According to the Xinhua Internet resource, Australia has developed the world's first technology that can significantly reduce the cost of launching spacecraft. We are talking about the creation of the so-called rotational or spin detonation engine (RDD). Unlike pulse detonation engines that have been at the stage of bench tests in Russia for several years now, rotary detonation engines are characterized by constant detonation combustion of the fuel mixture, and not periodic. In LRE, the combustion front is constantly moving in the annular combustion chamber, and the fuel mixture is fed into the chamber continuously. In other respects, the principle of pulsed and rotational DD is similar - the combustion front moves faster than the speed of sound, which opens the way to hypersonic speeds and more.
An important advantage of RDD is the operation of an aircraft without an oxygen supply on board. Oxygen is supplied to the combustion system by means of air intake overboard. On the entire flight path in the atmosphere, the LRM engine can operate due to the normal air environment. This will save space carriers from excess weight in the form of oxygen for fuel combustion and definitely reduce the cost of launching satellites.
A new RDD technology in the form of a computer model was created and tested in the Australian company DefendTex. DefendTex works for the Australian defense industry and the EDD project is being carried out jointly with the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich, the University of South Australia, the Royal Melbourne University of Technology (RMIT), the Australian Defense Science and Technology Organization and Innosync Pty.
Preliminary results of computer modeling of detonation combustion processes based on new approaches have led to interesting and important findings. In particular, data have emerged on the optimal geometry of an annular combustion chamber for continuous, stable explosive combustion of fuel, which is important for the design of rocket engines. Based on this information, the development community began to create an experimental model of a promising engine.
Source: 3dnews.ru