Patent ID: 9732670
Date: 2017-08-15
CPC Classifications: F02B,F02C,F23R

Claim:
1. A rotating detonation combustion system, comprising: an annular detonation chamber having an inner wall, an outer wall, an inlet and an outlet; a valve plate at the inlet of the annular detonation chamber and comprising a plurality of openings spaced around the inlet; a plurality of tubes each having an open end in communication with a corresponding opening of the valve plate and a closed end forming a tuned cavity, and a first opening between the open end and the dosed end for injection of air; and a plurality of fuel injectors corresponding to the plurality of tubes, each fuel injector being configured to inject fuel into corresponding one of the plurality of tubes between the first opening and the open end to form a fuel/air mixture, wherein each of the tuned cavities has a length sized to resonate at a same frequency as an effective continuous detonation frequency of at least one detonation wave in the annular detonation chamber, wherein the closed end of each of the plurality of tubes comprises a piston configured to adjust the length of the tuned cavity; and wherein a controller is configured to control a position of the piston to change the length of the tuned cavity to match the detonation frequency as a fuel/air mixture temperature at the inlet changes.