Analysis of a Nonlinear Lumped Parameter Pulse Combustor Model

Abstract

An approximation is derived for the solution of a nonlinear lumped parameter model of pulse combustor operation with a smoothed submodel for the mass reactant flow rate. The closed form approximations for the pressure oscillations in the combustion chamber, and the velocity oscillations in the tailpipe, are capable of serving as the basis for optimizing pulse combustor operation with respect to the broad range of physical and geometrical parameters involved; a study of the effects associated with varying several of these parameters is presented, in both tabular and graphical form. Numerical solutions of the governing equations for pressure and velocity are constructed and it is shown that the closed form approximation compares very favorably with the numerical results.