PERFORMANCE COMPARISON OF GAS TURBINE LAYOUTS WITH PRESSURE GAIN COMBUSTION FOR PROPULSION APPLICATIONS

Different pressure gain combustion methods such as Constant Volume Combustion (CVC), Pulse Detonation Combustion (PDC), Rotating Detonation Combustion (RDC) and Oblique Detonation Wave Combustion (ODWC) are being explored for aerospace propulsion applications in recent years. In order to fully utilize the benefits of pressure gain combustion, it is necessary to analyze the propulsion engine from a system level. This includes the study of integrating pressure gain combustor with other components such as compressors and turbines, investigating the effects of combustor and turbine cooling, as well as engine performance under different operating conditions. In this paper, the performance of different engine layouts employing pressure gain combustion is studied. An RDC chamber is chosen as reference combustor technology, interacting dynamically with compressors, turbines, ejectors, and other engine components. All layouts are designed to provide a maximum design thrust of 100 kN, which is typical of a high bypass commercial turbofan engine. The combustor dynamic model is based on theoretical pressure gain combustion maps with a wide operational envelope, while the compressors and turbines are based on actual engine data, scaled to match the combustor operation. The results show the benefits and limitations of using pressure gain combustion in propulsion system in the most promising engine layouts.