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Aerospace Propulsion

Ramjet



Aerospace Engineering Department

Main Principle of the Ramjet

Basic design
The air inlet/diffuser admits air to the engine, reduces air velocity and develops ram
pressure.
The combustor adds heat and mass to the compressed air by burning a fuel. The nozzle
converts some of the thermal energy of the hot combustion products to kinetic energy to
produce thrust.
Compression is given by the vehicle speed (bad performance at low speed, auxiliary bosster
needed to reach interesting performances).
No moving parts, flexibility in geometrical design.
High thrust per unit frontal area.

Ideal Ramjet Cycle

21554654-SESA2005LN2006-Propulsion.pdf
RAMJET BASIC OPERATION
Ramjet has no moving parts
Achieves compression of intake air by forward speed of vehicle
Air entering the intake of a supersonic aircraft is slowed by aerodynamic
diffusion created by the inlet and diffuser to low velocities
Expansion of hot gases after fuel injection and combustion accelerates
exhaust air to a velocity higher than that at inlet and creates positive thrust
Fuel
injectors
KEY RESULTS: RAMJET
Begin with non-dimensional thrust
equation, or specific thrust
Ratio of exit to inlet velocity
expressed as ratio of Mach numbers
and static temperatures. Recall that
for a Ramjet M
e
=M
0
Ramjet specific thrust depends on
temperature ratio across burner, t
b
Compare with H&P EQ. (5.27)
RAMJET.docx
Energy balance across burner
Expression for fuel flow rate for
certain temperature rise of incoming
mass flow and fuel energy, h
Useful propulsion metrics
Specific impulse, thrust specific
fuel consumption, and overall
efficiency
( )
( )
( )
h m
TU
T
m
TSFC
g m
T
I
h
T c
m m
T T c m h m
M M
T
T
M
a m
T
T
T
M
M
RT
RT
M
M
U
U
U
U
M
a m
T
f
overall
f
f
sp
o p
o f
t t p o f
o b o
t
t
o
o o
o
e
o
e
o
e
o
e
o
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o o

0
0 4
3 4
0
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1 1 1
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=
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\
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t

Specific Thrust
Figure 5.9 from Hill and Peterson: Ramjet performance parameters vs. flight Mach number
Specific thrust has peak value for set T
max
and Ta
Specific thrust increases as maximum allowable combustor exit temperature increases
Specific fuel consumption decreases with increasing flight Mach number
Efficiencies
Figure 5.10 from Hill and Peterson: Ramjet performance parameters vs. flight Mach number
Specific thrust has peak value for set T
max
and Ta. Peak is around Mach 2.5
Propulsive, thermal and overall efficiencies increase continually with increasing Flight Mach number

Ramjet engine integration

Inlet GeometrySlowing down the incoming air to about Mach 0.40.5 is the
primary purpose of an inlet system to keep the tip speed of compressor blades
below sonic.
The installedperformance of a jet engine greatly depends upon the air-inlet
system.
The type and geometry of the inlet and inlet duct determine the pressure loss
and distortion of the air supplied to the engine, which will affect installed
thrust and fuel consumption.
Roughly, 1% reduction in inlet pressure recovery inlet will reduce thrust by
~ 1.3%.


Also, the inlets external geometry including the cowl and boundary-layer
diverter will greatly influence the aircraft drag.
There are basically four types of inlets.



Basic Types of Inlet
NACA flush
Pitot
Conical
2-D ramp

NACA Flush Inlet

Used by several early jet aircraft but is rarely seen today because of its poor
pressure recovery (large losses).
However, the NACA inlet tends to reduce aircraft wetted area and weight if
the engine is in the fuselage.
The NACA inlet is regularly used for applications in which pressure recovery
is less important, such as the intakes for cooling air or for auxiliary power
units.



Pitot inlet

It is simply a forward-facing hole (also called normal shock inletin supersonic
flight).
It works very well subsonically and fairly well at low supersonic speeds.
The cowl lip radius has a major influence upon engine performance and
aircraft drag.
A large lip radius tends to minimize distortion and accommodate additional
air required for takeoff , especially at high angles of attack and sideslip.
However, it will produce shock-separated flow outside the inlet as speed of
sound is approached which greatly increases drag. Hence, supersonic jet cowl
lip are nearly sharp.




