We perform experimental and numerical studies of a shock tube with an open end. The purpose is to investigate the impulse due to the exhaust of gases through the open end of the tube as a model for a partially filled detonation tube as used in pulse detonation engine testing. We study the effects of the pressure ratio (varied from 3 to 9.2) and the volume ratio (expressed as fill fractions) between the driver and driven section. Two different driver gases, helium and nitrogen, and fill fractions between 5 and 100% are studied; the driven section is filled with air. For both driver gases, increasing the pressure ratio leads to larger specific impulses. The specific impulse increases for a decreasing fill fraction for the helium driver, but the impulse is almost independent of the fill fraction for the nitrogen driver. Twodimensional (axisymmetric) numerical simulations are carried out for both driver gases. The simulation results show reasonable agreement with experimental measurements at high pressure ratios or small fill fractions, but there are substantial discrepancies for the smallest pressure ratios studied. Empirical models for the impulse in the limits of large and small fill fractions are also compared with the data. Reasonable agreement is found for the trends with fill fractions using the Gurney or Sato model at large fill fractions, but only Cooper's bubble model is able to predict the small fill fraction limit. Computations of acoustic impedance and numerical simulations of unsteady gas dynamics indicate that the interaction of waves with the driver-driven gas interface and the propagation of waves in the driven gas play an essential role in the partial-fill effect.

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Pulse detonation engines (PDEs) with three different types of nozzle–straight ejector combinational structures at three different ejector positions were simulated by the unsteady 2-D axisymmetric method to understand the influence of nozzle–ejector combinational structures on the performance of PDEs. Three types of nozzles included the straight nozzle, convergent nozzle, and convergent–divergent (CD) nozzle. Three ejector positions were considered according to the ratio of the distance between the nozzle outlet and the ejector inlet to the diameter of PDEs (Δx/d). Propane was used as the fuel and air as the oxidizer. The simulation results indicated that for the PDE with the straight nozzle, it took the shortest time for high-temperature burnt gas to exhaust from the detonation tube. For the PDE with the CD nozzle, the time at which the ejector was filled with external air was the fastest. Within the time range of t = 0–10 ms, the ejected air was less than the original air in the ejector among all the nine combinational structures. The maximum ejected air was obtained with the convergent nozzle, followed by the CD nozzle, and the minimum with the straight nozzle. For certain nozzles, the maximum air was ejected at the ejector position of Δx/d = +1, followed by the ejector position of Δx/d = 0, and the minimum at the ejector position of Δx/d = −1. For the convergent nozzle–ejector combinational structure, the air ejection speed was the fastest. Oxygen concentration distribution in the PDE with the CD nozzle was more uniform along the axial direction than the other nozzles.