Pulse Detonation Engines

Talking about engines is a mechanical engineer's treat and we are sure that this one is going to be a special one for you. We are talking about the pulse detonation engine (PDE).

It can be defined as a type of propulsion system in which detonation of the air-fuel combustible mixture is done to generate super power. Detonation here means compressing the air-fuel mixture prior to the ignition process. Due to this, a compressor is not used in this engine. The pressure can go as high as 10 MPa. This is done for creating a pulsejet that can detonate the mixture.

This process is different from deflagration which is used in car engines, where low pressure is required for gentle ignition. But here the ignition is violent. It is so violent that mechanical shutters that are widely used in engines are of no application. To counter that, a series of valves is used to carefully time the process.

PDE can be operated with many fuels. We can use bio-gas, natural gas, propane, coal, kerosene, octane and jet fuels. By the way, this engine can be operated on literally any fuel but it will take a high level of engineering to make such adjustments.

A PDE is an engine where the main scientific attraction is its design and versatility. Because of its design that offers power, it finds many areas of application, especially in defence services.

• In missiles and UAVs
• In the USA military aircraft Rutan Long-EZ (pictured)
• For electric power generation in both civilian and military work fields
• In both small scale and large scale power plants

PDEs are our future. A lot of research has been conducted and more research needs to be carried out in order to increase its area of application and make it a 'real' household name.

image - Wikipedia