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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. JET ENGINE

A jet engine is a machine for turning fuel into thrust (forward motion).
The thrust is produced by action and reaction a piece of physics also
known as Newtons third law of motion The force (action) of the exhaust
gases pushing backward produces an equal and opposite force (reaction)
called thrust that powers the vehicle forward. Exactly the same principle
pushes a skateboard forward when you kick backward with your foot. In a
jet engine, it's the exhaust gas that provides the "kick".

Jet engine designs are frequently modified for non-aircraft applications,

as industrial gas turbines. These are used in electrical power generation,
for powering water, natural gas, or oil pumps, and providing propulsion
for ships and locomotives. Industrial gas turbines can create up to 50,000
shaft horsepower.

1.2. Principle of jet engine

The gas turbine operates on the Brayton cycle in which the working
fluid is a continuous flow of air ingested into the engines inlet. The air is
first compressed by a compressor (duct chamber) to a pressure ratio of
typically 10 to 40 times the pressure of the inlet airstream.

It then flows into a combustion chamber, where a steady stream of the

hydrocarbon fuel, in the form of liquid spray droplets and vapor or both, is
introduced and burned at approximately constant pressure.

This gives rise to a continuous stream of high-pressure combustion

products whose average temperature is typically from 980 to 1,540 C or
higher.

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This stream of gases flows through a exhaust nozzle, which is linked by

a compressor and combustion chamber which extracts energy from the
gas stream to produce thrust. Because heat has been added to the
working fluid at high pressure, the gas stream that exits nozzle is high.

1.3. THE FIRST JET ENGINE-SHORT HISTORY OF EARLY JET

ENGINES

SIR ISAAC NEWTON in the 18th century was the first to theorize that a
rearward-channeled explosion could propel a machine forward at a great
rate of speed. This theory was based on his third law of motion. As the hot
air blasts backwards through the nozzle the plane moves forward.

HENRI GIFFORD built an airship which was powered by the first

aircraft engine, a three-horse power steam engine. It was very heavy, too
heavy to fly. In 1874, FELIX DE TEMPLE built a monoplane that flew just
a short hop down a hill with the help of a coal fired steam engine. OTTO
DAIMLER, in the late 1800's invented the first gasoline engine.

In 1894, American HIRAM MAXIM tried to power his triple biplane with
two coal fired steam engines. It only flew for a few seconds. The early
steam engines were powered by heated coal and were generally much too
heavy for flight.

American SAMUEL LANGLEY made model airplanes that were powered

by steam engines. In 1896, he was successful in flying an unmanned
airplane with a steam-powered engine, called the Aerodrome. It flew about
1 mile before it ran out of steam. He then tried to build a full sized plane,
the Aerodrome A, with a gas powered engine. In 1903, it crashed
immediately after being launched from a house boat.

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2. TYPES OF JET ENGINES

There are a large number of different types of jet engines, all of which
achieve forward thrust from the principle of jet propulsion.

Achieving a high propulsive efficiency for a jet engine is dependent on

designing it so that the exiting jet velocity is not greatly in excess of the
flight speed. At the same time, the amount of thrust generated is
proportional to that very same velocity excess that must be minimized.
This set of restrictive requirements has led to the evolution of a large
number of specialized variations of the basic turbojet engine, each tailored
to achieve a balance of good fuel efficiency, low weight, and compact size
for duty in some band of the flight speed altitude mission spectrum.

There are two major general features characteristic of all the different
engine types, however. First, in order to achieve a high propulsive
efficiency, the jet velocity, or the velocity of the gas stream exiting the
propulsion, is matched to the flight speed of the aircraft slow aircraft have
engines with low jet velocities and fast aircraft have engines with high jet
velocities. Second, as a result of designing the jet velocity to match the
flight speed, the size of the propulsion varies inversely with the flight
speed of the aircraft slow aircraft have very large propulsors, as, for
example, the helicopter rotor and the relative size of the propulsor
decreases with increasing design flight speed turboprop propellers are
relatively small and turbofan fans even smaller.

The types of jet engine fallowed as

1. Turbojet engine

2. Turbo fan engine

3. Turboprop engine

4. Ramjet engine

5. Scramjet engine

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6. Turbo shaft engine

7. Geared turbo fan engine

8. Pulse engine

2.1. Turbojet engine

The basic idea of the turbojet engine is simple. Air taken in from an
opening in the front of the engine is compressed to 3 to 12 times its
original pressure in compressor. Fuel is added to the air and burned in a
combustion chamber to raise the temperature of the fluid mixture to about
1,100F to 1,300 F. The resulting hot air is passed through a turbine,
which drives the compressor. If the turbine and compressor are efficient,
the pressure at the turbine discharge will be nearly twice the atmospheric
pressure, and this excess pressure is sent to the nozzle to produce a high-
velocity stream of gas which produces a thrust.

Substantial increases in thrust can be obtained by employing an

afterburner. It is a second combustion chamber positioned after the
turbine and before the nozzle.

The afterburner increases the temperature of the gas ahead of the

nozzle. The result of this increase in temperature is an increase of about
40 percent in thrust at takeoff and a much larger percentage at high
speeds once the plane is in the air.

Fig1: Turbojet engine

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2.2. Turbofan engine

A turbofan engine has a large fan at the front, which sucks in air. Most
of the air flows around the outside of the engine, making it quieter and
giving more thrust at low speeds. Most of today's airliners are powered by
turbofans. In a turbojet all the air entering the intake passes through the
gas generator, which is composed of the compressor, combustion
chamber, and turbine. In a turbofan engine only a portion of the incoming
air goes into the combustion chamber.

The remainder passes through a fan, or low-pressure compressor, and

is ejected directly as a "cold" jet or mixed with the gas-generator exhaust
to produce a "hot" jet. The objective of this sort of bypass system is to
increase thrust without increasing fuel consumption. It achieves this by
increasing the total air-mass flow and reducing the velocity within the
same total energy supply.

Fig2: turbo fan engine

2.3. Turbo prop engine

A turboprop engine is a jet engine attached to a propeller. The turbine at

the back is turned by the hot gases, and this turns a shaft that drives the
propeller.

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Some small airliners and transport aircraft are powered by turboprops.

Like the turbojet, the turboprop engine consists of a compressor,
combustion chamber, and turbine, the air and gas pressure is used to run
the turbine, which then creates power to drive the compressor.

Compared with a turbojet engine, the turboprop has better propulsion

efficiency at flight speeds below about 500 miles per hour. Modern
turboprop engines are equipped with propellers that have a smaller
diameter but a larger number of blades for efficient operation at much
higher flight speeds. To accommodate the higher flight speeds, the blades
are scimitar-shaped with swept-back leading edges at the blade tips.
Engines featuring such propellers are called prop fans. Max Mueller
designed the first turboprop engine that went into production in 1942.

Fig3: Turbo prop engine

2.4. Ramjet engine

A ram jet engine is a device from which useful thrust can be obtained
by creating a velocity difference between the atmosphere entering the ram
jet body and the same quantity of air leaving the ram jet body. This
velocity difference between entrance and exit air is accomplished by the
addition of heat to that portion of the airstream flowing through the ram
jet body.

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Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed; they cannot move an

aircraft from a standstill. A ramjet powered vehicle, therefore, requires
an assisted take-off like a rocket assist to accelerate it to a speed where it
begins to produce thrust. Ramjets work most efficiently
at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 (2,284 mph; 3,675 km/h). This type
of engine can operate up to speeds of Mach 6 (2,041.7 m/s; 7,350 km/h).

They have also been used successfully, though not efficiently, as tip
jets on the end of helicopter rotors. Ramjets have no moving parts much
like a valve less pulsejet but they operate with continuous combustion
rather than the series of explosions that give a pulsejet its characteristic
noise.

Fig4: Ramjet engine

2.5. Scramjet engine

A scramjet (supersonic combusting ramjet) is a variant of a ramjet air

breathing jet engine in which combustion takes place in
supersonic airflow. As in ramjets, a scramjet relies on high vehicle speed
to forcefully compress the incoming air before combustion (hence ramjet),
but a ramjet decelerates the air to subsonic velocities before combustion,
while airflow in a scramjet is supersonic throughout the entire engine.
This allows the scramjet to operate efficiently at extremely high speeds:

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theoretical projections place the top speed of a scramjet between Mach 12

(8,400 mph; 14,000 km/h) and Mach 24 (16,000 mph; 25,000 km/h).

Scramjets are designed to operate in the hypersonic flight regime, beyond

the reach of turbojet engines, and, along with ramjets, fill the gap between
the high efficiency of turbojets and the high speed of rocket engines. Turbo
machinery-based engines, while highly efficient at subsonic speeds,
become increasingly inefficient at transonic speeds, as the compressor
fans found in turbojet engines require subsonic speeds to operate.

