Conceptual Study of a Rocket-Ramjet Combined-Cycle Engine for an Aerospace Plane

Operating conditions of a rocket-ramjet combined-cycle engine for a single-stage-to-orbit aerospace plane were studied. The engine was composed of an ejector-jet mode, a ramjet mode, a scramjet mode, and a rocket mode. Characteristics of the engine operating conditions were studied analytically. The thrust augmentation effect of the ejector-jet mode was found to be small at low subsonic speed and to increase with an increase of the flight Mach number. Study of the effective impulse function clarified that higher specific impulse was preferable in supersonic flight, whereas greater thrust coefficient was preferable in hypersonic flight. The mentioned characteristics were examined by simulation of engine operating in an aerospace plane flight. Transportation of a mass into orbit was compared among several engines with different combinations of thrust and specific impulse. The mass which could be carried into orbit was larger with a ramjet mode of higher specific impulse and with a scramjet mode of greater thrust.

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