Experimental Investigation of Shock Transfer and Shock Initiated Detonation in a Dual Pulse Detonation Engine Crossover System PDF Download

Author: Robert B. Driscoll
Publisher:
ISBN:
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Languages : en
Pages : 105

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Book Description
An experimental investigation was carried out to study the travel of a shockwave through a crossover tube and analyze the ability to cause shock initiated detonation. This concept involved using a pulse detonation engine (PDE) as a driver to produce a shockwave. This shockwave travelled to a second, adjacent detonation tube. In this driven PDE, the shockwave would reflect off of the inner, concaved wall causing shock initiated detonation. A preliminary study using a dual PDE crossover tube system yielded experimental results that have shown successful cases where reflected shockwaves are used to cause direct detonation initiation. For that study, two reactant-filled PDEs were connected through an air-filled crossover tube, with the driver PDE ignited. High speed pressure sensors were used to verify combustion wave speeds. Preliminary results showed shock initiated detonation to be possible when using a dual PDE crossover system. Additionally, a parametric study was carried out to investigate shock initiated detonation within a dual PDE crossover system. Shockwaves produced by a driver PDE were carried through crossover tubes of varying lengths and bends to the driven PDE. The driving PDE was ignited using a traditional spark plug. From burning wave speeds measured by high speed pressure sensors, results have shown a transferred shockwave reflecting off the wall of the driven PDE will achieve shock initiated detonation. However, the results have also yielded cases where the initial shockwave reflection does not directly initiate a detonation in the driven PDE, but rather causes ignition leading to accelerated deflagration to detonation transition (DDT). Overall results have shown that for specific tube geometries, there is a maximum effective crossover tube length in which shock initiated detonation is possible. Furthermore, shadowgraph techniques were used to capture and study the propagation of a transferred shockwave produced by a driving detonation tube. To accomplish this, a single PDE was used to drive a shockwave through a clear, composite, transfer tube. Shock attenuation data was gathered during this study. This information created a relation between shock strength and crossover tube length. Also, regardless of the filling conditions of the transfer tube, all shock waves reach similar attenuation rates at relatively the same transfer tube length. Moreover, a vortex plume study was carried out to capture and study shock Mach number decay as a planar shockwave transitions to a spherical shockwave at the exit of a transfer tube. Transfer tubes of varying lengths and bends were used in the study. General Attenuation Law was used to further understand the relation between spherical shock strength and propagation distance. Results showed that a bend placed at the end of the transfer tube enhances the strength of a planar shockwave. Finally, with the aid of the two shadowgraph experiments, a correlation between maximum effective crossover tube length and shock strength was created. Performance in the driven PDE begins to decrease when the incident shock strength decreases below M = 2.0.