Numerical Study on the Solid Fuel Rocket Scramjet Combustor with Cavity

Chaolong Li, Zhixun Xia, Likun Ma, Xiang Zhao and Binbin Chen
Additional contact information
Chaolong Li: Science and Technology on Scramjet Laboratory, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
Zhixun Xia: Science and Technology on Scramjet Laboratory, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
Likun Ma: Science and Technology on Scramjet Laboratory, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
Xiang Zhao: Science and Technology on Scramjet Laboratory, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
Binbin Chen: Science and Technology on Scramjet Laboratory, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: Scramjet based on solid propellant is a good supplement for the power device of future hypersonic vehicles. A new scramjet combustor configuration using solid fuel, namely, the solid fuel rocket scramjet (SFRSCRJ) combustor is proposed. The numerical study was conducted to simulate a flight environment of Mach 6 at a 25 km altitude. Three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations coupled with shear stress transport (SST) k − ω turbulence model are used to analyze the effects of the cavity and its position on the combustor. The feasibility of the SFRSCRJ combustor with cavity is demonstrated based on the validation of the numerical method. Results show that the scramjet combustor configuration with a backward-facing step can resist high pressure generated by the combustion in the supersonic combustor. The total combustion efficiency of the SFRSCRJ combustor mainly depends on the combustion of particles in the fuel-rich gas. A proper combustion organization can promote particle combustion and improve the total combustion efficiency. Among the four configurations considered, the combustion efficiency of the mid-cavity configuration is the highest, up to about 70%. Therefore, the cavity can effectively increase the combustion efficiency of the SFRSCRJ combustor.

Keywords: solid-fuel rocket scramjet (SFRSCRJ); cavity; supersonic combustion; combustor performance; particle combustion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/7/1235/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/7/1235/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:7:p:1235-:d:218727

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().