Active Valve Resonant Pulse Combustor for Pressure Gain Combustion Applications

This work is an experimental demonstration of a novel resonant pulse combustor technology for which sustained pressure gain can be achieved at thermal equilibrium. The resonant pulse combustor employs an actively driven air inlet valve with passively modulated fuel injection such that the device operating frequency is specified by the valve set-point frequency. This configuration enables more control over the combustor operation compared to passive valve and valveless resonant pulse combustors and enables the durability necessary for consideration in practical applications. Combustor performance is characterized with measured stagnation pressure gain as a function of stagnation temperature and fuel mass flux. Steady-state stagnation pressure ratios between 1.005 and 1.025 are demonstrated for gaseous (ethylene) and liquid (gasoline) fuels at temperature ratios from 2.8 to 4.5. Baseline performance measurements for a well-studied passive valve resonant pulse combustor are presented for comparison. The proposed active valve technology provides a direct path for translation from research-type devices to practical gas turbine applications by addressing key challenges inherent of existing resonant pulse combustor technologies.