Research carried out from 2003-2005 at the Explosion Dynamics Laboratories
at Caltech under an ONR contract has examined many issues critical to Pulse
Detonation Engine (PDE) development. These include: detonation structure
imaging using OH PLIF; a narrow channel facility for examining regular
and irregular detonations; detonation diffraction; mechanism of soot track
generation; fundamental and applied studies of detonation initiation; direct
measurements and analytical modeling of impulse from a detonation tube,
including the effects of partial fill and nozzles; models of detonation engine
performance; thermodynamic analysis of unsteady and steady propulsion
systems. Each of these aspects of our program is discussed and key results
are presented
