Continuous Detonation Wave Engine: Literature Study

Abstract

The Continuous Detonation Wave Engine (CDWE) is a new concept of rocket engine based on rotating detonation waves. The detonation process is characterized by a faster burn rate and a higher energy release rate as compared to deflagration, which produces an extreme pressure and temperature rise. Due to the rapidity of the process, it is more similar to a constant volume process than a constant pressure process typical of conventional combustion. Therefore, engines based on detonations can have a higher thermodynamic efficiency and specific impulse compared to conventional engines.