Numerical Study of the Effect of MHD Accelerator Technology on the Thrust Augmentation in Pulse Detonation Engine

Abstract

The gas-liquid two-phase detonation model with magneto-hydro-dynamic (MHD)accelerator was established to study how the MHD accelerator technology affects the augmentation in Pulse Detonation Engine. The ignition, detonation initiation, detonation propagation and blow-down of Pulse Detonation Engine with MHD accelerator were calculated using the CE/SE method. Four Runge-Kutta was used to deal with the source term involved in chemical reactions. The mechanism of thrust augmentation of MHD accelerator was revealed. The effect of MHD accelerator on pulse detonation engine’s propulsion performance under different factors was analyzed. Results show that the deduced CE/SE method can be efficient to calculate the Pulse Detonation Engine with MHD accelerator. The MHD accelerator technology can be applied to the thrust augmentation of Pulse Detonation Engine. Potential performance gains with the plug-convergence-diverging MHD accelerator device. The calculation results have guidance function for the performance optimization design and the experiment of Pulse Detonation Engine.