Numerical Analysis of Integrated Liquid Ramjet Engine
Numerical Analysis of Integrated Liquid Ramjet Engine
327-337
Ó 2008, DESIDOC
ABSTRACT
and results were compared with available and wind on both the stagnation pressure and stagnation
tunnel data. Sung 6, et al. numerically analysed an temperature conditions achieved in the combustor
entire ramjet engine to understand the combustion section. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of
dynamic characteristics of an integrated rocket air intake-combustor-nozzle interactions requires a
ramjet system.Various physical processes were solution obtained through integrated ramjet simulation.
investigated systematically, including flame propagation,
The full engine simulation is useful in understanding
flame dynamics, turbulent flame evolution, terminal
the various important aspects of ramjet internal
shock train, modal analysis of the system, and
flows that include shockwave/boundary layer
interaction mechanism between the oscillating
interactions, inlet/combustor coupling, flame holding
shockwave in the diffuser and pressure wave resulting
and spreading, and combustion dynamics. Since
from heat release, using spectral analysis. Gaiddon
the focus of this study is on the coupling phenomena
and Knight 7 used an automated optimisation loop
between the various subsystems, a simple axi-symmetric
based on CFD tools for improving the flight performance
engine geometry (consisting of axi-symmetric intake,
of a ramjet-powered missile. For each point of the
axi-symmetric combustor and axi-symmetric nozzle)
mission (acceleration, cruise, and manoeuvre) the
has been considered (Fig. 1). In order to achieve
best inlet shape was determined. Multi-objective
aerodynamic flame holding in the combustor, a sudden
optimisations were then performed to obtain the
expansion has been introduced at the end of the
best set of shapes satisfying the whole mission.,
intake. Fuel is injected close to the re-circulation
The coupling phenomena between the various subsystems
zone, which occurs after the sudden expansion.
of a liquid ramjet engine, namely the air-intake,
combustor, and nozzle have been investigated in In order to clearly highlight the flow phenomena
the present study. due to geometry and the effects of spray mixing
as well heat release by combustion, the simulation
2. SIMULATION OF A RAMJET ENGINE of the complete ramjet engine has been carried out
in the following three stages:
The performance of a ramjet engine depends
on the efficient operation of both the air intake and
combustion chamber. Since the operations of these
subsystems are inter-dependent, there is a requirement
to carry out the simulation of a complete ramjet
engine in totality to analyse its realistic performance
Figure 1. Ramjet engine with axi-symmetric intake,
characteristics. Complete simulation also helps in combustor and nozzle.
choosing the proper location and size of air inlets
as well as the combustor geometry to obtain the (i) Simulation with cold air flow,
best overall engine performance. However, a very
(ii) Simulation with equivalent heat addition at the
important factor that needs deep consideration is
combustor wall, and
the interaction between the intake, combustor, and
the nozzle flows. For example, in sub-critical condition, (iii) Simulation with fuel spray and combustion in
the unattached shock may lead to air spillage, which the combustor.
could result in poor combustion and loss of thrust. The main parameters which are varied in the
On the other hand, in super-critical condition during full simulation studies are the flight Mach number
which the shock train moves into the diffuser, pressure and the air/fuel ratio.
recovery may be poor, again resulting in lower
propulsion efficiency. The locations of the shock
3 . COLD FLOW STUDIES IN A RAMJET
as well as the shock reflections are affected not
ENGINE
only by the geometries of the intake but also by
the amount of heat release in the combustor. The To simulate the entire ramjet engine, a cylindrical
extent of flow acceleration in the nozzle depends combustion chamber with a convergent divergent
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THANGADURAI, et al.: NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF INTEGRATED LIQUID RAMJET ENGINE
nozzle is attached to the exit section of the air the air duct. The oblique shocks attached to the
intake. The grid employed for simulation studies is fore body, tip of the cowl and also near the sudden
shown in Fig. 2. This arrangement is useful in expansion section in the external flow, are clearly
analysing the ramjet engine in totality. For the seen in the static pressure and Mach contours. It
numerical calculations the system of governing is interesting to note that the peak pressure value
differential equations for a steady, compressible is achieved only just before the nozzle section.
