Pressure gain combustion

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Pressure gain combustion (PGC) is the unsteady state process used in gas turbines in which gas expansion caused by heat release is constrained. First developed in the early 20th century as one of the earliest gas turbine designs, the concept was mostly abandoned following the advent of isobaric jet engines in WWII.^[1]

As an alternative to conventional gas turbines, pressure gain combustion prevents the expansion of gas by holding it at constant volume during the reaction, causing an increase in stagnation pressure. The subsequent combustion produces a detonation, rather than the deflagration used in most turbines. Doing so allows for extra work extraction rather than a loss of energy due to pressure loss across the turbine.

Several different variations of turbines use this process, the most prominent being the pulse detonation engine and the rotating detonation engine. In recent years, pressure gain combustion has once again gained relevance and is currently being researched for use in propulsion systems and power generation due to its potential for improved efficiency and performance over conventional turbines.^[2][3][4]