Duration: 18 months
The increase number of launches has expanded the need to improve existing propulsion systems for better efficiencies, reliability and cost effective solutions. Current solutions use constant pressure combustion with new research being focused on the use of detonation in the form of pulse or rotating detonation engines. The use of detonation has the potential of improving cycle efficiency due to increased operating pressures. The proposed idea aims at developing the technology for a novel rocket engine propulsion system based on standing detonation waves. This is a less studied topic in the field of space propulsion but an active field of research in the aeronautical domain for hypersonic flight using scramjet engines. The novel system works by injecting the fuel and oxidizer in a mixing chamber followed by a convergent-divergent nozzle to accelerate the mixture at high Mach numbers. A conical wedged placed in the high velocity stream will generate a shock wave which will lead to high temperatures that will initiate the detonation process. The resulted high pressure, high temperature gases will be expanded in a divergent nozzle generating the required thrust. The main advantage over conventional systems is the pressure gain combustion resulting in higher operating pressures. The key to this novel system is the attachment of the detonation wave to the walls of the conical shaped wedge. The primary objectives are to obtain a proof of concept for the standing detonation rocket engine and to analyse the performance in comparison with classical systems. The studies will target a 500 kN thrust LH2/LO2 engine, with the experimental results allowing the precise estimation of various parameters (such us pressure loses, velocities, temperatures, pressure increases etc.), thus enabling a correct assessment of the performances. The performance comparison will assess the benefits of the novel engine over classical systems and will also showcase the potential areas of improvement.