and turbulent flow have been solved using the
commercial software FLUENT with appropriate At a higher Mach number, the static pressure
boundary conditions. On the left hand side (inlet) recovery is also greater as expected. A closer
boundary and on the top and bottom boundaries, scrutiny of the Mach number contours reveals
the free stream temperature, pressure and Mach reflected oblique shock patterns in the intake region.
number conditions have been imposed. On the walls Expansion of the flow (compressed by shock in
of the engine and on the centre body, adiabatic the intake) is observed across the nozzle.Stream
conditions along with standard wall functions have
been prescribed. On the right boundary, supersonic
outlet conditions have been prescribed for both
internal and external flow streams. All the flow
variables including pressure are determined from
the interior domain by extrapolation.
Figure 2. Grid for integrated engine. Figure 4. Mach contours for cold air flow.
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DEF SCI J, VOL. 58, NO. 3, MAY 2008
function contours are shown in Fig. 5. A re-circulation intake zone itself, for free stream Mach numbers
zone is observed where there is sudden enlargement of 2.0 and 2.5. For a free stream Mach number
in the combustion chamber area. The size of the of 3.0 also, most of the pressure recovery occurs
re-circulation eddy is seen to increase with Mach in the intake, although a small pressure rise is seen
number. in the combustor zone.
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DEF SCI J, VOL. 58, NO. 3, MAY 2008
5 4.0
6.0x10
3.5
5
4.0x10
2.5 12 MW HEAT ADDITION
)
Mach number
15 MW HEAT ADDITION
2.0
5
1.5
2.0x10
COLD AIR FLOW 1.0
10 MW HEAT ADDITION
MACH 2.0 12 MW HEAT ADDITION 0.5
15 MW HEAT ADDITION
0.0 0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Distance along the axis ( m )
Distance along the axis ( m )
Free stream Mach number 2.0 Free stream Mach number 2.0
6
1.0x10
3.0
COLD FLOW
8.0x10
5
10 MW HEAT ADDITION
2.5
12 MW HEAT ADDITION
Static pressure ( bar )
15 MW HEAT ADDITION
5 2.0
6.0x10
Mach number
1.5
5
4.0x10
1.0
5
COLD AIR FLOW
2.0x10 10 MW HEAT ADDITION 0.5
12 MW HEAT ADDITION
15 MW HEAT ADDITION 0.0
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Distance along the axis ( m )
Free stream Mach number , M = 2.5 Distance along the axis ( m )
Free stream Mach number 3.0
6
1.2x10
2.5
6 COLD FLOW
1.0x10
2.0
10 MW HEAT ADDITION
Static pressure ( bar )
5 12 MW HEAT ADDITION
8.0x10
15 MW HEAT ADDITION
Mach number
1.5
5
6.0x10
5
1.0
4.0x10
COLD AIR FLOW
5 10 MW HEAT ADDITION 0.5
2.0x10
12 MW HEAT ADDITION
15 MW HEAT ADDITION
0.0 0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Distance along the axis ( m ) 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Free stream Mach number M = 3.0 Distance along the axis ( m )
Figure 9. Effect of heat addition on the static pressure Free stream Mach number 2.5
distribution along the axis.
Figure 10. Effect of heat addition on the Mach number
distribution along the axis.
after the sudden expansion section. The computational
domain is given in Fig.12 engine simulations have been carried out with
three different grids having 11090, 22080 and
The effect of free stream Mach number 44350 cells. Refinement of the grid has been
and air/fuel ratio (A/F) on the ramjet engine carried out at the location where steep gradients
performance have been studied in detail. Full of temperature and pressure are seen. All the
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CENTRE BODY
Static Temperature (K)
500
450
Figure 12. Computational domain.
