The connection between rotating detonation waves and tangential high-frequency combustion instability (T-HFCI) suggests that radial HFCI (R-HFCI) may be induced by radial detonation. This implies the potential for utilizing radial detonation to achieve propulsion. This paper first explores a novel continuous detonation combustor based on radial detonation. First, the feasibility of stable operation in a radial detonation combustor is verified using a configuration with large injection intervals (LIIs). Second, a baffled configuration is employed to significantly expand the radial detonation zone, increasing the injection area ratio and propellant flow rate. The results indicate that stable operation of a two-subregion radial detonation is achieved with the LII configuration. As the inlet total pressure increases, the detonation mode transforms from rotating detonation to radial detonation, suggesting that higher inlet pressures may favor the formation of radial detonation. Owing to high-frequency reflections of radial detonation waves, the height of the fresh mixture layer in the radial detonation mode is kept at the millimeter level. In the baffled combustor, a self-stabilization process of radial detonation is observed, confirming it as a stable state in the evolution of the detonation flow field. A total pressure gain of 13.4% is obtained at the outlet in the baffled combustor. Furthermore, stable full-domain radial detonation under random single hot-spot ignition has been achieved. This work offers a new strategy for organizing combustion in detonation propulsion.
Li et al. (Mon,) studied this question.