Performance Evaluation of Rotating Detonation Engines using Shock-Tube Extrapolation

Abstract

Rotating Detonation Engines (RDEs) represent a promising pressure-gain combustion technology capable of higher efficiency and compactness compared to conventional propulsion systems. However, the inherently unsteady nature of detonation presents challenges for both experimental characterization and computational modeling. This thesis evaluates RDE performance through a shock-tube-based methodology that captures the essential detonation-driven flow fields within annular combustion chambers. Verification is carried out using Sod shock tube problems, followed by simulations of methane–oxygen mixtures under Chapman–Jouguet (CJ) detonation conditions. The analysis tracks detonation fronts, contact surfaces, and expansion waves using time-resolved pressure, velocity, and temperature fields. Azimuthal duplication of one-dimensional shock-tube results enables the construction of a two-dimensional unwrapped domain, revealing detonation propagation, reaction structures, and triangular wave features consistent with experimental observations. Comparisons with NASA CEA equilibrium calculations validate predicted detonation velocities and post-detonation states. Performance metrics including thrust, impulse, and specific impulse are quantified under vacuum and expanded boundary conditions. Results demonstrate the ability of the framework to reproduce pressure-gain combustion trends and characteristic detonation structures, while also identifying areas for future development such as injector coupling, higher-order solvers, and full annular simulations. This work establishes a computationally efficient framework for analyzing RDE flow physics and performance, contributing to the advancement of detonation based propulsion research