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  • A Dazzling New Detonation Engine Could Ignite Hypersonic Travel

    From ltlee1@21:1/5 to All on Wed Dec 11 19:03:55 2024
    "If humans want to travel faster, they need better—and, inevitably, more complicated—engines. Recently, engineers have investigated ways to
    harness the chaotic power of explosions into an engine that can push
    past speeds far beyond the comparatively slow realm of conventional
    chemical combustion. These are known as detonation engines, they come in
    all types of designs—including pulse detonation engines, oblique
    detonation engines, and rotating detonation engines—and they each have
    their own quirks with regards to how they achieve this
    perilous-yet-powerful propulsion.

    Recently, rotating detonation engines (RDEs) have started to show some
    promise. In fact, earlier this year, the Houston-based Venus Aerospace
    achieved one of the longest sustained tests of its own RDE. This engine combusts its fuel and oxidizer in a rotating ring-shaped channel, and
    the resulting shockwaves create a sustained combustion reaction that
    makes the engine more efficient than conventional rockets.

    Now, a new engine designed by engineers at Tsinghua University in
    Beijing, China is building off the success of these types of engines,
    but introducing a high-speed rotor to further stabilize the detonation.
    It’s called a ram-rotor detonation engine (RRDE), and its creators hope
    that it will overcome some of the shortcomings of a typical RDE—poor
    thrust continuity, high starting Mach numbers (meaning it operates
    better at super and hypersonic speeds than at subsonic speeds), and poor performance gains, for instance.

    “The original intention of developing this new engine is to improve the structures of rotating detonation engines,” Haocheng Wen, co-author of
    an article detailing the engine in the Chinese Journal of Aeronautics,
    said in a press statement. “This concept is also inspired by the
    ram-rotor compressor.” "

    https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a63120790/ram-rotor-detonation-engine/

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From ltlee1@21:1/5 to All on Sun Dec 15 23:12:26 2024
    https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/china-spearheads-new-hypersonic-engine-214038

    "Chinese scientists have once again innovated a new technology—and not
    just any technology, but an extraordinary new engine that could improve rotating detonation engines. It could have profound implications for the
    global economy and our national security.

    Specifically, this invention could have serious impacts on China’s quest
    to become the dominant hypersonic weapons power in the world—not just in terms of military hypersonic capabilities, but even possibly creating hypersonic aircraft for civilian uses.
    What is It?

    It’s called a “Ram Rotor Detonation Engine” (RRDE). This hybrid engin fuses elements of both ramjet and pulse detonation engines (PDEs).
    Conventional combustion engines use flame propagation for burning fuel.
    The Ram Rotor Detonation Engine, however, utilizes detonation to create
    a supersonic combustion wave that will result in a more efficient engine
    and greater thrust.

    The proposed engine operates on a continuous cycle that includes four
    main phases. The first is air intake wherein air enters the engine at
    extremely high speeds (like a ramjet), compressing that air (the ram
    effect of “ramjet”).

    Next is fuel injection and mixing. Fuel is injected into the compressed
    air, creating combustion.

    All this is set up for the actual detonation wave. This is where the
    RRDE significantly differs from PDEs, because RRDEs use a rotating
    detonation chamber. RRDEs have multiple detonation tubes arrayed in a
    radial pattern around a central hub. As the detonation wave travels
    around the roto, it continuously ignites new fuel-air mixtures.

    Finally, there’s the exhaust. The high-pressure, high-velocity gases
    exit through a nozzle, creating thrust for the vehicle employing this
    unique and innovative engine. "

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)