NETL researchers have leveraged decades of computer modeling expertise to design a key component of an emerging class of combustion technology called rotating detonation engines (RDEs), which could enable “pressure gain combustion,” a long-sought advancement that could significantly improve efficiency, reduce fuel consumption, and lower nitrogen oxides emissions of next-generation gas turbines.

“We could achieve pressure gain combustion with RDEs because they operate using detonation waves rather than conventional combustion used in today’s gas turbines,” said NETL’s Justin Weber, who leads this project with his colleagues in the Lab’s Advanced Turbines research team. “Detonations release energy more rapidly, forming a high-pressure pulse and shock wave. But transitioning this concept into reliable hardware has long posed scientific and engineering challenges — particularly in ensuring stable, repeatable detonation under varying operating conditions.”

NETL researchers tackled that challenge by using high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to redesign the injector that feeds fuel and air into the detonation chamber. Earlier injector concepts experienced startup instabilities that made it difficult to generate and sustain the detonation waves that are central to RDE operation. By applying CFD to explore how geometry, flow distribution, and fuel-mixing behavior influence wave formation, the NETL team developed a novel-aero strut injector configuration that sustains detonation waves but with a lower pressure drop across the injector, leading to increased performance.

“To validate the new design, we integrated the injector into NETL’s water-cooled RDE test platform — an advanced research rig designed to withstand extreme thermal loads during high-pressure detonation,” Weber said. “During testing, the modified injector consistently produced stable, sustained detonation waves across a range of flow rates, air-to-fuel ratios, and pressures. This reliable performance confirms not only the soundness of the CFD-guided design strategy, but also the viability of a new injector concept that could benefit future turbine-scale systems.”

The results directly support NETL’s Advanced Turbines Program, which focuses on maturing pressure gain combustion technologies and de-risking critical components required for next-generation gas turbines. A dependable, stable injector is a cornerstone of any practical RDE-based system, and NETL’s achievement moves this frontier technology closer to real-world deployment.

The project underscores NETL’s commitment to harnessing advanced modeling, experimental tools, and engineering expertise to solve high-impact energy challenges. By demonstrating how CFD can accelerate hardware innovation — reducing trial-and-error development and enhancing performance understanding — the team has provided a model for future research in combustion, materials, and hybrid energy systems.

NETL researchers plan to continue refining RDE components and exploring integration with turbine hardware, advancing the technologies needed to bring pressure gain combustion from the laboratory into commercial energy infrastructure.

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory dedicated to innovating and accelerating the nation’s energy solutions in hydrocarbons, geothermal energy, and critical minerals production. The Lab further strengthens its impact by engaging with industry, academia, and other stakeholders through four strategically located Centers of Excellence: Coal, Critical Minerals and Advanced Alloys, Oil & Gas, and Geothermal. With research sites in Albany, Oregon; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, NETL operates as one laboratory to create advanced energy technologies that support DOE’s mission and enable affordable, reliable, and secure energy to fuel human prosperity.