Performance Characteristics of a Rotating Detonation Combustor Exiting Into a Pressurized Pleunum to Simulate Gas Turbine Inlet

Abstract The present study aims to experimentally characterize the performance of a rotating detonation combustion (RDC) system integrated with a pressurized downstream plenum to simulate the high-pressure inlet conditions of power generating gas turbines. A thorough understanding of the operational behavior including wave mode behavior, static pressure profile along the combustor length, and dynamic features of pressure fluctuations is crucial for successful integration of RDC with the turbine. In this study, two RDC configurations are investigated, RDC with a constant area annulus and RDC with a converging nozzle. In both cases, the RDC flow exited into a plenum chamber kept at pressures varying from 155 kPa to 330 kPa. RDC was operated on methane and oxygen-enriched air to represent reactants used in land-based power generation. Experiments were conducted for the two RDCs configurations operated at three reactant mass flow rates (0.23, 0.32, 0.46 kg/s). The RDC performance is characterized by time-averaged static pressures measurements, and wave velocity determined by ionization probes. In addition, dynamic pressure measurements were recorded both inside and near the exit of RDC channel to investigate wave interactions between RDC and downstream plenum. Results show that the RDC with the converging nozzle achieved superior performance while minimizing detrimental interactions with the reflected shock and/or acoustic waves from the downstream plenum.