Performance investigation of through flow wave rotor, Journal of the Energy Institute, Volume 86, Number 4, p242-248

The wave rotor is a pressure exchanger utilising direct pressure transfer between fluids by pressure waves. This paper presents the investigation of the performance of a through flow (TF) wave rotor for the potential of application in gas turbine or engine. A test rig was built to test the performance of the TF wave rotor, which was tested in different conditions. The wave rotor ran at different speeds, while the supplies of air and fuel were kept the same. The results show that the TF wave rotor has good efficiency ranging from middle to even higher compression pressure ratios. In addition, the rotor speed has great effects on its performance. Both the pressure and temperature of hot gas have great influence on its performance. The effect of gas temperature is more important. It is useful to improve the wave rotor efficiency by increasing the gas temperature.