In an effort to answer the current needs for more performing and energy efficient gas turbine engines, unsteady pressure gain devices are currently under great focus. This article describes the performance analysis of a novel turbine engine utilizing an internal combustion wave rotor. The performance of this engine is compared to that of a conventional engine, first using its original bypass ratio—fan pressure ratio configuration, and then an optimized configuration. The novel cycle engine is found to be more efficient, reducing specific fuel consumption by approximately 37 per cent for the non-optimized condition, whereas the optimized engine has a potential for reducing by about 40 per cent the fuel needed for a typical long-range aircraft mission. This high potential reduction in fuel consumption encourages more detailed studies based on more sophisticated models, taking into account cycle losses, emissions, and transient behaviours.
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