| dc.description.abstract | The Transient Inlet Concept (TIC) involves transient aerodynamics and wave
interactions with the objective of producing turbulence, compression and flow in ducted
engines at low subsonic speeds. This concept relies on the generation and control of
multiple detonation waves issuing from different ?stages? along a simple ducted engine,
and aims to eliminate the need for compressors at low speeds. Currently, the Zel?dovichvon
Neumann-Doering (ZND) steady, one-dimensional detonation is the simplest
method of generating the waves issuing from each stage of the TIC device.
This thesis focuses on the primary calculation of a full thermochemistry through a ZND
detonation from an initially unreacted supersonic state, through a discontinuous shock
wave and a subsonic reaction zone, to the final, reacted, equilibrium state. Modeling of
the ZND detonation is accomplished using Cantera, an open-source object-oriented code
developed at Caltech. The code provides a robust framework for treating
thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, and transport processes, as well as numerical solvers
for various reacting flow problems. The present work examines the effects of chemical
kinetics on the structure of ZND detonation, by using a detailed chemical kinetics
mechanism that involves 53 species and 325 simultaneous reactions (Gas Research
Institute 3.0). Using a direct integration of the system of inviscid ordinary differential
equations for the ZND detonation, I obtain results for the combination of different fuels
(hydrogen and methane) and oxidizers (oxygen and air). The detailed thermochemistry results of the calculations are critically examined for use in a future induced-detonation compression system. | en |
