GE Patents Pulse Detonation Core for Turbofan

While this is a good idea, it seems to me that this is also a pretty obvious idea, using a PDE, or more than one to smooth out the pulses, as a substitute for the HP compressor, HP turbine, and combustors.

After the PDE works as its own compressor and combuster, though a PDE, a constant volume combustion, is theoretically more efficient than a combustor, which is constant pressure combustion.

Hmmm…After a quick examination of the patent, it appears that some of the PDEs actually rotate, which is not obvious, at least not to me.


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