THERMAL MANAGEMENT OF ROTATING DETONATION ENGINES

Abstract

The work contained in this thesis is part of the ongoing research efforts at NUS Temasek Laboratories regarding Rotating Detonation Engines (RDEs), a concept which has attracted considerable attention globally in recent years due to the immense academic progress on the topic and its prospective commercial viability, particularly in relation to aerospace propulsion and power generation systems.

One of the major outstanding barriers towards realizing practical RDEs is the issue of intensive heating of the combustor walls. This thesis has aimed to present an effective thermal management strategy for a laboratory-scale bipropellant (ethylene-air) RDE by means of a methodical approach to designing a cooling system. The research methods include experimental measurements, low-order analysis, and finite element analysis.

A preliminary thermal assessment is performed on the existing RDE to verify the need for cooling. Data obtained from this assessment is used as input to the analytical study of a hypothetical heat exchanger, which assists in comparing the cooling performance of air- and water-based cooling systems. Based on the analytical results, a water-cooled RDE is designed. Finally, stable 60-second test firings show results which are reproducible and consistent with theoretical prediction, thus demonstrating a successful implementation of an active cooling solution.