370results about "Intermittent jet plants" patented technology

In one embodiment, a pulse detonation engine includes a resonator configured to fluidly couple to an air flow path upstream of a pulse detonation tube. The pulse detonation engine also includes a controller configured to receive signals indicative of an operating frequency of an air valve disposed at an upstream end of the pulse detonation tube, and to adjust a geometric configuration of the resonator in response to the signals.

A pulsed combustion device includes a support structure and a combustor carousel supported by the support structure and rotating relative thereto about an axis. The carousel has a number of combustion conduits in a circumferential array. Each conduit cyclically receives a charge and discharges combustion products of the charge. A venturi effect may help control fuel/air charge leakage from a flowpath spanning the carousel and a stationary manifold.

A pulse detonation engine (10) is provided with an aerovalve (14) for controlling the pressure of injected propellants (Ox, Fuel) in an open-ended detonation chamber (26). The propellants are injected at such pressure and velocity, and in a direction generally toward a forward thrust wall end (16) of the detonation chamber (26), an aerovalve (14) is formed which effectively inhibits or prevents egress of the propellant from the detonation chamber (26). A shock wave (34) formed by the injected propellant acts, after reflection by the thrust wall end (16) and in combination with the aerovalve (14), to compress and conserve, or increase, the pressure of the injected propellant. Carefully timed ignition (28) effects a detonation pulse under desired conditions of maintained, or increased, pressure. Termination of the propellant injection serves to “open” the aerovalve (14), and exhaust of the combusted propellants occurs to produce thrust. Alternate embodiments of propellant injection mechanisms (12, 112) provide pulse valves (24, 122, 124) each having a fixed slotted disk (40, 140, 240) and a rotating slotted disk (42, 142, 242) to provide the desired high speed valving of discrete pulses of propellant for injection.

A method enables thrust to be generated from a gas turbine engine using a pulse detonation system is provided. The engine includes an inlet portion and an exhaust portion, and the pulse detonation system includes a multi-staged pulse detonation augmentor including predetonator. The method comprises supplying a less than stoichiometric fuel/air mixture to the pulse detonation system during a first operating stage, detonating the fuel/air mixture with the predetonator to increase the temperature and pressure within the engine and to generate engine thrust, and supplying additional fuel and air to the pulse detonation system during a second operating stage.

A pulse detonation (PD) assembly includes a number of PD chambers adapted to expel respective detonation product streams and a number of barriers disposed between respective pairs of PD chambers. The barriers define, at least in part, a number of sectors that contain at least one PD chamber. A hybrid engine includes a number of PD chambers and barriers. The hybrid engine further includes a turbine assembly having at least one turbine stage, being in flow communication with the PD chambers and being configured to be at least partially driven by the detonation product streams. A segmented hybrid engine includes a number of PD chambers and segments configured to receive and direct the detonation product streams from respective PD chambers. The segmented hybrid engine further includes a turbine assembly configured to be at least partially driven by the detonation product streams.

A detonation engine which creates thrust by generating a detonation wave, wherein the overall engine structure is simplified, and continuous output can be obtained, comprises: a rotational flow generation device which generates rotational flow about an axis in a mixed gas of air and fuel or of oxygen and fuel; a detonation chamber arranged downstream from the rotational flow generation device, formed in a ring-shape radially extended and continuous in the circumferential direction, which continuously combusts in the circumferential direction the mixed gas in which the rotational flow is generated to generate detonation waves, and draws it in from the radial inside and exhausts it to the radial outside; and a nozzle which is connected to the detonation chamber, and jets the high temperature and pressure combustion gas generated by the detonation waves flowing from the detonation chamber, to the rear while expanding it, and converts it into thrust.

