Performance Modelling of a Pressure Gain Combustion Aircraft Engine

As the gas turbine designs used today are reaching the limits of their performance, despite various optimization techniques adopted in recent years, the need arises for new types of propulsion devices. Pressure Gain Combustion (PGC) technology is an actively pursued area of innovation for gas turbine cycles that can be implemented in aerospace propulsion and land-based power generation. The advantages of pressure gain combustion, such as higher thermodynamic cycle efficiency and lower specific fuel consumption, make it an attractive alternative to conventional Brayton cycle, which uses constant pressure heat addition. Various pressure gain combustion technologies such as Pulse Detonation Engines (PDE) and Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE) are currently being investigated for propulsion applications, either as standalone propulsive devices or as constant pressure - PGC hybrid engines. Based on specific engine data, this paper aims at assessing the performance of pressure gain combustion in the framework of aircraft propulsion using the in-house simulation tool TRANSEO.