Experimental investigations on a dual-tube pulse detonation rocket engine

To investigate operation of a dual-tube pulse detonation rocket engine (PDRE), experiments were carried out on a dual-tube PDRE system including with only one single-tube working and dual-tube working simultaneously, while operation frequency ranging from 5 to 25Hz. Aviation kerosene and oxygen were used as fuel and oxidizer, respectively. Pressure and thrust were measured by transducers. Experimental results show that, when working simultaneously, dual-tube has hardly any impact on the operation of either of the two single-tubes. In the same operating conditions, thrust data show that, whether single-tube or dual-tube, time-averaged thrust almost increases with operation frequency linearly between 5Hz and 15Hz. However, this trend slows down when operation frequency increases from 15 to 25Hz, and thrust of the dual-tube is nearly identical to that of the two single-tubes.