Numerical Study on the Two-Phase Detonation Flow Field of Coal Powder-Hydrogen in a Rotating Detonation Engine

Abstract

Rotating detonation engines (RDEs) have attracted significant attention in the aerospace field due to their high thermal cycle efficiency. This study explores the characteristics of rotating detonation in gas-solid mixed fuel within an air atmosphere. A theoretical detonation model for gas-solid mixed-phase fuel is developed in a cylindrical coordinate system. Using the three-dimensional conservation element and solution element (CE/SE) method, numerical simulations of the detonation process in a disc combustor are conducted in three dimensions. The flow field structure during the stable propagation of gas-solid mixed-phase rotating detonation waves is calculated. Subsequently, the analysis is conducted on the distribution characteristics of thermodynamic parameters in the detonation flow field, the distribution of chemical reaction zone, and the characteristics of wave system following the rotating detonation wave. The research results demonstrate that micron-sized coal powder can undergo a rapid reaction and support the stable propagation of rotating detonation waves with the assistance of hydrogen. However, due to the flat structural characteristics of the disc combustor and the non-premixed injection mode, the wave front of detonation wave appears as an irregular surface. The difference in the ability of coal powder and hydrogen jet to penetrate the air layer leads to the separation of the chemical reaction zone of the gas-solid mixed fuel, ultimately supporting the stable propagation of rotating detonation wave in the form of a dual reaction zone. The irregular surface structure of the rotating detonation wave leads to multiple reflections in the flat combustor, consequently causing the regular appearance of multiple reflected shock waves after the detonation wave.

Keywords

• |gas-solid mixed-phase detonation|detonation wave|powder fuel|coal powder|non-premixed|numerical simulation