Design, Manufacture and Testing of Subsonic

Ramjet Engine
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of

Master of Technology
by

Ishan Singh
(08D10008)
Under the Supervision of

Prof. K.P.Karunakaran
&
Prof. Tanmay K. Bhandakkar

Department of Mechanical Engineering

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BOMBAY
October 2014

Declaration

I declare that this written submission represents my ideas in my own

words and where others ideas or words have been included, I have
adequately cited and referenced the original sources. I also declare that I
have adhered to all principles of academic honesty and integrity and have
not misrepresented or fabricated or falsified any idea/data/fact/source in my
submission. I understand that any violation of the above will be cause for
disciplinary action by the Institute and can also evoke penal action from the
sources which have thus not been properly cited or from whom proper
permission has not been taken when needed.

Ishan Singh
08D10008

ii

Abstract
Around 86 % of helicopter crashes in India have been attributed to
tail rotor failure. The purpose of the tail rotor is to counter the torque
created by the engine shaft housed in the cock-pit, thus keeping the
helicopter from rotating about its axis and spiraling out of control. However
not only does this method leach energy but also jeopardizes flight safety in
the event of a malfunction. In order to completely do away with the
inefficient tail rotor a novel application involving Ramjet engines was first
put forth by Hiller. A pair of Ramjet engines were mounted on the tips of the
helicopter blade, in place of the conventional engine. Since the engine was
now independent of the cock-pit, it transferred no torque to the helicopter
body, hence eliminating the need for a tail rotor. Ramjet engine is of the airbreathing type with no movable parts. It consists of three regions, namely
compressor, combustor and nozzle. Ideally they are deployed at supersonic velocities due to their high efficiency in this region. However, since
the blade tips rotate at subsonic velocities the engines consume nearly ten
times more fuel making this a serious drawback. Though attempts to
militarize and commercialize the tip-jet helicopters were made in the 1950s,
they failed due to a number of reasons. Foremost being their extremely
noisy operation and high visibility which ruled out stealth applications.
Potential investors shied away owing to its high fuel consumption rate and
safety concerns, which eventually ensured that although this project was a
technical success, it remained a commercial failure. This project aims to
revive the Tip-jet culture by addressing key issues from the previous works
and by taking advantage of the advances made in engineering in the last
iii

50 years. Hiller had attributed the noisy nature of his engine to its
sheet metal build. Thus we decided to opt for an alternate method of
manufacture. A CAD model of the subsonic ramjet engine was designed
and sectioned into two symmetric halves. Two steel blocks were then
machined to produce the internal engine contour. The two machined halves
were then bolted together to obtain a hollow and empty central region in the
shape of specified ramjet geometry. To test the engine a static rig has been
designed. The rig involves use of a fan to generate adequate wind speed,
and guide rails to direct the motion of engine. With the help of two
sufficiently strong spring gauges the engine will be constrained. The
deformation of the spring gauge will give us the thrust generated. The first
aim of the test rig is to ensure a safe examination of the engine and then
determine whether it can generates positive thrust. Subsequently it will
serve to measure and improve the efficiency of the engine.

iv

Contents

Abstract

iii

Contents

List of Figures

vii

List of Tables

ix

1. Introduction

1.1 Why Ramjet Helicopters ?

1.2 Ramjet Engine

1.3 Drawbacks of Ramjet Helicopter

1.4 Aim of This Project

1.5 Organization of Report

2. Analysis of Ramjet Engine

2.1 Thrust Generation

2.2 Subsonic Ramjet Engine

2.2.1 Body Structure

2.2.2 Flame Stabilization System

2.2.3 Flame Injection and Ignition System

2.2.4 Choice of Fuel

10

2.3 Ramjet Efficiency

11

2.4 Summary

11

3. Design and Manufacture of Ramjet Engine

12

3.1 Procedure Adopted

12

3.2 Design of Body Structure

14

3.2.1 Design of Diffuser

14

3.2.2 Design of Combustion Chamber

17

3.2.3 Design of Exhaust Nozzle

18

3.2.4 Scaling Down of Ramjet Dimensions

19

3.2.5 Materials and Method of Manufacture

20

3.3 Design of Flame Holder

20

3.4 Fuel Consideration

22

3.4.1 Fuel Consumption and Tank Size

22

3.4.2 Fuel Injection Nozzle

24

3.4.3 Fuel Ignition

24

3.5 CAD Model of Engine

25

3.6 Manufacture of Ramjet Engine

27

3.7 Summary

30

4. Design of Experimental Setup

31

4.1 Test Rig Objectives

31

4.2 First Test Rig Design

32

4.3 Current Design of Test Rig

32

4.3.1 High Speed Air Supply

33

4.3.2 Fuel Supply to Ramjet

34

4.3.3 Harness Structure

34

4.4 Summary

36

5. Conclusions and Future Plan

37

5.1 Conclusions

37

5.2 Work Done

37

5.3 Future Work Plan

38

Appendix I

40

Literature Cited

47

Acknowledgments

48
vi

List of Figures
Figure 1-1 YH-32 Hiller Hornet Ramjet Helicopter......................................................................1
Figure 1-2 HJ-1 of Hiller Aircraft Operation, USA.......................................................................2
Figure 1-3 Ramjet Engine Schematic.............................................................................................2
Figure 1-4 Hillers 8RJ2B Engine..................................................................................................3
Figure 1-5 Plan of Action...............................................................................................................4
Figure 2-1 Schematic of Ramjet Engine showing Various Components.......................................7
Figure 2-2 Various Types of Flame Holders..................................................................................8
Figure 3-1 Flowchart showing Action Plan..................................................................................11
Figure 3-2 Ramjet Engine Mounted on Blade Tip.......................................................................12
Figure 3-3 Sketch showing Body Structure of Engine.................................................................13
Figure 3-4 Chart plotting Thrust per sq.inch of diffuser entrance area versus Ramjet Velocity..14
Figure 3-5 Curved Inner Profile of the Diffuser as per NACA ARR No. L4F26........................15
Figure 3-6 Curved Profile of the Diffuser....................................................................................16
Figure 3-7 Ramjet Body Structure: Co-relation of Different Dimensions...................................18
Figure 3-8 Ramjet Body Structure with Final Dimensions..........................................................18
Figure 3-9 Geometry of Flame Holder of Radial Type................................................................19
Figure 3-10 First Design of Flame Holder................................... ...............................................20
Figure 3-11 Specific Fuel Consumption vs Ramjet velocity.......................................................21
Figure 3-12 Thrust calculated for Ramjet Velocity of 656 ft/s....................................................21
Figure 3-13 Fuel Injection Setup..................................................................................................22
Figure 3-14 8mm Diameter Glow Plug........................................................................................23
Figure 3-15 Second Hand Glow Plug on Stand By......................................................................23
Figure 3-16 CAD Model of Ramjet Engine.................................................................................24
Figure 3-17 Section of Ramjet.....................................................................................................24
Figure 3-18 Ramjet Engine Blocks..............................................................................................25
Figure 3-19 Ramjet Block with Tool Paths Displayed................................................................26

vii

Figure 3-20 Assembled Ramjet Engine Block.............................................................................27

