Editing Pulsejet (section)

==Operation==
===Valved designs===
[[File:Pulse Jet schematic.svg|thumb|Pulsejet schematic. First part of the cycle: air flows through the intake (1), and is mixed with fuel (2). Second part: the ignited fuel-air mix expands, closes the valve (3) and exits through the exhaust pipe (4), propelling the craft.]]

Valved pulsejet engines use a mechanical valve to control the flow of expanding exhaust, forcing the hot gas to go out of the back of the engine through the tailpipe only, and allow fresh air and more fuel to enter through the [[intake]] as the inertia of the escaping exhaust creates a partial vacuum for a fraction of a second after each detonation. This draws in additional air and fuel between pulses.

The valved pulsejet comprises an intake with a one-way valve arrangement. The valves prevent the explosive gas of the ignited fuel mixture in the [[combustion chamber]] from exiting and disrupting the intake airflow, although with all practical valved pulsejets there is some 'blowback' while running statically or at low speed, as the valves cannot close fast enough to prevent some gas from exiting through the intake. The superheated exhaust gases exit through an acoustically [[resonance|resonant]] exhaust pipe.

The intake valve is typically a [[reed valve]]. The two most common configurations are the daisy valve, and the rectangular valve grid. A daisy valve consists of a thin sheet of material to act as the reed, cut into the shape of a stylized daisy with "petals" that widen towards their ends. Each "petal" covers a circular intake hole at its tip. The daisy valve is bolted to the manifold through its centre. Although easier to construct on a small scale, it is less effective than a valve grid.

The cycle frequency is primarily dependent on the length of the engine. For a small model-type engine the frequency may be around 250 pulses per second, whereas for a larger engine such as the one used on the German [[V-1 (flying bomb)|V-1 flying bomb]], the frequency was closer to 45 pulses per second. The low-frequency sound produced resulted in the missiles being nicknamed "buzz bombs."

===Valveless designs===
{{Main|Valveless pulsejet}}

Valveless pulsejet engines have no moving parts and use only their geometry to control the flow of exhaust out of the engine. Valveless pulsejets expel exhaust out of both the [[intake]]s and the exhaust, but the majority of the force produced leaves through the wider cross section of the exhaust. The larger amount of mass leaving the wider exhaust has more inertia than the backwards flow out of the intake, allowing it to produce a partial vacuum for a fraction of a second after each detonation, reversing the flow of the intake to its proper direction, and therefore ingesting more air and fuel. This happens dozens of times per second.

The valveless pulsejet operates on the same principle as the valved pulsejet, but the 'valve' is the engine's geometry. Fuel, as a gas or [[atomizer nozzle|atomized]] liquid spray, is either mixed with the air in the intake or directly injected into the [[combustion chamber]]. Starting the engine usually requires forced air and an ignition source, such as a spark plug, for the fuel-air mix. With modern manufactured engine designs, almost any design can be made to be self-starting by providing the engine with fuel and an ignition spark, starting the engine with no compressed air. Once running, the engine only requires input of fuel to maintain a self-sustaining combustion cycle.

The combustion cycle comprises five or six phases depending on the engine: Induction, Compression, Fuel Injection (optional), Ignition, Combustion, and Exhaust.

Starting with ignition within the combustion chamber, a high pressure is raised by the combustion of the fuel-air mixture. 

The inertial reaction of this gas flow causes the engine to provide thrust, this force being used to propel an airframe or a rotor blade. The inertia of the traveling exhaust gas causes a low pressure in the combustion chamber. This pressure is less than the inlet pressure (upstream of the one-way valve), and so the induction phase of the cycle begins.

In the simplest of pulsejet engines this intake is through a [[venturi pump|venturi]], which causes fuel to be drawn from a fuel supply. In more complex engines the fuel may be injected directly into the combustion chamber. When the induction phase is under way, fuel in atomized form is injected into the combustion chamber to fill the vacuum formed by the departing of the previous fireball; the atomized fuel tries to fill up the entire tube including the tailpipe. This causes atomized fuel at the rear of the combustion chamber to "flash" as it comes in contact with the hot gases of the preceding column of gas—this resulting flash "slams" the reed-valves shut or in the case of valveless designs, stops the flow of fuel until a vacuum is formed and the cycle repeats.

