A Novel Turbo-Aided Rocket-Augmented Ramj Et Combined Cycle Engine Concept LING Wenhui WEI Baoxi LUO Chunqin LI Tinghe GANG Qiang
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A Novel Turbo-aided Rocket-augmented Ramj et Combined Cycle Engine Concept LING Wenhui WEI Baoxi LUO Chunqin LI Tinghe GANG Qiang Beijing Power Machinery Research Institute, Science and Technology on Scramjet Laboratory, Beijing 100074, China Abstact: A novel multi-mode propulsion system is proposed for potential application to hypersonic planes. A unique feature of this concept is the use of mature turbo engine combined with RBCC. Its configuration is similar to TBCC, but the Ramjet tunnel is replaced by RBCC. turbo engine act as the primary thruster for Mach numbers in the range of about 0-2, and RBCC for Mach numbers of 2-6+. The obvious advantage is the high special impulse performance and high thrust-to-weight ability. But not like TBCC, it eliminates the need of advanced turbo engine which can work at Mach numbers of 0-4. It uses RBCC to resolve the relay problem from turbo mode to Ramjet mode. And with a suitable use of air augmented rocket, this new combined engine can provide high thrust-to-weight performance and extremely raise the stable combustion ability of ramjet mode at low pressure conditions. This allows the hypersonic plane to obtain the subsonic and hypersonic long-range cruise ability, the high maneuvering ability at hypersonic flight condition and high ceiling altitude hypersonic cruise ability. Preliminary performance estimates suggest that thrust and specific impulse are comparable or superior to existing TBCC designs. keywrods: aerospace aircraft combined engine 1 Introduction As an ideal propulsion device for the wide range flight of future near space aircraft and aerospace vehicle, the combined engine is integrated with two or more types of engines through the structure or thermodynamic cycle. Compared with the single type of engine, it provides the advantages of wide working range, high average specific impulse, as well as flexible and convenient operation by playing the technical advantages of different engines within the scope of their respective work. At present, a series of combined engines, including Turbo-Based Combined Cycle (TBCC), Rocket-Based Combined Cycle (RBCC), Air Turbo Ramjet (ATR), Synergistic Air Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE) and TRIJET, have been largely invested and deeply investigated in world wide. jet engine Air flow Low speed nozzle Low speed inlet High speed inlet Dual-combustion High speed nozzle mode ramjet Compressor Air duct Igniter Combustor Spindle Air Generator Plenum Turbo Mixing Cooling Nozzle channel Fig.1 Type of combined engine 2 State-of-the-art and trend analysis on typical combined engine 2.1 State-of-the-art (1)TBCC As a thermal cycle combination of turbo engine and ram engine, TBCC is divided into two types, namely series and parallel[1,2], as shown in Fig.2. Providing a higher specific impulse, TBCC is more suitable for long-distance cruise flight. However, TBCC has the disadvantages of relatively low thrust at hypersonic velocities, weak acceleration and maneuvering capability, difficult mode transition between turbo and ramjet, and strong dependence on the advance breakthroughs in high speed turbo technology. Diffuser Duct valve Fuel injector Flame holder Jet engine (a)Series TBCC engine jet engine Air flow Low speed nozzle Low speed inlet High speed inlet Dual-combustion High speed nozzle mode ramjet (b)Parallel TBCC engine Fig. 2 Schematic diagram of TBCC engine The United States is far ahead in the study of TBCC engine. The Ma3 TBCC was firstly adopted by the SR-71. In recent years, key technology research of the Ma6 TBCC is in sustainable development. Recently proposed SR-72 aircraft plan will gradually access the engineering application after 2030. At present, high speed turbo technology has yet to break, and it is very difficult to achieve the effective transition between the turbo mode and ramjet mode. This may be the largest limitation on the development of the Ma6+ TBCC. (2)RBCC engine RBCC is integrated with the ramjet engine and rocket engine through the thermal cycle and structure integration[3,4], as shown in Fig. 3. Be able to operate in the wide range of Ma0-25, H=0-orbit altitude in theory, RBCC can provide the power for the single stage access to orbit, as well as the first and second stages of two stage access to orbit. However, its application is restricted by the relatively low specific impulse and thrust in the low speed ejector mode. Fig. 3 Schematic diagram of RBCC engine In the USA’s 2030 air breathing propulsion technology roadmap, RBCC engine is considered as one of the most potential candidates for space access. However, due to the strong innovation, difficulties in achieving