Experimental investigation of an unsteady combusting flow in a pulse combustor

Pulse combustion devices exhibit exceedingly high thermal efficiency and very low pollutant emission when used in heating applications. Application of these heating devices has been limited, however, because of a lack of understanding of the fundamental controlling physical and chemical processes governing pulse combustors. An experimental research program has been initiated at Sandia National Laboratories to develop such insight. This paper reports the results of an experiment studying the effects of changing heat release and pressure pulsations on the fluid dynamics in the combustion chamber of a square pulse combustor. Using a two-color laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) as a diagnostic tool, this study indicates that the fluid dynamics in the combustion chamber are strongly affected by pressure pulsations and are weakly affected by a change in the heat release rate