A

PROJECT REPORT
ON

“PULSEJET ENGINE”
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the award of
the degree
of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Simranjit Kaur
(GU-2015-0168)
Rajesh Kumar
(GU-2015-0166)
Amit K. Chauhan
(GU-2015-0150)

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Mr.
Assistant Professor
Department of Aerospace Engineering

Faulty of Engineering , Design and Automation

GNA University
Shri Hargobindgarh, Phagwara
2018
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I am highly grateful to the Faculty of Engineering, Design and

Automation of GNAUNIVERSITY, SHRI HARGOBINDGARH,
PHAGWARA(PB.)for providing this opportunity to carry the final project
in six months on Pulse-jet .
I would like to express my gratitude to other faculty members of our
stream Mr.Prabhjeet Singh and Mr. Harikrishna Chavhan for providing
academic inputs, guidance & encouragement throughout in the
completion of this project.
I would like to express a deep sense of gratitude and thank to
Incharge of our Faculty Mr. Vikrant Sharma, without whose permission,
wise counsel and able guidance, it would have not been possible to
complete the project in this manner. The help rendered by MR.
HARIKRISHNA CHAVHAN, Supervisor for experimentation is greatly
acknowledged.
Finally, I express my indebtedness to all who have directly or indirectly
contributed to the successful completion of my half industrial training.

Signature of the Student

 Abstract

The objective of this research is to understand the Thrust force

parameters and thermodynamic characteristics of conventional pulse
jet engine.
The geometrical parameters and performance aspects of the engine
were studied including different different models like simple valve less,
with turbulator and with C-D nozzle.
Calculations were made on geometrical parameters for a design of a
pulse jet engine in ANSYS (Fluent).
In this research we made three catia V5 Models of pulse jet engine and
then done the analysis with different different flow properties and
thermodynamic properties.
 CONTENTS

Chapter \
No.
List \of Figures

\\]List of Abbreviations

\];,

1 \];\Introduction to Pulsejet Engine

1.1History

1.2How does a valveless engine work

1.3 Advantage

1.4 Disadvantage

1.5 Limitations

2 Design of Pulsejet engine

2.1 Operation Equation

2.2 Valve Flow Area

2.3 Exhaust Pipe Length

2.4 Tube Shape

2.5 Thrust (Output)

2.6 Materials Used

2.6.1 Application

2.6.2 Properties

2.7 Starting Procedure

3 Conclusion
4 Reference 14
=+
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO PULSEJET ENGINE

1.1 History

The pulsejet is one of the simplest propulsion devices requiring no

turbo-machinery, or moving parts in some cases. The pulsejet was originally
conceived in the early 1900s and developed into a successful propulsion system by
the Germans in WWII for the V-1 ‘buzz bomb’. Their simple structure and light
weight make them an ideal thrust-generation device, but their thermodynamic
efficiency is low compared to gas turbine engines due to the lack of mechanical
compression, which results in low peak pressure. Due to this low efficiency, the
pulsejet received little attention after the late 1950s. However, pulsejets with no
moving parts may be advantageous for building smaller propulsion devices. The
thermodynamic efficiency of conventional engine (such as gas turbines and both SI
and CI engine), decreases non-linearly with decreasing characteristic engine length
scale. Also, small scale engines with moving parts are more prone to breakdown due
to fatigue of the moving components. Pulsejets, especially valveless pulsejets, are
attractive as candidates for miniaturization due to their extremely simple design.

Why do we need pulsejet engines? We have operational jet engines, big andsmall
and they run longer and more efficient that any pulsejet engine. That’strue, but you
can’t build a lightweight jet engine that’s deliver 3-10 kg thrusteasily. But with a
pulsejet, you can.So what do we use them for? Small engines are mainly used to
give thrust tomodel aircrafts.
1.2 How Does Valveless Pulsejet Work?
When the fuel-air mixture combusts in the chamber, the process generates a great
amount of hot gas very quickly. This happens so fast that it resembles an explosion.
The immediate, explosive rise in internal pressure first compresses the gas inside
and then pushes it forcefully out of the chamber. Two powerful spurts of hot
expanding gas are created – a big one that blows through the tailpipe and a smaller
one blowing through the intake. Leaving the engine, the two jets exert a pulse of
thrust – they push