Spike and 2-D Ramp Inlets

Better performance than the normal shock inlet at higher supersonic speeds .
Supersonic flow over cone (spike) or wedge (2D-ramp) .
Spike inlets are typically lighter and have slightly better pressure recovery but with higher cowl
drag and more complicated variable geometry mechanisms.
Ramp inlets are used up to Mach 2, while spike inlets are used beyond that.
Pressure recovery through a shock depends on the strength of the shock.
N-S: (M0= 2 M1= 0.57, p1/p0 = 72%) (M0= 1.1 M1= 0.91, p1/p0 = 99.9%)
An oblique shock does not reduce the air speed all the way to subsonic.
Final transition from super to subsonic speed occurs through a normal shock.
Speed reduction and pressure recovery depends on the wedge or cone angle.

Example:
1. O-S: (= 10, M0= 2 = 39, M1= 1.66, p1/p0 = 98.6%).
2. N-S: (M1= 1.66 M2= 0.65, p2/p1 = 87.2%). Then, p2/p0 = 87.2 98.6% = 86%
The greater the number of oblique shocks, the better the pressure recovery.


Theoretical optimal is the isentropic rampinlet (infinite O-S) with 100% pressure recovery, which
works properly only at its design Mach number, so rarely used


Flight Range of Ramjet Propelled Vehicles
Consumption of air-breathing engines (Pratt & Whitney)
The hypersonic funnel (Mc Donnell Douglas)
RAMJET POWERED MISSILES
Boeing/MARC CIM-10A BOMARC A Surface-to-Air Missile
Aerojet General LR59-AG-13 liquid rocket; Two Marquardt RJ43-MA-3 ramjets
SOME DETAILS ON BOMARC MISSILE
Flight testing started in 1952
First launch from Cape Canaveral in September of 1952
Bomarc A became fully operational in 1959
Numerous deployments from Florida to Maine defended U.S. eastern sea board
Booster on Bomarc A was source of problems
Fuel was too corrosive to store in missile, so fueling took place immediately
before launch (increasing time to launch)
Fueling process was also quite hazardous, involving three steps (white fuming
nitric acid, analine-furfuryl alcohol, and kerosene)
New model that utilizes a solid fuel booster
Bomarc B became operational in 1961, and featured a safer solid fuel booster
and more powerful sustainers
Boeing built 700 Bomarc missiles between 1957 and 1964, and Bomarc in active
service until 1972
Length 46 ft. 9 in, Wingspan 18 ft. 2 in, Speed Mach 2.8, Range 250 miles,
Ceiling 65,000 ft, Cost: $ 1,154,000 per shot
Propulsion:
One Aerojet General LR59-AG-13 liquid rocket
Two Marquardt RJ43-MA-3 ramjets videoplayback_29.FLV
HyFly RAMJET CONCEPT
Hypersonic Flight Demonstration Program
Cruise Flight Mach Number ~ 6
Range 600 nm (1111 km)
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/hyfly.htm
HyFly RAMJET CONCEPT
http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app4/hyfly.html
HyFly program was initiated in 2002 by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and
U.S. Navy's ONR (Office of Naval Research) to develop and test a demonstrator for a hypersonic Mach
6+ ramjet-powered cruise missile
Prime contractor for HyFly missile is Boeing, Aerojet builds sustainer engine
Air-launched from F-15E and accelerated to ramjet ignition speed by solid-propellant rocket booster
Engine runs on conventional liquid hydrocarbon fuel (JP-10)
Much easier to handle than cryogenic fuels (LH
2
) used on other hypersonic scramjet vehicles
Sustainer engine of HyFly is a dual-combustion ramjet (DCR) (very complex)
Two different air inlet systems
Operate as a "conventional" ramjet with subsonic combustion
Operate at hypersonic speeds as a scramjet
First scramjet engine (hybrid or otherwise) to demonstrate operability with LH
2
fuel
RAMJET POWERED MISSILES
Orbital Sciences GQM-163 Coyote: Ducted rocket/ramjet engine, Flight speed up to Mach 2.8 at seal-level
http://www.orbital.com/
Hercules MK 70 rocket booster
RUSSIA'S P-700 GRANIT LONG-RANGE ANTI-SHIP
MISSILE (SS-N-19 SHIPWRECK)
Launched by two solid-fuel boosters
before sustained flight with ramjet
Maximum speed believed ~ Mach 2.25
Range is estimated at 550 to 625 km
Weight: 7,000 kg, Length: 10 m,
Diameter: 0.85 m
Altitude up to 65,000 ft
J58 SR-71 ENGINE: RAMJET/TURBOJET HYBRID
http://aerostories.free.fr/technique/J58/J58_01/page8.html
MAIN IDEA: TURBO-RAMJET
J58 TURBO-RAMJET

