Performance Validation of a Single-Tube Pulse Detonation Rocket System

A pulse detonation engine can be operated even if there are no compression mechanisms such as compressors orpistons, and a rocket engine with an extremely low combustor fill pressure (pulse detonation rocket) thus becomespossible. In this research, we made a model pulse-detonation-rocket system with increased specific impulse by partialfill. The performance predicted by this model was then confirmed experimentally. The thrust can be calculated byusing the simplified pulse-detonation-engine model of Endo et al. [Endo, T., Kasahara, J., Matsuo, A., Inaba, K.,Sato, S., and Fujiwara, T., “Pressure History at the Thrust Wall of a Simplified Pulse Detonation Engine,” AIAAJournal, Vol. 42, No. 9, 2004, pp. 1921–1929] and the partial-filling-effect models of Sato et al. [Sato, S., Matsuo, A.,Endo, T., and Kasahara, J., “Numerical Studies on Specific Impulse of Partially Filled Pulse Detonation RocketEngines,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2006, pp. 64–69]. The mass flow rate of the propellantsupplied from the pressurized cylinders is considered in this calculation. As a result, the thrust performance can bedetermined by the kind of propellant, the initial conditions of the gas in the cylinders, the supply-valve-orifice andpulse-detonation-engine-tube volume, and the operation frequencies. We fabricated a pulse detonation rocketnamed Todoroki and verified the thrust calculation model via a horizontal sliding test. We confirmed that thestability of the pulse-detonation-engine operation depends on the ratio between the purge-gas thickness and the tubediameter. The thrust predicted by the model was identical to experimental results within 4%