Fig 1.1 Simple balloon

the engine in the opposite direction. As the gas expands and the combustion
chamber empties, the pressure inside the engine drops. Due to inertia of the moving
gas, this drop continues for some time even after the pressure falls back to
atmospheric. The expansion stops only when the momentum of the gas pulse is
completely spent. At that point, there is a partial vacuum inside the engine. The
process now reverses itself. The outside (atmospheric) pressure is now higher than
the pressure inside the engine and fresh air starts rushing into the ends of the two
ports. At the intake side, it quickly passes through the short tube, enters the
chamber and mixes with fuel. The tailpipe, however, is rather longer, so that the
incoming air does not even get as far as the chamber before the engine is refilled
and the pressure peaks. One of the prime reasons for the extra length of the tailpipe
is to retain enough of the hot exhaust gas within the engine at the moment the
suction starts. This gas is greatly rarified by the expansion, but the outside pressure
will push it back and increase its density again. Back in the chamber, this remnant of
previous combustion mixes vigorously with the fresh fuel/air mixture that enters
from the other side. The heat of the chamber and the free radicals in the retained
gas will cause ignition and the process will repeat itself. The spark plug shown on
the picture is needed only at start-up. Once the engine fires, the retained hot gas
provides self-ignition and the spark plug becomes unnecessary. Indeed, if spark
ignition is left on, it can interfere with the normal functioning of the engine.
You may wonder about the sharp transition from the intake tract into the chamber.
It is necessary to generate strong turbulence in the incoming air, so that it mixes
with injected fuel properly. A gentler,

Fig no.: 1.2 U-shaped Valveless pulsejet

1.3 Advantages of Pulse Jet Engine:

A key advantage of the pulsejet engine, to which no othermechanical thrust device
compares, lies in its simplicity. Though thephysical fundamentals of operation may
be far from simple, thepulsejet's construction especially that of the valve less
design, isexquisitely unsophisticated. This fact alone places the pulsejet as
aforerunner in the innovative field of miniature propulsion. Pulsejetshave begun to
receive renewed interest as a possible source ofminiature and/or micro propulsion.
However, a basis for poweredthrust should not be considered its only application.
The valve lesspulse jet could be an excellent source for micro-heating.
Pastinvestments have been made toward the use of conventional-sizedpulsejets in
central heating systems. Cost is significantly reduced bythe simplistic nature of valve
less pulsejet construction.

The pulsejet engine has a peculiar property of pulsatingcombustion, it can be

self-compressing. In the pulsejet, the fuel-airmixture does not burn steadily, at a
constant pressure, as it does in theother jet engines. It burns intermittently, in a
quick succession ofexplosive pulses. In each pulse, the gaseous products of
combustionare generated too fast to escape from the combustor at once. Thisraises
the pressure inside the combustor steeply, which increasescombustion efficiency.
The pulse jet is the only jet engine combustor that shows a netpressure gain
between the intake and the exhaust. All the others haveto have their highest
pressure created at the intake end of the chamber.From that station on, the
pressure falls off. Such a decreasing pressure serves to prevent the hot gas
generated in the combustor from forcing its way out through the intake. This way,
the gas moves only towards the exhaust nozzle in which pressure is converted to
speed.
The great intake pressure is usually provided by some kind of compressor, which is a
complex and expensive bit of machinery and consumes a great amount of power.
Much of the energy generated in the turbojet engine goes to drive a compressor
and only the remainder provides thrust.
The pulsejet is different; the exhaust pressure is higher than the intake pressure.
There is pressure gain across the combustor, rather than loss. Moreover, the
pulsejet does it without wasting the power generated by combustion. This is very
important. About 5% gain in combustion pressure achieved by this method which
improves overall efficiency.

1.4 DISADVANTAGES OF VALVELESS PULSEJET:

 A big problem is that the gain in efficiency offered by pulsating combustion is
not at all easy to utilize for propulsion.
 Unsteadiness generates loss.
 Pulsations are dangerous for the brittle axial turbine blades.
 For the same engine bulk, you get less thrust than with the competing jet
engines.
 The pulsations produce horrible noise and mad vibration.

