Thermal degradation of two liquids fuels and detonation tests for pulse detonation engine studies

Xavier Rocourt (1) , Philippe Gillard (1) , Isabelle Sochet (1) , D. Piton (2) , A. Prigeant (3)

1 PRISME - Laboratoire Pluridisciplinaire de Recherche en Ingénierie des Systèmes, Mécanique et Energétique
2 Roxel
3 Roxel

The use of liquid fuels such as kerosene is of interest for the pulse detonation engine (PDE). Within this context, the aim of this work, which is a preliminary study, was to show the feasibility to initiate a detonation in air with liquid-fuel pyrolysis products, using energies and dimensions of test facility similars to those of PDEs. Therefore, two liquids fuels have been compared, JP10, which is a synthesis fuel generally used in the field of missile applications, and decane, which is one of the major components of standard kerosenes (F-34, Jet A1, . . .). The thermal degradation of these fuels was studied with two pyrolysis processes, a batch reactor and a flow reactor. The temperatures varied from 600◦C to 1,000◦C and residence times for the batch reactor and the flow reactor were, respectively, between 10-30 s and 0.1-2 s. Subsequently, the detonability of synthetic gaseous mixtures, which was a schematization of the decomposition state after the pyrolysis process, has been studied. The detonability study, regarding nitrogen dilution and equivalence ratio, was investigated in a 50 mm-diameter, 2.5 m-long detonation tube. These dimensions are compatible with applications in the aircraft industry and, more particularly, in PDEs. Therefore, JP10 and decane were compared to choose the best candidate for liquid fuel PDE studies.

Mots clés: Pyrolysis; Batch reactor; Flow reactor; Deflagration to detonation transition (DDT); Decane; JP10; Pulse detonation engine (PDE)

Domaines: Milieux fluides et réactifs

Xavier Rocourt, Philippe Gillard, Isabelle Sochet, D. Piton, A. Prigeant. Thermal degradation of two liquids fuels and detonation tests for pulse detonation engine studies. Journal Shock Waves, 2007, 16 (3), pp.233-246. ⟨hal-00647787⟩