Valveless pulsejets come in a number of shapes and sizes, with different designs being suited for different functions. A typical valveless engine will have one or more intake tubes, a combustion chamber section, and one or more exhaust tube sections.

The intake tube takes in air and mixes it with fuel to combust, and also controls the expulsion of exhaust gas, like a valve, limiting the flow but not stopping it altogether. While the fuel-air mixture burns, most of the expanding gas is forced out of the exhaust pipe of the engine. Because the intake tube(s) also expel gas during the exhaust cycle of the engine, most valveless engines have the intakes facing backwards so that the thrust created adds to the overall thrust, rather than reducing it.

The combustion creates two pressure wave fronts, one traveling down the longer exhaust tube and one down the short intake tube. By properly 'tuning' the system (by designing the engine dimensions properly), a resonating combustion process can be achieved.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

A properly designed valveless engine will excel in flight as it does not have valves, and ram air pressure from traveling at high speed does not cause the engine to stop running like a valved engine. They can achieve higher top speeds, with some advanced designs being capable of operating at [[Mach number|Mach]] .7 or possibly higher.

The advantage of the acoustic-type pulsejet is simplicity. Since there are no [[moving parts]] to wear out, they are easier to maintain and simpler to construct.

===Future uses===

Pulsejets are used today in [[target drone]] aircraft, flying [[control line]] [[model aircraft]] (as well as radio-controlled aircraft), fog generators,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Aiqi |last2=Xu |first2=Linyun |last3=Jin |first3=Jing |last4=Zhou |first4=Hongping |last5=Yi |first5=Shannan |title=Feedback effects of pesticides flow atomization on the operating characteristics of pulsed engines |journal=Crop Protection |date=1 December 2022 |volume=162 |pages=106094 |doi=10.1016/j.cropro.2022.106094 |bibcode=2022CrPro.16206094Z |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2022.106094 |access-date=9 October 2024 |issn=0261-2194}}</ref> and industrial drying<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meng |first1=Xiangmei |last2=de Jong |first2=Wiebren |last3=Kudra |first3=Tadeusz |title=A state-of-the-art review of pulse combustion: Principles, modeling, applications and R&D issues |journal=Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews |date=1 March 2016 |volume=55 |pages=73–114 |doi=10.1016/j.rser.2015.10.110 |bibcode=2016RSERv..55...73M |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.10.110 |access-date=9 October 2024 |issn=1364-0321}}</ref> and home heating equipment. Because pulsejets are an efficient and simple way to convert fuel into heat, experimenters are using them for new industrial applications such as [[biomass fuel]] conversion, and boiler and heater systems.{{citation needed|reason=Specific examples of these kinds of experiments?|date=January 2021}}

Some experimenters continue to work on improved designs. The engines are difficult to integrate into commercial crewed aircraft designs because of noise and vibration, though they excel on the smaller-scale uncrewed vehicles.

The [[pulse detonation engine]] (PDE) marks a new approach towards non-continuous jet engines and promises higher fuel efficiency compared to [[turbofan]] jet engines, at least at very high speeds. [[Pratt & Whitney]] and [[General Electric]] now have active PDE research programs. Most PDE research programs use pulsejet engines for testing ideas early in the design phase.

[[Boeing]] has a proprietary pulsejet engine technology called [[Pulse Ejector Thrust Augmentor]] (PETA), which proposes to use pulsejet engines for vertical lift in military and commercial [[VTOL]] aircraft.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/07/boeings-millennium-falcon-floats-using-nazi-technology/ |title=Boeing's Millennium Falcon Floats Using Nazi Technology|magazine=Wired |first=Jesus |last=Diaz |date=28 July 2011}}</ref>