1.5 Limitations of Pulse jet Engine:

A big problem is that the gain in efficiency offered by pulsating combustion is not at
all easy to utilize for propulsion. Paradoxically, the central problem here is the same
as the Source of the benefit namely, pulsation. The very means of increasing
combustion efficiency makes it difficult to take advantage of the result.
The real potential for the pulsejet has always been in its use as the combustor for a
turbine engine, rather than as an engine in itself. Its ability to generate pressure gain
is greatly multiplied in a high pressure. environment. Compared to the more usual
constant-pressure combustor, it can either give the same power with much smaller
mechanical loss and lower fuel consumption, or much greater power
for the same amount of fuel.
Unfortunately, a turbine demands steady flows to function efficiently. Unsteadiness
generates loss. Also, pulsations are dangerous for the brittle axial turbine blades.
Radial turbines are tougher in that respect, but they are less efficient, especially so
with intermittent flow. They are mostly used to exploit waste heat, as in a
turbocharger, rather than as prime movers. Researchers have toyed with converting
pulsations into a steady flow, but most methods proved inefficient.

1.6 Kadenacy Effect:

In the explanation of the working cycle, the inertia drives the expanding gas out
until the pressure in the chamber falls some way below atmospheric. The opposite
thing happens in the next part of the cycle, when the outside air pushes its way in to
fill the vacuum. The combined momentum of the gases rushing in through the two
opposed ports causes the chamber briefly to be pressurized slightly above
atmospheric. There is thus an oscillation of pressure in the engine caused by inertia.
The pressure swings from way above atmospheric to partial vacuum and back again,
in damped oscillation . This is called the Kadenacy Effect.

1.7 Objectives of this Project:

Pulse jet engines have recently been recognized as promising propulsion
technology that offers advantage in thermodynamic cycle efficiency, hardware,
simplicity and operation scalability. The potential for self-aspiration operation is
highly attractive for the perspective of efficiency and operation.
 CHAPTER 2
The Design of Pulsejet Engine
Thanks to Don Laird who made a drawing according to a factory-built example in
1993 and Kenneth Moller, who published the plans on his website at the end of the
1990s, a Chinese manufactured engine has become a popular design among
amateur engine builders.

Fig 2.1 Pulsejet Plan

Though legend says that it was designed in Europe, there is little evidence to
support the story. In the 1950s and early 60s, it was produced by CS of Shanghai,
until very recently a notable manufacturer of conventional 2-stroke piston engines
for model aircraft. The company no longer exists – or at least does not manufacture
model engines anymore. Two models were available on the US market – the SJP-1
(22” long, rated at 2.6 lbs static thrust) and SJP-2 (34” long, rated at 5.1 lbs static
thrust). Both were designed to use liquid fuel (regular car gasoline). Today, most run
on propane, but that is a later, amateur development.
The engine is back in production, after a fashion. You can order stainless steel parts
from Conception GLC Inc., a Canadian company run by pulsejet enthusiasts and
involved in several interesting engine designs. The picture above shows the engine
put together from their parts kit.

Fig 2.2 Pulsejet

Engine
It is a very interesting and very controversial engine. Unlike the Logan, the intake
port (which also serves as the auxiliary exhaust) branches out from the chamber
very close to the exhaust proper. Instead of fresh mixture entering the chamber on
one side and hot gas on the other, they enter virtually from the same side, in
streams that impinge on each other at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. Some
designers have been quite taken by the layout, sometimes to extremes. The mid-
1960s effort of a Frenchman, Rene Malroux, on the next picture is a case in point. I
have no data on its performance, but it would have to be extraordinary to justify the
forbidding bulk. On a more reasonable level, Larry Cottrill of Iowa, a tireless inventor
of practical designs accessible to the amateur, has developed his Focused wave
Engine (FWE) as a slightly simpler to build and entirely vice less kind of ‘Chinese’.
The picture shows an example built by Eric Beck roaring away on the snowy
background. One of its notable features is a very short length by valveless pulsejet
standards – just 26 in. Opinions on the effectiveness of the Chinese engine vary.
Some builders have found it a waste of time. One builder I know, who built his
example after a few successful Lockwood engines, described the output of his
‘Chinese’ as “a hamster blowing through a straw”. It has to be noted, however, that
his version had a straight, constant section tailpipe and did not have flared lips
either on the intake or the tailpipe ends. Both details would tend to reduce
performance.