the ejector thrust gain and mode transition, as well as slower than expected development on the key technologies of Ma4-8 scramjet, present technical maturity of RBCC stays at 4-5 Levels. Based on the NASA’s technology roadmap, the flight demonstration test of RBCC will be conducted between 2020-2025 to validate the mode transition technology. (3)ATR engine ATR engine is an combination of aero-engine and rocket engine/ramjet engine. Its main characteristic is that the turbo for driving the fan is driven by the gas from the gas generator or heated expanding hydrogen. Be able to operate in the range of Ma=0~5, and H=0~25km. The ATR engine can act as the first stage aircraft of the earth-to-orbit transportation system. However, it has the disadvantage of lower specific impulse than the ramjet engine at high Mach numbers. According to the gas source driving the turbo, the ATR engine can be divided into Air Turbo Ramjet Gas Generator (ATRGG) and Air Turbo Ramjet Expansion (ATREX). Fig.4 shows the operational principle. Compressor Air duct Igniter Combustor Spindle Air Generator Plenum Turbo Mixing Cooling Nozzle channel (a)ATRGG engine (b)ATREX engine Fig.4 Air Turbo Rocket/Ramjet Engine Since 1932, the concept scheme of ATRGG engine has been presented by the USA. Some ground tests have been conducted on the basis of tactical missile. After partial flight tests in 1990s, no clear development plan is introduced. In Japan, the investigation on the ATREX engine has begun since 1986. In the early 1990s, large amount of prototype ground tests and pre-cooler scheme investigations have been conducted. In the early 21 century, the technology research was directed to the pre-cool vortex jet engine. (4)SABRE engine Combining the technologies of turbo, rocket and ramjet, the SABRE engine provides two operating modes, namely air-breathing mode and rocket mode, as shown in Fig.5. In air-breathing mode, the maximum operating Mach number can reach 5.5 at which the engine is transited to the rocket mode.[8,9] The SABRE engine can operate in full range, and achieve a higher specific impulse than the rocket engine. Simultaneously, the light weight air pre-cool technology can greatly decrease the weight of the engine. However, the operating range of the air-breathing mode is relatively narrow, resulting in a limited enhance on the rocket. The restriction of adopting the low-temperature hydrogen fuel leads to a large aircraft, which is not convenient enough. Fig.5 Schematic diagram of SABRE engine[9] The UK Skylon R & D company claimed that their power plan has achieved a great progress. They plans to conduct the whole machine test of the SABRE engine in 2019. The flight tests of the Skylon aircraft will be conducted after 2022, and the commercial operation will be put into in 2024. (5)TRIJET and T/RBCC engine TRIJET engine is powered by turbo engine, ejecting ramjet engine, and dual-mode ramjet, as shown in 7. It has three channels in which respective engine is installed [10,11]. The TRIJET engine can operate in the range of Ma=0-6+ and H=0-30km. By adopting the mature turbo engine, the stable transition between the turbo engine and dual-mode ramjet can be well realized through the ejecting ramjet. Fig. 6 Schematic diagram of TRIJET engine TRIJET is presented by Aerojet Corporation and is the second generation of the Pyrojet engine. The Pyrojet engine is composed of two high speed Ma4 turbo engines and a dual-mode ramjet. Restricted by the development of the high speed turbo engine, the channel of one turbo is changed to be that of an ejecting ramjet, while that of the other turbo only adopts the mature Ma2.5 turbo engine. The ejecting ramjet ensure the stable transition between the turbo engine and dual-mode ramjet. The TRIJET engine can achieve the hypersonic flight in the absence of Ma4 turbo engines. However, it has complex system and large structure, which may lead to a lower thrust-weight ratio. At the same time, Aerojet Corporation presents a turbine-and-rocket-based conbined-cycle engine, which consists of an air inlet, a common noozle, a turbine, a DMRJ and rockets. Fig. 7 Schematic diagram of TRIJET engine 2.2 Development trend and Revelation In a word, the development of combined power technology has the following main features: (1)In TBCC, there is a thrust trap between the turbo mode and ramjet mode. “The turbo cannot go up; while the ramjet cannot come down”. This is one of main technical problems which restricts the development of the Ma0-6 parallel TBCC engine. (2)The RBCC can act as the lower stage or upper stage of two stage access to orbit with different separation Mach number; The RBCC has an inherent disadvantage of low specific impulse in the low speed ejecting mode. This problem is hard to overcome in short time, and can be avoided using the airborne, turbo, and ejection.