

An airbreathing jet engine is a jet engine in which the exhaust gas which supplies jet propulsion is atmospheric air, which is taken in, compressed, heated, and expanded back to atmospheric pressure through a propelling nozzle. Compression may be provided by a gas turbine, as in the original turbojet and newer turbofan, or arise solely from the ram pressure of the vehicle's velocity, as with the ramjet and pulsejet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fastrac (rocket engine)</span> Pump-fed liquid rocket engine developed by NASA for use on small inexpensive, expendable rockets

Fastrac was a turbo pump-fed, liquid rocket engine. The engine was designed by NASA as part of the low cost X-34 Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) and as part of the Low Cost Booster Technology project. This engine was later known as the MC-1 engine when it was merged into the X-34 project.

A shock-induced combustion ramjet engine (abbreviated as shcramjet; also called oblique detonation wave engine; also called standing oblique detonation ramjet (sodramjet); or simply referred to as shock-ramjet engine) is a concept of air-breathing ramjet engine, proposed to be used for hypersonic and/or single-stage-to-orbit propulsion applications.

Space Engine Systems Inc. (SES) is a Canadian aerospace company and is located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The main focus of the company is the development of a light multi-fuel propulsion system to power a reusable spaceplane and hypersonic cruise vehicle. Pumps, compressors, gear boxes, and other related technologies being developed are integrated into SES's major R&D projects. SES has collaborated with the University of Calgary to study and develop technologies in key technical areas of nanotechnology and high-speed aerodynamics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pressure gain combustion</span>

Pressure gain combustion (PGC) is the unsteady state process used in gas turbines in which gas expansion caused by heat release is constrained. First developed in the early 20th century as one of the earliest gas turbine designs, the concept was mostly abandoned following the advent of isobaric jet engines in WWII.

References

  1. ↑ Lu, Frank; Braun, Eric (7 July 2014). "Rotating Detonation Wave Propulsion: Experimental Challenges, Modelling, and Engine Concepts". Journal of Propulsion and Power. 30 (5). The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics: 1125–1142. doi:10.2514/1.B34802. S2CID   73520772.
  2. 1 2 Wolanski, Piotr (2013). "Detonative Propulsion". Proceedings of the Combustion Institute. 34 (1): 125–158. Bibcode:2013PComI..34..125W. doi:10.1016/j.proci.2012.10.005.
  3. ↑ Птичкин, Сергей (2018-01-18). "В России испытали модель детонационного двигателя для ракет будущего". Российская газета (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-02-10.
  4. ↑ Cao, Huan; Wilson, Donald (2013). "Parametric Cycle Analysis of Continuous Rotating Detonation Ejector-Augmented Rocket Engine". 49th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference. doi:10.2514/6.2013-3971. ISBN   978-1-62410-222-6.
  5. ↑ Schwer, Douglas; Kailasanath, Kailas (25 September 2010). "Numerical Investigation of the Physics of Rotating Detonation Engines". Proceedings of the Combustion Institute. 33 (2). Elsevier, Inc.: 2195–2202. Bibcode:2011PComI..33.2195S. doi:10.1016/j.proci.2010.07.050.
  6. ↑ Fernelius, Mark; Elia, Shareil; Musielak, Dora E. "Pressure Gain Combustion Program Committee - Resources". AIAA Pressure Gain Combustion Program Committee. Archived from the original on 2017-01-01. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
  7. ↑ Trimble, Steve (December 19, 2023). "Rotating Detonation Sparks GE Path To Hypersonic Future | Aviation Week Network". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  8. ↑ Salvatore, Buccellato. "Gambit". darpa.mil. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  9. ↑ "RTX to develop rotating detonation engine for DARPA" . Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  10. ↑ Szondy, David (March 11, 2024). "Video: Hypersonic rotating detonation engine in sustained test burn". New Atlas. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  11. 1 2 Threewitt, Cherise (2013-03-08). "How the Rotating Detonation Engine Works". HowStuffWorks.
  12. ↑ Niemeyer, Kyle (2012-11-06). "US Navy developing rotating detonation engine". Physics Today. doi:10.1063/PT.5.026505. ISSN   0031-9228.[ dead link ]
  13. ↑ McKinney, Donna. "Navy Researchers Look to Rotating Detonation Engines to Power the Future". U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  14. ↑ Claflin, Scott; et al. "Recent Advances in Power Cycles Using Rotating Detonation Engines with Subcritical and Supercritical CO2" (PDF). Southwest Research Institute. S2CID   161054165. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  15. ↑ "Daniel E. Paxson - Controls and Dynamics Branch Personnel". www.grc.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 1999-08-23. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  16. ↑ "UCSB Full Bib - External Link". pegasus.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-09.[ permanent dead link ]
  17. ↑ Osorio, Ray (25 January 2023). "NASA Validates Revolutionary Propulsion Design for Deep Space Missions". www.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  18. ↑ Osorio, Raymond J (20 December 2023). "NASA's 3D-printed Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine Test". www.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  19. ↑ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-12-22.[ dead link ]
  20. ↑ Purdue LOX/NG RDE - HotFire on YouTube
  21. ↑ Slabaugh, Carson (2018). "Advancing Pressure Gain Combustion in Terrestrial Turbine Systems" (PDF). netl.doe.gov. Department of Energy. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  22. ↑ "ROTATING DETONATION ROCKET ENGINES (RDRE)". afresearchlab.com. Air Force Research Laboratory. 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  23. ↑ Blain, Loz (5 May 2020). "World-first "impossible" rotating detonation engine fires up". New Atlas. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  24. ↑ "UCF Oblique Wave Detonation Engine". www.infinitymasculine.com. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  25. ↑ Thornton, Mason R.; Rosato, Daniel A.; Ahmed, Kareem A. (2022-01-03). Experimental Study of Oblique Detonation Waves with Varied Ramp Geometries. AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum 3–7 January 2022. San Diego, CA: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi:10.2514/6.2022-1753. ISBN   978-1-62410-631-6 . Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  26. ↑ Spînu, Florina (19 August 2021). "Japan Tests Explosion-Powered Rocket for the First Time in Space, Is a Success".
  27. ↑ Goto, Keisuke; et al. (2023) [2022]. "Space Flight Demonstration of Rotating Detonation Engine Using Sounding Rocket S-520-31". Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. 60 (1): 273–285. Bibcode:2023JSpRo..60..273G. doi:10.2514/1.A35401. ISSN   0022-4650.
  28. ↑ Kawasaki, Akira; et al. (January 3–7, 2022). Flight Demonstration of Detonation Engine System Using Sounding Rocket S-520-31: System Design. AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi:10.2514/6.2022-0229. ISBN   978-1-62410-631-6.
  29. ↑ Poland launched a rocket powered by a detonation engine, 30 September 2021, retrieved 2021-10-07
  30. 1 2 Wang, Brian (2023-12-29). "China Makes Most Powerful Detonation Engine for Hypersonic Flight | NextBigFuture.com" . Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  31. ↑ Schwer, Douglas; Kailasanath, Kailas (2011-01-01). "Numerical investigation of the physics of rotating-detonation-engines". Proceedings of the Combustion Institute. 33 (2): 2195–2202. Bibcode:2011PComI..33.2195S. doi:10.1016/j.proci.2010.07.050.
  32. ↑ Strickler, Jordan (February 19, 2020). "New detonating engine could make space travel faster and cheaper". ZME Science. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  33. ↑ Tamim, Baba (November 20, 2022). "China claims 'world's first' kerosene-powered engine could propel jets nine times the speed of sound".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.