The potential of the pulse detonation engine and the initiation of the detonation

In this report the results of the study of the pulse detonation engine within the framework of the propulsion project is presented. The initiation of the detonation has been identified as the biggest obstacle preventing the practical realisation of the attractive potential of the principle. This specific problem has hence been attacked both through experimental methods and through simulations. The results from the simulations has shown one possible way to make the initiation more efficient, and an engine based on these results has been constructed and built. This engine operates with pulsating combustion in detonation mode, but it remains to show that the initiation has been simplified.