From Ramjet to Scramjet (Supersonic Combustion Ramjet or SCRJ)

Beyond Mach = 5 (hypersonic domain), ramjet is less and less efficient. Increasing of air stagnation
temperature and pressure tends to limit the performance and to increase the thermal and mechanical
loads on the combustion chamber walls
To bypass these issues, the solution is to maintain the flow supersonic from the air inlet to the engine
exit and to achieve the combustion in the supersonic flow
A geometrical throat is therefore no longer needed to accelerate the flow and produce the thrust ;
transition from subsonic to supersonic flow can also be achieved, without geometry variation, by heat
addition
Two variants of scramjet :
pure scramjet
dual mode ramjet allowing transition from subsonic to
supersonic combustion

RAMJET VS. SCRAMJET
Large temp rise associated with deceleration from high speed to M~0.3 for combustion
Solution for increased flight speed: decelerate to lower supersonic speeds in combustor
Combustion very difficult (flame support) in a high speed flow
Vehicle cooling requirements become very challengingvideoplayback_23.FLV
Boeing X-51 WaveRider Scramjet







videoplayback_30.FLV

Scientific Issues of Ramjet

Air intakes : the design is critical (efficiency on the whole flight range, sensitivity
to flow distorsions, participation to instabilities)
Combustion chamber
combustion efficiency
lean and rich stability limits
wall cooling
operating instabilities



Combustion Efficiency and Stability Limits

Combustion efficiency and stability limits are depending on several parameters :
fuel, equivalence ratio, air stagnation pressure and temperature
Experimental approach through tests : expensive
The ONERA's approach, the research ramjet :
a modular design reproducing the main features of an actual ramjet
the capability to get a detailed characterization of the reactive flow by using
the most advanced optical diagnostics (LDV, LIF, PLIF)
a tool for validation the 3D turbulent reactive two phase flow codes (MBDA-
ONERA)


Combustion Chamber Wall Cooling

Passive thermal protections
different materials (silicone based) are available
Active thermal protection
a portion of the air flow entering is bypassed to protect the case and is
reinjected in the combustion chamber through perforations
compatibility with booster integration demonstrated ; concept rather interesting
for combustion stability
solution limited to flight Mach number less than 4
Some successful developments of all composite cases, application to ASMP-A


Operating Instabilities

Different types of instability :
overall instability involving the air intake(s) : low/medium frequency (100 to 300 Hz) ; generally cured by
improving the air intake(s)
combustion chamber acoustical instability : from medium to high frequency ; the highest frequencies (tangential
modes) are the most dangerous, inducing an accelerated consumption of the thermal protections
Mainly faced on LFRJ ; some instabilities on DR connected to specific solid propellant combustion phenomena
Numerical prediction of ramjet instabilities is not yet achieved. Different solutions are however known to reduce or
suppress the instability levels, like :
geometrical devices : baffles, local caps
modification of the injection devices or controlled distribution of the fuel
A compromise between performance and instability level is generally sought


SUMMARY
Ramjet develops no static thrust

Relies on ram compression of air
Requires high speed flight

Performance depends on increase in stagnation temperature across burner
(combustor)

Efficiencies (thermal, propulsive, and overall) increase with increasing flight Mach
number

Next step: We desire an engine that develops static thrust
Put in a device to mechanically compress air (compressor)
Put in a device to power compressor (turbine)
Solution: Turbojet engine
INTERSTELLAR RAMJET: HYDROGEN-BREATHING ENGINE
In this concept, interstellar hydrogen is scooped to provide propellant mass
Hydrogen is ionized and then collected by an electromagnetic field
Onset of ramjet operation is at a velocity of about 4% speed of light
Typically, interstellar ramjets are very large systems
A ramjet sized for a 45-year manned mission to Alpha Centauri would have a ram
intake 650 km in diameter and weigh 3000 metric tons including payload
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/I/interstellar_ramjet.html
Conclusion
Ramjet technology is now mature
the main applications are military
turboramjet has a potential for high supersonic or hypersonic transportation
Scramjet technology still needs heavy developments
military applications are considered
a potential for future RLV
Future of ramjet/scramjet technology implies coupling of different thermodynamic
cycles (hybrid powerplant systems)

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