While the flow from transonic to low supersonic speeds can be decelerated
to these conditions, doing so at supersonic speeds results in a tremendous
increase in temperature and a loss in the total pressure of the flow.
Around Mach 34, turbo machinery is no longer useful, and ram-style
compression becomes the preferred method.

Fig5: Scramjet engine

2.6. Turbo shaft engine

This is another form of gas-turbine engine that operates much like a

turboprop system. It does not drive a propeller. Instead, it provides power
for a helicopter rotor. The turbo shaft engine is designed so that the speed
of the helicopter rotor is independent of the rotating speed of the gas
generator. This permits the rotor speed to be kept constant even when the
speed of the generator is varied to modulate the amount of power
produced.

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The helicopter is designed to operate for substantial periods of time

hovering at zero flight speed. Even in forward flight, helicopters rarely
exceed 240 kilometers per hour or a Mach number of 0.22. (The Mach
number is the ratio of the velocity of the aircraft to the speed of sound.)

The principal propulsor is the helicopter rotor, which is driven by one or

more turbo shaft engines in all modern helicopters of large size. As was
previously noted, the propulsor is designed to give a very low discharge or
jet velocity and is by the same token very large for a given size aircraft
when compared to the propulsors of higher-speed aircraft.

Fig6: Turbo shaft engine

2.7. Geared turbo fan engine

The geared turbofan is a type of turbofan aircraft engine. Typical of

this configuration are the long-established Honeywell TFE731,
the Honeywell ALF 502/507, and the recent Pratt & Whitney PW1000G. In
a conventional turbofan, a single shaft (the "low-pressure" or LP shaft)
connects the fan, the low-pressure compressor and the low-pressure
turbine (a second concentric shaft connects the high-pressure compressor
and high-pressure turbine).

In this configuration, the maximum tip speed for the fan limits the
rotational speed for the LP shaft and thus the LP compressor and turbine.

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At high bypass ratios (and thus high radius ratios) the tip speeds of the
LP turbine and LP compressor must be relatively low, which means extra
compressor and turbine stages are required to keep the average stage
loadings and, therefore, overall component efficiencies to an acceptable
level.

In a geared turbofan, a (planetary) reduction gearbox between the fan

and the LP shaft allows the latter to run at a higher rotational speed thus
enabling fewer stages to be used in both the LP turbine and the LP
compressor, increasing efficiency and reducing weight. However, some
energy will be lost as heat in the gear mechanism. Also the weight saved
on turbine and compressor stages is offset to some extent by the mass of
the gearbox. There are manufacturing cost and reliability implications as
well.

Fig7: Geared turbofan engine

2.8. Pulse engine

A pulse jet engine (or pulsejet) is a type of jet engine in which

combustion occurs in pulses. Pulsejet engines can be made with fewor
no moving parts,[2] and are capable of running statically. Pulse jet engines
are a lightweight form of jet propulsion, but usually have a
poor compression ratio, and hence give a low specific. One notable line of
research of pulsejet engines includes the pulse detonation engine which

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involves repeated detonations in the engine, and which can potentially give
high compression and good efficiency.

Pulse Jet Engines, or Pulsejets, are an amazingly simple type of jet

engine that almost anyone can build at home with basic tools.

They can run while standing still, with no moving parts, on almost
anything that burns. No other jet engine comes close to being able to do
that. While they may just look like a simple hollow tube, the science
behind how they work is pretty complex!.There are few things that are as
satisfying as building your own jet engine and firing it up for the first time.
That moment when you first fire it up, and the engine starts shooting
flames, glowing orange, and drowning out the sound of everything around
you is something youll never forget.

Pulse Jets are the perfect way to get into hobby jet propulsion. They are
mechanically simple enough that you can build one with some basic
workshop equipment using a set of blueprints, but the physics behind
how they work is complicated enough that it could be the focus of an
engineering thesis. Because of this they make for the perfect science
project, whether for high school or college, and the skills youll learn while
building your own Pulsejet will help you out in many other areas.

Fig8: pulse jet engine

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3. MACH NUMBER

In fluid mechanics, Mach number (M or Ma) is a dimension less

quantity representing the ratio of speed of an object moving through
a fluid and the local speed of sound.

Fig9: Mach number

M = vobject /vsound
M is the Mach number,
vobject is the velocity of the source relative to the medium, and
vsound is the speed of sound in the medium.

Mach number depends on the condition of the surrounding medium, in

particular the temperature and pressure. The Mach number can be used
to determine if a flow can be treated as an incompressible flow. If M < 0.2
0.3 and the flow is quasi steady and isothermal, compressibility effects will
be small and a simplified incompressible flow equations can be used.

The Mach number is named after Austrian physicist and

philosopher earnstmach, a designation proposed by aeronautical
engineer jakobackeret.

As the Mach number is a dimensionless quantity rather than a unit of

measure, with Mach, the number comes after the unit; the second Mach
number is "Mach 2" instead of"2 Mach" (or Machs). This is somewhat

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reminiscent of the early modern ocean sounding unit "mark", which was
also unit-first, and may have influenced the use of the term Mach.

In the decade preceding faster than sound human flight, aeronautical

engineers referred to the speed of sound as Mach's number, never "Mach
1."

The Mach number is commonly used with objects traveling at high

speed in a fluid, and with high-speed fluid flows inside channels such
as nozzles, diffusers or wind tunnels. As it is defined as a ratio of two
speeds, it is a dimensionless number.

At Standard Sea Level conditions (corresponding to a temperature of 15

degrees Celsius), the speed of sound is 340.3 m/s (1225 km/h, or
761.2 mph, or 661.5 knots, or 1116 ft/s) in the Earth's atmosphere. The
speed represented by Mach 1 is not a constant; for example, it is mostly
dependent on temperature.

Since the speed of sound increases as the ambient temperature

increases, the actual speed of an object traveling at Mach 1 will depend on
the temperature of the fluid through which the object is passing. Mach
number is useful because the fluid behaves in a similar manner at a given
Mach number, regardless of other variables. So, an aircraft traveling at
Mach 1 at 20C (68F) at sea level will experience shock waves just like an
aircraft traveling at Mach 1 at 11,000 m (36,000 ft) altitude at 50C
(58F), even though the second aircraft is only traveling 86% as fast as
the first.

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3.1. Types of Mach regimes

Regime Mach km/h m/s General plane characteristics

Most often propeller-driven and
commercial turbofan aircraft
Subsonic <0.8 <980 <273 with high aspect-ratio (slender)
wings and rounded features
like the nose and leading edges.
Transonic aircraft nearly
always have swept wings,
Transonic 0.8- 980-1,470 273-409 causing the delay of drag-
1.2 divergence, and often features a
design that adheres to the
principles of the Whitcomb
Area rule.
Aircraft designed to fly at
supersonic speeds show large
differences in their
Supersonic 1.2 1,470 410 aerodynamic design because of
5.0 6,126 1,702 the radical differences in the
behavior of flows above Mach 1.
Sharp edges, thin aero foil-
sections, and all-moving tail
plane/canards are common.
Cooled nickel-titanium skin;
highly integrated (due to
6,126- 1,702 domination of interference
Hypersonic 5.0 12,251 3,403 effects: non-linear behavior
10.0 means that superposition of
results for separate
components is invalid), small
wings, such as those on the X-
51A Wave rider
Thermal control becomes a
dominant design consideration.
Structure must either be
High- 10.0- 12,251- 3,403 designed to operate hot, or be
hypersonic 25.0 30,626 8,508 protected by special silicate
tiles or similar. Chemically
reacting flow can also cause
corrosion of the vehicle's skin,
with free-atomic oxygen
featuring in very high-speed
flows.
Re-entry >25.0 >30,626 >8,508 Ablative heat shield; small or
speeds no wings; blunt shape

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4. RAMJET ENGINE

4.1. RAMJET

A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a flying stovepipe or an athodyd (an

abbreviation of aero thermodynamic duct), is a form of air breathing jet
engine that uses the engine's forward motion to compress incoming air
without a rotary compressor. Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero
airspeed; they cannot move an aircraft from a standstill. A ramjet powered
vehicle, therefore, requires an assisted take off like a JATO to accelerate it
to a speed where it begins to produce thrust. Ramjets work most efficiently
at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 (2,284 mph; 3,675 km/h). This type
of engine can operate up to speeds of Mach 6 (2,041.7 m/s; 7,350 km/h).

