Stabilized detonation for hypersonic propulsion

Significance There is now an intensifying international effort to develop robust propulsion systems for hypersonic and supersonic flight. Such a system would allow flight through our atmosphere at very high speeds and allow efficient entry and exit from planetary atmospheres. The possibility of basing such a system on detonations, the most powerful form of combustion, has the potential to provide higher thermodynamic efficiency, enhanced reliability, and reduced emissions. This work reports a significant step in attaining this goal: the discovery of an experimental configuration and flow conditions that generate a stabilized oblique detonation, a phenomenon that has the potential to revolutionize high-speed propulsion of the future.