400
and 3.0 are shown in Figs 13 and 14 respectively.
COLD FLOW
350
10 MW HEAT ADDITION The ir/fuel ratio for this case was 17. Mach number
12 MW HEAT ADDITION contours for inlet Mach number equal to 2 (Fig. 13)
300 15 MW HEAT ADDITION
indicate that the shock train is located outside the
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
intake, which results in spillage of air flow. For M i
Distance along the axis ( m )
Free stream Mach number, M = 2.0 = 2.5, the spillage is reduced and the terminal normal
shock is located at the entry section. For Mi = 3.0,
800 the shock train moves into the intake; here, the
750
feature of reflected oblique shocks culminating in
700
a terminal shock is clearly seen.These three cases
Static Temperature (K)
650
600
of Mi = 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 correspond to the sub-
550
critical, critical (approximately) and super-critical
500 operation of the engine respectively. From the temperature
450 contours (Fig. 14) it is seen that combustion primarily
COLD FLOW
400
10 MW HEAT ADDITION occurs close to the wall, near the sudden expansion
350 12 MW HEAT ADDITION section.The re-circulatory region and boundary layer
15 MW HEAT ADDITION
300
close to the wall aid in flame stabilisation. In this
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Distance along the axis ( m )
study, the conserved-scalar approach based on the
Free stream Mach number, M = 2.5 fast-chemistry assumption is adopted to account
for the turbulence-combustion interaction. The maximum
1100 temperature attained is highest for M i = 3.0, since
1000 the shock compression process results in a higher
pre-ignition temperature for this case because of
Static Temperature (K)
900
600
500
COLD FLOW
400 10 MW HEAT ADDITION
300
12 MW HEAT ADDITION
15 MW HEAT ADDITION
200
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Distance along the axis ( m )
Free stream Mach number, M = 3.0
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DEF SCI J, VOL. 58, NO. 3, MAY 2008
1200 M i = 2.0
M i = 2.5
STATIC TEMPERATURE (K)
M i = 3.0
1000
AIR / FUEL RATIO = 17
800
600
400
200
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
DISTANCE ALONG THE COMBUSTOR AXIS (M)
Figure 15. Mass fraction contours of fuel for air/fuel Figure 17. Variation of temperature along the surface and
ratio = 17. axis of the centre body.
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THANGADURAI, et al.: NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF INTEGRATED LIQUID RAMJET ENGINE
3 M i = 2.0
M i = 2.5
MACH NUMBER
M i = 3.0
2 AIR / FUEL RATIO = 17
Figure 18. Mach number variation along the surface and axis
of the centre body.
becomes super-critical (shocks moves within the Figure 20. Temperature (K) contours for air/fuel ratio= 30.
intake) even for M i = 2.5. Also, the extent of spillage
decreases for Mi = 2.0. In addition, the inward movement
of the shock system, results in higher temperature
values for M i = 2.5 and 3.0. However, most of the
features of the combustion zone such as fuel dispersion,
(Fig. 21) are similar to the corresponding predictions
for A/F = 17. In Figs 22 - 24, the centre line variations
of static pressure, static temperature and Mach number
also indicate the slight shift in the location of the
normal shock at M i = 2.5. Consequently, the flow
and pressure recovery are modified. For inlet Mach
number of 2.5, the peak temperature observed for
an A/F of 17 is 1980 K as compared to 1920 K for
6 . CONCLUSIONS
The overall performance of an integrated ramjet
engine comprising of air-intake, combustor and
nozzle has been investigated through full engine
Figure 19. Mach contours for air/fuel ratio= 30. simulation. The coupled analysis clearly brings
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DEF SCI J, VOL. 58, NO. 3, MAY 2008
5
in the combustor. The flow model developed in the
8.0x10
present study has the potential to be used as a
6.0x10 5 design and development tool in liquid fuelled ramjet
development programmes.