Ramjets can be particularly useful in applications requiring a small and

simple mechanism for high-speed use, such as missiles or artillery shells.
Weapon designers are looking to use ramjet technology in artillery shells
to give added range; a 120 mm mortar shell, if assisted by a ramjet, is
thought to be able to attain a range of 35 km (22 mi). They have also been
used successfully, though not efficiently, as tip jets on the end
of helicopter rotors.

Ramjets are frequently confused with pulsejets, which use an

intermittent combustion; however, ramjets employ a continuous
combustion process. They are also confused with scramjets, a similar
system designed for higher speeds that uses a supersonic airflow in its
combustion chamber. While a scramjet works with the same technology,
the combustion process differs slightly, resulting in a higher cruise speed.

Ramjets can be classified according to the type of fuel, liquid or solid;

and the booster. A liquid fuel ramjet (LFRJ), hydrocarbon fuel (typically) is
injected into the combustor ahead of a flame holder which stabilizes the
flame resulting from the combustion of the fuel with the compressed air
from the intake(s). A means of pressurizing and supplying the fuel to the
ram combustor is required, which can be complicated and expensive.

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Aerospatiale-Celerg designed an LFRJ where the fuel is forced into the

injectors by an elastomeric bladder which inflates progressively along the
length of the fuel tank. Initially, the bladder forms a close-fitting sheath
around the compressed air bottle from which it is inflated, which is
mounted lengthwise in the tank. This offers a lower-cost approach than a
regulated LFRJ requiring a turbo pump and associated hardware to
supply the fuel.

A ramjet generates no static thrust and needs a booster to achieve a

forward velocity high enough for efficient operation of the intake system.
The first ramjet-powered missiles used external boosters, usually solid-
propellant rockets, either in tandem, where the booster is mounted
immediately aft of the ramjet, e.g. Sea Dart, or wraparound where multiple
boosters are attached alongside the outside of the ramjet, e.g. SA-4 Ganef.
The choice of booster arrangement is usually driven by the size of the
launch platform. A tandem booster increases the overall length of the
system, whereas wraparound boosters increase the overall diameter.
Wraparound boosters will usually generate higher drag than a tandem
arrangement.

Integrated boosters provide a more efficient packaging option, since the

booster propellant is cast inside the otherwise empty combustor. This
approach has been used on solid, for example SA-6 Gainful, liquid, for
example ASMP, and ducted rocket, for example Meteor, designs.

Integrated designs are complicated by the different nozzle requirements

of the boost and ramjet phases of flight. Due to the higher thrust levels of
the booster, a differently shaped nozzle is required for optimum thrust
compared to that required for the lower thrust ramjet sustainer. This is
usually achieved via a separate nozzle, which is ejected after booster
burnout. However, designs such as Meteor feature nozzle less boosters.
This offers the advantages of elimination of the hazard to launch aircraft
from the ejected boost nozzle debris, simplicity, reliability, and reduced
mass and cost, although this must be traded against the reduction in
performance compared with that provided by a dedicated booster nozzle.

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4.1.1. Integral rocket ramjet/ducted rocket

A slight variation on the ramjet uses the supersonic exhaust from a

rocket combustion process to compress and react with the incoming air in
the main combustion chamber. This has the advantage of giving thrust
even at zero speed.

In a solid fuel integrated rocket ramjet (SFIRR), the solid fuel is cast
along the outer wall of the ram combustor. In this case, fuel injection is
through ablation of the propellant by the hot compressed air from the
intake(s). An aft mixer may be used to improve combustion efficiency.
SFIRRs are preferred over LFRJs for some applications because of the
simplicity of the fuel supply, but only when the throttling requirements are
minimal, i.e. when variations in altitude or Mach number are limited.

In a ducted rocket, a solid fuel gas generator produces a hot fuel-rich gas
which is burnt in the ram combustor with the compressed air supplied by
the intake(s). The flow of gas improves the mixing of the fuel and air and
increases total pressure recovery.

In a throttle able ducted rocket, also known as a variable flow ducted

rocket, a valve allows the gas generator exhaust to be throttled allowing
control of the thrust. Unlike an LFRJ, solid propellant ramjets
cannot flame out. The ducted rocket sits somewhere between the
simplicity of the SFRJ and the unlimited throttle ability of the LFRJ.

4.1.2. Air turbo ramjet

Another example of this is the air turbo ramjet, which has a compressor
powered by a gas heated via a heat exchanger within the combustion
chamber.

4.1.3. Scramjets
Ramjets always slow the incoming air to a subsonic velocity within the
combustor. Scramjets, or "supersonic combustion ramjet" are similar to
ramjets, but some of the air goes through the entire engine at supersonic
speeds. This increases the stagnation pressure recovered from the free
stream and improves net thrust. Thermal choking of the exhaust is

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avoided by having a relatively high supersonic air velocity at combustor

entry. Fuel injection is often into a sheltered region below a step in the
combustor wall. Although scramjet engines have been studied for many
decades, only recently have small experimental units been flight tested
and then only very briefly (e.g. the Boeing X-43).

As of May, 2010, this engine has been tested to attain Mach 5

(1,701.5 m/s; 6,125 km/h) for 200 seconds on the X-51A Wave rider.[16]

4.1.4. Pre cooled engines

A variant of the pure ramjet is the 'combined cycle' engine, intended to
overcome the limitations of the pure ramjet. One example of this is
the SABRE engine; this uses a precooler, behind which is the ramjet and
turbine machinery.

The ATREX engine developed in Japan is an experimental

implementation of this concept. It uses liquid hydrogen fuel in a fairly
exotic, single-fan arrangement.

The liquid hydrogen fuel is pumped through a heat exchanger in the air
intake, simultaneously heating the liquid hydrogen, and cooling the
incoming air. This cooling of the incoming air is critical to achieving a
reasonable efficiency. The hydrogen then continues through a second heat
exchanger position after the combustion section, where the hot exhaust is
used to further heat the hydrogen, turning it into a very high pressure gas.
This gas is then passed through the tips of the fan to provide driving
power to the fan at subsonic speeds. After mixing with the air, it is burned
in the combustion chamber.

The Reaction Engines Scimitar has been proposed for

the LAPCAT hypersonic airliner, and the Reaction Engines SABRE for
the Reaction Engines Skyline space plane.

4.1.5. Nuclear-powered ramjets

During the Cold War, the United States designed and ground-tested a
nuclear-powered ramjet called Project Pluto. This system used no

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combustion; a nuclear reactor heated the air instead. The project was
ultimately canceled because ICBMs seemed to serve the purpose better,
and because a low-flying radioactive missile could cause problems for any
allied soldiers.

4.1.6. Ionosphere ramjet

The upper atmosphere above about 100 kilometers (62 mi)

contains monatomic oxygen produced by the sun through photochemistry.
A concept was created by NASA for recombining this thin gas back to
diatomic molecules at orbital speeds to power a ramjet.[17]

4.1.7. Bussard ramjet

The Bussard ramjet is a space drive concept intended
to fuse interstellar wind and exhaust it at high speed from the rear of the
vehicle

4.2. Principle of ramjet engine

4.2.1. Thermodynamic cycle in ramjet

To move a hypersonic cruising aircraft through the air, we have to use

some kind of propulsion system to generate thrust. Because of
the heat generated at stagnation points in a hypersonic flow, the gas
turbine engine is not suited for this regime. A better choice for an air-
breathing propulsion system would be a ramjet for Mach numbers less
than 6, and scramjet for Mach numbers greater than 6. Ramjets and
scramjets rely on the forward speed of the vehicle to compress the air in
the inlet instead of using the mechanical compressor of a gas turbine.
The combustion section of a ramjet is similar to the gas turbine, but the
ramjet needs no power turbine since there is no compressor.
The thermodynamics of of a ramjet/scramjet and a turbine engine are
quite similar.

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Fig10: Brayton cycle

The Bray ton Thermodynamic Cycle is used in ramjets and scramjets.

The figure shows a T-s diagram of the Brayton cycle. Using the turbine
engine station numbering system, we begin with free stream conditions at
station 0. In cruising flight, the inlet slows the air stream to compress it to
station 2 conditions. As the flow slows, some of the energy associated with
the aircraft velocity increases the static pressure of the air and the flow is
compressed. Ideally, the compression is isentropic and the
static temperature is also increased as shown by the dashed lines on the
plot. For an ideal, isentropic compression a vertical line on the T-s
diagram describes the process. In reality, the compression is not isentropic
and the compression process line leans to the right because of the
increase in entropy of the flow. The non-isentropic effects are the result
of shock waves in the inlet. For the ramjet, there is a terminal shock in the
inlet that brings the flow to subsonic conditions at the burner.

