View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2023-2391.vid

A radial Rotating Detonation Engine (RRDE) is designed and operated using methane as fuel and enriched air as the oxidizer. A truncated aerospike is integrated at the exit to attain thrust for rocket propulsion applications. Multiple co-rotating waves with localized counter-rotations are observed for flow rates as low as 82 g/sec. Non-intrusive Rainbow Schlieren Deflectometry (RSD) is implemented to analyze the varying density gradient of the exhaust field. High-speed RSD images are acquired at up to 150 kHz to explore the flow field including shock structures at the RRDE exhaust. Measurements of static and dynamic wall pressures are also obtained at multiple locations. Experiments are conducted at non-reactive cold-flow conditions and reactive hot-fire conditions at different flow rates to assess the utility of RSD for exhaust flow analysis.