A key application for a Pulse detonation engine concept is envisioned as a hybrid engine, which replaces the combustor in a conventional gas turbine with a pulse detonation combustor (PDC). A limit-cycle model, based on quasi-unsteady computational fluid dynamics simulations, was developed to estimate the performance of a pressure-rise PDC in a hybrid engine to power a subsonic engine core. The parametric space considered for simulations of the PDC operation includes the mechanical compression or the flight conditions that determine the inlet pressure and the inlet temperature conditions, fill fraction, and purge fraction. The PDC cycle process time scales, including the overall operating frequency, were determined via limit-cycle simulations. The methodology for the estimation of the performance of the PDC considers the unsteady effects of PDC operation. These metrics include a ratio of time-averaged exit total pressure to inlet total pressure and a ratio of mass-averaged exit total enthalpy to inlet total enthalpy. This information can be presented as a performance map for the PDC, which was then integrated into a system-level cycle analysis model, using GATECYCLE, to estimate the propulsive performance of the hybrid engine. Three different analyses were performed. The first was a validation of the model against published data for a specific impulse. The second examined the performance of a PDC versus a traditional Brayton cycle for a fixed combustor exit temperature; the results show an increased efficiency of the PDC relative to the Brayton cycle. The third analysis performed was a detailed parametric study of varying engine conditions to examine the performance of the hybrid engine. The analysis has shown that increasing the purge fraction, which can reduce the overall PDC exit temperature, can simultaneously provide small increases in the overall system efficiency.
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January 2008
Research Papers
System-Level Performance Estimation of a Pulse Detonation Based Hybrid Engine
Jeffrey Goldmeer,
Jeffrey Goldmeer
GE Global Research Center
, 1 Research Circle, Niskayuna, NY 12309
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Venkat Tangirala,
Venkat Tangirala
GE Global Research Center
, 1 Research Circle, Niskayuna, NY 12309
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Anthony Dean
Anthony Dean
GE Global Research Center
, 1 Research Circle, Niskayuna, NY 12309
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Jeffrey Goldmeer
GE Global Research Center
, 1 Research Circle, Niskayuna, NY 12309
Venkat Tangirala
GE Global Research Center
, 1 Research Circle, Niskayuna, NY 12309
Anthony Dean
GE Global Research Center
, 1 Research Circle, Niskayuna, NY 12309J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Jan 2008, 130(1): 011201 (8 pages)
Published Online: December 26, 2007
Article history
Received:
June 21, 2006
Revised:
May 1, 2007
Published:
December 26, 2007
Citation
Goldmeer, J., Tangirala, V., and Dean, A. (December 26, 2007). "System-Level Performance Estimation of a Pulse Detonation Based Hybrid Engine." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. January 2008; 130(1): 011201. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2771246
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