Figure 3-21 Ramjet Engine viewed from exit nozzle end............................................................27
Figure 4-1 Suspended Ramjet Harness.........................................................................................29
Figure 4-2 Schematic of Air Funnel.............................................................................................30
Figure 4-3 (a) Air Funnel made of Sheet Metal (b) Welded to Grill for Easy Mounting............30
Figure 4-4 Harness Setup.............................................................................................................31
Figure 4-5 Side View of Static Test Rig......................................................................................32
Figure 4-6 Top View of Static Test Rig.......................................................................................32
Figure 6-1 Temperature(or Enthalpy) versus Entropy Diagram for a Ramjet Engine.................38

viii

List of Tables
Table 1-1 Comparison of Fuels..............................................................................................10
Table 3-1 Problem Specifications.............................................................................................12
Table 5-1 Summary of Work Completed in Phase I...............................................................33
Table 5-2 Time Line for Completion of Remaining Work in Phase II...................................35

ix

Chapter 1

Introduction

Figure 1-1 YH-32 Hiller Hornet Ramjet Helicopter

Necessity is the Mother of Invention ~ Plato

1.1 Why Ramjet Helicopters ?

Ramjet helicopters are an innovative offshoot from the conventional tail rotor helicopters in use
today and as is the case with all inventions and innovations, its conceptualization was preceded
by a significant necessity.
Traditional helicopters despite their tremendous success have a few shortcomings. The
foremost being its dependence on a tail rotor. As the engine is located within the cock-pit, a
shaft transmits torque to the blades. This system inadvertently results in the application of a
counter-torque which acts to rotate the helicopter about its own axis, driven by the law of
conservation. To check this event of instability, a tail rotor was deployed. Though it manages to
successfully keep the helicopter stable, it comes at a certain price.
Firstly this rotor ends up leaching fuel, thus reducing flight distance. Then there is the need
to provide a sufficiently long tail boom to mount it. This is done to reduce its energy
dependence so as to generate the same amount of anti-torque at lower rpm. This results in an
unnecessary increase in size. Last but not least, it may even be considered the Achilles Heel of

this aerial warrior. Severe damage inflicted to this part more or less ensures an out of control
machine spiraling to the ground. In fact around 86% of all helicopter crashes have been
attributed to tail rotor failure. This figure just by itself is alarming enough to question its use.
All these were the factors which led Stanley Hiller to innovate and eliminate the very need
to depend on tail rotors. He used a novel approach by which he removed the engine from the
fuselage and replaced it with a pair of ramjet engines, that were mounted onto the tips of the
helicopter main rotor blades. This one step eliminated the counter-torque experienced by the
helicopter, and hence also the tail rotor.
Hiller started the development of the first ramjet helicopter in 1948 and its first successful
flight was in 1950 followed by its introduction to public in 1954. His goal was to develop an
affordable sport helicopter for $5000. He subsequently built 18 machines for US Army and Navy.
The ramjet 8RJ2B he developed for this helicopter was certified by CAA. However the project
was shelved before 1960 mainly because Hillers attention diverted to more important and
lucrative post WW-II defence projects.

Figure 1-2 HJ-1 of Hiller Aircraft Operation, USA

1.2 Ramjet Engine

Ramjet was invented by Ren Lorin of France in 1913. It is probably the simplest of all power
plants that mankind has developed so far. It has absolutely no moving part. It is simply a conduit
in which the air rushing in due to its forward velocity is compressed by a diffuser, fuel is injected
and burnt and the resulting hot gases exit at high velocity from the rear nozzle thus pushing the
engine forward. As there are no moving parts, ramjet is very small and light with high reliability.
It can use a variety of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels including Castrol. The only requirement of
a ramjet is a sufficiently high forward velocity (> 0.5M). So ramjet is not yet suitable for
transport aircraft and has largely been limited to the super/hyper-sonic flights of missiles.

Figure 1-3 Ramjet Engine Schematic

Mounting ramjets at the blade tips of helicopter is a very innovative idea. It provides the
necessary forward velocity even while hovering (a 7m diameter rotor at 1500 rpm gives about
1.7 Mach and it is about 1 Mach for 4m diameter rotor). Unlike a fixed-wing system, the rotor
speed can be kept constant so that the duct of the ramjet can be nicely optimized. Another
significant advantage as mentioned above is the absence of the counter-torque of the rotor. The
blades are large enough to hold the fuel. There is no need for a fuel pump too as the centrifugal
force will pump it. So, the rotor of a helicopter with ramjets at the blade tips such as HJ-1 is
simply a self-contained flying saucer with a payload hanging from its center.

Figure 1-4 Hillers 8RJ2B Engine

1.3 Drawbacks of Ramjet Helicopter

There are three main reasons due to which ramjet helicopters were found unsuitable for defense
related purposes:
i. High fuel consumption
ii. Very noisy operation
iii. High night time visibility
3

The massive fuel consumption placed a severe limitation on the flight distance as well as
the payload whereas the noise and visibility issues barred it from any stealth related operation.

1.4 Aim of this Project

This project aims to take help of the engineering advances made in the last half a century to
manufacture and test a ramjet engine, which is more efficient as well as silent compared to its
predecessors. An iterative process will be followed as shown below in Figure 1-5.

Figure 1-5 Plan of Action

Key Objectives of this project include:

1. Design and Manufacture of a miniature ramjet engine.
2. Design and Assembly of a flame holder and fuel system.
3. Design and Assembly of a static test rig to test and measure performance.
4. Analysis and interpretation of test results to improve engine performance.

1.5 Organization of Report

This chapter dealt with a brief history of how ramjet helicopters were born, and examined the
drawbacks that have stopped them from becoming commercially viable. It also spelled out the
scope of work and key objectives of this project.
Chapter 2 reviews existing literature on ramjet engines. This chapter contains more detailed
information on the ramjet and its various components.
Chapter 3 gives a detailed account of the design and manufacture of the engine carried out
in this investigation. The chapter begins by laying out the procedure adopted and then explicitly
describes how engine dimensions were obtained. This chapter also contains snapshots of the
machined ramjet body structure along with a flame holder.
Chapter 4 discusses the testing process that will come into play once the ramjet along with
its smaller components are fully prepared. It describes the reason why a static test rig was
preferred to a dynamic one. Finally the current test rig plan is presented.
Chapter 5 rounds the topic up with conclusions, work done and future work remaining. A
Time line for the completion of future work is specified.
Appendix I contains a formula which is used to arrive at the curved conical profile of a
diffuser. It also contains the Ideal Cycle Analysis which will be needed to calculate the engine
efficiency as well as thrust generated.

