Pratt & Whitney Completes Initial Testing of Rotating Detonation Engine

Pratt & Whitney has completed a series of tests on its rotating detonation engine (RDE) that has no moving parts resulting in compact engines with high thermal efficiency.

“The sound of the vibrations and the sight of the data streaming onto the computer screen confirmed that, after much testing and iteration, the team had successfully built, at scale, an RDE engine that had previously existed only on paper and in small prototypes,” an RTX release said.

Rotating detonation engines differ from traditional turbojet or turbofan engines in that they utilize a different thermodynamic cycle and require no moving parts.

The result is high thermal efficiency and performance, which allows for a small, compact and cost-effective engine. These attributes create room for additional fuel, sensors and payload, and can enable longer-range for vehicles that are critical to future defense applications.

Positive test results are spurring additional internal investment as Pratt & Whitney works with Department of Defense to accelerate a path to an integrated engine and vehicle ground test in the coming years.

"Our testing simulated aggressive assumptions for how and where the rotating detonation engine needs to perform," said Chris Hugill, senior director of GATORWORKS at Pratt & Whitney.

The test marked a major victory for RTX’s work in advanced propulsion-where experts across the company are combining highly specialized knowledge to create technology that would have been impossible otherwise.