Preliminary Performance Analysis of the LAPCAT-MR2 by means of Nose-to-Tail Computations

Hypersonic airbreathing vehicle designs are challenging due to the complexity of airframe integration and engine cycle design able to operate over a wide Mach number range. Airframe integration needs to deal with the mutual effect of the aerodynamics on the engine performance. On the other hand, the engine performance affects the vehicle design and operation. This paper first presents the followed design methodology including a description of the different approaches used for the layout of a M=8 hypersonic cruiser vehicle. The simulation of combustion process with the Dual Mode Ramjet engine is still based upon on 1D model whereas a dedicated 3D combustor CFDanalysis assesses the reliability of the 1D combustion hypotheses. An assessment of the thrust minus drag balance is carried out on a conceptual vehicle design for different Mach numbers using three-dimensional nose-to-tail CFD simulations. Here, the loosely coupled one-dimensional code for the estimation of the Dual Mode Ramjet performance is applied as well. It could be shown that for the trajectory points investigated both lateral and axial acceleration is possible.