Pulse Combustor Apparatus

A pulse combustor apparatus including a combustor tube having open ends and containing at least one combustion zone where combustion of a fuel occurs and heat is released, resulting in the formation of a standing acoustic mode with nodes and anti-nodes in the tube. The combustion zone is located approximately half the distance between the acoustic pressure node and anti-node where the acoustic pressure oscillation lags the acoustic velocity oscillation by approximately one-quarter wavelength of the oscillation. Furthermore, the combustion air must flow towards the acoustic pressure anti-node. The fundamental principle relating to the occurrence of the pulsations in the combustor is the interaction between the combustion processes and both the non-zero acoustic velocity and acoustic pressure oscillations at the designated combustion zone location. In a preferred embodiment employing a vertical combustor tube, the combustion zone is located one quarter of the length of the tube away from the bottom of the combustor tube and a heat exchanger is located three quarters of the length of the combustor tube away from the bottom of the combustor tube.Georgia Tech Research Institut