Chapter 2
Analysis of Ramjet Engine
2.1 Thrust Generation
Thrust is the force that moves an aircraft through the air and is generated by the propulsion
system of the aircraft. Different types of engines develop thrust in different ways, although thrust
is usually generated through some application of Newton's Third Law. A gas is accelerated by the
propulsion system, and the reaction to this acceleration produces a force on the engine. A general
derivation of the thrust equation shows that the amount of thrust generated depends on the mass
flow through the engine and the exit velocity of the gas.
In the early 1900's some of the original ideas concerning ramjet propulsion were first
developed in Europe. Thrust is produced by passing the hot exhaust from the combustion of a fuel
through a nozzle. The nozzle accelerates the flow, and the reaction to this acceleration produces
thrust. To maintain the flow through the nozzle, the combustion must occur at a pressure that is
higher than the pressure at the nozzle exit. In a ramjet, the high pressure is produced by
"ramming" external air into the combustor using the forward speed of the vehicle. The external air
that is brought into the propulsion system becomes the working fluid, much like a turbojet engine.
In a turbojet engine, the high pressure in the combustor is generated by a piece of machinery
called a compressor. But there are no compressors in a ramjet. Therefore, ramjets are lighter and
simpler than turbojets. Ramjets produce thrust only when the vehicle is already moving; ramjets
cannot produce thrust when the engine is stationary or static. Alternate propulsion system must be
used to accelerate the vehice to a speed where the ramjet begins to produce thrust. Until
aerodynamic losses become a dominant factor, the higher the speed, the better the performance of
a ramjet.
The thrust equation for a ramjet contains three terms: gross thrust, ram drag, and a pressure
correction. If the free stream conditions are denoted by a "o" subscript and the exit conditions by
an "e" subscript, the thrust (F) is equal to the mass flow rate () times the velocity (V) at the exit
minus the free stream mass flow rate times the velocity plus the pressure (p) difference times the
nozzle exit area:
F = ( [ V]e - [ V]o )+ (pe - p0) Ae

Eqn. 2.1

Aerodynamic engineers often refer to the first term (mass flow rate times exit velocity) as the
gross thrust, since this term is largely associated with conditions in the nozzle.

The second term (free stream mass flow rate times free stream velocity) is called the ram
drag. In the ramjet, the exit velocity is supersonic, and the exit pressure depends on the area
ratio between the throat of the nozzle (minimum area) and the exit of the nozzle. Only for a
unique design condition will the exit pressure equal the free stream static pressure.

 For all other conditions, we must include the third term of the thrust equation (exit pressure
minus free stream pressure times the exit area). This pressure correction is usually small
compared to the first term of the thrust equation. But for completeness, this term is usually
included in the gross thrust.

2.2 Subsonic Ramjet Engine

In this section the ramjet engine along with its various components will be reviewed in
the context of this project.

Figure 2-1 Schematic of Ramjet Engine showing Various Components

The ramjet engine consists of three major components:

1.

Body Structure

2.

Flame stabilization system

3.

Fuel injection and ignition system

2.2.1 Body Structure

The engine body consists of the following regions as seen in Figure 2-1
1. Diffuser
2. Combustion Chamber
3. Nozzle
Along with the careful design of these three, the choice of material and method of
manufacture play a significant role in creating an efficient engine.

2.2.2 Flame Stabilization System

In order to maintain flame in any high velocity air-stream, some means of shielding the
flame source is necessary. Such a shielding device is called flame holder. Four successful flame
holder shapes are shown in Figure 2-2

Figure 2-2 Various Types of Flame Holders

Enumerating them once again:

(1) Conical baffle type
(2) Cylindrical baffle type
(3) Radial finger or grid type
(4) V-Gutter type
The baffle type flame holder is more dependable. However, the radial finger or grid type
appears to be most popular in present-day ramjets.
The amount of air-stream blockage created by the flame holder directly affects the engine
performance. With too little blockage the flame cannot be maintained. On the other hand too
much blockage decreases the thrust available from the engine. The goal of the designer is to
maintain combustion over a wide range of fuel flow with as little blockage as possible. A good
rule of thumb is to keep the flame holder area less than 35% of the total cross sectional area of
combustion chamber.

2.2.3 Fuel Injection and Ignition System

The functioning of the ramjet involves the injection of fuel oil in order to realize combustion that
will generate the requisite thrust.
Fuel injection design depends to a great extent upon the design of the flame stabilization
system but in general, a good design requires :
1. A uniform mixing of the fuel and incoming air stream
2. As little disturbance to the air flow as possible
Such a requirement usually means a centrally located nozzle which enters the ramjet in a
direction perpendicular to the flow of the air-stream. At the same time, the nozzle spray must be
as parallel as possible to the flow of air so as to not overtly disturb the air flow.
The spray of fuel from the injection nozzle to the combustion chamber will result from
the difference between the nozzle pressure and atmospheric pressure inside the combustion
chamber. Thus, the flow of fuel can be controlled by regulating this difference of pressure.
In order to ignite the fuel-air mixture that flows past the flame-holder some type of igniter
is required, usually a spark-plug. The exact location of the igniter presents an extremely difficult
problem and is determined in most cases by trial and error. Its general location is near the aft end
of the flame holder.
Note that the igniter is required only for the first time after which the flame holder will
maintain the flame. If due to some disturbances in the flow the flame is put off then this must be
sensed and the igniter should automatically ignite to revive flame. Hiller had incorporated this
feature into his engine. An alternative option for igniter is the use of glow plug to reignite flame.

2.2.4 Choice of Fuel

In this section a comparison is made among the following, gasoline, kerosene and butanol fuel,
which are the three possible fuel choices as they adequately meet the specifications of a ramjet
system. Choice of the most apt fuel will vary according to criteria of respective ramjet engines.
Given below are the criteria that will be used for making comparisons:
i.

Energy density is the term used for the amount of energy stored in a given system or
region of space per unit volume. Often, only the useful or extractable energy is
quantified which is to say that chemically inaccessible energy, such as rest mass energy,
is ignored. Comparing this value between two given fuels means comparing for a same
volume of each fluid, the energy available in the fuel. The higher it is, the better.

ii. The heat of energy is the quantity of energy which is transferred to the system by
burning the fuel. Comparing this value for two given fuels means comparing the
capacity of these fuels to transfer energy while burning. The higher it is, the better.
iii. The auto-ignition temperature is the capacity for a given fuel to maintain its combustion
without any external intervention. Comparing this value between two fuels means
comparing the minimum temperature for which combustion can be maintained without
external support. The lower it is, the better.
Table 2-1 Comparison of Fuels

Gasoline

Kerosene

Butanol fuel

Density (kg/m3)

719.7

780-810

810

Energy density
(MJ/L)

32

31

29.2

Explosion limit
(volume in air)

1.4-7.6

0.6-4.9

1.4-11.2

Heat of energy
(MJ/kg)

47.3

43.1-46.2

33.1

Auto-ignition (C)

280

220

390

As can be seen from the table above and considering that gasoline is a well-known
product, it is already widely used in machines like the ramjet and is the popular choice of fuel for
such applications.

