With the increasing trend towards technological miniaturization, the demand for micro-scale power generation has been growing steadily. However, the downscaling of internal combustion and gas turbine engines has been hindered by losses in cycle efficiency at smaller scales. This thesis presents two concept micro wave disc engines which are specifically designed for micro-scale power generation.

A wave disc is an unsteady pressure exchange device that has a proven potential for gas turbine enhancement. It employs shockwaves within rotating micro-channels to directly transfer energy between two fluids. The first concept engine presented is the External Combustion Wave Disc Engine, which employs a wave disc to replace the low efficiency turbomachinery components in a micro gas turbine engine. The second concept engine is the Internal Combustion Wave Disc Engine, with combustion occurring within the micro-channels of the rotor.

The first part of this work discusses the operation principles for both wave disc engine concepts and the wave patterns developed for them using gas dynamics relations. The second part describes the numerical simulation of wave discs and the design methodology employed. For this purpose, an automated tool was developed to model and simulate wave disc operation using FLUENT. Finally, an approach for modeling and simulating the internal combustion wave disc engine is proposed.