Propulsion performance of inner-cylinder-less rotating detonation engine

We evaluated the propulsion performance of a nozzle-less, inner-cylinder-less rotating detonation engine (RDE). For a C2H4–O2 mixture, the RDE was tested in a low-back-pressure environment at several propellant mass flow rates ranging from 8 to 45 g/s. In high-speed imaging of the self-luminescence within the combustor, rotating luminous regions were observed at a mass flow rates greater than 22 g/s. The specific impulse efficiency was greater than 80% for all the mass flow rate, and approximately 90% in some cases, which is comparable with ones in conventional RDEs having inner cylinders. By the control surface analysis, it was clarified that propellants injection from the injector holes and pressure on the bottom of the combustion chamber account for the thrust. It was also suggested that the design of the outer cylinder of the combustion chamber and the injector arrangement may affect the thrust performance. Axial Mach number distributions within the engine were calculated under an assumption of isentropic expansion. As a result, the burned gas reached a sonic or supersonic velocity at the outlet of the combustion chamber. Axial pressure distributions also suggested that the acceleration of the burned gas was completed at a far-upstream region within the combustion chamber.