Design and Construction of an Annular Detonation Initiator

Abstract

A device capable of creating a collapsing toroidal detonation wave front has been designed and constructed. The goal is to generate pressures and temperatures at the focal point of the collapsing detonation wave that will be sufficient to initiate detonations in insensitive fuel-air mixtures inside of a detonation tube without blocking the flow path and causing associated losses in propulsive efficiency. The annular initiator uses a single spark and an array of small diameter channels to generate and merge many detonation waves to create a single detonation wave with a toroidal front. The initiator design utilizes shrink fitting as a method to seal the array of channels used in the creation the toroidal front.