Thermal Analysis Of Pulse Detonation Engines

Abstract

The pulse detonation engine (PDE) is a compact system that can be modeled thermodynamically by the Humphrey cycle and is capable of high efficiency. The rapid heat release for stochiometric fuel/oxidizer ratios results in developing high temperatures. The high temperatures produced during its operation can cause the engine to fail. Thus, operating this engine for a longer duration would become dubious if the temperatures are not dissipated from it. The current research aims to perform a preliminary thermal analysis. This analysis consists of two steps. The first step is to determine the heat dissipated from the engine using the unsteady state analysis, and the second step is to develop a preliminary heat exchanger design. A design method is developed and an example design of a heat exchanger is proposed.