Experimental study on propagation characteristics of rotating detonation wave with kerosene fuel-rich gas

In this study, kerosene fuel-rich gas produced by the combustion in the gas generator was used as the fuel and oxygen-rich air was used as the oxidant to investigate the propagation characteristics of the rotating detonation wave (RDW). The initiation of the kerosene fuel-rich gas and propagation process of the RDW were analyzed. The influences of the oxygen content in the oxidizer, kerosene mass flow rate of the gas generator, and temperature of the kerosene fuel-rich gas on the propagation process of the RDW were studied. The experimental results revealed that the propagation velocity of the RDW could be improved by increasing the three parameters mentioned above with the kerosene mass flow rate as the strongest factor. The minimum oxygen content that could successfully initiate and maintain the stable propagation of the RDW was 32%, achieving the RDW velocity of 1141.9 m/s. The RDW mainly propagated as two-counter rotating waves and a single wave when the equivalent ratios were 0.62–0.79 and 0.85–0.87, respectively. The highest RDW velocity of 1637.2 m/s was obtained when the kerosene mass flow rate, oxygen content, and equivalent ratio were 74.6 g/s, 44%, and 0.87, respectively.