Computational Simulation of Detonation Waves and Model Reduction for Reacting Flows

Abstract

Geometry is a crucial consideration in the design of detonation chambers of pulse detonation engines since it has a major impact on detonation ignition and operation efficiency. In this thesis, numerical simulations are used to study different geometrical configurations of detonation chambers and to gain insight into the underlying physical and chemical phenomena associated with the detonation process. The considered combustion process corresponds to a mixture of H2-O2 diluted in Ar modeled by the two-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations for multi-species and multi-reaction gases. Benchmark tests are used to validate the developed code. Simulations of different detonation chambers are performed to analyze and measure the effect of geometry on detonation parameters. A model order reduction approach based on Galerkin projection, proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and the discrete empirical interpolation method (DEIM) that addresses the computational challenges involved in the numerical simulations of reacting flows is also proposed and demonstrated.