PhD Studentship: Understanding loss mechanisms in rotating detonation rocket engines

Project title: Understanding loss mechanisms in rotating detonation rocket engines  

Supervisory Team: Ralf Deiterding, Charlie Ryan

Project description:

The rotating detonation engine (RDE) has emerged as a feasible design to employ pressure-gain combustion in a highly compact and energy-dense rocket engine. Funded by the UK Space Agency (UKSA), a PhD opportunity is available to work on understanding the detailed loss mechanisms affecting the combustion in a laboratory RDE by comparing experiment and numerical simulation. We are the only UK rocket researchers investigating RDEs (see http://rdeiterding.website/projects/projects_index.html#MRD_RD)and this studentship will be embedded into UKSA’s prestigious Rocketry Research Teaching Training Hub (R2T2).

In an RDE, one or multiple detonation waves propagate azimuthally within an annular combustion chamber. The rotating waves are maintained by feeding fuel and oxidiser continuously from a plenum. The number of simultaneously propagating detonations in an RDE is strongly dependent on the detailed local injection conditions, and in general forecasting its exact behaviour is difficult. There are presently no models for predicting RDE propulsion performance reliably.

A final-year undergraduate student group has recently designed a modular water-cooled RDE rocket engine demonstrator capable of mass flows of at least 50g/s total (cf. https://uosdesign.org/designshow2024/category/projects/aero-astro/, UoS RDE). This PhD project will design and install an upgraded propellant delivery system in our Jet Propulsion Laboratory and then set up this new water-cooled RDE experiment. The instrumentation will have to be refined and especially the acquisition of trustworthy high-frequency pressure transducer signals from within the engine will have to be improved. Different hydrocarbon fuels such as methane, propane and ethylene will be tested primarily with gaseous oxygen. Corresponding three-dimensional simulations with our inhouse software AMROC will also be employed in this project to model the rotating detonation waves in the chamber and quantify the influence of non-idealities on combustion efficiency and engine performance, including turbulent mixing, heat loss and in particular wall friction. Our parallel and adaptive inhouse software AMROC is among the most capable solvers for detonation simulation world-wide, and a recently concluded PhD project has developed a 3D code version in cylindrical coordinates specifically for RDE simulation (see https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/486406/).

This project is suitable for a student of aerospace engineering who wants to specialise in rocket propulsion. Experience with experimental work as well as computational fluid dynamics is paramount. Very good design skills to revise and improve the engine over time as well as some programming in Fortran/C++ are required. Participation in R2T2 events, including a 3-months industrial internship in rocketry, is expected.

Entry Requirements

A very good undergraduate degree (at least a UK 2:1 honours degree). International applicants require the equivalent of a UK 1st class degree to be eligible for a waiver of the difference between UK and international tuition fees.  

Closing date: 31 August 2024

Funding: For UK students, Tuition Fees and stipend of £18,622 tax-free per annum for up to 4 years. A generous experimental and training budget is in addition provided by the sponsor.

How To Apply

Apply online:  HERE Select programme type (Research), 2024/25, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, “PhD Engineering & Environment (Full time)”. In Section 2 of the application form you should insert the name of the supervisor Ralf Deiterding

Applications should include:

Motivational statement and summary of prior research

Curriculum Vitae

Two reference letters

Degree transcripts to date

For further information please contact: feps-pgr-apply@soton.ac.uk

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