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As speed increases, the losses through this shock eventually decrease

the level of pressure that can be achieved in the burner, and this sets a
limit on the use of ramjets. For supersonic combustion ramjets (scramjets)
there is no normal shock and the inlet shock losses associated with the
normal shock are avoided.

The combustion process in the burner occurs at constant pressure

from station 3 to station 5. The temperature increase depends on the type
of fuel used and the fuel-air ratio. For scramjets, there may be additional
entropy losses associated with the mixing of the fuel and the air. Following
combustion, the hot exhaust is then passed through the nozzle. Ideally,
the nozzle brings the flow isentropic ally back to free stream pressure from
station 5 to station 8. Since ramjets and scramjets often use converging-
diverging nozzle designs, there is often a mismatch between the external
flow pressure and the free stream. The area under the T-s diagram is
proportional to the useful work and thrust generated by the engine.

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5. PARTS OF RAMJET ENGINE

Ramjet engine consists of the following parts

1. Diffuser

2. Combustion chamber

3. Nozzle section

5.1. Diffuser

A diffuser is the mechanical device that is designed to control the

characteristics of a fluid at the entrance to a thermodynamic open system.
Diffusers are used to slow the fluid's velocity of fluid increase the pressure.
Diffusers are very common in heating, ventilating, and air-
conditioning systems Diffusers can be as a shape of round, rectangular, or
can be as linear slot diffusers(LSDs, e.g.: Linear slot diffusers takes the
form of one or several long, narrow slots, mostly semi-concealed in a fixed
or suspended ceiling. The outflow velocity from air supply diffuser is
usually treated as uniform. This is true when duct connections are such
that the air enters the diffuser as uniformly as possible with no abrupt
changes in the direction or velocity. These compressors are constructed of
several different materials depending on the load and operating
temperature.

Axial-flow compressors have the following advantages:

High peak efficiency.

Small frontal area forgiven airflow.
Straight-through flow, allowing high ram efficiency.
Increased pressure rise due to increased number of stages with negligible
losses.

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5.1.1. Principle of diffuser

A diffuser is a device which slows down fluid. That means velocity of

fluid decreases with increasing pressure.

Fig11: diffuser

Ramjets try to exploit the very high dynamic pressure within the air
approaching the intake lip, an efficient intake will recover much of free
stream stagnation pressure, which is used to support the combustion and
expansion process in the nozzle.

Most ramjets operate at supersonic flight speeds and use one or

more conical (or oblique) shock waves, terminated by a strong normal
shock, to slow down the airflow to a subsonic velocity at the exit of the
intake. Further diffusion is then required to get the air velocity down to a
suitable level for the combustor. Subsonic intakes on ramjets are relatively
simple.

Subsonic ramjets do not need such a sophisticated inlet since the

airflow is already subsonic and a simple hole is usually used. This would
also work at slightly supersonic speeds, but as the air will choke at the
inlet, this is inefficient.

The inlet is divergent, to provide a constant inlet speed of Mach 0.5

(170.15 m/s; 612.5 km/h).

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Fig12: air flow

5.1.2. Combustion chamber

The degree to which the fuel mixture is compressed before ignition. It is

defined as the maximum volume of the combustion chamber
The combustion chamber is defined by the size, location, The design of
combustion chamber has an important influence upon the engine
performance and properties The design of combustion chamber involves
the shape of the combustion chamber, the location of the spar shape of
the combustion chamber, the location of the sparking plug and the
disposition king plug and the disposition of inlet and exhaust valves

The basic requirements of a good combustion chamber are to provide:

High power output

High thermal efficiency and low specific fuel consumption
Smooth engine operation

As with other jet engines, the combustor's job is to create hot air, by
burning a fuel with the air at essentially constant pressure. The airflow
through the jet engine is usually quite high, so sheltered combustion zones
are produced by using 'flame holders' to stop the flames from blowing out.

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Fig13: Combustion chamber

Since there is no downstream turbine, a ramjet combustor can safely

operate at stoichiometric fuel: air ratios, which implies a combustor
exit stagnation temperature of the order of 2,400 K (2,130 C; 3,860 F) for
kerosene. Normally, the combustor must be capable of operating over a
wide range of throttle settings, for a range of flight speeds/altitudes.

Usually, a sheltered pilot region enables combustion to continue when

the vehicle intake undergoes high yaw/pitch during turns. Other flame
stabilization techniques make use of flame holders, which vary in design
from combustor cans to simple flat plates, to shelter the flame and
improve fuel mixing. Over fuelling the combustor can cause the normal
shock within a supersonic intake system to be pushed forward beyond the
intake lip, resulting in a substantial drop in engine airflow and net thrust.

5.1.3. Nozzle section

The propelling nozzle is a critical part of a ramjet design, since it

accelerates exhaust flow to produce thrust. For a ramjet operating at a
subsonic flight Mach number, exhaust flow is accelerated through a
converging nozzle. For a supersonic flight Mach number, acceleration is
typically achieved via a convergent-divergent nozzle.

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Propelling nozzles accelerate the available gas to subsonic, sonic, or

supersonic velocities depending on the power setting of the engine, their
internal shape and the pressures at entry to, and exit from, the nozzle.
The internal shape may be convergent or convergent-divergent (C-D). C-D
nozzles can accelerate the jet to supersonic velocities within the divergent
section, whereas a convergent nozzle cannot accelerate the jet beyond
sonic speed.

Propelling nozzles may have a fixed geometry, or they may have

variable geometry to give different exit areas to control the operation of the
engine when equipped with an afterburner or a reheat system. When
afterburning engines are equipped with a C-D nozzle the throat area is
variable. Nozzles for supersonic flight speeds, at which high nozzle
pressure ratios are generated, also have variable area divergent sections.

A propelling nozzle converts a gas turbine or gas generator into a jet

engine. Energy available in the gas turbine exhaust is converted into a
high speed propelling jet by the nozzle. Turbofan engines may have an
additional and separate propelling nozzle which produces a high speed
propelling jet from the energy in the air that has passed through the fan.
In addition, the nozzle helps to determine how the gas generator and fan
operate as it acts as a downstream restrictor.

5.1.4. Convergent-divergent (C-D) nozzle

Ramjet Engines capable of supersonic flight have convergent-

divergent exhaust duct features to generate supersonic flow. Rocket
engines the extreme case owes their distinctive shape to the very high area
ratios of their nozzles.

When the pressure ratio across a convergent nozzle exceeds a critical

value the pressure of the exhaust exiting the engine exceeds the pressure
of the surrounding air. This reduces the thrust producing efficiency of the
nozzle by causing much of the expansion to take place downstream of the
nozzle itself.

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Consequently, rocket engines and jet engines for supersonic flight

incorporate a C-D nozzle which permits further expansion against the
inside of the nozzle. However, unlike the fixed convergent-divergent nozzle
used on a conventional rocket motor, those on turbojet engines must have
heavy and expensive variable geometry to cope with the great variation in
nozzle pressure ratio that occurs with speeds from subsonic to over
Mach3.

Fig14: converging and diverging nozzle

5.1.5. Principle of operation

A nozzle operates by using its narrowest part, or 'throat', to increase

pressure within the engine by constricting airflow, usually until the
flow chokes, then expanding the exhaust stream to, or near to,
atmospheric pressure, while forming it into a high speed jet to propel the
vehicle. The role of the nozzle in constricting, or back-pressuring, the
engine is explained in section "The other purpose of the propelling nozzle".

The energy to accelerate the stream comes from the temperature and
pressure of the gas. The gas expands adiabatically with low losses and
hence high efficiency. The gas accelerates to a final exit velocity which

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depends on the pressure and temperature at entry to the nozzle, the

ambient pressure it exhausts to, and the efficiency of the expansion.
The efficiency is a measure of the losses due to friction, non-axial
divergence as well as leakage in C-D nozzles.
Air breathing engines create forward thrust on the airframe by imparting a
net rearward momentum to the air by producing a jet of exhaust gas
which has a speed that exceeds that of the aircraft. The jet may or may not
be fully expanded as described in section "Reasons for C-D nozzle under
expansion and examples".

On some engines that are equipped with an afterburner the nozzle area is
also varied during non-afterburning or dry thrust conditions. Typically the
nozzle is fully open for starting and at idles. It may then close down as the
thrust lever is advanced reaching its minimum area before or at the
Military or max dry thrust setting. Two examples of this control are the
General Electric J-79 and the Tumansky RD-22 in the MIG-29. Reasons
for varying the nozzle area are explained in section "Nozzle area control
during dry operation".

