Performance prediction for oblique detonation wave engines (ODWE)

The aim of this paper is to present a mathematical model to predict the overall performance of an oblique detonation wave engine (ODWE). The model of the propulsive system accounts for the four main components of a vehicle propelled by an ODWE, the air intake, a mixing device. the ODW-based combustor and a supersonic nozzle. The combustion modeling of the ODW accounts explicitly for the finite-rate kinetics of the combustible mixture as opposed to the simpler models adopted in the previous studies which are based either on modified Rankine-Hugoniot relations with a prescribed heat addition or on the assumption of CJ equilibrium conditions behind the detonation wave. All the relevant performance parameters of the engine can be estimated together with a first guess of the geometry of the vehicle. Therefore, the model can be easily incorporated into a more global optimization procedure involving the vehicle weights and the overall mission profile