Experimental investigation on the effects of ignition energy on pressures in a pulse detonation combustor

Experimental investigation was carried out for the effects of ignition energy and filling degree on pressures in different locations along pulse detonation combustor in a PDE model under different ignition frequencies. In PDE model fueled by air/gasoline the conditions for obtaining fully-developed detonations are sufficient ignition energy and filling degree. Two different types of ignition systems were employed. The experimental results show that the ignition energy and filling degree have considerable influence on the detonation initiation. With low-energy plug, pulse detonation frequency was often less than ignition frequency. Whereas the high-energy igniter can make the deflagration-to-detonation transition shorter, and every ignition can successfully trigger a detonation with higher peak pressure. In addition, detonation occurrence varying with filling degree (over filled, critically filled or half-filled) was studied. The higher filling degree, the higher filling velocity will result in higher turbulence which can promote the fully-developed detonation.