| Affiliations: | College of Engineering and Computer Science |
| Team Leader: |
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| Faculty Mentor: |
Kareem Ahmed, PhD
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Team Size:
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2 |
| Open Spots: | 2 |
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Team Member Qualifications:
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Applicants should be able to read and interpret scientific literature, have prior experience using SolidWorks for design tasks, and MATLAB for data analysis or simulation. |
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Description:
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This project investigates a shock focusing-based ignition method for Rotating Detonation Rocket Engines (RDREs), using pre-detonators to generate incident decoupled shock waves. The primary objective is to employ shock wave convergence to induce deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) within the RDRE annulus. Carefully shaped reflectors will be designed to focus the incident shock waves into localized regions of high pressure and temperature, facilitating reliable and rapid detonation initiation. A comprehensive literature review will be conducted to inform and optimize the reflector geometry based on prior research in shock reflection and focusing phenomena. Experimental work will employ schlieren imaging to visualize shock dynamics, wave interactions, and the ignition process, providing qualitative and quantitative insights into the efficacy of the method. This approach aims to enhance ignition reliability, reduce system complexity, and improve RDRE start-up performance compared to conventional ignition strategies. |