Fig 2.3 Pulsejet in Action

Other people say the Chinese produces an adequate amount of thrust for its size
and mass. One expert even claims it is one of the best designs around. It is possible
that the poor-performing engines were built to wrong proportions, however. That
would account for the unusual discrepancy among the performance accounts.

2.2 Material selection and properties

There are many different kinds of metals out of which the metals with there
melting points is obtained, these selection of the material should be based on
according to the required result & accuracy for which it to be designed and cost or
the value also fetch a vital role. in general, mild steel is opted for the construction
of pulse jet engines .due to ease weld & wide verities & ability Mild steel are also
termed as carbon steel which is having a high melting point of 1410 deg C (2570
deg F).However, medium carbon steel, high carbon steel have the melting
temperature that ranges from 1425-1540 deg C (2600-2800 deg F). The low carbon
mixtures say (0.05-0.15%) in mild steel do not have a more effect on the melting
point of cast iron, which is 1538 centigrade. considering as well as Looking at the
Iron-Carbon phase diagram which shows that the decreased from this melting
temperature will be only a few some of the degrees. At higher mixtures of carbon
(2-4%), as in casst iron, the melting temperature is gradually reduced. This alloy
starts melting at 1154 centigrade, and is completely liquid metal at this level by
1200-1400 centigrade which depends on carbon content mixtures, Then the
melting temperature of steel depends on the type of steel which are chosen in
designing. Carbon steel has a melting point of 1425 degrees C to 1540 degrees C
which is quite high than the usual steelthe use of the electric arc welding as for
stitching before the TIG welding in the welding-section. The current was around
140. Depending on type of metal and thickness of material..
First the easy parts were joined in order to get an over view of the engine .and later
tolerance parts were joined .

From Drafting , Designing, Construction , Testing Drafting and Designing As an old

saying engineers construct the world .you live with what you design. So the drafting
process of our was with the held of auto cad software .which is a worlds widely
used drafting software. used by the designers and engineers of present day .so we
have made a 2d model & 3d too. And have used various tools of auto cad such as
material selection, rendering, realistic, lights ground shadows & volume, area
calculator in order to make our design near to a pratical model . first the subject is
drawn in 2-D and then it is made to 3-D . computation increases as you go deep
into the meshing in auto cad to make surface texture better . 3-D MODEL OF A
VALVE LESS PULSE JET ENGINE

2.3 Construction and Fabrication

Next step to move was with the construction of prototype. So, we have selected
the material for prototype as jess iron with gauge 18 which was easy to work with
then we rolled the sheet according to our geometry. then we moved with the part
of soldering and assembling of all the parts. & finally it was put to test. With
positive results of its working as desired.

A prototype of a valve less pulse jet engine at an initial level. Advanatages and
Disadvantages of the Pulse Jet Engines Extreme simplicity Low cost of
construction Extreme efficient combustion & very less fuel is used Medium to
largest engines can bur almost any flammable material. However it possess some of
the drawbacks as Its noise level is very high It has high radiant heat levels
Smallest engines only successful with extremely fast burning fuels The engine
thrust can be increased byredesigning the nozzle section, also different composite
materials could be tried to construct the engine which would reduce the weight to
the thrust ratio.
PJ15 pulsejet engines have been designed and constructed in order to provide
Power and reliability, Light weight, Ease of assembly and maintenance, a choice of
fuel systems, extended reed valve life, throttle able (injected version only). These
engines are the result of a comprehensive development program that has produced
a number of innovative new designs.These simple, effective, light-weight engines
can be put to many different uses including Powering model airplanes, boats, cars,
etc.Basically an enhanced Schmidt tube design, these engines have an enlarged
combustion zone, straight tailpipe and divergent tail cone.

We worked on CATIA V5 to design the product. As per the requirement we had

worked on three different products by undertaking many variables as a input like
temperature and pressure.

