THRUST MODULATION IN A MULTIPLE COMBUSTOR PULSE DETONATION ENGINE USING CROSS-COMBUSTOR DETONATION INITIATION
First Claim
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1. An engine, comprising:
- a plurality of detonation combustor chambers, at least one of the pulse detonation combustor chambers comprising an ignition source;
a plurality of connectors, each of the connectors connecting two of the detonation combustor chambers to facilitate cross-fire detonation between the two pulse detonation combustor chambers;
an oxidizer supply coupled to the detonation combustor chambers;
a fuel supply coupled to the detonation combustor chambers; and
a controller to control the supply of oxidizer and fuel from the oxidizer supply and the fuel supply to the detonation combustor chambers to modulate the thrust of the engine during the flight envelope.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for modulating the thrust during a flight envelope of a multiple combustor chamber detonation engine using cross-combustor chamber detonation initiation are provided. The detonation combustor chambers are filled with a combustible mixture of fuel and oxidizer. The combustible mixture in one of the detonation combustor chambers is ignited by an ignition source, and the remaining detonation combustor chambers are ignited by detonation cross-firing via connectors. A controller controls the ignition source and the supply of oxidizer and fuel to the detonation combustor chambers to modulate the thrust of the engine during the flight envelope.
24 Citations
30 Claims
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1. An engine, comprising:
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a plurality of detonation combustor chambers, at least one of the pulse detonation combustor chambers comprising an ignition source; a plurality of connectors, each of the connectors connecting two of the detonation combustor chambers to facilitate cross-fire detonation between the two pulse detonation combustor chambers; an oxidizer supply coupled to the detonation combustor chambers; a fuel supply coupled to the detonation combustor chambers; and a controller to control the supply of oxidizer and fuel from the oxidizer supply and the fuel supply to the detonation combustor chambers to modulate the thrust of the engine during the flight envelope. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for thrust modulation during a flight envelope in an engine having detonation combustor chambers coupled together by connectors, the method comprising:
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filling the detonation combustor chambers with a combustible mixture of oxidizer and fuel; igniting the combustible mixture in one of the detonation combustor chambers via an ignition source to generate a detonation shock wave that propagates in the one detonation combustor chamber; igniting remaining detonation combustor chambers by propagating the detonation shock wave from the one detonation combustor chamber to the remaining detonation combustor chambers via the connectors; and controlling supply of the oxidizer and the fuel to the detonation combustor chambers to modulate the thrust of the engine during the flight envelope. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions of a computer program that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for thrust modulation during a flight envelope in an engine having detonation combustor chambers coupled together by connectors, the method comprising:
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filling the detonation combustor chambers with a combustible mixture of oxidizer and fuel; igniting the combustible mixture in one of the detonation combustor chambers via an ignition source to generate a detonation shock wave that propagates in the one detonation combustor chamber; igniting remaining detonation combustor chambers by propagating the detonation shock wave from the one detonation combustor chamber to the remaining detonation combustor chambers via the connectors; and controlling supply of the oxidizer and the fuel to the detonation combustor chambers to modulate the thrust of the engine during the flight envelope. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification