HYPERSONIC AIR-BREATHING PROPULSION

SYSTEMS: RAMJET AND SCRAMJET

HUSEIN BHINDERWALA
K. J. SOMAIYA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, MUMBAI UNIVERSITY
bhinderwala.husein@gmail.com

ABSTRACT—This paper is intended to offer the reader an some other propulsion system must be used to accelerate the
introduction to the study of ramjet and scramjet
propulsion, including careful definitions of terms and a
unified description of the processes and characteristics of
the ramjet and scramjet engine. This paper reviews the
major knowledge base that has been accumulated through
years of theoretical and experimental research on topics
relevant to ramjet and scramjet propulsion. Later in the
paper, various innovative technological ideas or proposals
have been put forth that need great extent of research and
experimentation to follow up on. Lastly, the author has
performed a series of calculations using NASA’s EngineSim
software on a predetermined ramjet model and citations of
data from various wind tunnel tests from references.
vehicle to a speed where the ramjet begins to produce thrust.
The higher the speed of the vehicle, the better a ramjet works
until aerodynamic losses become a dominant factor.
The combustion that produces thrust in the ramjet occurs at
a subsonic speed in the combustor. For a vehicle travelling
supersonically, the air entering the engine must be slowed to
subsonic speeds by the aircraft inlet. Shock waves present in
the inlet cause performance losses for the propulsion system.
Above Mach 5, ramjet propulsion becomes very inefficient.
The new supersonic combustion ramjet, or scramjet, solves this
problem by performing the combustion supersonically in the
burner.

I. INTRODUCTION

Thrust is the force which moves any aircraft through the

air. Thrust is generated by the propulsion system of the aircraft.
Different propulsion systems develop thrust in different ways,
but all thrust is generated through some application of
Newton's third law of motion. For every action there is an
equal and opposite reaction. In any propulsion system,
a working fluid is accelerated by the system and the reaction to
this acceleration produces a force on the system. A general
derivation of the thrust equation shows that the amount of
thrust generated depends on the mass flow through the engine Fig1. Supersonic ramjet BrahMos missiles
and the exit velocity of the gas.
Shown above are pictures of an BrahMos missile using
In the early 1900's some of the original ideas ramjet technology for propulsion. A rocket is used to bring the
concerning ramjet propulsion were first developed in Europe. ramjet up to speed before it produces thrust. Because the ramjet
Thrust is produced by passing the hot exhaust from uses external air for combustion, it is a more efficient
the combustion of a fuel through a nozzle. The nozzle propulsion system for flight within the atmosphere than
accelerates the flow, and the reaction to this acceleration a rocket, which must carry all of its oxygen. Ramjets are
produces thrust. To maintain the flow through the nozzle, the ideally suited for very high speed flight within the atmosphere.
combustion must occur at a pressure that is higher than the
pressure at the nozzle exit. In a ramjet, the high pressure is II. RAMJET/SCRAMJET THRUST
produced by "ramming" external air into the combustor using
the forward speed of the vehicle. The external air that is
A ramjet engine provides a simple, light propulsion
brought into the propulsion system becomes the working fluid,
system for high speed flight. Likewise, the supersonic
much like a turbojet engine. In a turbojet engine, the high
combustion ramjet, or scramjet, provides high thrust and low
pressure in the combustor is generated by a piece of machinery
weight for hypersonic flight speeds. Unlike a turbojet engine,
called a compressor. But there are no compressors in a ramjet.
ramjets and scramjets have no moving parts, only an inlet, a
Therefore, ramjets are lighter and simpler than a turbojet.
combustor that consists of a fuel injector and a flame holder,
Ramjets produce thrust only when the vehicle is already
and a nozzle. How do ramjets and scramjets work?
moving; ramjets cannot produce thrust when the engine is
stationary or static. Since a ramjet cannot produce static thrust,
 When mounted on a high speed aircraft, large amounts of for completeness, this term is usually included in the
surrounding air are continuously brought into the engine inlet gross thrust.
because of the forward motion of the aircraft. The air is slowed
going through the inlet, and the dynamic pressure due to III. RAMJET PARTS
velocity is converted into higher static pressure. At the exit of
the inlet, the air is at a much higher pressure than free stream. For high supersonic or hypersonic flight, the
While the free stream velocity may be either subsonic or ideal propulsion system is a ramjet. A ramjet uses the forward
supersonic, the flow exiting the inlet of a ramjet is always speed of the aircraft to compress the incoming air and,
subsonic. The flow exiting a scramjet inlet is supersonic and therefore, has fewer moving parts than a turbine engine.
has fewer shock losses than a ramjet inlet at the same vehicle
velocity. In the burner, a small amount of fuel is combined
with the air and ignited. In a typical engine, 100 pounds of
air/sec. is combined with only 2 pounds of fuel/sec. Most of the
hot exhaust has come from the surrounding air. Flame holders
in the burner localize the combustion process. Burning occurs
subsonically in the ramjet and supersonically in the scramjet.
Leaving the burner, the hot exhaust passes through a nozzle,
which is shaped to accelerate the flow. Because the exit
velocity is greater than the free stream velocity, thrust is
created as described by the general thrust equation (Eq. 1). For
ramjet and scramjet engines, the exit mass flow is nearly equal
to the free stream mass flow, since very little fuel is added to
the stream.

Fig. 3 Computer Drawing of a typical ramjet engine

In this figure3 we show a computer drawing of a typical

Fig.2 Schematic representation of a Ramjet engine
The thrust equation for ramjets and scramjets contain three which is shaped to accelerate the flow and produce thrust.
terms: gross thrust, ram drag, and a pressure correction. If the
free stream conditions are denoted by a "0" subscript and the A. INLETS
exit conditions by an "e" subscript, then:
Thrust=F=ṁ e V e − ṁo V o + ( p e− p o ) A e Eq. 1
1. Aerodynamicists often refer to the first term (exit
mass flow rate times exit velocity) as the gross
thrust, since this term is largely associated with
conditions in the nozzle.
2. The second term (free stream mass flow rate times
free stream velocity) is called the ram drag. This
term can be quite large for scramjet engines.
3. For ramjets and scramjets, the nozzle exit velocity is
supersonic, and the exit pressure depends on the area
ratio between the throat of the nozzle and the exit of
the nozzle. Pressure correction is usually small
compared to the first term of the thrust equation. But
ramjet engine. In the computer drawing, we have cut out a
portion of the engine to have a look inside. At the front of the
engine, to the left, is the inlet, which brings outside air into the
engine. At the exit of the inlet, the air is at a much higher
pressure than free stream conditions. Fuel is injected and mixed
for combustion just downstream of the inlet. The resulting
flame is stabilized in the engine by the red flame holder ring.
This part is very similar to an afterburner in a fighter
jet engine. The hot exhaust then passes through the nozzle,
 SUPERSONIC INLETS-
An inlet for a supersonic aircraft has a sharp lip. The
inlet lip is sharpened to minimize the performance
losses from shock waves that occur during supersonic
flight. For a supersonic aircraft, the inlet must slow
the flow down to subsonic speeds before the air
reaches the compressor. Some supersonic inlets use a
central cone to shock the flow down to subsonic
speeds. Other inlets use flat hinged plates to generate
the compression shocks, with the resulting inlet
geometry having a rectangular cross section.
This variable geometry inlet is used on the F-14 and
F-15 fighter aircraft. The inlets of the Mach 3+ SR-71
aircraft are specially designed to allow cruising flight
at high speed. The inlets of the SR-71 actually
produce thrust during flight.
 HYPERSONICINLETS—
 Inlets for hypersonic aircraft present the ultimate
design challenge. For ramjet-powered aircraft, the
inlet must bring the high speed external flow down to
subsonic conditions in the burner. High stagnation
temperatures are present in this speed regime and
variable geometry may not be an option for the inlet
designer because of possible flow leaks through the
hinges. For scramjet-powered aircraft, the heat
environment is even worse because the flight Mach
number is higher than that for a ramjet-powered
aircraft. Scramjet inlets are highly integrated with the
fuselage of the aircraft. Thick, hot boundary layers are
usually present on the compression surfaces of
hypersonic inlets. The flow exiting a scramjet inlet
must remain supersonic.
aircraft, in particular, large drag penalties can occur near the
nozzle exits. A typical nozzle-after body configuration is
shown in the upper right for an F-15 with experimental
maneuvering nozzles. As with the inlet design, the external
nozzle configuration is often designed by the airframe and
subjected to wind tunnel testing to determine the performance
effects on the airframe. The internal nozzle is usually the
responsibility of the engine manufacturer.
IV. CALCULATIONS DONE ON ENGINESIM SOFTWARE
With this software you can investigate how a jet (or
turbine) engine produces thrust by interactively changing the
values of different engine parameters.

B.NOZZLES By convention, a white box with black numbers is an input box

and you can change the value of the number. A black box with
yellow or red numbers is an output box and the value is
All gas turbine engines have a nozzle to produce thrust, to computed by the program.
conduct the exhaust gases back to the free stream, and to set
the mass flow rate through the engine. The nozzle sits
downstream of the power turbine. The program screen is divided into four main parts:

A nozzle is a relatively simple device, just a specially shaped
tube through which hot gases flow. However, the mathematics
which describes the operation of the nozzle takes some careful
thought. Nozzles come in a variety of shapes and sizes
depending on the mission of the aircraft.
Simple turbojets, and turboprops, often have a fixed geometry
convergent nozzle as shown on the left of the
figure. Turbofan engines often employ a co-annular nozzle as
shown at the top left. The core flow exits the centre nozzle
while the fan flow exits the annular nozzle. Mixing of the two
flows provides some thrust enhancement and these nozzles also
tend to be quieter than convergent nozzles. Afterburning
turbojets and turbofans require a variable
geometry convergent-divergent - CD nozzle. In this nozzle, the
flow first converges down to the minimum area or throat, then
is expanded through the divergent section to the exit at the
right. The variable geometry causes these nozzles to be heavier
than a fixed geometry nozzle, but variable geometry provides
efficient engine operation over a wider airflow range than a
simple fixed nozzle.
Rocket engines also use nozzles to accelerate hot exhaust to
produce thrust. Rocket engines usually have a fixed geometry
CD nozzle with a much larger divergent section than is
required for a gas turbine. Recently, however, engineers have
been experimenting with nozzles with rectangular exits. This
allows the exhaust flow to be easily deflected, or vectored.
Changing the direction of the thrust with the nozzle makes the
aircraft much more manoeuvrable.
1. On the top left side of the screen is a graphic of the
engine you are designing or testing. In the Design
Mode, the drawing is a schematic, while in Tunnel
Test Mode the drawing is an animation.
2. On the upper right side of the screen are choice
buttons which control the analysis. You can select the
type of analysis, the type of output to be displayed,
and the units to be used in the calculations. You will
always see the overall engine performance displayed
as thrust, fuel flow, airflow, and computed engine
weight.
3. On the lower right side of the screen are the results of
engine performance calculations. The output can be
presented as numerical values of certain parameters,
graphs of engine performance, or as photos of the
engine parts with descriptions of their purpose. You
select the type of output displayed by using the choice
button labelled "Output:" on the upper right panel.
4. On the lower left side of the screen various input
panels are displayed. You can select the input panel
by clicking on the name or the component in the
graphic at the upper left.
Flight Conditions include the Mach number, airspeed,
altitude, pressure, temperature, and throttle and afterburner
settings. There are several different combinations of these
variables available for input. The pressure and temperature are
computed as functions of the altitude by using a Standard Day
atmospheric model.

Because the nozzle conducts the hot exhaust back to the free Design variables for each engine component can also be varied.
stream, there can be serious interactions between the engine The components and variables include the Inlet (pressure
exhaust flow and the airflow around the aircraft. On fighter recovery), Fan (pressure ratio, efficiency, and bypass ratio),
Compressor (CPR, compressor efficiency), Burner (fuel,
maximum temperature, efficiency, and pressure ratio), Turbine
(turbine efficiency) and Nozzle (maximum temperature,
efficiency, A8/A2). As you choose a different component the
part of the engine being affected is highlighted in the graphic
Fig 4. Calculations on the EngineSim software
V. FUTURE INNOVATIONS
A. BUSSARD RAMJET
It is intended to circumvent the problems of rocket
economics by collecting fuel as it goes along. Conventional
rockets carry all their fuel with them. The vast majority of its
weight and size were taken up with fuel. An interstellar rocket,
which would have to travel distances measured in light years,
would therefore be enormous, and most of the fuel would be
used accelerating other fuel. This is simply not practical.
Bussard's Solution:
The entry on Jets and Rockets explains in detail why jet
engines don't work in space. In summary, it is because a jet
engine works by accelerating a medium, such as air. In space,
of course, there is no such medium. Or is there?
Space is not, in fact, completely empty. Even between the
stars there is hydrogen gas, at a density of about one or two
atoms per cubic centimetre. This is the 'medium' for the
Bussard ramjet.
by changing from its default colour to yellow. Engine Size can
be specified by either the frontal area or the diameter. As the
engine size changes, the grid background changes in proportion
to the size. The distance between any two grid lines is 1 foot.
As with conventional ramjets, the Bussard ramjet cannot
accelerate from a standing start. Some other drive technology
must first be used to accelerate the ship to a measureable
fraction (say 1%) of lightspeed1.
When the ship is moving fast enough, it is encountering
enough atoms of interstellar hydrogen every second to make it
worth collecting them and using them as fuel.
The Invisible Scoop
Even at these speeds, the hydrogen collector would need to be
quite large. Estimates vary, but a typical figure for the diameter
is 50,000 kilometres! Obviously, no physical collector this
large is practical. Instead, the hydrogen collector would consist
of a vast electromagnetic field, generated by superconducting
coils on the ship. This field would ionise the hydrogen atoms
and magnetically funnel them into the engine intake. There
they undergo a fusion reaction, and the exhaust is directed out
of the rear.
Journeys by Ramscoop
The pilot of a Bussard ramjet could conceivably set it to
accelerate at a constant 1g. This would be convenient, as it
would provide a shipboard environment indistinguishable from
Earth. There would be none of the inconveniences of ship-
board gravity generated by centrifugal, such as very
obvious Coriolis effects, variable gravity from circumference
to axis, and having to build the rooms with two 'down'
directions, one for when the ship is accelerating and one for
when it is coasting with spin.
Another advantage of constant 1g acceleration is that it would
allow the pilot to make very long journeys. To an observer on
Earth, such a ship would take hundreds of thousands of years to
reach the centre of the galaxy. Thanks to relativistic time
dilation, however, the pilot would be only 20 years older on
arrival. So, for the pilot, the centre of our galaxy is only 20
years away!
A Science Fiction Dream
Leaving aside the fact that we are not yet able to build fusion
engines or sufficiently powerful superconducting coils, the
Bussard ramjet sounds at first like an excellent prospect for
interstellar propulsion. Unfortunately, there are strong
theoretical objections to the principle of the Bussard ramjet.
Fusion as generated on Earth requires deuterium, which
accounts for only about 0.01% of interstellar hydrogen. Fusion
in the Sun uses normal hydrogen, but achieving the conditions
necessary for that would be very difficult. An optimistic
estimate would be that only 1% of the hydrogen would be
actually usable as fuel. So in fact much of the propulsive power
would be used up slogging through a soup of useless hydrogen.
Also, one of the by-products’ of the fusion reaction is neutrons.
Any crew compartment would need extremely heavy shielding
against this radiation, adding to the mass of the ship.
Unless these and other serious problems can be addressed, the
Bussard ramjet will remain a science fiction concept. Of
course, we literally cannot imagine the capabilities of future
technology, so the stated objections may eventually seem
trivial.

Fig. 5 Artistic rendition of Bussard ramjet

VI. CONCLUSION
This technology is still in its nascent stages and further work
needs to be done requiring hours of research and experimental
work. In the path of the author, he aims at building a model
ramjet to demonstrate the workings of the propulsion system of
which he has already made detailed drawings which would be
presented at the presentation.