Summary of Recent Research on Detonation Wave Engines at UTA
A survey of recent research at UTA on detonation waves related to propulsion is presented in this paper. A brief historical review of the early pulse detonation engine (PDE) research at UTA is provided to lay the background for the development of a large-scale PDE Ground Demonstrator. Also current activities related to the development of rotating detonation wave engines (RDE) are reviewed. System integration studies for both PDE- and RDE-based propulsion systems are summarized, followed by a brief description of two programs focusing on application of detonation waves to hypersonic flow simulation and power generation.
Proof-of-Principle Detonation Driven, Linear Electric Generator Facility
A facility has been constructed in which a detonation-driven piston system has been integrated with a linear generator to produce electricity. Their integration is made possible with a mass-spring system that causes the piston to freely oscillate. The piston may then drive a slider containing neodymium magnets through a generator coil. Two facility setups are described. In the rst setup, the piston is contained in a single mass, twospring system where the detonation wave pressure may be modeled as a variable force. Pressure, load, and linear translation data are collected to characterize the performance of the system. Atmospheric initial mixtures of oxygen with hydrogen, propane, and methane were detonated. A load wall is removed for the second setup where a linear motor was rewired as a passive generator for a two-mass, four-spring system proof-of-concept test. Future work and overall potential of the facility is discussed.
Effects of reservoir volume on performance of pulse tube cooler.
A pulse tube cooler has the advantages of long-life and low-vibration over conventional cryocoolers such as G-M and Stirling coolers because of the absence of moving parts at low temperature. On the other hand, the combination of a reservoir and orifice is indispensable to optimize the performance of pulse tube coolers. In order to make the pulse tube cooler compact for practical applications, the volume of reservoir should be minimized. This paper analyzes the effects of the reservoir volume on the thermodynamic performance of various components in a simple orifice and a double-inlet pulse tube cooler by combining a linearized model with a thermodynamic analysis. Expressions of entropy production for those components are presented. The results show that the reservoir volume has a significant influence on the entropy production in the various components when the reservoir to pulse tube volume ratio is smaller than about 5. The ratio is important to determine the minimum reservoir volume for a pulse tube cooler. Optimum settings for a double-inlet pulse tube cooler are also discussed.