Dr.
Andrew Ketsdever
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
aketsdever@[Link]
[Link]
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Efficiency
Weight
Complexity
Variability
Longevity and cost of components
Fuels (density, rheology, stowability,
handling, combustion characteristics, cost)
Materials
Mission requirements (trajectory, cost, etc.)
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4
Specific impulse
Thrust
Inert mass fraction
All three must be optimized in order to
achieve desired outcome
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6
Temperature
Small
Space
Booster
Thrust NASP
Boost Chambers
Glide
Vehicles
•Solid Cruise
Staged Missiles Satellite
Combustion
Liquid Propulsion
Rocket Booster
Engine
Nozzles
Time, sec
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Most launch vehicles are rockets, which suffer
from low specific impulse compared with air-
breathing systems (5000 sec. for turbojets vs.
500 sec. for rockets)
This degrades overall performance and
increases weight (a good reason to
investigate hybrid systems for future launch
vehicles!)
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The need to carry so much fuel makes overall weight a
crucial design factor
The structure of the vehicle is made as light as possible to
compensate
Boosters are not strong, rigid bodies. While they are fairly
strong longitudinally, they are very weak laterally
Most rockets cannot fly at significant angles of attack
through the atmosphere or they would fall apart!
A rocket carrying satellites usually starts vertically, but must
end in a horizontal orbit trajectory
How can you control trajectories???
How do you keep from falling apart???
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35,000-lb thrust class, 9-stage compressor, SFC 2.17 1/hr
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200
SUBSONIC TURBINE ENGINE
HIGH ALTITUDE SUPERSONIC TURBINE ENGINE
RAMJET, AIR-AUGMENTED ROCKET
150 LOW ALTITUDE SUPERSONIC TURBINE ENGINE
ALTITUDE, KFT
HYPERSONIC RAMJET
100
50
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
FLIGHT MACH NUMBER 12
Combined cycle Propulsion
“Low speed” cycle + scramjet
Rocket Based Combined Cycle (RBCC): Mach 0--25
air-breathing +rocket + scramjet + rocket
Turbine Based Combined Cycle (TBCC): Mach 0--4, 5
turbine + scramjet
• Scramjet
– Supersonic combustion ramjet –
Hydrocarbon (Mach 3-8)
– Hydrogen (Mach 3-15)
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Vehicle and Propulsion system are totally integrated
No Moving Parts Necessary
Mach 4 and higher
Body
Fuel
Cowl
Forebody
Combustor
(Compression) Nozzle
Inlet Isolator
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"On 16 November, 2004, NASA's unmanned Hyper-X (X-43A) aircraft reached Mach 9.6 (~7,000mph). The X-43A was
boosted to an altitude of 33,223 meters (109,000 feet) by a Pegasus rocket launched from beneath a B52-B jet aircraft.
The revolutionary 'scramjet' aircraft then burned its engine for around 10 seconds during its flight over the Pacific
Ocean."
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•Accelerator Turbine (Mach 0—4.3)
is combined with a duel-mode
scramjet engine (Mach 4—8)
•Transition from turbine power to Over-Under configuration
ramjet is performed at Mach 4
Accelerator Turbines
Turbine-engine inlets
•Cocooning hot turbine
engines will be a
technical challenge
•Tail rockets would likely
be added if vehicle is the
first stage of launch
system 16
Rocket-Based Combined Cycle promises
a propulsion system that can achieve
good performance from M = 0--25
Strut &
Rockets Body
Cowl
Forebody Combust
(Compression) or
Nozzle
Inlet
& Isolator
Door
Vehicle and Propulsion system are totally integrated 17
Air-Augmented
AIR Ejector Mode
Mach = 0—3
AIR M <1 Ramjet Mode
M = 3—6
GREEN ARROWS: FUEL INJECTION
AIR M >1 Scramjet Mode
M = 6—10
Inlet Closed
Rocket Mode
M > 10
Each mode is sub-optimized in its operating range
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Pulse Detonation Engine
Operating Concept
2 Detonation is initiated 3 Detonation wave moves
through fuel-air mixture
1 Fuel is mixed with air 4 Resulting high pressure gas
fills detonation chamber
Typical:
5 Detonation wave exits engine 40 cycles/sec
Air drawn in by reduced pressure
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Element Color
Sodium
Iron
Magnesium
Calcium
Silicon
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