The purpose of this thesis is to use a transient Computational Fluid Dynamics computer code written in FORTRAN 90 for full reaction kinetics, to perform an analysis of the physical processes and chemical phenomena occurring on a single cycle of an ideal Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE) using a stoichiometric mixture of H2 and O2. A small zone of high pressure and temperature is used to initiate the detonation wave in the PDE. A simple case with no chemical reactions and the same PDE geometry and “computational spark” is also tested. The speed of the wave relative to the reactants and a comparison with the simple case with no chemical reactions are used to verify the existence of a detonation wave being driven by the combustion of the reactants. The results and behavior of the detonation wave as it propagates through and out of the PDE are compared to those of similar numerical and experimental PDE cases in the literature, to verify the accuracy of the results. The results show that the basic physics and chemical phenomena occurring in the PDE can be modeled using a first order accurate computational code with non-equilibrium kinetics.
In future works the accuracy of the code will be increased to six-order in the spatial dimension to be able to model highly structured phenomena such as Deflagration to Detonation Transition (DDT) and fuel injection in supersonic flow for PDE applications.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this thesis is to use a transient Computational Fluid Dynamics computer code written in FORTRAN 90 for full reaction kinetics, to perform an analysis of the physical processes and chemical phenomena occurring on a single cycle of an ideal Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE) using a stoichiometric mixture of H<sub>2</sub> and O<sub>2</sub>. A small zone of high pressure and temperature is used to initiate the detonation wave in the PDE. A simple case with no chemical reactions and the same PDE geometry and “computational spark” is also tested. The speed of the wave relative to the reactants and a comparison with the simple case with no chemical reactions are used to verify the existence of a detonation wave being driven by the combustion of the reactants. The results and behavior of the detonation wave as it propagates through and out of the PDE are compared to those of similar numerical and experimental PDE cases in the literature, to verify the accuracy of the results. The results show that the basic physics and chemical phenomena occurring in the PDE can be modeled using a first order accurate computational code with non-equilibrium kinetics.</p> <p>In future works the accuracy of the code will be increased to six-order in the spatial dimension to be able to model highly structured phenomena such as Deflagration to Detonation Transition (DDT) and fuel injection in supersonic flow for PDE applications.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Davila Urresti, Alberto"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Aerospace Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Eric Perrell","Vladimir V. Golubev","L.L. Narayanaswami"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005-04-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2005-04-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:37Z","subjects":["computational","thermo-fluid","fluid dynamics","pulse detonation","Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics","Aerospace Engineering"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/223","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Eric Perrell","Vladimir V. Golubev","L.L. Narayanaswami"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Davila Urresti, Alberto"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Aerospace Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["computational","thermo-fluid","fluid dynamics","pulse detonation","Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics","Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/223"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this thesis is to use a transient Computational Fluid Dynamics computer code written in FORTRAN 90 for full reaction kinetics, to perform an analysis of the physical processes and chemical phenomena occurring on a single cycle of an ideal Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE) using a stoichiometric mixture of H2 and O2. A small zone of high pressure and temperature is used to initiate the detonation wave in the PDE. A simple case with no chemical reactions and the same PDE geometry and “computational spark” is also tested. The speed of the wave relative to the reactants and a comparison with the simple case with no chemical reactions are used to verify the existence of a detonation wave being driven by the combustion of the reactants. The results and behavior of the detonation wave as it propagates through and out of the PDE are compared to those of similar numerical and experimental PDE cases in the literature, to verify the accuracy of the results. The results show that the basic physics and chemical phenomena occurring in the PDE can be modeled using a first order accurate computational code with non-equilibrium kinetics.
In future works the accuracy of the code will be increased to six-order in the spatial dimension to be able to model highly structured phenomena such as Deflagration to Detonation Transition (DDT) and fuel injection in supersonic flow for PDE applications.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Computational Study of Thermo-Fluid Dynamics of Pulse Detonation Engines"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Eric Perrell","Vladimir V. Golubev","L.L. Narayanaswami"],"dc:creator":["Davila Urresti, Alberto"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this thesis is to use a transient Computational Fluid Dynamics computer code written in FORTRAN 90 for full reaction kinetics, to perform an analysis of the physical processes and chemical phenomena occurring on a single cycle of an ideal Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE) using a stoichiometric mixture of H2 and O2. A small zone of high pressure and temperature is used to initiate the detonation wave in the PDE. A simple case with no chemical reactions and the same PDE geometry and “computational spark” is also tested. The speed of the wave relative to the reactants and a comparison with the simple case with no chemical reactions are used to verify the existence of a detonation wave being driven by the combustion of the reactants. The results and behavior of the detonation wave as it propagates through and out of the PDE are compared to those of similar numerical and experimental PDE cases in the literature, to verify the accuracy of the results. The results show that the basic physics and chemical phenomena occurring in the PDE can be modeled using a first order accurate computational code with non-equilibrium kinetics.
In future works the accuracy of the code will be increased to six-order in the spatial dimension to be able to model highly structured phenomena such as Deflagration to Detonation Transition (DDT) and fuel injection in supersonic flow for PDE applications.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/223"],"dc:subject":["computational","thermo-fluid","fluid dynamics","pulse detonation","Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics","Aerospace Engineering"],"dc:title":["A Computational Study of Thermo-Fluid Dynamics of Pulse Detonation Engines"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Aerospace Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:37Z"}