10

2.3 Ramjet Efficiency

With the help of experimental data gathered from tests on the engine, thermal efficiency can be
calculated by using the Ideal cycle analysis as given in Appendix I Pg. 40
Different geometries of flame holder and varying fuel supply rates can be compared on the
basis of the efficiency calculated, thus helping decide on optimum combination.

2.4 Summary
In this chapter we first looked at how ramjet engine generates thrust by burning fuel, which in
turn leads to high exit velocities due to release of energy. Next the body structure of ramjet was
looked at, followed by the fuel stabilization, injection and ignition systems. Having gone through
the physical setup of a Ramjet, the next issue that was discussed was the choice of fuel. By
clearly defining the criteria that govern choice of preferred fuel, it was seen that Gasoline was
justified in being the most popular fuel available today for ramjet like applications. Finally, in
order to gauge the engine performance an Ideal Cycle Analysis was presented through the
Appendix which would allow one to test different body structures, fuels and fuel systems on the
basis of Ramjet efficiency.

11

Chapter 3
Design and Manufacture of Ramjet Engine
3.1 Procedure Adopted
The flow chart below gives an over view of the procedure adopted to build a miniature ramjet
engine capable of producing net positive thrust.

Design geometry and dimensions of ramjet Engine

Prepare CAD Model of Engine

Design review and feedback

Design review and feedback

Convert to DELCAM Software and generate NC Code

Procure raw
materials and parts

Machine Ramjet Engine blocks

Assemble Ramjet Engine

Construct Flame Holder

Proceed for Static Rig Testing

Figure 3-1 Flowchart showing Action Plan

As the main goal is to be able to design and manufacture a ramjet engine, difficult
calculations have thus been postponed to after the first test of our engine. From test analysis,
further calculations (CFD for most of it) will be performed to improve the ramjet. The subsonic
design is thus based on the calculations and experiments carried out by W.T.Decker and their
relevance have been checked before use.
An axi-symmetric engine is assumed. Its design details are discussed in the subsequent
sections based on the specifications given in Table 3-1.

12

Table 3-1 Problem Specifications

Thrust

10 kgf

Maximum forward speed of helicopter

100 km/hr

Rotor Diameter

6.417 m

Rotor speed

900 rpm

Maximum altitude

1,000 m

Blade tip velocity during hover

DN

Eqn 3.1

60

6.417 900
60

= 302.394 m/s =
Maximum forward velocity

m/s

302.394
Mach = 0.9 Mach
336

= 100 km/hr
= 27.778 m/s
= 0.08267 Mach

Therefore, the blade tip speed

= 0.9 0.08267 Mach

In other words, the velocity is subsonic at all points on the blade under all traversal
speeds. Hence its justified to limit ourselves to subsonic ramjet engine study.

Figure 3-2 Ramjet Engine Mounted on Blade Tip

13

3.2 Design of Body Structure

The body of a subsonic ramjet engine is an open duct composed of a divergent nozzle
(diffuser), a combustion chamber and a convergent nozzle. The functioning is based on simple
considerations of preservation of the flow of air and the Bernoulli law.

Figure 3-3 Sketch showing Body Structure of Engine

3.2.1 Design of Diffuser

The diameters at inlet and exit, the length of the diffuser and its internal contour are to be
determined.
Inlet diameter of the diffuser:
The amount of thrust required from the ramjet at a given speed determines the size of the
diffuser entrance area. The larger the diffuser entrance area the greater the thrust. Figure 3.4 is a
plot of average net thrust available per square inch of diffuser inlet area versus the operating
velocity of the ram jet engine. As FPS system of units is used in the chart, values are converted
from SI to FPS system.
Thus blade tip velocity which is = 302.394 m/s = 992.099 ft/s
According to Fig 3.4 on next page, for our tip speed of 992 ft/s, the thrust of 4.464 psi
will be available per unit square inch of diffuser inlet area.
Hence, the inlet area of the diffuser for a thrust of 10 kgf

10 x 2.204623
4.464

= 4.939 in2
Therefore, the inlet diameter of the diffuser

14

Area 4

4.939 4

Eqn 3.2

= 2.508 in
= 63.703 mm

Figure 3-4 Chart plotting Thrust per sq.inch of diffuser entrance area versus Ramjet Velocity (ft/s)

Exit diameter of the diffuser

The ratio of diffuser inlet area to diffuser exit area varies from 3 to 4 for most subsonic
ramjet engines. Being the most widely used, a ratio of 3.5 is assumed.
Hence, the exit area of the diffuser

= 3.5 x inlet area

= 3.5 x 4.939 = 17.287 in2

Therefore, the exit diameter of the diffuser

15

Area 4

17.287 4

= 4.691 in = 119.163 mm
Length of the diffuser and its inner profile:
The inner contour of the diffuser may be a simple straight line or it can be a smooth
profile along the streamline. The former is the easier to fabricate as it is a frustum of a cone but it
will be longer than a curved profile along the streamline.

Figure 3-5 Curved Inner Profile of the Diffuser as per NACA ARR No. L4F26 [Refer Appendix I Pg. 40]

For a conical diffuser profile, the cone angle shall not exceed 10.
Accordingly,
the length of the conical diffuser

Exit Diameter Inlet Diameter

0.525

4.691 2.508
in
0.525

Eqn 3.3

= 4.158 in
= 105.613 mm
However, in order to reduce the length of the engine, we shall prefer a curved profile as
shown in Figure 12. For such a curved profile along the streamline, William T. Decker
recommends NACA ARR No. L4F26. This is apparently a common practice with many ramjet
designers. For NACA ARR No. L4F26, the radius r of the curved diffuser pipe at a distance x
from the entry is given as

0.5d inlet
0.5d inlet
0.5 2.508
1.254

2
x
x aexit
x 4.6912
1 1.581
1
1 1 x d exit

1
1

1
2
l
l ainlet
l d inlet
l 2.5082

16

Eqn 3.4

At

x
d
4.691
0.294345 , r exit
2.3455
l
2
2

Thus the profile of the diffuser is in the range of

x
[0, 0.294345] as shown in Figure 3-6.
l

The cone angle in this curved diffuser can be as large as 30. Let us take it as 20 for which the
nozzle length will be approximately half of the conical diffuser, i.e., 4.158/2 = 2.079 in = 52.807
mm.

Figure 3-6 Curved Profile of the Diffuser

X-axis is (x/l) and Y axis is radius r.
Diameter at inlet = 63.703 mm; Diameter at exit = 119.163 mm; Length = 52.807mm

3.2.2 Design of Combustion Chamber

The combustion chamber is a hollow cylinder with a diameter equal to the exit diameter of the
diffuser.
Therefore, the diameter of combustion chamber

= diameter of the diffuser at exit

= 4.691 in
= 119.163 mm

17

Its length is usually determined by trial and error. However, a rule of thumb is to have a
combustor chamber length approximately three times the inlet diameter of the diffuser.
Therefore,
The length of combustion chamber

= 3 x inlet diameter of the diffuser

= 3 x 2.508
= 7.524 in
= 191.110 mm

3.2.3 Design of Exhaust Nozzle

The inlet diameter of the nozzle

= diameter of the combustion chamber

= 4.691 in
= 119.163 mm

The exit diameter of the nozzle is dependent upon combustion chamber temperature and can
be determined mathematically. Such mathematical treatment is quite complex and hence we shall
reserve it for the future. As a good rule of thumb, we take the exit area of the nozzle to be 1.4
times the inlet area of the diffuser. The nozzle exit area is a critical dimension and this value can
be subsequently fine-tuned by trial and error by varying the area until the highest thrust value is
obtained.
Therefore, the area of the nozzle at exit

= 1.4 x Inlet area of the diffuser

= 1.4 x 4.939 in2
= 6.915 in2

Therefore, the exit diameter of the nozzle

Area 4

6.915 4

= 2.967 in
= 75.365 mm
The length of the nozzle is not critical and it can be taken to be equal to the inlet diameter of the
diffuser.
Therefore, the length of the nozzle

= 2.508 in
= 63.703 mm
18

3.2.4 Scaling Down of Ramjet Dimensions

On obtaining the dimensions it was observed that the length of the engine would be close to half
a meter. Had our choice of manufacture involved sheet metal, this would not have been an issue.
However due to our decision to carve out the ramjet from solid blocks of steel, a lot of material
would have to be invested into a first draft engine.
Thus it was decided to limit our engine length to 150 mm and then appropriately scale
down all other dimensions keeping the above procedure in mind. The following figure shows the
complete co-relation between the various parameters. Having constrained the length of our
desired ramjet we can obtain all other dimensions as shown below.

Figure 3-7 Ramjet Body Structure: Co-relation of Different Dimensions

D 2 D1
3D1 D1 150
0.525

Eqn 3.5

D2 = (3.5)1/2 D1

Eqn 3.6

D3 = (1.4)1/2 D1

Eqn 3.7

On solving the equations we obtain all dimensions as shown in Fig 3.8

19

Figure 3-8 Ramjet Body Structure with Final Dimensions (in mm)

3.2.5 Materials and Method of Manufacture

Though the aerodynamic noise will be the same for both gas turbine and ramjet of same capacity,
the noise created by the engine parts and casing is likely to be less in ramjet as it has no moving
parts. Therefore, under similar conditions of materials and manufacturing strategies, a ramjet
should be less noisy than its gas turbine counterpart. However, this has not been the case with the
vintage ramjet helicopters of Hiller and NHI. Noise has been reported as one of the serious
drawback of these ramjet helicopters. The investigators attribute this to the sheet metal
manufacture of the ramjet tube.
Therefore, rather than forming from sheets, it is proposed to machine them out of slabs
with ribs on the outside to muffle noise. These will be made in two equal halves and will be
bolted together after assembling the flame holder, fuel injector and other necessary instruments
such as pitot tube. The machined piece will weigh almost same as the formed one. Since all three
segments will be milled together, the profile accuracy will be very high. Therefore, a machined
piece is likely to result in a more efficient and less noisy ramjet. Rapid Manufacturing Lab has a
3-axis and a 5-axis CNC machine on which the engine will be fabricated.
The preferred choice of material is stainless steel [Type 347]. However this preference
holds for sheet metal manufacture. Hence we decided to go with mild steel for the first rough
test ramjet engine.

3.3 Design of flame holder

There are four types of flame holder available as mentioned in Chapter 2.
i.

Conical baffle

ii.

Cylindrical baffle

iii.

Radial finger or grid

20

iv.

V-Gutter

The baffle type flame holders are more dependable. However, the radial finger or grid
type appears to be the most popular in present-day ramjets. Therefore, flame holder of radial
finger will be used for our ramjet.

Figure 3-9 Geometry of Flame Holder of Radial Type

The amount of air-stream blockage created by the flame holder directly affects the engine
performance. With too little blockage the flame cannot be maintained. Too much blockage
decreases the thrust available from the engine. The goal of the designer is to maintain
combustion over a wide range of fuel flow with as little blockage as possible. A good rule of
thumb is to keep the flame holder area less than 30-35% of the combustion chamber cross
sectional area.
Radius of combustion chamber

= 25 mm

Area of combustion chamber

= R2 = (25)2 = 1964.3 mm2

Area of flame holder

= (30/100) Area of Combustion Chamber

= (30/100) 1964.3 589 mm2

Hence the diameter of central hub is taken to be 16 mm and a hole of 10 mm diameter is

drilled through it to insert a fuel injection nozzle. Eight fins radially span out to a distance of 25
mm. An extra allowance of 3mm is provided to press fit the flame holder into a thin groove in
the combustion chamber, about 20 mm from the start of the combustion chamber.
21

This is the first flame holder design which will be tested. Based on the test results it will
undergo iterations to improve performance.

Figure 3-10 First Design of Flame Holder

Using a sheet metal cutter and a thin metal sheet the flame holder was prepared by hand.
A 10 mm dia hole was drilled with a hand driller through the center of sheet. A circular groove
of 3 mm depth was designed into the combustion chamber to allow the flame holder to fit tightly.
However since the groove could not be machined to the required depth in a CNC
machine, an alternative method to deepen the cut is needed. For the first trial the flame holder
will be press fit into the groove. In case this proves unsuccessful the groove will be deepened
with the help of an EDM machine.

3.4 Fuel Consideration

3.4.1 Fuel Consumption and Tank size
To test the engine, a static rig will supply air at a velocity of 200 m/s (0.6 M) in order to simulate
a rotating tip-jet. Referring to the work of William T.Decker we convert our units into ft/s.
Thus air velocity 656 ft/s

22

Figure 3-11 Specific Fuel Consumption vs Ramjet velocity

As can be seen from the chart above, we get a specific fuel consumption of 8 pounds per pound
of thrust per hour.
Now we calculate the thrust generated by our scaled down ramjet from Figure 3-12

Figure 3-12 Thrust calculated for Ramjet Velocity of 656 ft/s

As can be seen from the chart a thrust of 2.5 pounds per square inch of diffuser inlet area
corresponds to a velocity of 656 ft/s.

23

Diffuser inlet area in inches = R2 = (1.3/2.54) 2 = 0.823 in2

Thus thrust generated = 2.5 0.823 = 2.057 pounds 2 pounds
Thus from Fig 3.11 total fuel consumption comes to be 16 pounds per hour or 7.25 kg/hour.
Taking density of fuel as 719.7 kg/m3 we get the volumetric flow rate as 0.01 m3/hour or in terms
of liters comes to be a consumption of 10 L/hour
Thus assuming a period of thirty minutes for performing continuous tests on the engine, a 5 L
fuel tank should suffice.

3.4.2 Fuel Injection Nozzle

Fuel injection designs depend to a great extent upon the design of the flame stabilization
system but in general good design requires a uniform mixing of the fuel and incoming air-stream
with as little disturbance to the air flow as possible.
Such a requirement usually means a centrally located nozzle spraying fuel upstream and
in a direction perpendicular to the flow of the air-stream as show below.

Figure 3-13 Fuel Injection Setup

3.4.3 Fuel Ignition

It is proposed to use a glow plug to ignite the air fuel mixture inside the combustion
chamber. Due to the reduced size of the engine and the fact that the glow plug will have to be
placed in line with the axis of the ramjet thus blocking air flow, a smaller 8 mm glow plug had to
be procured. In case the spark intensity proves to be lesser than needed, a shift to a bigger glow
plug will be made.
A bigger glow plug however will have to be placed perpendicular to the air flow.This will
be achieved by drilling a hole through the engine body and screwing the plug in place.

24

Figure 3-14 8mm Diameter Glow Plug

Figure 3-15 Second Hand Glow Plug on stand by; will be used in case 8 mm glow plug proves inadequate

3.5 CAD Model of Engine

In order to proceed for machining, a 3D CAD model of the engine was created using AutoDesk
360 and Solidworks software with the help of the dimensions determined above.
This CAD Model then went through several design iterations and accommodated two 14
mm wide flanges on either side to bolt the two halves together. 5 holes of 10 mm diameter were
provided at a distance of 15 mm from inlet end on both flanges, to allow screw and bolt to fasten.
A rubber strip will be placed between the flanges to ensure no fuel leaks through during the
testing phase.
An interesting feature in design was leaving the outer block as it is, as can be seen in Figure
3-16. The reason behind this choice lay in the method of testing that has been chosen. Instead of
a dynamic rig, a static test rig will be assembled. Hence in a stationary set up, we have decided to
ignore the outer aerodynamics of the engine for the time being, and put complete attention on the
inner functioning of the ramjet.

25

Figure 3-16 CAD Model of Ramjet Engine; the fuel hole was later removed as seen below

Figure 3-17 Section of Ramjet

26

3.6 Manufacture of Ramjet Engine

Hiller Hornet had attributed the extremely noisy behavior of their engine to its sheet metal
manufacture. Hence we took a deviation from routine and used blocks of mild steel to carve out
the engine. Two blocks of dimensions 200x100x50 (in mm) were machined in RM Labs 5 axis
machine. They were initially roughed down to 150x88x30 following which the machine carved
out the engine block to produce intended surface geometry. This is what the two final machined
engine halves look like.

Figure 3-18 Ramjet Engine Blocks

27

An interesting point to note here is the choice made for the direction in which the tool bit
removes material. Two possible options are parallel to axis of engine or perpendicular to it.

Figure 3-19 Ramjet Block with Tool Paths Displayed

When the tool bit moves perpendicular to engine axis, it completes the path shown in
Figure 3-19 and moves successively back and forth along the axis of the engine. Thus in between
every two cuts there is a small ridge or hill left due to the shape of tool bit. The tool path creates
a series of ridges on the surface walls that are perpendicular to the air flow. This in turn will
increase the turbulence inside the engine which will probably its reduce efficiency. Since the
combustion chamber might actually benefit from increased turbulence as it promotes better air
fuel mixing, it is difficult to conclude with certainty that this tool path is always unfavorable.
Thus given the ambiguity, we chose the more intuitive parallel tool path,which relatively
speaking, allowed us a little more control over the engine. The ridges are now parallel to the
ramjet axis and run through the entire length of the engine. This offers the air flowing near the
surface to follow a more stream lined path thus reducing turbulence.
The CNC machine was however not able to make the flame holder cut in the
combustion chamber as can be seen in Fig 3.19. It scraped a little material to form a groove but
the depth is not enough to securely fasten the flame holder in place. The first trial of the engine
will try a press fit on the flame holder to see if the groove is able to keep it locked down. In case
it comes lose the groove depth will be deepened with the help of an EDM machine.
Figure 3-20 and Figure 3-21 show the ramjet engine when both halves are bolted together.
During actual operation key headed bolts will be used to secure tighter fitting.

28

Figure 3-20 Assembled Ramjet Engine Block

Figure 3-21 Ramjet Engine viewed from Exit Nozzle End

29

3.7 Summary
In this chapter we first looked at the procedure adopted to design and manufacture a miniature
ramjet engine. The procedure started in the design stage where by using W.T. Deckers work we
were able to arrive at dimensions of the engine for the given specifications. However it was
found that the length of the ramjet was nearly half a meter. Since we decided to opt out of the
sheet metal build, it would have been an expensive first draft ramjet engine due to the amount of
steel required in the form of slabs. Hence the dimensions were scaled down, and finalized.
This was then used to generate a CAD model which after several iterations of refinement
was given the green signal for machining. Images of the final machined product have been
included.
Among other things, fuel stabilization and ignition systems were also discussed.

30

Chapter 4
Design of Experimental Setup
4.1 Test Rig Objectives
The experimental setup is a critical part of this project for it serves to test and improve the engine,
thus bringing it closer to direct application in a helicopter.
Initially a dynamic test bench was preferred. Though the design closely simulated actual
engine conditions it increased complexity of the setup and also made measuring ramjet
performance trickier owing to its high speed motion.
Thus it was decided to proceed with a stationary test rig, which constrained the engine to be
in one place by means of an appropriate assembly. This allows for the continuous monitoring of
ramjet performance both through instruments and visually.
Aim of this Test Setup

To first check whether the ramjet engine is producing net positive thrust
To pave way for precise calibration in future

Problem Statement includes following features

To design a harness which tests a ramjet engine (of possibly different diameters) by
keeping it stationary and constrained
Design of setup must be low cost
Safety is an important concern, and must be ensured
An arrangement to simulate actual wind conditions
Ability to toggle fuel supply from a safe distance

Parameters that need to be measured

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Velocity of incoming air

Flow rate of fuel injected for combustion
Thrust generated
Temperature at key regions
Efficiency of engine

31

4.2 First Test Rig Design

Load Cell

Figure 4-1 Suspended Ramjet Harness

This setup consists of a blower fan feeding air to a suspended ramjet engine constrained with the
help of a pulley and bar system. A load cell is mounted to measure the amount of deflection the
engine undergoes when under operation. This would allow us to accurately measure the thrust
being generated.
A fuel tank would be placed at an appropriate height and supply fuel to engine. This
static rig was then refined to give current design idea of static test rig described ahead. The idea
of a load cell was discarded as it is expensive and gives an accuracy which at this stage of the
project is not necessary. Instead it was replaced by spring gauges.

4.3 Current Design of Test Rig

There are basically three segments to this test rig:

High Speed Air Supply

Fuel Supply to Ramjet
Harness Structure

We will look at each one of them in more detail.

