Simulation of wave mode switching in a rotating detonation engine with gaseous and liquid fuel

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Simulation of wave mode switching in a rotating detonation engine with gaseous and liquid fuel

Salvadori, Marc / Panchal, Achyut / Menon, Suresh

Abstract Three-dimensional simulations of a realistic two-phase rotating detonation engine are conducted to understand the effects of gaseous and liquid fuel on mechanisms of wave mode switching. A fully compressible solver coupled with an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach is used for this numerical study. Hydrogen and kerosene are used as gaseous and liquid fuels, respectively, with air as an oxidizer. Starting from an established dual-wave mode solution with gaseous hydrogen as fuel, when the hydrogen mass flow rate is reduced to half, a weak/unstable wave propagation is obtained. On the other hand, while injecting kerosene spray in addition to the lean hydrogen gas, the original two-wave system transitions into a single stable self-sustained detonation wave. Analyses of these results show that during the wave mode switching from dual-wave to single wave mode, the velocity of one wave increases first but then drops substantially leading to an uncoupled front, whereas, the other wave first slows down and then catches up transitioning into a stable detonation wave. Even though kerosene helps sustain a detonation wave in a lean hydrogen-air mixture which otherwise is unstable, the detonation wave that decays has insufficient available hydrogen and highly rich kerosene vapor ahead of it and this causes weakening the shock front. Upon stabilization, the resultant single propagating front remains as a hydrogen-driven and kerosene-supported detonation wave.