2.4 Case 1: Simple Valveless Pulse-Jet Engine.

Procedure:
1. Mark a circle of diameter 68mm on X-Y plane and pad it with length of 550mm .
2. Take a another circle of 2 mm diameter on Y-Z plane and pad it 4mm.
3. Our product is ready. Save it.
4. Then go to Ansys workbench. Import the geometry there.
5. Start doing meshing over that.

6. After that go to simulation part. In Models, there take the pre-mixed combustion
, and viscous as standard k-epsilon.
7. In materials, take methane and oxygen along with air ,fluid and solid.
8. In boundary conditions , change the inlet and methane-inlet from velocity inlet
to pressure inlet. Put the values in Gauge total pressure as 101325 Pa and
supersonic/initial gauge pressure as 600000 Pa in both .
9. Then, take the reference values from methane and take the temperature as
900K.
10. In solution initialization, just consider the Standard Initialization and compute it
from methane-inlet.
11. Last step is run calculation .Give iterations of 1000 and compute it.
12. Next to plot the graphs and find the thrust and mass flow rate in that.

Fig 2.4 Simple pulsejet- catia v5 multi- view

Fig 2.5 Meshing for simple valveless pulsejet.

 Fig 2.6 Simple Valveless pulsejet- Pressure Contours

Fig 2.7 Simple Valveless pulsejet- Velocity Front view Vectors

Fig 2.8 Simple Valveless pulsejet- Velocity back view Vectors

Inlet Temperature Inlet Pressure Thrust Mass flow rate

900 101325 12.321256 1.7292981
1200 101325 12.319366 1.7292481
1400 120000 15.019373 1.8851146
1600 150000 19.210823 2.107596
1800 200000 26.078553 2.4358069

Table 2.1 Variation of Thrust and Mass flow rate w.r.t inlet
temperature and pressure
Graphs representation
Fig 2.9 1. Mass flow rate Vs. Thrust

Thrust Mass flow rate

30
26.078553
25

19.210823
20
15.019373
15
12.321256 12.319366

10

5 2.4358069
1.7292981 1.7292481 1.8851146 2.107596

0
1 2 3 4 5

Fig 2.9 2.Mass flow rate Vs. Temperature

mass flow rate Temperature

2000
1800
1800
1600
1600
1400
1400
1200
1200
1000 900
800
600
400
200
1.7292981 1.7292481 1.8851146 2.107596 2.4358069
0
1 2 3 4 5
Fig 2.10 3.Mass flow rate Vs. Pressure

Pressure Mass flow rate

250000

200000
200000

150000
150000
120000
101325 101325
100000

50000

1.7292981 1.7292481 1.8851146 2.107596 2.4358069

0
1 2 3 4 5

Fig 2.11 4. Pressure Vs.Thrust

Pressure Thrust

250000
200000
200000
150000
150000
120000
101325 101325
100000

50000
12.321256 12.319366 15.019373 19.210823 26.078553
0
1 2 3 4 5

Case 2: Convergent-Divergent Pulsejet-Engine

 Procedure:
1. Our product is ready. Save it.
2. Then go to Ansys workbench. Import the geometry there.
3. Start doing meshing over that.
4. After that go to simulation part. In Models, there take the pre-mixed combustion
, and viscous as standard k-epsilon.
5. In materials, take methane and oxygen along with air ,fluid and solid.
6. In boundary conditions , change the inlet and methane-inlet from velocity inlet
to pressure inlet. Put the values in Gauge total pressure as 101325 Pa and
supersonic/initial gauge pressure as 600000 Pa in both .
7. Then, take the reference values from methane and take the temperature as
900K.
8. In solution initialization, just consider the Standard Initialization and compute it
from methane-inlet.
9. Last step is run calculation .Give iterations of 1000 and compute it.
10. Next to plot the graphs and find the thrust and mass flow rate in that.
Fig 2.12 C-D Nozzle Pulse-jet Engine
 Ansys Results:

Fig 2.13 1: Static Pressure Contours

Fig 2.14 2: Velocity Contours

 Variation of Inlet temperature ,pressure w.r.t thrust and mass
flow rate
Mass Flow
Inlet Temperature Inlet Pressure Thrust
Rate
900 101325 100.3936 1.045947435
1200 101325 100.3936 1.145947435
1400 120000 118.60755 1.50054692
1600 150000 149.38187 1.50561259
1800 200000 202.3493 1.664151463