32

4.3.1 High Speed Air Supply

Our desired air velocity is 0.6 Mach or 200 m/s.
Fan being used: ALFA 24 Inch 2000 CFM
(Area) (Velocity) = 2000 CFM or 0.944 CMS (Cubic meter per second)
Area = 0.0047 m2 = 47 cm2
Taking a circular exit, radius comes out to be 3.87 cm, or nearly 4 cm.
The length of funnel can neither be too short, as it will increase the cone angle resulting
in decreased air flow, nor can it be too long as the funnel is to be mounted on a standing
blower unit and would lead to toppling.
Hence, a length of 0.8 m was chose with cone angle 18o

Aexit = 0.0047 m2
Vexit = 200 m/s

Vol flow = 0.944 m3/s

0.8 m

Figure 4-2 Schematic of Air Funnel

However a drawback was encountered here as back-flow was not accounted for, in the
design of this funnel. This led to very little air reaching the exit. To counter this it is proposed to
cover those regions of the inlet from which air is leaking out. To further increase effectiveness a
curved insert similar to one seen in engine can be fitted inside the cone.

Fig 4.3 (a) Air Funnel made of Sheet Metal (b) Welded to Grill Cover for Easy Mounting

33

4.3.2 Fuel Supply to Ramjet

It is mentioned in Chapter 3 that the fuel consumption rate for a 2 pound thrust generating engine
comes out to be 10 L/hour. Assuming a maximum continuous test duration of 30 minutes we will
need a 5 L fuel tank.
The fuel will have to be pressurized before it can be released into the combustion chamber.
Without pressurization the fuel will break into globules that are bigger than desired and will
dampen combustion. A plain orifice pressure atomizer will be used for that purpose.

4.3.3 Harness Structure

It is proposed to set up a harness with the help of two guide rails, two T clamps and spring
gauges as shown in the following figure.

Figure 4-4 Harness Setup

The next issue is mounting and securing the ramjet engine static test rig for which the
following ideas is proposed:
Construct two brick column with adequate space left vacant in between for the exhaust
gases to pass through. The wall will have the guide rails either cemented or fastened onto it with
the help of L-Clamps. The length of the guide rails must be such that they must be able to
accommodate around 10 to 15 cm of spring extension. The blower fans height must also be
considered while building the structure.
Figure 4-5 and 4-6 contain schematic of test rig.

34

Figure 4-5 Side View of Static Test Rig

Figure 4-6 Top View of Static Test Rig

Safety Aspect
A remote control valve can be used to regulate fuel supply and observe the engine from a
distance.

35

4.4 Summary
In this chapter we first looked at the objective of the test rig which is to examine the engine for
positive thrust generation and eventually to help increase efficiency through means of calibration
and observations. We also looked at why a static test rig was preferred over a dynamic one
despite the more realistic simulation that the latter offers. The reasons include the ease of static
rig assembly as well as ease of making measures and observations.
Different elements of proposed static rig were discussed which included a funneled high
speed air supply, fuel supply system and harness structure. Chapter ended with a brief look at the
safety aspect of rig.

36

Chapter 5
Conclusions and Future Work
5.1 Conclusions
The manufactured ramjet engine is now ready to head into its testing phase. It saw a deviation
from norm for the conventional sheet metal build was replaced by one where two symmetric
halves carved from solid steel are bolted together. The other small parts like the flame holder,
glow plug are almost ready to be fitted into the main frame. The fuel supply system consisting of
a pressurizer will also be setup soon.
Instead of a dynamic test rig, a static one has been preferred due to its ease of assembly and
experimentation. The next phase of this project will deal mainly with full assembly of the test rig,
experimentation on ramjet engine and analysis of results.

5.2 Work Completed

The following table tracks work completed in the first phase of this project.
Table 5-1 Summary of Work Completed in Phase I

Month of the Year 2014

Work Completed

12th May - 31st May

Studied previous work done on the ramjet

project.
Studied papers and text on the working of
ramjet engine.
Began designing an engine geometry from
scratch but abandoned the attempt due to
large number of unknown parameters being
involved in the thermodynamic equations.

1st June - 30th June

Designed ramjet with help of desired

specifications previously specified. Obtained
dimensions of body structure and flame
holder.
Scaled down the dimensions to arrive at
current geometry.

37

1st July - 31st July

Created CAD model of ramjet engine using

AutoCAD and SolidWorks.
Began preliminary work on designing the
static test rig.

1st August - 31st August

NC Code generated in DelCAM software and

first Ramjet Engine block manufactured on 5
Axis CNC machine.
Made specimen Flame Holder using thin
sheet metal.
Procured glow plug.

1st September - 30th September

Second Ramjet Engine block machined.

Designed and fabricated the wind funnel
needed to generate high speed velocities for
static test rig. Adjustments pending.
Met Prof. Arin and received guidance on the
design of fuel supply system. Also procured a
used glow plug larger than our purchase just
in case the small glow plug proves
insufficient.

5.3 Future Work Plan

Work that is to be completed in the next phase of this project has been listed below:
1.

To research alternate flame holder designs and test the grooves ability to lock down current
flame holder.

2.

Fuel supply system to be designed and implemented.

3.

Fuel ignition system to be put into place.

4.

High speed air supply to be ensured for test rig.

5.

Assemble brick columns and guide rails, along with spring gauges to set up the static test rig.

6.

Prepare a clear cut well defined plan of experimentation and then systematically perform
tests on the ramjet engine.

7.

Analyze and interpret test results based on which next set of actions to be decided
accordingly.

38

A time-line for implementation of future work has been given below:

Dark Grey Shade signifies intention of completing activity in that particular month.
Light Grey Shade implies that the activitys completion is not bound to that month.
Roman Numerals inside the box represent priority of activity for given month.
The focus will be on completion of higher priority dark grey activity but in case there is a
constraint which puts the activity on hold, work on the next activity can be carried out in the
interim period.
May 15 has been left empty as Buffer Time in case there are any delays.
Table 5-2 Time Line for Completion of Remaining Work in Phase II

Activity

Nov 14

II

3
4
5

III

Dec 14

Jan 15

Feb 15

Mar 15

Apr 15

May 15
B

III

II

II

III

II

E
I

R
I

39

TIME

Appendix I

AI.1 NACA ARR No. L4F26

The following equation which was taken from NACA ARR No. L4F26 may be used to
determine the curved contour of the diffuser insert.
0.5 D1
Y = ---------------------1 + (X/L)(A1/A2-1)

Where: Y = Vertical coordinate

X = Horizontal coordinate
L = Length of diffuser
A1= Cross section area of diffuser inlet
A2= Cross section area of diffuser exit
D1= Diameter of diffuser inlet
D2= Diameter of diffuser exit

AI.2 Ideal Cycle Analysis

We represent a gas turbine engine using a Brayton cycle and are able to derive expressions for
work as functions of temperature (or pressure) at various points in the cycle. We now seek to
perform an ideal cycle analysis, which is a method for expressing thrust and thermal efficiency
of engines in terms of useful design variables. The objective of cycle analysis for various
propulsion devices (ramjets, turbojets, turbofans) is to estimate the thrust, T, and the thermal
efficiency, as a function of
(1) typical design limitations
(2) flight conditions
(3) design choices
Thus, this way we can analyze the engine performance quantitatively.
To do so, we will employ the following methodology:
1. Estimate the ingested mass flow, m o and the exhaust to inlet velocity ratio, Ue/Uo in
terms of temperature ratios.
2. Use an energy balance across the burner (combustor) to relate the combustor
temperature rise to the fuel flow rate and fuel energy content.
40

