Investigation of Pulse Detonation Engines; Theory, Design and Analysis

Detonation and constant volume combustion has been known to the scientific community for some time but only recently has active research been done into its applications. Detonation based engines have received much attention in the last two decades because of its simple design and potential benefits to the aerospace industry. It is then the goal of this study to provide a background into detonation theory and application and establish the basis for future detonation based research at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In this paper we will discuss the experimental aspects of building, testing, and analysis of a pulsed detonation tube including the development of a pulsed detonation testbed and analysis via computational fluid dynamics