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6. WORKING OF RAM JET ENGINE

Jet engines and rocket engines all work pretty much like the balloon
drawing at the right. Pressurized gasses (arrows) inside the balloon push
equally in all directions.

Fig15: pressurized gasses inside balloon

Forces trying to push the balloon in one direction are canceled by

equal but opposite forces trying to move it in the opposite direction (red
arrows). If the neck of the balloon is tied off, forces in all directions cancel
so the balloon does not move. If the neck is open there is no balloon for
forces to push against at the opening. Since there is no push against the
balloon by the gasses escaping through the opening (blue arrow), the
unopposed force of the green arrow pushing on the balloon causes it to
move and the balloon flies away like a rocket.

Rocket engines work in exactly this way. The combustion chamber

is closed except for an opening at the exhaust nozzle. Burning fuel
produces high pressure gasses that escape through the nozzle at the rear,
and gas pressure at the front end of the engine pushes the rocket forward.

Jet engines also work the same way, but they have an air inlet at the
front as well as the exhaust opening at the rear.

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Ramjets are tubes open at both ends, with few internal parts and no
compressor fan to force air into the engine. So what causes the
combustion gasses to escape only at the rear end, and what do the
exhaust gasses push against to cause forward thrust. To understand this
we need to know something about how gasses behave.

6.1. Shock Waves

When something causes a noise, such as a door slamming or a

firecracker popping, it causes a pressure wave to move through the air,
when this wave reaches us our ears translate the sudden pressure change
into the sound we hear.
The pressure wave is really just air molecules bumping against each
other. The molecules normally just move around randomly, moving this
way and that. When the firecracker pops it releases high pressure gasses
that rush outward, pushing against the air molecules. These molecules in
turn move outward and bump into others, pushing them along to bump
into yet more air molecules. Think of a bunch of balls lined up on a pool
table. The cue ball strikes the first, causing it to move and strike the
second. When it does the energy of motion is transferred to the second ball
and the first ball stops. Likewise, the second ball strikes the third,
transfers energy to it, and stops.

In this way the energy passes from one ball to the other, and this
energy "wave" flows down the line of balls from the first to the last.
Although the distance from the first to last ball may be great, none of the
individual balls moves very far.

This is how the pressure wave moves through the air, passing from
molecule to molecule. The wave is just a lot of molecules that are no longer
moving randomly, but are all moving in the same direction at the same
time until they bump into another air molecule and pass energy to it. After
the wave passes the air molecules go back to randomly bumping into each
other.

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As an object moves through the air it pushes aside the air in its path.
The moving air forms a pressure wave that moves outward at the speed of
sound. In the picture below the arrow labeled "Speed of sound" represents
the distance sound travels during the time of flight of the missiles.

Fig16: object moves through the air

The missile on the left is moving at half the speed of sound (Mach 0.5).
The pressure waves created as it moves through the atmosphere are
moving twice as fast as the missile and dissipate in all directions. In all
cases the pressure waves race ahead of the missile. Each semicircle shows
how far the sound wave has traveled since the missile passed the
numbered positions. Notice that the distance between waves is shorter in
front of the missile than off to the side of the missile - the waves are
compressed ahead of the missile. However, they do not overlap to generate
a shock wave.

In the middle image the missile is moving at the speed of sound. The
pressure waves expand outward at the speed of sound but they cannot
move ahead of the missile. At the leading tip of the missile all waves are
compressed so they overlap, but they dissipate normally elsewhere so a
shock wave is not propagated.

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In the right hand picture the missile is moving faster than the speed of
sound. The pressure wave cannot move as fast as the missile so the
missile races ahead of the pressure waves. Consequently all waves moving
outward from the missile's path combine to create a high pressure conical
"shock wave" emanating from the nose of the missile, moving outward
through the air at the speed of sound, like the wake of a boat moving
through water. When this shock wave reaches our ears we hear a "sonic
boom."

6.2. Simple Ramjets

It is this supersonic shock wave that is important to ramjet air intake
functioning, and it was the cause of major headaches in the design of
ramjets that would work reliably. It is important to remember that the air
molecules in this wave are moving at the speed of sound, and no faster.

The simplest air intake design is just a hollow tube with a circular
opening - a pipe. Imagine a pipe fastened to a supersonic airplane or
rocket. When the pipe is propelled through the air at supersonic speeds
the edge of the opening pushes air molecules out of the way, forming a
shock wave. On the outside edge of the pipe the shock wave moves
outwardly just like it does around the nose of a supersonic bullet.
However, on the inside of the tube the shock waves from all around the
opening converge, as shown by the dashed lines. The air molecules moving
away from the inner edge of the opening run into other molecules moving
inward and the pressure wave can go no farther. Pressure builds up
behind the shock wave, compressing the air in the tube and slowing the
rate at which it flows through the tube.

Fig17: shock waves in simple ramjet

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Now we need to rethink the relative motions of the tube and the
atmosphere. It is the tube that is moving faster than the speed of sound,
and the air is standing still. However, the concept of relativity allows us to
think of the situation as if the tube was standing still and the air was
rushing by at supersonic speeds.

As pressure rises in the tube air temperature also rises. Since the
inside walls of the tube prevent outward expansion of the air in the tube,
and the air rushing in the front prevents escape that way, the hot high
pressure gasses can escape only from the rear where they expand rapidly
and return to the temperature and pressure of the surrounding air.
However, this happens only when the tube is moving through the air very
rapidly.

When the hot gasses escape at the rear of the tube they are accelerated
as the pressure drops. You see the same thing when water escapes
through the end of your garden hose. The higher the water pressure inside
the hose the faster the water flows from the hose.

The higher the pressure inside the ramjet tube, the faster the gasses
escape at the rear. Because the gasses are heated as they are compressed
into the tube, the pressure increases even more and they escape the rear
even faster.

Fig18: high pressure in combustion chamber

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The ramjet works by accelerating the air that is passing through it. For
every action there is a reaction, and as the hot high speed gasses escape
through the nozzle the engine is propelled forward. Inside the tube a
steady state is obtained where the pressure in the combustion chamber is
balanced by the pressure of the air flowing into the engine behind the
normal shock front. As the engine moves forward it ingests more air,
keeping things going. As it goes faster it takes in a larger amount of air,
and that means it exhausts more air, producing greater thrust. The faster
it goes, the faster it goes. Fuel flow is controlled to achieve the desired
speed.

At low velocities drag is greater than thrust, so the engine cannot

propel itself through the air. At velocities about 80 percent of the speed of
sound the thrust produced by a ramjet engine just equals the drag
through the air (this depends upon how streamlined the missile is). At
higher velocities the thrust produced by the engine exceeds the drag and
the engine propels itself forward.

There is a practical limit to the speed of a simple ramjet engine. If

pressure inside the tube rises too far the normal shock front is blown out
of the tube allowing compressed air to spill out around the front of the
tube. This reduces the amount of air passing through the tube, causing
thrust to drop. As a consequence this type of ramjet is limited to a top
speed of only about Mach 1.2, not as fast as turbojets can go. For higher
speeds the ramjet air intake must have a more efficient mechanism to
compress the incoming air.

6.3. High efficiency ramjets

Ramjets work by ingesting relatively low speed air and expelling the air
at a higher speed. The difference in speed results in a forward thrust. The
burning fuel creates higher pressures inside the engine, causing higher
exhaust speeds. But the thrust of the engine depends entirely upon how
much air flows through it. No matter how hot the burning air-fuel mixture
is, and how high the pressure, if not much air flows into the front of the

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engine not much thrust is produced. So the trick to improving ramjet

efficiency is to increase airflow through the engine. In a way this is a
chicken-and-egg problem. To get more air the missile has to go faster, and
to go faster it must take in more air.

Adding more fuel to the air inside the engine causes greater amounts of
heat to be produced, and increases the temperature of the burning fuel-air
mixture. Greater heat causes increased pressure, and this produces
higher velocity exhaust gasses. So burning more fuel increases the velocity
of the exhaust gasses, causing the missile to go faster. However, there is a
limit to how much fuel can be burned. If the air-fuel mixture is too rich
(too much fuel) it won't burn. So it is necessary to match the fuel flow to
the amount of air passing through the engine to get the maximum
sustainable burning rate. Adding more fuel increases the thrust, but again
the maximum thrust is limited by the amount of air.

Remember the "normal" shockwave that formed at the opening of the

simple tube. That was the limiting factor for airflow into the simple tube
engine. Air flow into the engine was limited by the area of the shock front.
Excess air pushed aside and flowed around the outside of the engine. This
limited the amount of air that flowed into the simple open tube, and that
limited the amount of thrust that could be produced.

