Detonation engine development for reaction control systems of a spacecraft

Study of a Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE) has been carried out in many research institutions. The RDE has the advantage of high efficiency and simple structure. Taking this advantage of its benefits, application to the reaction control system of a spacecraft is expected. Toward the practical use, the knowledge of the detonation propagation in operation and quantification of stable operating range is essential. In the present study, we have produced the RDE with the linear channel that specializes in visualization. The first experimental results of this RDE are reported. The main purpose is obtaining basic combustion characteristics. The optical access of the RDE can be easy by linear channel. In the experiment, the propagation of the detonation wave front is confirmed by a high speed video camera and pressure sensors. The location information of the wave front obtained from the image, the x-t diagram after ignition was obtained. Thereby, the transition to detonation is confirmed. The propagation of the multi-wave front in the steady state was confirmed by the images and pressure sensor. Propagation velocity of the wave front is also obtained by the pressure history and the images.