PULSED AND CONTINUOUS DETONATIONS: OVERVIEW OF AVAILABLE PATENTS FOR 50 YEARS

Abstract

Pulsed and continuous detonation of motor fuel o¨ers the most ef- ¦cient fuel utilization in combustion process and allows increasing the e©ciency of jet engines by achieving a lower entropy of expanded combustion products compared to the conventional combustion process at constant pressure [1]. In the last two decades, research and development work aimed at creating various types of jet engines with controlled detonation of motor fuel has been actively carried out worldwide. The paper will provide the thorough analysis of patents on the various designs of pulsed detonation (Fig. 1) and continuous-detonation (Fig. 2) engines as well as the various methods for organizing the operation process in such engines. The main research and technical problems of creating practical detonation engines are identi¦ed. These include low detonability of standard motor fuels, thermal protection and cooling, cyclic loads, vibrations, and noise. The most promising approaches to solving some of these problems have been reported and discussed. Thus, for enhancing fuel detonability in terms of shortening de§agtation-to-detonation (DDT) run-up distance and time, the concept of fast DDT [4] can be used. However, despite some progress in this ¦eld of science and technology, most of the problems have not yet been fully resolved.