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Visualization of Valved Pulsejet Combustors and Evidence of Compression Ignition

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Abstract

Valved pulsejet combustor geometries of different chamber and tail pipe lengths are tested experimentally. High-speed pressure and ionization data from various opaque engines are complemented with high-speed visualization data (from transparent engines of the same geometric sizing) acquired from three cameras, with the first resolving the broadband luminosity in the device, the second ascertaining the reed valves’ opening time and the third capturing the pulsejet exhaust flow using background oriented Schlieren. The resulting information presents a detailed description of the valved pulsejet mechanics that has been lacking in literature. The rapid combustion event powering every cycle is attributed to multiple auto-ignitions occurring mostly in tandem. An important precursor to this combustion event is the “whipping” produced by the fast closure of the reed valves, which creates a buffer region of unburned reactants ready to be consumed simultaneously. By cross-sectionally averaging the broadband luminosity over different cycles, x-t plots of combustion and fluid dynamics inside a pulsejet combustor are presented, which along with other acquired data, result in the conclusion that Helmholtz resonance is the mode of operation as opposed to the widely claimed quarter-wave oscillatory behavior. By drawing from analogues seen in compression ignition engines, it is argued that valved pulsejet combustors behave very closely to the latter in terms of the method of sustained operation—rapid combustion caused by multiple auto-ignitions events—brought forth by a periodic compression of the reacting mixtures enabled by the fluidic piston (as opposed to a mechanical one in automotive engines) in the tail pipe. In this sense, it is argued that compression ignition, rather than the much broader and less clear “resonant combustion” might be a better descriptor for pulsejet behavior.

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Funding

This study was funded by FMV Sweden (Grant No.: # 415509-LB937080).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA

    Vijay Anand, Justas Jodele, Vincent Shaw, Andrew Russell & Ephraim Gutmark

  2. Swedish Defense Material Administration, 115 88, Stockholm, Sweden

    Erik Prisell

  3. Etteplan, Vretenvägen 10, 171 54, Solna, Sweden

    Owe Lyrsell

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  1. Vijay Anand
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Correspondence to Vijay Anand.

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Anand, V., Jodele, J., Shaw, V. et al. Visualization of Valved Pulsejet Combustors and Evidence of Compression Ignition. Flow Turbulence Combust 106, 901–924 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10494-020-00203-4

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