The initiation and stabilization of oblique detonation waves (ODWs) are critical to the practical implementation of oblique detonation engines (ODEs). In this study, the role of an on-wedge bump in facilitating ODW initiation within an ODE combustor is numerically investigated. The study employs two-dimensional reactive Euler equations with a simplified two-step chemical kinetic model to capture the flowfields and combustion characteristics of a fuel-rich hydrogen–air mixture at a flight altitude of 45 km. Without the bump, the ODE exhibits distinct initiation behaviors depending on the flight Mach number (Formula: see text). At low flight Mach numbers, the bump triggers wall-adjacent combustion or shock-induced combustion, while at high flight Mach numbers, it promotes a quasi-steady ODW, enhancing the maximum specific impulse (Formula: see text) by up to 11.2% compared to the bump-free case. Furthermore, the influence of the bump pattern and geometric characteristics on wave structures and engine performance is assessed by introducing a nondimensional detachment intensity parameter, Formula: see text, providing insights into forced initiation mechanisms for hypersonic propulsion. By demonstrating how on-wedge bumps enhance the combustion efficiency and stabilize detonation waves across varying Mach numbers, this work bridges a key gap between the idealized open-space studies and realistic confined combustor conditions.
Yan et al. (Sun,) studied this question.