Detonation Gas Turbines

This article focuses on various technical and functional aspects of detonation gas turbines. Detonation combustion involves a supersonic flow, with the chemical reaction front accelerating, driving a shock wave system in its advancement. In the 1990s, detonation-based power concepts began with pulse detonation engines (PDEs), and have now moved into the continuous detonation mode, termed rotating detonation engines (RDEs). Modern gas turbine combustors are compact, robust, tolerant of a wide variety of fuels, and provide the highest combustion intensities. The single-spool RDE gas turbine is represented by a detonation cycle, which accounts for the supersonic features of the heat addition, starting at station 2.5′. Continued research and development by the RDE technical community is needed to see if the promise of improved performance and downsized turbomachinery for a detonation cycle is real.