Estudio computacional de un pulsorreactor sin válvulas

Abstract

This project develops a computational study of an engine called pulsejet. Pulse jets were the first jets to be designed and built on a large scale. They have a simple geometry, are scalable and easy to manufacture. Despite this, even today the theoretical foundations of its operation are not fully understood. This study develops a valveless pulsejet operation in a numerical approach of two pulsejet models: the Lockwood-Hiller and the linear mode known as Chinese CS. Using the acoustic theory, it has been possible to design the pulsejet¿s geometry using Solidworks 2019. The numerical mesh was created using ANSYS Meshing and the analysis was developed in ANSYS Fluent 2020 R1. 2D planar and axisymmetric transient simulations have been performed using different models: ¿¿¿ turbulent, P1 radiation and species non-premixed combustion model. The selected fuel was propane (C3H8) and a range of operation of fuel mass flow rate between 0.06 kg/s and 0.12 kg/s has been found. Four different configurations of fuel mass flow rate: 0.06 kg/s, 0.08 kg/s, 0.1 kg/s, 0.12 kg/s were analyzed. From these models, temperature, pressure, velocity, density, frequency and thrust results have been obtained and analyzed. With the obtained data, a model for the Chinese CS pulsejet that, at a fuel mass flow rate of 0.12 kg/s, reproduces the described basic physical functioning has been characterized. This model reached peaks of 65N of thrust which represents a superior performance to the ones described in the literature for pulse jets of similar dimensions The study of the physics underlying the operation of pulse jets will allow a better understanding of their performance and, given their high scalability and affordability, it may open the doors to a number of civil applications that are underserved by conventional reactors today.