GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is leading Japanese aerospace industry efforts in developing pulse-detonation engines (PDEs) for several new applications, including small cruise missiles and unmanned target drones.
MHI, which is thought to be focusing initially on a Mach 3-plus missile concept, is working with Nagoya University. Until now, Japanese PDE research has been led by nine universities and the Muroran Institute of Technology. Industry interest comes at a vital time, says the group, which is beginning to suffer from shrinking government funding.
Although details of MHI's PDE plans remain unclear, Nagoya University's focus is on a hydrogen-/air-fuelled PDE experimental engine, and it has recently expanded into studying a JP-10-fuelled single-pulse PDE concept. It is also in the early stages of studying pre-detonator performance, as well as high-frequency and continuously running PDEs, the latter being particularly relevant to MHI's interest in cruise missile applications. MHI is expected to focus its research efforts on fuel injection and ignition problems, as well as the design of suitable inlets and nozzles, recognised as one of the main challenges of developing a successful PDE due to the inherently unsteady nature of the pulse-detonation process.
PDEs have also been proposed for supersonic reconnaissance vehicles, long-range sensor platforms, mother vehicles and launch platforms for satellites.
Research work at Nagoya has so far concentrated on a PDE measuring 75mm (3in) in diameter and 2.2m (7.2ft) long. In single-pulse research so far, the PDE has generated a quasi-detonation speed of 1,190m/s, and a subsequent pulse detonation of 1Hz.
Source: Flight International
