Rotating detonation engines (RDEs) are gaining significant interest as a practical approach to increasing the operating efficiency of propulsion systems through pressure gain combustion. To use RDEs in practical gas turbines, their stability and performance with regard to hydrocarbon fuels need to be tested. Prior experimental work has shown that ethylene/air systems exhibit suppressed wave propagation, with speeds that are nearly half the ideal wave speeds. The purpose of this study is to simulate realistic RDE configurations that have been experimentally studied to gain insight into this wave suppression. Detailed numerical simulations using a reduced 8-species 2-step and a 21-species 38-step chemistry model are conducted. When ethylene is diluted with hydrogen, the system reaches a stable mode comparable to detonation propagation after unsteady transition period between a weak deflagrative and a stronger detonation mode. It is further shown that pure ethylene cases stay in the weak regime with weak pressure propagation aided by deflagration along the wave path. Species, temperature, and pressure profiles normal to the wave front show a weak pressure rise followed by a broad reaction zone. As a result, heat release is not confined to the near-shock region but is distributed across the detonation chamber.

作为通过压力增益燃烧来提高推进系统的运行效率的实用方法，旋转爆震发动机（RDE）引起了人们的极大兴趣。为了在实际的燃气轮机中使用RDE，需要测试其相对于烃类燃料的稳定性和性能。先前的实验工作表明，乙烯/空气系统的波传播受到抑制，其速度几乎是理想波速的一半。这项研究的目的是模拟经过实验研究的真实RDE配置，以深入了解这种波抑制。使用减少的8种2步和21种38步的化学模型进行了详细的数值模拟。用氢气稀释乙烯后，在弱爆燃和强爆震模式之间的不稳定过渡期之后，系统达到了与爆震传播相当的稳定模式。进一步表明，纯乙烯壳处于弱态，在沿波道爆燃的辅助下，压力传播较弱。垂直于波前的种类，温度和压力分布图显示出微弱的压力上升，随后是宽阔的反应区。结果，热量释放不限于近震区域，而是分布在整个爆震室中。垂直于波前的压力曲线显示出微弱的压力上升，随后是宽阔的反应区。结果，热量释放不限于近震区域，而是分布在整个爆震室中。垂直于波前的压力曲线显示出微弱的压力上升，随后是宽阔的反应区。结果，放热不限于近震区域，而是分布在整个爆震室中。