Detonation Engines
Engines that convert chemical energy from fuel into kinetic energy via explosive detonation, rather than slower deflagration combustion as seen in typical internal combustion engines. Categories include pulse detonation engines, rotating detonation engines and standing wave, or oblique wave detonation engines (OWDEs), and while these are still all at experimental stages, they offer the potential for aircraft to fly further and significantly faster on less fuel. OWDEs in particular would offer the potential for hypersonic aircraft with speeds up to Mach 17.
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Explosions get you much more bang from your fuel buck than combustion – if your engine can withstand them. NASA believes the rotating detonation engine could be the future of deep space travel, and it's getting strong results in prototype testing. -
UCF researchers say they've trapped a sustained explosive detonation, fixed in place, for the first time, channeling its enormous power into thrust in a new detonation engine that could propel a hypersonic aircraft up to 17 times the speed of sound. -
A Florida team working with the US Air Force says that it's built and tested an experimental model of a rotating detonation rocket engine, which uses a spinning series of chaotic explosions inside a ring channel to create super-efficient thrust. -
The U.S. Navy is examining the potential of using Rotating Detonation Engines (RDEs) to improve fuel consumption and cut costs.