Design and Test of a Resonance Igniter With Aerospike Nozzle

This paper presents the design, development, and experimental evaluation of a resonance igniter utilizing an aerospike nozzle. Unlike conventional bell- or simple convergent nozzles, which are sensitive to pressure fluctuations, the aerospike’s self-adaptive flow characteristics enable more stable operation under varying conditions. A prototype system was designed, manufactured and tested to assess heating performance across different feed pressures and nozzle–resonator spacing ratios and ultimately ignition reliability. Hot-fire experiments confirmed successful ignitions, suggesting that resonance ignition systems could operate at lower feed pressures while maintaining stability. Microphone data were analyzed and compared with the heating performance of the resonator. Future work should focus on refining the understanding of the underlying shock structures and optimizing system parameters to minimize ignition delay and enhance overall performance.