Pulse with mechanical valves

Based on the manner in which fuel and air charge the combustion chamber, pulse combustors are divided into two general categories those with mechanical valves and those with aerodynamic valves (also called valveless combustors). Mechanical valves can be further divided into three types flapper valves, reed valves, and rotary valves. 

An alternative design of a pulse combustor is a so-called valveless combustor in which the mechanical valves are replaced with an aerodynamic diode in the form of a profiled orifice in the inlet pipe, contoured diffuser, or a shrouding duct [28] (Figure 20.15). Similarly to the combustor with mechanical valves, the high-temperature gases from a combustion chamber start to flow just after a... 

Wu (2007) elaborated a CFD model for parametric studies of a pulse combustor with mechanical valves to explain the pulsating flow characteristics. On the basis of numerical results, a small-sized pulse combustor was designed and tested that provided a good agreement vhfh experimental observations. 

FIGURE 23.2 A mechanically valved pulse combustor with membrane valves. 

According to Kentfield (1993), a pulse combustor is a combustion-driven device with self-aspirating feature, and this effect is achieved as a consequence of the internal unsteady flow events. In contrast, a pulsed combustor is a device with cyclic but nonresonant combustion as dictated by wave events. Pulsed combustors usually operate at a much lower than natural frequency, often controlled by an ignition, fuel injection, or a valve sequence. Therefore, valveless or flapper valve combustors fall into category of pulse combustors while mechanically driven valves (e.g., rotary valve) used to control either air or fuel inflow, flue gas outflow, or both should be categorized as pulsed combustors, unless the operation of a mechanical valve is controlled by resonant phenomena in a feedback mode. Such a design is known as a frequency-tunable pulse combustor. 

Since mechanical valves provide a physical barrier to the backflow of combustion products through the combustor inlet during the positive-pressure phase of the pulse combustion cycle, the unidirectional flow is the fundamental feature of valved pulse combustors. There are, however, certain problems associated with the design of mechanical valves, such as minimizing valve inertia, protection from corrosion, and resistance to material fatigue due to thermal stress. These specific problems are of major importance in heavy-duty pulse combustors operated at large pressure amplitudes (Kentfield, 1993). 

The reed valves normally used in heavy-duty pulse combustors are made from thin-sheet spring-sted (Fig. 2.6b and c), and the spring action of reed valves is such that, when normally shut, the valves are sprung lightly. In order to ensure a vigorous mixing of the fuel and air, the fully open flow area of the inlet reed valves must be considerably smaller than the cross-sectional area of the combustion zone. The major problem often encountered with reed-type mechanical valves is fatigue-based failure. 

Several methods have been used to produce the pulse action required in these columns. A reciprocating, plunger pump, from which the valves have been removed, may be connected to the extractor as at (a), Fig. 12, with a direct liquid connection between the column and the pump piston. Such an arrangement is perhaps mechanically most reliable, al-... 

Figure 4.3 shows the schematic of a reciprocating pump mechanism used in most HPLC pumps. Here, a motorized cam drives a piston to deliver solvent through a set of check valves. A microprocessor coordinates the piston speed with other components. Since only the inward piston stroke delivers the liquid, a pulse dampener is used to reduce flow fluctuations. All components in the fluidic path are made from inert materials (e.g., stainless steel pump heads, ruby balls and sapphire seats in check valves, sapphire pistons, and fluorocarbon pump seals). 

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