Air-breathing rotating detonation engine supplied with liquid kerosene: propulsive performance and combustion stability

Experimental results are presented for a rotating detonation engine supplied with liquid kerosene and preheated air without liquid or gaseous additions to the propellant mixture. Various combustion modes for the generic combustor geometry design were observed—from deflagration, through pulsed combustion and high-frequency instabilities, to stable detonation propagation. Attention was paid to detonation stability (if present), its characteristics, and the propulsive performance of the combustor with a focus on specific thrust and pressure gain through thrust and outlet total pressure measurement. These parameters measured for the observed modes were compared. The stability of the detonation combustion proved not to be critical to achieve high performance of the combustion chamber. For example, high performance was achieved for combustion modes with high-frequency instabilities.