Numerical analysis of the transition of detonation waves inside a rotating detonation engine

Tesis Energía y Ambiente (maestría) - Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires - Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Karlsruhe, 2024 "Simulation of Rotating Detonation Combustors (RDC) represents a significant challenge due to the variety of physical phenomena involved. The research intends to study the species’ spatial and temporal distribution at the RDE inlet prior to ignition. It proceeds by modeling two inlet geometries—a simplified planar and a realistic annular configuration, and by developing a computational approach using OpenFOAM, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool, to address how fuel and oxidizer mix at the entrance. Non-reactive simulations are performed using Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) methods, and the groundwork is established for applying Large Eddy Simulation (LES), to assess the turbulent mixing behavior of hydrogen and air through the application of quantitative mixing indicators. A comparison between these modeling approaches is proposed, flow phenomena and mixing effectiveness are analyzed, and the study concludes with recommendations for future improvements".