Design of a Rocket- Based Combined Cycle Engine
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Design of a Rocket- Based Combined Cycle Engine A project present to The Faculty of the Department of Aerospace Engineering San Jose State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering By Andrew Munoz May 2011 approved by Dr. Periklis Papadopoulos Faculty Advisor © 2011 Andrew Munoz ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2 3 DESIGN OF A ROCKET-BASED COMBINED CYCLE ENGINE by Andrew Munoz A BST R A C T Current expendable space launch vehicles using conventional all-rocket propulsion systems have virtually reached their performance limits with respect to payload capacity. A promising approach to increase payload capacity and to provide reusability is to utilize airbreathing propulsion systems for a portion of the flight to reduce oxidizer weight and potentially increase payload and structural capacity. A Rocket-Based Combined Cycle (RBCC) engine would be capable of providing transatmospheric flight while increasing propulsion performance by utilizing a rocket integrated airbreathing propulsion system. An analytical model of a Rocket-Based Combined Cycle (RBCC) engine was developed using the stream thrust method as a solution to the governing equations of aerothermodynamics. This analytical model provided the means for calculating the propulsion performance of an ideal RBCC engine over the airbreathing flight regime (Mach 0 to 12) as well as a means of comparison with conventional rocket propulsion systems. The model was developed by choosing the highest performance propulsion cycles for a given flight regime and then integrating them into a single engine which would utilize the same components (inlet, rocket, combustor, and nozzle) throughout the entire airbreathing flight regime. In order to narrow the scope of this project, a single configuration was chosen for the analytical model. A more exhaustive study could have been performed with a greater number of permutations in the subsystem and geometry parameters. Within the constraints of existing technologies and materials, it was determined that the best performing combination of propulsion cycles is an ejector-ramjet, ramjet/scramjet (dual mode), and an all-rocket propulsion system. The performance metric calculations demonstrated that an ideal RBCC engine (neglecting the effects of drag and gravity) would greatly outperform a conventional ideal all-rocket propulsion system throughout the airbreathing flight regime. An average Isp of 2065 s was calculated over the airbreathing flight regime while an Isp of 1293 s over the entire flight regime (Mach 0 to 25). 4 A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T I would like to thank my parents, first and foremost, for their endless support and tremendous encouragement throughout my continued educational endeavors. Without them, I would not be here today. I would also like to thank the entire faculty of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department for supporting me in my education and for continuously emphasizing the importance of understanding fundamentals. Also, I would like to thank my committee for providing support and feedback on my project throughout the last year and for making it possible to continue my education. In addition, I would like to thank those people who provided moral support and kept me sane throughout this whole project. I must thank two of my fellow classmates and friends Paul Linggi and Tommy Blackwell for continuously providing moral support, encouragement, ideas, and also a laugh or two when it was most needed. Finally, my fondest appreciation goes to my girlfriend, Emmeliah Obiri, without whom I might have never finished this project. Her support throughout this whole endeavor and unwavering belief in me were often times the only thing keeping me on track. 5 Table of Contents General Acronyms ........................................................................................................................ ........................... 9 Nomenclature: General Terms ...................................................................................................................... 1 .... 0 ........................................................................................................... 1 Symbols ......................................................... 1 Subscripts ......................................................................................................... 1 ........................................................ 2 Superscripts ...................................................................................................... 1 ....................................................... 2 List of Figures ...................................................................................................................... 1 .................................. 3 List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... 1 .................................... 6 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 ............................. 7 Background and Purpose of the 1 1.1 Project ........................................................................................ 7 Current Space Launch Vehicles and Launch 2 1.2 Costs ................................................................... 1 Limitations of All-Rocket Propulsion Systems in SSTO Vehicles 2 1.3 ...................................... 4 A Combined-Cycle Approach to SSTO Launch Vehicles 2 1.4 ...................................................... 7 2. Background on Combined-Cycle Propulsion Systems 2 .................................................................... 9 Introduction to Combined-Cycle Propulsion Systems 2 2.1 ............................................................. 9 Subsystems of Combined-Cycle Propulsion Systems 3 2.2 .............................................................. 1 Turbofans and Turbojets ......................................................................................... 3 2.2.1 .................. 1 Ramjet ........................................................................................... 3 2.2.2 ................................................. 2 Scramjet ......................................................................................... 3 2.2.3 ................................................ 2 Rocket ............................................................................................ 3 2.2.4 ................................................. 3 Types of Combined-Cycle Propulsion Systems 3 2.3 ......................................................................... 3 3 2.3.1 Turbine-Based Combined Cycle (TBCC) Propulsion Systems .................................... 3 2.3.2 Rocket-Based Combined Cycle (RBCC) Propulsion Systems 3 ..................................... 4 History of Combined-Cycle Propulsion Systems 3 2.4 ...................................................................... 5 3. Combined Cycle Propulsion System Design 3 Considerations ......................................................... 8 Weight Considerations ........................................................................................................... 3 3.1 ............ 8 Fuel Considerations ......................................................................................... 3 3.2 .................................... 8 Engine Performance Based on Component Efficiencies 4 3.3 ......................................................... 2 Launch Configuration: Staging and Launch 4 3.4 Type ..................................................................... 3 Overall Vehicle Geometry Selection 4 3.5 ............................................................................................. 6 Propulsion System Integration into the Airframe 4 3.6 ...................................................................... 8 Continuous Stability and Operation in All Flight Regimes 5 3.7 .................................................... 1 4. RBCC Propulsion System 5 Overview ..................................................................................................... 3 6 Definition of Rocket-Based Combined 4.1 Cycles ........................................................................... 54 Rocket-Based Combined Cycle Literature 4.2 Review ................................................................... 55 Pre- ᄉ ¶V/LWHUDWXUH .............................................................................. 4.2.1 ........................................ 55 Current Literature ........................................................................................................ 4.2.2 .................... 60 Rocket-Based Combined Cycle Technical Overview 4.3 .............................................................. 67 Interim Summary ........................................................................................................... 4.4 ...................... 69 5. Gas Dynamics: Introductory Review ..................................................................................................... 71 Introduction .......................................................................................... 5.1 ................................................. 71 A Review of Fundamentals ........................................................................................................... 5.2 ... 71 Hypersonic Flow and Related Physical Phenomena 5.3