The invention discloses an air-breathing pulse detonation engine and a detonation method thereof. An air inlet channel, a mixed evaporator, a detonation chamber and a tailpipe are connected along an air inlet direction in turn, and a leaf valve, a main fuel nozzle and an air discharge cavity are arranged in an air inlet ring cavity along the air inlet direction in turn, wherein the fuel radially injects through the main fuel nozzle; the air discharge cavity and an air discharge tube are communicated through a through hole of a central body bracket to the exterior of an outer wall of the air inlet channel; the leaf valve maintains a forward normally opened state; a detonation tube is arranged in the detonation chamber through a mounting bracket; a drainage tube, an igniter and a heat exchanger are arranged on the detonation tube; a plurality of jet holes are formed on a tail side wall or a tail end face; the igniter is positioned on the front section of the detonation tube; and the drainage tube is gapped in the detonation chamber and near the igniter inside the detonation tube respectively. The air-breathing pulse detonation engine has the advantages of capabilities of reliably working under severe condition, realizing lower forward flow resistance, simultaneously suppressing and using reverse flow and improving the engine thrust, along with simple structure and wide flight range.

Pressure and density of a gaseous mixture are increased in the process of introducing the gaseous mixture into the combustor of an air-breathing pulse detonation engine employing atmospheric oxygen as an oxidizer. The exit valve 20 able to be opened and closed is provided at the outlet of the combustor 15, an air cooler 12 is provided in the exit of the intake, and density is increased by exchange of heat of the air received at the intake with a coolant in the air cooler 12. Furthermore, by closing the exit valve 20 provided in the outlet of the combustor during the process of loading the gaseous mixture, transition to the detonation process is possible without expansion of the high-pressure high density air obtained by ram-compression at the intake.

A device and method for improving the performance of a pulse detonation engine. The device includes at least one of an exhaust structure and an ejector. The exhaust structure can be configured as a straight, converging or diverging nozzle device, and connected to the engine to control the flow of a primary fluid produced during a detonation reaction. The ejector is fluidly coupled to the engine, using the movement of the primary fluid to promote entrainment of a secondary fluid that can be mixed with the primary fluid. The secondary fluid can be used to increase the mass flow of the primary fluid to increase thrust, as well as be used to cool engine components. Device positioning, sizing, shaping and integration with other engine operating parameters, such as fill fraction, choice of fuel and equivalence ratio, can be used to improve engine performance. In addition to thrust augmentation and enhanced cooling, the disclosed device can be used for engine noise reduction.

A pulse detonation combustor includes at least one plenum located along the length of the pulse detonation combustor. The plenum can be located: 1) proximate an air valve; 2) between a fuel injection port and an ignition source; 3) downstream of both the fuel injection port and the ignition source; and 4) proximate an exit nozzle of the pulse detonation combustor. In addition, the pulse detonation combustor can have multiple plenums, for example, proximate the air valve and proximate the exit nozzle. The location and dimensions of the plenum can be selectively adjusted to control mechanical loading on the wall, the velocity of fluid flowing within the combustor, and the pressure generated by the pulse detonation combustor.

A power system includes a fuel cell module adapted to receive a first fuel and a pulse detonation combustor adapted to receive and detonate a second fuel and exhaust a number of detonation products to create thrust for propulsion, mechanical work extraction or electrical power production.

A pulsed detonation engine having improved efficiency has a detonation chamber for receiving a detonable mixture, an igniter for igniting the detonable mixture, and an outlet for discharging detonation products. A diverging-converging nozzle is provided at the outlet of the detonation chamber. The geometry of the diverging-converging nozzle is selected to enable a relatively short nozzle to significantly improve efficiency of the pulsed detonation engine.

An engine cooling system includes a combustion chamber assembly configured to generate detonation waves and a first vapor cooling assembly. The combustion chamber assembly defines a flowpath between an inner liner and an outer liner. The first vapor cooling assembly includes a vaporization section located adjacent to the flowpath and a condenser section spaced from the flowpath, and is configured to transport thermal energy from the vaporization section to the condenser section through cyclical evaporation and condensation of a working medium sealed within the first vapor cooling assembly.