• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.11-18
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• 2018

A pulse detonation engine (PDE) requires high operating frequency greater than 100 Hz to get meaning thrust as a propulsion devise. Thus a PDE needs an ignition circuit operating precisely at high operating frequencies. In this paper AC(alternating current) and DC(direct current) types of ignition circuits were designed and compared. Each circuit was tested at operating frequencies from 16.66 to 100.00 Hz by measuring the input signal of each circuit and the voltage change in the primary coil of the transformer. Results show that the DC power circuit can attain a maximum error rate of 5.15% at higher operating frequencies, whereas the AC power circuit displays a negligible agreement with the operating signal at frequencies greater than 33.33 Hz. Therefore it is confirmed that DC-powered ignition circuit is preferable for the PDE operating at high frequencies.