CRITICAL, SUPERCRITICAL, AND SUBCRITICAL OPERATION

There are three distinct conditions under which a ramjet engine diffuser can operate,
depending on the heat released in the combustor. When the heat released is just enough that
the back pressure at the exit section of the subsonic diffuser causes the normal shock to be
positioned at the inlet thoats, the operation is said to be critical; this is the design condition.

Supercritical operation occurs when the heat released in the combustor is below the design
condition. The back pressure at the outlet section of the diffusion system becomes too small
to maintain the normal shock at the inlet. The excess pressure (or energy) associated with the
internal flow must therefore be dissipated inside the diffusion system by a strong shock
wave forming in the diverging portion of the diffuser. In other words the normal shock moves
into the inlet.

The opposite condition occurs in subcritical operation. If the heat release in the combustor is
increased, the static pressure at the exit of the subsonic diffuser is greater than can be
achieved under the design condition. The normal shock wave moves upstream, is expelled
from the diffuser, and continues to move toward the vertex of the supersonic diffuser. Behind
the normal shock wave the flow is subsonic. Since the shock wave is detached from the inlet
the incoming air spills over the cowl of the diffuser. Increasing vehicle drag and possibly
leading to instability (buzz).

These three operating conditions can be related conveniently by means of a plot of pressure
recovery versus relative weight flow of air. Pressure recovery is an efficiency factor, the ratio
of the actual pressure immediately downstream of the diffuser to the theoretical stagnation
pressure. Relative weight flow is the ratio of actual to theoretical weight flow. When one of
these parameters is plotted against the other for actual ramjet operating conditions, a curve of
characteristic shape is produced. Above the critical point (that is, in supercritical operation)
the diffuser operates with poorer efficiency because the normal shock has moved into the
inlet. However, ramjet operation is stable.

This range of stable operation is called the supercritical margin. As the relative weight flow
decreases below that corresponding to critical operation (for example, because of an increase
in drag that reduces Mach number), the normal shock moves out of the inlet and the inlet
begins to operate subcritically. If the relative weight flow drops low enough, the engine will
unstart. At the end of the transition from booster operation and the beginning of ramjet
operation, the inlet must be operating within the supercritical margin for ramjet takeover to
occur and stabilize.