Graphs representing Fig 2.15 1. Mass flow rate Vs. Thrust

 Thrust Mass Flow Rate

250
202.3493
200

149.38187
150
118.60755
100.3936 100.3936
100

50
1.045947435 1.145947435 1.50054692 1.50561259 1.664151463
0
1 2 3 4 5

Fig 2.16 2.Mass flow rate Vs. Temperature

Temperature Mass Flow Rate

2000 1800
1800 1600
1600 1400
1400 1200
1200
1000 900
800
600
400
200 1.045947435 1.145947435 1.50054692 1.50561259 1.664151463
0
1 2 3 4 5

Fig 2.17 3.Mass flow rate Vs. Pressure

Mass Flow Rate Pressure

250000

200000
200000
150000
150000
100000 120000
101325 101325
50000
1.045947435 1.145947435 1.50054692 1.50561259 1.664151463
0
1 2 3 4 5

Fig 2.18 4.Pressure Vs.Thrust

 Pressure Thrust

250000
200000
200000
150000
150000
120000
101325 101325
100000

50000
12.321256 12.319366 15.019373 19.210823 26.078553
0
1 2 3 4 5

Case 3: Pulse-jet with Turbulator

 Procedure:
1. Mark a circle of diameter 68mm on X-Y plane and pad it with length of 554mm .
2. Take a another circle of 2 mm diameter on Y-Z plane and pad it 4mm.
3. To create a helix . Make a dot at a distance of 33mm and then gave a command
of helix from wireframe module.
4. Then gave rib command of pitch 10mm and height 550mm.
5. Our product is ready. Save it.
6. Then go to Ansys workbench. Import the geometry there.
7. Start doing meshing over that.
8. After that go to simulation part. In Models, there take the pre-mixed combustion
, and viscous as standard k-epsilon.
9. In materials, take methane and oxygen along with air ,fluid and solid.
10. In boundary conditions , change the inlet and methane-inlet from velocity inlet
to pressure inlet. Put the values in Gauge total pressure as 101325 Pa and
supersonic/initial gauge pressure as 600000 Pa in both .
11. Then, take the reference values from methane and take the temperature as
900K.
12. In solution initialization, just consider the Standard Initialization and compute it
from methane-inlet.
13. Last step is run calculation .Give iterations of 1000 and compute it.
14. Next to plot the graphs and find the thrust and mass flow rate in that.

Pulse-jet engine with turbulator

Isometric view of pulse-jet with turbulator

 Variation of Inlet temperature ,pressure w.r.t thrust and mass
flow rate
Mass flow Rate Temperature Pressure Thrust
1.8264054 900 101325 15.048067
1.8263526 1200 101325 15.049287
1.9848062 1400 120000 18.189215
2.2210342 1600 150000 23.272193
2.3583135 1800 200000 26.25341

1.Mass flow rate Vs. Thrust

Mass flow Rate Thrust

30
26.25341
25 23.272193

20 18.189215
15.048067 15.049287
15

10

5
1.8264054 1.8263526 1.9848062 2.2210342 2.3583135

0
1 2 3 4 5

2. Mass flow rate Vs. Temperature

Mass flow Rate Temperature

1800
2000 1600
1800 1400
1600 1200
1400
900
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
1.8264054 1.8263526 1.9848062 2.2210342 2.3583135
0
1 2 3 4 5
3. Mass flow rate Vs. Pressure

Mass flow Rate Pressure

250000
200000
200000
150000
150000 120000
101325 101325
100000

50000
1.8264054 1.8263526 1.9848062 2.2210342 2.3583135
0
1 2 3 4 5

4.Pressure Vs.Thrust

Pressure Thrust

250000
200000
200000
150000
150000
120000
101325 101325
100000

50000
15.048067 15.049287 18.189215 23.272193 26.25341
0
1 2 3 4 5
Drafting details of pulsejet with tabulator
Conclusion
After analyzing all the results with different catia models we find that the
net thrust force is maximum in the C-D nozzle model and the mass flow
rate is very low which is more efficient than the other two models simple
valve less and with the turbulator.
Also by changing the flow parameters we find various amazing results of
flow properties of pulsejet.
REFERENCES