Patent ID: 7895820

Claim:
A system of controlling airflow into a pulse detonation engine, the system including: a rotary airflow controller valve, receiving air from a high-speed inlet, including a plurality of blades spanning respective circumferences of the rotary airflow controller so that an entire circumference of the rotary airflow controller is spanned by the plurality of blades, each of the blades defining a respective upstream airflow surface and a respective downstream airflow surface, the upstream airflow surface of a first one of the blades and the downstream airflow surface of a second one of the blades, which is adjacent to the first blade, defining a respective open passage between the first and second blades to a respective open sector at an exit of the airflow controller, each of the blades including a base defining a respective sealing surface at the exit of the airflow controller, and the exit of the airflow controller alternately including the open sectors and the sealing surfaces; an engine frame including a plurality of detonation chambers; and a sealing mechanism between the rotary airflow controller valve and the engine frame, the sealing mechanism being associated with the engine frame and limiting leakage of a gas from a first of the detonation chambers to a second of the detonation chambers.