Thermodynamic Cycle Analysis of a Rotating Detonation Engine for Stationary Applications

In this thesis, possible implementations of a rotating detonation engine (RDE) for energy generation are investigated and compared. In rotating detonation engines, unlike conventional systems, detonation of reactants is substituted to deflagration combustion, leading to an increase in the thermodynamic efficiency due to the higher temperature and pressure of the chemical reaction products. This thesis will concentrate on stationary RDE application for electricity generation, in contrast to most of the other studies on this topic, which primarily address RDE application for propulsion systems. Specifically, two rotating detonation combustor models will be presented, and different power plant configurations and thermodynamic cycles will be investigated and compared. The analyses are carried out in a Python environment, where the Cantera library is used for the evaluation of gas properties and the SDToolbox library is used for solving the detonation equations and determining the post-detonation conditions. Because of its well-known detonability and ability to operate the plant without emitting CO2, hydrogen is the fuel of choice. The obtained values of efficiency are compared with those of a Joule-Brayton cycle under different operating conditions, in order to understand under which circumstances the usage of a rotating detonation combustor can present an advantage with respect to a standard deflagration combustor.