The stabilization of oblique detonation waves (ODWs) in an engine combustor is important for the successful applications of oblique detonation engines, and comprehensively understanding the effects of the inviscid reflection of ODWs on their stabilization and the relevant mechanisms is imperative to overall combustor design. In this study, the flow fields of ODW reflections in a space-confined combustor are numerically studied by solving the two-dimensional time-dependent multispecies Euler equations in combination with a detailed hydrogen combustion mechanism. The inviscid Mach reflections of ODWs before an expansion corner are emphasized with different flight Mach numbers, Ma, and different dimensionless reflection locations, ζ ≥ 0 (ζ = 0: the ODW reflects precisely at the expansion corner; ζ > 0: the ODW reflects off the wall before the expansion corner). Two kinds of destabilization phenomena of the inviscid Mach reflection of an ODW induced by different mechanisms are found, namely wave-induced destabilization at large ζ > 0 for moderate (not very low) Ma and inherent destabilization at any ζ > 0 for low Ma. Wave-induced destabilization is attributed to the incompatibility between the pressure ratio across the Mach stem and its relative propagation speed, which is triggered by the action of the secondary reflected shock wave or the transmitted Mach stem on the subsonic zone behind the Mach stem. Inherent destabilization is demonstrated through an in-depth theoretical analysis and is attributed to geometric choking of the flow behind the Mach stem.

Oblique detonation waves (ODWs) have been studied widely as the basis of detonation-based hypersonic engines, but there are few studies on ODWs in a confined space. This study simulates ODW reflection on a solid wall before an outward turning corner for a simplified combustor–nozzle flow based on a two-step kinetic model. Numerical results reveal three types of ODW structures: stable, critical, and unstable. When the reflection occurs at the turning point, the stable ODW structure remains almost the same as before reflection. When the wave reflects at the wall before the turning point, either the critical structure or the unstable structure arises, which has never been investigated before. Both structures have the same initial two-section detonation surface: but the critical one becomes stationary at a certain position, while the unstable one keeps traveling upstream. By adjusting the location of the expansion wave and degree of the turning angle, the difference of the two structures is attributed to the thermal choking appearing only in the unstable structure. The thermal choking is achieved by the merging of subsonic zones, whose dependence on the various parameters is discussed.