Adding the inner body inside the tube doesn't change that limitation,
although it does allow more efficient combustion and causes the missile to
accelerate more rapidly. To get the missile to go faster it was necessary to
change the way the supersonic shock waves form at the front of the
missile. The solution was simple - move the inner body forward until the
conical tip extends out of the inlet tube.

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Fig19: supersonic shock wave

The supersonic shock wave then forms at the tip of the cone in front of
the opening. This shock wave is conical and has a much greater surface
area than the simple normal shock wave.

The conical supersonic shock front allows more air to pass into the
opening than a simple planar shock front. The air behind this front moves
slower than the air entering the front, so the pressure increases. In
addition, because of the conical inner body this air is squeezed into a
smaller volume before it enters the intake opening, compressing the air
further and increasing the amount of air at the opening.

Another shock wave forms normal to the surfaces of the inner body and
the air intake. At the normal shock front the precompressed air slows to
subsonic velocity as it enters the intake. This type of engine is called a
subsonic flow ramjet because the air flows through the engine at less than
the speed of sound.

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7. SPEED OF RAMJET ENGINE

Ramjets generally give little or no thrust below about half the speed of
sound, and they are inefficient (less than 600 seconds) until the airspeed
exceeds 1,000 kilometers per hour (280 m/s; 620 mph) due to low
compression ratios. Even above the minimum speed, a wide flight
envelope (range of flight conditions), such as low to high speeds and low to
high altitudes, can force significant design compromises, and they tend to
work best optimized for one designed speed and altitude (point designs).
However, ramjets generally outperform gas turbine-based jet engine
designs and work best at supersonic speeds (Mach 24). Although
inefficient at slower speeds, they are more fuel-efficient than rockets over
their entire useful working range up to at least Mach 6 (2,041.7 m/s;
7,350 km/h).

The performance of conventional ramjets falls off above Mach 6 due

to dissociation and pressure loss caused by shock as the incoming air is
slowed to subsonic velocities for combustion. In addition, the combustion
chamber's inlet temperature increases to very high values, approaching
the dissociation limit at some limiting Mach number.

7.1. Subsonic

A vehicle that is traveling slower than the speed of sound (M<1) is said to
be flying at subsonic speeds.

7.1.1. Subsonic Speed of sound in ramjet engine

As a ramjet moves through the air, the air molecules near the ramjet are
disturbed and move inside the ramjet. Exactly how the air reacts to the
ramjet depends upon the ratio of the speed of the air to the speed of
sound through the air. Because of the importance of this speed ratio,
aerodynamicists have designated it with a special parameter called the
Mach in honor of Ernst Mach, a late 19th century physicist who studied
gas dynamics.

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For ramjet speeds which are very much less than the speed of
sound, the ramjet is said to be subsonic. Typical speeds for subsonic
aircraft are less than 250 mph, and the Mach number M is much less
than one, M <<1 . For subsonic aircraft, we can neglect compressibility
effects and the air density remains nearly constant.

7.2. Supersonic speed

Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed

of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of
20 C (68 F) at sea level, this speed is approximately 343.2 m/s,
1,125 ft/s, 768 mph, 667 knots, or 1,235 km/h.

7.2.1. Supersonic speed in ramjet engine

Supersonic aerodynamics is simpler than subsonic aerodynamics

because the air sheets at different points along the plane often can't affect
each other.

Supersonic jets and rocket vehicles require several times greater thrust
to push through the extra aerodynamic drag experienced within
the transonic region (around Mach 0.851.2). At these speeds
aerospace can gently guide air around the fuselage of the aircraft without
producing new shock waves but any change in cross sectional area farther
down the vehicle leads to shock waves along the body. Designers use
the Supersonic area rule and the Whitcomb area rule to minimize sudden
changes in size.

Jet engines create thrust by increasing the temperature of the air.

Normal jet engines can only ingest subsonic air, so for supersonic
operation the air has to be slowed down. Ramps or cones in the intake are
used to create shock waves that slows the airflow before it reaches the
engine. Doing so removes energy from the airflow, causing drag. The key
to reducing this drag is to use multiple small oblique shock waves, but
this was difficult because the angle they make inside the intake changes
with Mach number. In order to efficiently operate across a range of speeds,

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the shock waves have to be "tuned. The key to having low supersonic drag
is to properly shape the overall ramjet engine to be long and thin, and
close to a "perfect" shape.

7.3. Performance and control

Although ramjets have been run from as low as 45 meters per second
(160 km/h) upwards below about Mach 0.5 (170.15 m/s; 612.5 km/h)
they give little thrust and are highly inefficient due to their low pressure
ratios.

Above this speed, given sufficient initial flight velocity, a ramjet will be
self-sustaining. Indeed, unless the vehicle drag is extremely high, the
engine/airframe combination will tend to accelerate to higher and higher
flight speeds, substantially increasing the air intake temperature. As this
could have a detrimental effect on the integrity of the engine and/or
airframe, the fuel control system must reduce engine fuel flow to stabilize
the flight Mach number and, thereby, air intake temperature to reasonable
levels.

Due to the stoichiometric combustion temperature, efficiency is usually

good at high speeds (around Mach 2Mach 3 [680.61,020.9 m/s; 2,450
3,675 km/h]), whereas at low speeds the relatively poor pressure ratio
means the ramjets are outperformed by turbojets, or even rockets.

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8. THRUST GENERATION

Thrust is the force that moves an aircraft trough the air Thrust is
the force t h a t moves an a i r c r af t through the air and is
g e n e r a t e d b y t h e p r o p u ls i o n system of the aircraft. Different types of
engines develop thrust in different ways, although thrusts usually
generated through some application of Newton's Third Law. A gas is
accelerated by the propulsion system, and the reaction to this acceleration
produces a force on the engine. A general derivation of the thrust
equation shows that the amount of thrust generated depends on the
mass flow through the engine and the exit velocity of the gas i n t h e
e a r l y 1 9 0 0' s s om e o f t h e or i g in a l i d e a s c o n c er n i n g ramjet
propulsion were first developed in Europe. Thrust is produced by
passing the hot exhaust from the combustion of a fuel
through a nozzle. The nozzle accelerates the flow, and the reaction
to this acceleration produces thrust.

To maintain the flow through the nozzle, the combustion must

occur at a pressure that is higher than the pressure at the nozzle
exit. In ramjet the high pressure is produced by ramming" external
air into the combustor using the forward speed of the vehicle. The external
air that is brought into the propulsion system becomes the working fluid,
much like engine. In a turbojet engine, the high pressure in the
combustor is generated by a piece of machinery called a compressor.

But there are no compressors in a ramjet Therefore, ramjets are

lighter and simpler than turbojet Ramjets produce thrust only
when the vehicle is already moving ramjets cannot produce thrust
when the engine is stationary or static Alternate propulsion system must
be used to accelerate the vehicle to speed where the ram jet begins to
produce thrust. U n t i l aerodynamic losses become a dominant factor,
the higher the speed, the better the performance of a ramjet. The thrust
equation for a ramjet contains three terms: gross thrust, ram drag, and a
pressure correction.

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Fig20: Thrust generation

Aerodynamic engineers refers to first term (mass flow rate times Ve exit
velocity as the gross THRUST) since term largely associated with conditions in
the nozzle. The second term (free stream mass flow rate times free
stream velocity is called the ram drag. In the ramjet, the exit velocity is
supersonic, and the exit pressure depends on the area ratio between the
throat of the nozzle (minimum area) and the exit of the nozzle. Only
for unique design condition will the exit pressure equal the free stream static
pressure

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9. DESIGN CALCULATIONS

The main design in ramjet engine is body structure which contains

three major parts. Diffuser, combustion chamber, nozzle. These parts
design calculations are explained in detail.

