Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-21T02:40:41.121Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Experiments on supersonic combustion ramjet propulsion in a shock tunnel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2006

A. Paull ,
R. J. Stalker  and
D. J. Mee
A. Paull
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia
R. J. Stalker
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia
D. J. Mee
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Queensland, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Measurements have been made of the propulsive effect of supersonic combustion ramjets incorporated into a simple axisymmetric model in a free piston shock tunnel. The nominal Mach number was 6, and the stagnation enthalpy varied from 2.8 to 8.5 MJ kg−1. A mixture of 13% silane and 87% hydrogen was used as fuel, and experiments were conducted at equivalence ratios up to approximately 0.8. The measurements involved the axial force on the model, and were made using a stress wave force balance, which is a recently developed technique for measuring forces in shock tunnels. A net thrust was experienced up to a stagnation enthalpy of 3.7 MJ kg−1, but as the stagnation enthalpy increased, an increasing net drag was recorded. Pilot and static pressure measurements showed that the combustion was supersonic.

The results were found to compare satisfactorily with predictions based on established theoretical models, used with some simplifying approximations. The rapid reduction of net thrust with increasing stagnation enthalpy was seen to arise from increasing precombustion temperature, showing the need to control this variable if thrust performance was to be maintained over a range of stagnation enthalpies. Both the inviscid and viscous drag were seen to be relatively insensitive to stagnation enthalpy, with the combustion chambers making a particularly significant contribution to drag. The maximum fuel specific impulse achieved in the experiments was only 175 s, but the theory indicates that there is considerable scope for improvement on this through aerodynamic design.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 296 , 10 August 1995 , pp. 159 - 183
Copyright
© 1995 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, D. A. & Nangia, R. K. 1977 Comparison of numerical and experimental ‘conical’ flow fields in supersonic corners with compression and/or expansion. Aero. Q. 28, 293.Google Scholar
Benoit, A. 1968 Equilibrium thermodynamic data for the H2-O2-He system. University of Toronto, Institute for Aerospace Studies. Tech. Note. 128.
Bernstein, L. & Stott, G. T. 1982 A laser-interferometer method for determining the forces on a freely flying model in a shock tunnel. Aero. Q. 23, 237.Google Scholar
Billig, F. S. 1993 Research on supersonic combustion. J. Propulsion Power 9, 449.Google Scholar
Ferri, A. 1964 Review of problems in application of supersonic combustion. J. Royal Aero. Soc. 68, 575.Google Scholar
Hall, N. A. 1951 Thermodynamics of Fluid Flow, pp. 112–114. Prentice-Hall.
Hayes, W. D. & Probstein, R. F. 1959 Hypersonic Flow Theory, p. 296. Academic.
He, Y. & Morgan, R. G. 1994 Transition of compressible high enthalpy boundary layer flow over a flat plate. Aero. J. 98, 25.Google Scholar
Hopkins, E. J. & Inouye, M. 1971 An evaluation of theories for predicting turbulent skin friction and heat transfer on flat plates at supersonic and hypersonic Mach numbers. AIAA J. 9, 933.Google Scholar
Jackimowski, C. J. & McLain, A. G. 1983 A chemical kinetic mechanism for the ignition of silane/hydrogen mixtures. NASA TP 2129.
Jessen, C. & Grönig, H. 1989 A new principle for a short-duration six component balance. Exps. Fluids 8, 231.Google Scholar
Jones, P. A. & Huber, P. W. 1978 Towards scramjet aircraft. Astronaut. Aeronaut. 16, 38.Google Scholar
Lordi, J. A., Mates, R. E. & Moselle, J. R. 1966 Computer program for numerical solution of non-equilibrium expansion of reacting gas mixtures. NASA CR-472.
Morris, N. A. 1988 Silane as an ignition aid in scramjets. M.Eng.Sci thesis, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Queensland.
Narashima, R. & Viswandth, P. R. 1975 Reverse transition of an expansion corner in supersonic flow. AIAA J. 13, 693.Google Scholar
Naumann, K. W., Ende, H., Mathiew, G. & George, A. 1993 Millisecond aerodynamic force measurement with side-jet model in the ISL shock tunnel. AIAA J. 31, 1068.Google Scholar
Porter, L. M., Paull, A., Mee, D. J. & Simmons, J. M. 1994 Shock tunnel measurements of hypervelocity blunted cone drag. AIAA J. 32, 2476.Google Scholar
Prost, R. & Goutte, R. 1984 Discrete constrained iterative deconvolution algorithms with optimised rate of convergence. Sig. Proc. 7, 209–230.Google Scholar
Sanderson, S. R. & Simmons, J. M. 1991 Drag balance for hypervelocity impulse facilities. AIAA J. 29, 2185.Google Scholar
Simmons, J. M., Daniel, W. J., Mee, D. J. & Tuttle, S. L. 1993 Force measurement in hypervelocity impulse facilities. In New Trends in Instrumentation for Hypersonic Research (ed. A. Boutier), p. 285. Kluwer.
Spalding, D. B. & Chi, S. W. 1964 The drag of a compressible turbulent boundary layer on a smooth flat plate with and without heat transfer. J. Fluid Mech. 18, 117–143.Google Scholar
Stalker, R. J. & Morgan, R. M. 1984 Supersonic hydrogen combustion with a short thrust nozzle. Combust. Flame 57, 55.Google Scholar
Swithenbank, J. 1967 Hypersonic air-breathing propulsion. In Progress in the Aeronautical Sciences (ed. D. Küchemann), vol. 2, p. 229. Pergamon.
Tuttle, S. L. 1990 A drag measurement technique for hypervelocity impulse facilities. M.Eng.Sci. thesis, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Queensland.