NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF AN OBLIQUE DETONATION-WAVE ENGINE

A code for the simulations of supersonic combustion has been developed and applied to flow computations relevant to the concept of the oblique detonation wave engine (ODWE). In a previous paper, it was shown that a stable oblique detonation wave, attached to a ramp, could be obtained in a homogeneous fuel-air mixture. In the following, the total variation diminishing (TVD) code is used to simulate the effect of mixing fluctuations on the detonation front. An arbitrary, periodic variation of the equivalence ratio is modeled first and then compared with the wave obtained at similar conditions for a uniformly mixed flow. It is seen that original fluctuations in front curvature, due to Mach number variations, are amplified by the combustion, but the overall influence of the heat release is somewhat lessened. A more severe flow condition is then simulated by injecting fuel through two struts; in this worst mixing scenario, the curvature in the wave front is dominated by the mixing fluctuations, with little influence from combustion. The shock still acts as a flame holder; this indicates that although the oblique detonation front is replaced by a more complicated structure, the concept of ODWE can be generalized to realistic configurations. © 1988 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.