9.1. Design of diffuser

= density of the fluid

P = pressure of the fluid

Q =flow rate trough exhaust fan

A = area

V = velocity

Flow rate trough exhaust fan = 200m3/min

Q = AV

Flow rate (Q) = 200m3/min

= 3.33m3/sec

Density of air at inlet of the fan (1) = P1/(RT1)

= (101.325) / (0.1889303)

= 1.770 kg/m3

Pressure at the inlet of the diffuser (P1) =101.325 KPa

1 = 1.770 kg/m3

Q = A1v1

Velocity at the inlet of the diffuser (V1) = (3.33)/(/4)(4.52.5410-2)2

= 324.53 m/sec

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Mass flow rate at inlet of diffuser (m) = 1A1V1

= 1.770 4 (4.52.5410-2)2

m = 5.89 kg/sec

Atmospheric temperature (T1) = 303K

According to the pitch diameter of the fan wings the inlet diameter of
diffuser is taken as (d1) =11.4 cm

9.1.1. At the diffuser outlet

Temperature at the outlet of the diffuser

T2 = T1+ (V12-V22)/ (2CP)

1
= 303+ (324.532-902)/ (21.005) (1000)

T2 = 351.36 K

Pressure at the outlet of the diffuser (P2) = P1 (T2/T1) (K/K-1)

354.15 (1.4/1.4-1)
= 101.325 ( )
303

P2 = 170.11 KPa

Density of air at the outlet of the diffuser (2) = P2/(RT2)

= 170.19/ (0.1889351.36)

=2.563 Kg/m3

Mass flow rate (m) = 2A2V2

5.89
Area at the outlet of the diffuser (A2) =
2.56390

= 0.0255 m2

A2 = 255.34 cm2

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4
d2 =255.34

=18.030 cm

18 cm

Diameter at the diffuser outlet (d2) =18 cm

9.1.2. Length of the diffuser

According to the diffuser design it is better to deign with angle

below130, for our convenience we taken 80.

18 11.4
2
2
tan80 = 1

Length (L1) = 23.49 cm

24 cm

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Sheet metal

Circumference at inlet of the diffuser = 2r1 (r=radius)

= 23.145.7

= 35.90 cm

36 cm

Circumference at outlet of the diffuser = 2r2

= 23.149

= 56.65 cm

57 cm

9.2. Combustion chamber

Considering Combustion chamber length should be 3 times the diffuser

diameter

L2 = 34.5

= 13.5 inch

= 34.29 cm

35 cm

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The temperature generated during the combustion is taking approximately

5000c

T3 = 273+500

= 773 k

Sheet metal

Circumference of the combustion chamber = 2r

= 3.147.12.54

= 56.62 cm

57 cm

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9.3. Nozzle design

P*,*,T* are the pressure, density, temperature at the throat section

P0,0,T0 are the pressure , density, temperature at the inlet of the nozzle
section

At throat section the mach no should be 1

For Ma=1 from table-32 in thermodynamics by cenjel text book

(Ma=Mach number)

Pressure condition (P*/P0) =0.5283

Pressure at the throat section (P*) = 0.5283170.19

= 89.91 KPa

Density condition (*/0) = 0.6339

Density at the throat section (*) = 0.63392.563

=1.624 kg/m3

Temperature condition (T*/T0) = 0.8333

Temperature at the throat section (T*) = 0.8333773

= 644.14 K

m = *A*V*

V* = KRT (k=constant, for air k=1.4)

1000
=(1.4)(0.287)(644.14)( )
1

= 508.73 m/s

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A* = m/*v*

5.89
=
1.624508.73

= 7.12910-3m2

= 9.52 cm

10 cm

9.3.1. Length of the nozzle converging section

18 9

2 2
Tan =

Length of the nozzle converging section (L3) = 30.36 cm

= 30 cm

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Sheet metal

Circumference at inlet of the nozzle = 2r0

= 23.149

= 56.52 cm

57 cm

Circumference at throat section of nozzle = 2r*

= 23.144.5

= 28.26 cm

28 cm

9.3.2. At exhaust

We are designing for mach 1.6

So, at the exhaust Mach number Ma=1.6

Pressure condition (Pe/P0) = 0.2353

Pressure at the exit of the nozzle (Pe) = 0.2353170.19

= 40.04 Kpa

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Temperature condition (Te/T0) = 0.6614

Temperature at the exit of the nozzle (Te) = 7730.6614

= 511.26 K

Density condition (e/0) = 0.3557

Density of air at the exhaust (e) = 2.5630.3557

= 0.911 kg/m3

Mach number = v/c

C = KRTe

1000
C =(1.4) (0.287)(511.26)( )
1

C = 453.23 m/sec

V = C Mach number

Exhaust velocity Ve=1.6453.23

=725.168 m/sec

5.89
Ae = 0.911725.168

= 3.9157*10-3

Diameter at nozzle diverging section outlet (de)=10.65 cm

11 cm

9.3.3. Length of the nozzle diverging section

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11 9

2 2
Length = 8

L = 7.11 cm

7 cm

Nozzle exhaust:

Sheet metal:

Circumference at throat = 2re

= 23.145.75

= 36.11 cm

36 cm

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9.4. Total dimensions

All dimensions are in cm

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10. FABRICATION

Commercial ram jet shells are fabricated from manufacturing processes

such as stamping, spinning, etc., which is more cost. The recommended
construction procedure for most experimenters would be to roll the
combustion chamber from sheet stock into a hollow cylinder and roll the
diffuser and exhaust nozzle into cone frustums. Then join all three parts
by welding. Extreme care should be employed in welding these parts
together so as not to cause warpage and distortion in the body structure.
All welding beads should be ground to a smooth finish. A smooth finish
inside the engine shell is extremely important.

The recommended material for fabrication of ram jet engine shells

would be Type 310, 321, or 347 stainless steel, Typo 347 being the most
suitable of the three.

10.1. Material
Stain less steel

Stainless' is a term coined early in the development of these steels

for cutlery applications. It was adopted as a generic name for these steels
and now covers a wide range of steel types and grades for corrosion or
oxidation resistant applications.

Stainless steels are iron alloys with a minimum of 10.5% chromium.

Other alloying elements are added to enhance their structure and
properties such as formability, strength and cryogenic toughness.

These include metals such as:

Nickel
Molybdenum
Titanium
Copper
Non-metal additions are also made, the main ones being:

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Carbon
Nitrogen

The main requirement for stainless steels is that they should be

corrosion resistant for a specified application or environment. The
selection of a particular "type" and "grade" of stainless steel must initially
meet the corrosion resistance requirements. Additional mechanical or
physical properties may also need to be considered to achieve the
overall service performance requirements.

A sheet thickness of 1.5mm could meet strength requirements for

engine shells up to a maximum diameter of 7 inches. So we are selecting
1.5mm sheet to fabricate the diffuser, combustion chamber, and nozzle.

10.2. Manufacturing of the parts

10.2.1. Manufacturing of the diffuser

According to the design calculations the stain less sheet is taken and
the sheet metal dimensions are marked on the sheet. The required sheet is
cutted from the sheet.

This sheet is bended in the form of cone to get the diffuser shape.
The edges of the bended sheet are welded correctly.

Fig21: diffuser front view and top view

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10.3. Manufacturing of combustion chamber

Combustion chamber is a hollow pipe shape. so first cut the sheet

according to the dimensions of combustion chamber and bend it the form
of hallow cylinder and the edges are welded correctly.

Fig22: combustion chamber

Inside the combustion chamber a special arrangement should be

placed in order to mix fuel and air. For proper mixing the following design
should be recommended.

10.3.1. Internal section

The section is shown in fig. It contains holes drilled 2 circular

plates. Diameter is as the inside diameter of the combustion chamber and
a circular pipe which is holes drilled at its circumference of half of the
diameter of combustion chamber. It is placed inside the combustion
chamber and it is welded to combustion chamber to avoid moving.a pipe
connection is made from outside combustion chamber to inside hallow
pipe for fuel pumping.

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Fig23: internal section, total combustion chamber

10.4. Manufacturing of the nozzle

The nozzle for supersonic ramjet engine is convergent divergent nozzle.

This has two portions convergent portion and divergent portion. According
to the designed dimensions the sheet is cutted and two portions are
prepared separately by bending the sheet and welded at the edges. The
two portions are joined by welding, the Nozzle is prepared.

Fig24: nozzle convergent, divergent sections

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Fig25: Combined nozzle section

After manufacturing the three parts are joined to form the required
ramjet. They are joined by welding .welding should be done correctly and
no holes are made on the section.

Fig 26: total ramjet body structure

10.5. FUEL SUPPLY SYSTEM

There are wide varieties of fuels used in ramjet engine. In this project
we are using natural gas as fuel which is easily available. The gas under
pressure stored in the gas cylinder .a regulator is fixed to cylinder and a
connection is made between combustion chamber pipe and regulator
through pipe. a control valve is fitted to this pipe to control the gas flow.

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10.5.1. Regulator

An ideal flow regulator should automatically regulate fuel flow for

changes in engine velocity, changes in altitude, etc. However, such
complicated devices are not essential to the satisfactory operation of small
ram jet helicopters. We are providing a manually operated needle valve
which provides reasonably good fuel control. Also, there are flow control
valve to control the flow.

Fig27: gas cylinder with regulator and control valve

Ignition system

In order to ignite the fuel-air mixture that flows past the flame-holder or
sparkplug some type of igniter (usually a shielded sparkplug) is required.
The exact location of the igniter presents an extremely difficult problem
and is determined in most cases by trial and error. For best ignition it is
preferable to place the igniter near the gas injection pump.in this project
we are using manual ignition because it is difficult to place the sparkplug
inside the combustion chamber due to internal section.

