Nagoya University · Engineering
Professor Ken Matsuoka's research lab specializes in advanced propulsion systems, particularly pulse detonation rocket engines (PDREs) and pulse detonation combustors (PDCs). The lab focuses on developing high-frequency, high-efficiency, and high-thrust pulse detonation systems for aerospace applications, with a strong emphasis on innovative purging techniques—such as the liquid-purge (LIP) method and supercritical fuel injection—to enable stable, continuous operation without external purge gases. Key research directions include the design and ground testing of rotary-valved multi-cylinder PDR systems, optimization of propellant mixtures (e.g., ethylene–nitrous oxide), and in-flight demonstration of thrust performance in vacuum-like conditions. The lab also explores fundamental fluid dynamics and thermodynamics in pulse detonation cycles to enhance specific impulse and thrust-to-weight ratios for space launch vehicles and small satellite propulsion.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
A rotary-valved four-cylinder pulse detonation rocket engine system, Todoroki II, was developed, in which two novel techniques, the use of an inflow-driven motor and an inverted oxidizer cylinder, were introduced. The total length of the system was 1910 mm; its total weight when filled with ethylene–nitrous-oxide propellant and helium purge gas was 32.5 kg; and the engine weight was 9.6 kg. In a ground firing test with a duration of 1500 ms, a thrust-to-engine-weight ratio of 2.7 was achieved. T
journal article
AbstractA novel method for purging the residual hot burned gas in the cyclic operation of a pulse detonation combustor (PDC) was developed. With this new method, called the liquid-purge (LIP) method, residual hot burned gas is purged by injecting liquid droplets into the PDC. The injected liquid droplets are rapidly vaporized after the combustion of the detonable mixture. The vaporization of liquid is an endothermic phase transition accompanied by a roughly thousand-fold volume expansion. Conseq
A novel method for the operation of a pulse detonation combustor is proposed and demonstrated for realizing high frequencies without using a purging material. In the developed operation method, oxygen is supplied to the pulse detonation combustor in the valveless mode. Fuel, which is supercritical ethylene, is injected into the pulse detonation combustor at a suitable timing using an automotive fuel injector. Because of the Joule–Thomson effect, a phase transition of ethylene from the supercriti
A pulse-detonation thruster can generate a high-repeatability small impulse at a high operating frequency. To operate a pulse-detonation cycle in a vacuum environment without a purging material, a liquid-purge method proposed by Matsuoka et al. (“Development of a Liquid-Purge Method for High-Frequency Operation of Pulse Detonation Combustor,” Combustion Science and Technology, Vol. 187, No. 5, 2015, pp. 747–764) and throat at the exit of the combustor were introduced. In the demonstration experi
We constructed a rotary-valved four-cylinder PDR system (flight vehicle) for the flight demonstration. Total length and weight of the vehicle were 1910mm and approximately 33 kg with propellant and purge gas, respectively (detonation tube inner diameter and length: 37 mm and 800 mm, respectively). We investigated the thrust performance of the PDR system and the thrust-to-weight ratio on grand test. Propellant-based specific impulse of 131 s, time-averaged thrust of 256 N and thrust-to weight rat
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