Assessment and Analysis of a Novel Intake for a Ramjet Engine
Abstract
The Atlantis Intake System (AIS) is a novel intake design intended to supply a combustible
fuel/air mixture to a ramjet engine without the use of any moving parts. The operation of
the AIS is similar to an ejector pump, it operates via the continuous release of a gaseous fuel
jet into a system of inlet stages open to the surrounding ambient air. Interactions between
the fuel jet, the intake geometry and the surrounding air result in a relatively high velocity,
high pressure, and high temperature combustible mixture entering the intake of a ramjet
engine coupled with the intake.
A control-volume analysis is used to develop a means of predicting the performance of an AIS
coupled ramjet engine given a set of input conditions, to better understand the influence of
the controlled variables. This control volume (CV) analysis is expanded to include a method
for predicting the ratio of air entrained by the AIS based on the characteristics of the fuel
inlet jet and the geometry of the AIS. This model is compared to a series of computational
fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations, and shows strong agreement in terms of the ratio of air
entrained. The potential for the use of the models as a tool for rapid assessment of multiple
AIS designs is discussed. An exergetic analysis tool is developed and utilized on the results
of the CFD simulations to quantify the dominant sources of exergy destruction. The results
are to be used as a guide to better optimize the AIS.
Description
Keywords
Engineering--Aerospace, Engineering--Mechanical
Citation
Wilson, S. J. (2017). Assessment and Analysis of a Novel Intake for a Ramjet Engine (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25025