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10.6. High speed fan

A high speed fan is used in this project for supplying the air to the jet
engine. The fan is placed in front of the diffuser and is supported over the
stand.

Fig28: high speed fan

10.7. Table stand

A table stand is prepared according to the dimensions of the ramjet

engine. At the middle of the table gap is present. The jet engine is placed
in middle and clamped by bolts and nuts as shown in fig.

Table specifications:

Height=70cm

Length=90cm

Middle gap= 20cm

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11. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

The ramjet engine is the simplest type of the all-jet engines because it
has no moving parts. Figure shows a typical arrangement of the parts of a
ramjet engine. Note that it may have an internal body that serves to
compress the air as it enters the intake.

The gas injects into the airstream and the mixture is ignited by a
spark. After burning mixture while allowing hot, expanding gases to escape
through the exhaust nozzle. The high-pressure air coming into the
combustion chamber keeps the burning mixture from effectively reacting
toward the intake end of the engine. Ramjets will not function until enough
air is coming through the intake to create a high-pressure flow. Otherwise,
the expanding gases of the burning fuel-air mixture would be expelled from
both ends of the engine.

As you can see, this would amount to a single explosive reaction.

Therefore, the ramjet has to be traveling through the air very fast before it is
started. This means that it has to be boosted to the proper speed by some
other type of engine.

First air is supplied from the high speed fan and it is compressed in
the diffuser the velocity of air is decreased it is mixed with air in the internal
section of combustion chamber and this mixture is ignited by igniter are
sparkplug and the hot gasses are coming into nozzle where its velocity is
increased and pressure is decreased. These gasses coming out of the nozzle
this causes thrust generation and the vehicle will move forward motion.

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Fig29: total experimental setup with table

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12. RAMJET ENGINE ADVANTAGES

Low Weight

High Thrust to Weight Ratio.

No moving parts keep initial and maintenance costs down.

Large Thrust to Unit Frontal Area.

Ramjet is very simple and does not have any moving part. It is very cheap

and requires almost no maintenance.

Since turbine is not used the maximum temperature which can be allowed

in ramjet is very high, about 20000 C as compared to about 10000 C in

turbojets. This allows a greater thrust to be obtained by burning fuel at

A/F ratio of about 15.1 which gives higher temperatures.

The SFC is better than turbojet engines at high speed and high altitudes.

There seems to be no upper limit to the flight speed of the ramjet.

Wide Varity of fuels can be used.

An advantage of a hypersonic air breathing (typically scramjet) vehicle like

the X-30 is avoiding or at least reducing the need for carrying oxidizer

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13. RESULTS

For Mach 1.6 when mass flow rate is 5.89 kg/sec and velocity of air is
324.53 m/sec which are at inlet section of diffuser, then the thrust
generated is

Thrust force = meve-m0v0 + (pe-p0) Ae

= 5.89(725.168-324.53) + (101.3-40.04)3.91*10-3

= 2359.64 kg

= 23148.06 Newtons

Temperature at outlet of diffuser (T1) = 351.36k

Pressure at the outlet of the diffuser (P1) = 170.19kpa

Temperature generated at the combustion chamber (T3) = 773K

Pressure at the throat section of nozzle (p*) = 89.91kpa

Velocity at the throat section (V*) = 508.73m/sec

Pressure at the exit of the nozzle ( Pe) = 40.04 kpa

Velocity at the exit of the nozzle (Ve) = 725.168m/sec

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When considering air flow given by the fan,

Mass flow rate of air at inlet = 0.25405 kg/sec

Velocity at this inlet section = 14 m/sec

Pressure at the outlet of diffuser = 103.46 kpa

Density at the diffuser outlet =1.80705 kg/m3

Velocity at the nozzle throat section = 31.62m/sec

Pressure at the throat = 54.65 kpa

Temperature at the exhaust = 511.26k

Mach number achieved at throat is Mach 0.0612

Exhaust velocity at nozzle outlet = 101.21m/sec

Mach number obtained at exit of nozzle Mach 0.233

Thrust force produced = 220.29 Newtons

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14. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMENDATIONS

1. We are designed and fabricated the ramjet engine for mach1.6 speed.

2. Actual thrust generation for initial velocity of air before diffuser section is

determined.

3. But the fan which produces that much amount of air is not available. So

we are calculated the thrust produced for velocity of air produced by the given

fan.

4. As the velocity and mass flow rate of air increases before the diffuser the

speed of the jet also increases.

5. The diffuser inlet should be fabricated correctly for providing the desired

pressure and airflow speed to the combustor portion of the ramjet engine.

6. Welding should be done correctly and see that there is no holes are

leakages on the body structure of the jet engine.

7. It is very important to that there is no leakage of gas on the pipe line and

regulator.

8. The inside of the body structure should be smooth for uniform mass flow

rate.

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15. APPLICATIONS

1. BENSEN MID JET is a ramjet powered experimental helicopter

developed by United States in early 1950 s for us navy.

2. BOEING CIM-10 BOMARC was a supersonic ramjet powered interceptor

and being the first long range anti air craft missile.

3. THE FOCKE WULF TA 283 was a German low wing jet interceptor
designed during world war2.power was to be provided by a Walter hwk
rocket engine for takeoff and two pabst ramjets.

4. The GQM-163 COYOTE is a supersonic sea skimming target built by

Orbital Sciences and used by the United States Navy

5. The HILLER YH-32 HORNET (company designation HJ-1) was

an Americanultralight helicopter built by Hiller Aircraft in the early 1950s.
It was a small and unique design because it was powered by two Hiller
8RJ2Bramjet engines

6. The LOCK-HEED-D21 was a American Mach 3+ reconnaissance drone.

The D-21 was initially designed to be launched from the back of its M-
21 carrier aircraft,

7. The NORD 1500 GRIFFON was an experimental ramjet-powered fighter

aircraft designed and built in the mid-1950s by French state-owned
aircraft manufacturer Nord Aviation.

8. The NORD CT.41 NARWHAL was a French target drone, designed and
built by Nord Aviation during the late 1950s for the purpose of providing
training in the interception of supersonic bomber aircraft.

9. The REACTION ENGINES LIMITED A2 (called the A2) is a design study

for a hypersonic airliner intended to provide environmentally friendly, long
range, high capacity commercial transportation. The aircraft was designed
by the British aerospace engineering firm Reaction Engines Limited,

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10. The REPUBLIC XF-103 was an American project to develop a powerful

missile armed interceptor aircraft capable of destroying Soviet bombers
while flying at speeds as high as Mach 3 (2,300 mph; 3,700 km/h).
Despite a prolonged development, it never progressed past the mock-up
stage.

11. The KODA-KAUBASK P-14 was a ramjet-powered emergency

fighter project for the Luftwaffe. It was designed by the koda-
Kauba industries towards the end of World War II as part of the Third
Reich defense effort against the devastating allied bombing raids.

12. SKYLON is a design for a single-stage-to-orbit space plane by the

British company Reaction Engines Limited (REL), using SABRE, a
combined-cycle, air-breathing rocket propulsion system, potentially
reusable for 200 flights

13. THE NORTH AMERICAN SM-64 NAVAHO was

a supersonic intercontinental cruise missile project built by North
American Aviation. The program ran from 1946 to 1958 when it was
cancelled in favor of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

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16. REFERENCES

1. Thermodynamicsan-engineering approach by YUNUS A CENJEL and

Michael a boles.

2. www.grc.nasa.gov/airplane/ramjet.htm/ramjet propulsion.

3. www.pulse-jets.com/ramjet/ramjet.htm.

4. Navyaviation.tpub.com/14014/css/ram jet engines.

5. www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/flight67.htm/aeronautics and air craft

propulsion.

6. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramjet

7. www.aircraftenginedesign.com/custom.html4.html

8. en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Jet Propulsion/Jetengine types

9. www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/.../jet-engine/.../Basic-engine-
type.

10. www.explainthatstuff.com/jetengine.html

11. Thermal engineering by RS KHURMI.

12. Books.google.com/book/Theory_of_Ramjet_and_Rocket_Engine.

13. Ramjet engines, (F-TS-9740 V) by Mikhail MAKAROVICH BONDARI.

14. Book Theory Jet Engine Ramjet Turbine Turbo Plane Russian Airplane
Old Text

15. Design and Testing of a Combustor for a Turbo-Ramjet Engine for UAV
and Missile Applications textbook

16. A Text Book of Scientific and Technical Communication by

S.D.SHARMA.
.

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