4.0x10 5
AIR / FUEL RATIO = 17
AIR / FUEL RATIO = 30 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
5
2.0x10
M i = 2.5 The authors are extremely thankful to Shri P.
0.0 Venugopalan, Director; and Dr S. Sundarrajan, Head,
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Programme Team, PJ-10, Defence Research and
DISTANCE ALONG THE COMBUSTOR AXIS ( m
M) Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, for
Figure 22.Variation of static pressure along the surface and their constant encouragement to complete this work
axis of the centre body. successfully.
1400
REFERENCES
1200
1. Thomas, Jr. & A.N. Exploding ramjet myths.
STATIC TEMPERATURE (K)
m)
DISTANCE ALONG THE COMBUSTOR AXIS ( M 8. Launder, B.E. & Spalding, D.B. The numerical
Figure 24. Mach number variation along the surface and computation of turbulent flows. Computer Methods
axis of the centre body. Appl. Mech. Engg., 1974, 3, 269-89.
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THANGADURAI, et al.: NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF INTEGRATED LIQUID RAMJET ENGINE
9. Sreenatha, A.G. & Bhardwaj, N. Mach number Breathing Engines and Aerospace Propulsion,
controller for a flight vehicle with ramjet propulsion. Hyderabad, 1999, pp. 364-74.
1999. AIAA Paper No. 99-2941 IP.
11. Minard, J.P.; Hallais, M. & Falempin, F. Low
10. Mathew, G.; Lazar, T.C.; Debasis, C.; Paul, cost ramjet technology for tactical missile
P.J. & Mukunda, H.S. Computational studies application. AIAA Paper No. 2002 - 3765.
on the flow field in an ejector ramjet engine. In 38th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion
Paper presented at National Conference on Air Conference & Exhibit, Indianapolis, Indiana.
2002.
Contributors
Dr G. Raja Singh Thangadurai obtained his ME (Aero Engg) and PhD (Mech
Engg) from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, in 1991 and the
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Chennai, in 2004, respectively. Presently,
he is working as Scientist E at the Defence Research & Development Laboratory
(DRDL), Hyderabad. He is involved in the development of liquid propellant rocket
engines and reaction control systems for Prithvi and Agni missiles. His areas
of research are rocket and ramjet propulsion, numerical simulation of internal
flows, and supersonic air intakes. He has contributed 10 papers in national journals
and conferences.
Dr B.S. Subhash Chandran obtained his PhD (Aero Engg) from the Georgia Tech,
USA, in 1984. Presently, he is working as Scientist at the DRDL, Hyderabad. He
is actively engaged in the development of Akash propulsion system and liquid
fuel ramjet engine for flight vehicles. His areas of interest are rocket and ramjet
propulsion and supersonic air intakes. He has published 15 papers in national
and international conferences.
Dr V. Babu obtained his PhD (Mech) from the Ohio State University, USA, in
1991. Presently, he is working as Associate Professor at the IIT Madras. His areas
of research include: Computational simulation of internal/external flows, simulation
of chemically reacting , plasma and nonequilibrium flows, high performance computing
and development of software tools for engineering analysis. He is recipient of
Henry Ford Technology Award (1998) presented by the Ford Motor Co, UK. for
the design, development and deployment of a virtual aerodynamic/aero-acoustic
wind tunnel. He has four patents to his credit.
Prof T. Sundararajan obtained his PhD (Mech Engg) from the University of
Philadelphia, USA, in 1983. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Univerity
of Philadelphia, USA, from 1983-84. He joined as Assistant Professor at the IIT,
Kanpur, in 1985. Presently, he is working at the IIT Madras, as Professor. He has
guided 17 students for their PhD and 24 students for their MS. He has published
76 research papers in various journals and presented 85 papers in various conferences.
He has also published a textbook on computational fluid dynamics. His areas of
research include: Spray combustion, jet flows, heat transfer and fluid flow in
porous media, and thermal modelling of manufacturing and metallurgical problems.
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