Quantification of Heat Loads in Rotating Detonation Combustors for Gas Turbines

Among the many challenges to integrating a rotating detonation combustor (RDC) into a gas turbine (GT), cooling is one of the most predominant due to the high heat loads generated by the combustion process. To design a cooling system for an RDC that allows for its sustainable operation, a quantification of the heat loads of an RDC operating at conditions representative of GT is necessary. The presence of a detonation wave interacting with the boundary layer and a small annulus width leads to higher heat transfer when compared to a conventional GT combustor. This paper numerically models the heat flux and heat transfer coefficient of an RDC that would be relevant for setting cooling requirements in practical systems. Integral boundary-layer methods are employed to build a tool that uses 2D distributions of integral quantities to obtain the heat flux. A global heat transfer model is built using these simulations as a reference. The model was used to show that the heat transfer in the RDC is enhanced by the presence of a blockage at the combustor outlet. The effects on the flowfield are associated with an increase in chamber pressure and detonation strength, both causing an increase in the heat transfer coefficient to the liner walls.