We can write the ratio of exhaust to inlet velocity ratio as:

Ue M e

Uo M o

RTe M e Te

RTo M o To

It is most efficient to find the exit Mach number Me, and temperature Te, by keeping track of the
stagnation temperatures and pressures through several components. In general, it is the
stagnation properties that most conveniently represent the effect of the components on the fluid
as it flows through the engine. The relations for stagnation temperature and pressure are given
below:
(a)

Tt
1 2
1
M
T
2

p 1 2 1
(b) t 1
M
p
2

The terms stagnation temperature and total pressure are synonyms, meaning exactly the same
thing. In this document stagnation temperatures and pressures are denoted by Tt and pt,
respectively. The subscript t is chosen to avoid confusion with the location upstream of the
engine designated as 0 (zero).
Notation and Station Numbering
It is very helpful to define a set of symbols that represent ratios of stagnation properties as
distinguished from static or thermodynamic properties of the working fluid. Also note that
stagnation properties, Tt and pt, are more easily measured than static properties (T and p). The
table below summarizes this set of useful symbols.

Table AI-1 Summary of Useful Notation

Symbol

Physical Description
Ratio of stagnation (total) pressures across component

(d: diffuser (inlet), c: compressor, b: burner (combustor), t: turbine, a:

afterburner, n: nozzle)
Ratio of stagnation (total) temperatures across component

(d: diffuser (inlet), c: compressor, b: burner (combustor), t: turbine, a:

afterburner, n: nozzle)

Ratio of stagnation (total) pressure to ambient static pressure, p0

Ratio of stagnation (total) temperature to ambient static temperature, T0

41

The flow upstream of the engine, station 0, may be written as:

Tt 0
1 2
1
M 0 0
T0
2

pt 0 1 2 1
1
M 0 0
p0
2

4
1

(a) 0 0

(b) 0 0

Ideal Assumptions:
d=1,

d=1 (adiabatic, isentropic)

1.

Inlet or Diffuser:

2.

Combustor or Burner and Afterburner:

3.

Nozzle:

n=1,

b=1,

a=1

n=1

For the compressor and for the turbine we can write:

(a)

(a)

pt 3
c
pt 2

(b)

pt 5
t
pt 4

(b)

Tt 3
c
Tt 2

(c) c c 1

Tt 5
t
Tt 4

(c) t t

The turbine inlet temperature is given by:

Tt 4
t
To

This quantity is used so frequently that it gets its own special designation, t. It is also one of the
most important metrics for aircraft engine performance.

42

Figure 6-1 Temperature(or Enthalpy) versus Entropy Diagram for a Ramjet Engine

The notion in this T-S diagram may seem somewhat strange, since the combustor is divided
into two regions, with station 3 somewhere in between station 2 and 4. The reason that this is
done is to keep the numbering convention consistent with the turbojet and turbofan engines,
which are far more common propulsion devices than the ramjet. In the turbojet and turbofan, the
diffuser exit/ compressor inlet is always station 2, the compressor exit/ combustor inlet is always
station 3, and the combustor exit / turbine inlet is always station 4. Station 2 is kept as the exit of
the diffuser, but since there is no rotating machinery compressor, station 3 is kept as the inlet to
the combustor.
We can think of the region between 2 and 3 as the fuel injectors, although that region will not
appear, in particular, in our analysis. Station 4 is then kept as the exit of the combustor.
Examining the T-S diagram, we can make several modeling approximations:
1. The compression and expansion processes are taken to be isentropic, i.e. the process is
reversible and there is no heat transfer (adiabatic). On the T-S diagram this corresponds
to legs a-02 and 04-6. For all isentropic processes the total temperature and total pressure
is a constant.
2. The combustion process, between 02 and 04 (or neglecting the fuel injectors, between 03
and 04) is done at low speed (M<0.3), and is modeled as constant pressure heat addition.
Thus the stagnation pressure remains constant, although the stagnation temperature
increases due to the heat addition (combustion).
(1) and (2) imply that the stagnation pressure remains constant throughout the ramjet engine. We
will make use of this observation in modeling the ramjet engine.
We can now use the notation from Table 6.1 to develop expressions for the Thrust T, and
Specific Impulse Isp, of the ramjet engine. For this engine, where the stagnation pressure is a
constant throughout the device, we can write the following equations:

Pt 0 Pt 6

43

Pt 0 1 2
1
M0
P0
2

10

Pt 6 Pt 6 1 2

1
Me
P6
Pe
2

11

Where M0 is the flight Mach number and Me is the exit plane Mach number. If we assume that
the nozzle is ideally expanded, then Pe=P0, and we can write:

Pt 0 Pt 6

P0
Pe

12

Me M0

13

Te
U e ae
T
T

t6 t4
U o a0
Tt 0
Tt 3
To

14

This implies that:

Now substitute this result into the thrust equation (Equation 15)

T
M o e 1
m o a o
Uo

15

T
M o t 4 1
T

m o a o
t3

16

The ratio Tt4/Tt3 is the total temperature ratio across the combustor, which can be written in
shorthand as b. So, the thrust equation becomes:

T
M o b 1
m o a o

The previous equation may also be written as:

44

17

T
M o 4 1
m o a o
0

18

These equations point out some interesting aspects of the ramjet engine:
1. Ramjets develop no static thrust, they must be moving to develop thrust. This will be in
direct contrast to turbojets and turbofans.
2. The device relies on ram compression of the air, and has no moving parts (no spinning
compressor to compress the air prior to combustion). To have efficient compression of
the air, the ramjet requires high flight speeds.
3. The performance of the device relies in the stagnation temperature rise across the burner.

Energy (Heat) Balance Across the Burner (Combustor):

The final step involves writing the specific impulse, thrust specific fuel consumption and other
measures of efficiency using these same parameters. We begin by writing the First Law across
the combustor to relate the fuel flow rate and heating value of the fuel to the total enthalpy rise:

m f h m o c p Tt 4 Tt 3
c p To Tt 4 Tt 3

h T0 T0

20

c p To
T T
4 t 3 t 0
h
Tt 0 T0

21

m f m o
m f m o

19

m f m o

c p To

m f m o

4 3 0

c p To
h

4 0

22
23

The specific impulse is:

I sp

24

T
m f g

45

The thrust specific fuel consumption can be written as:

TSFC

25

m f
T

These are the desired results. We have expressed the specific impulse in terms of typical design
parameters, such as the flight Mach number, design variables and fuel and atmospheric
properties.

Lastly, the overall efficiency of the ramjet engine is given by:

overall

26

TU 0
m f h

46

Literature Cited
1. Decker, W.T., Practical Ram Jet Design, First Edition, Decker Engine Works, Virginia
1954
2. Karunakaran, K.P., Subsonic Ramjet Engine, Project Proposal, 2012
3. Karunakaran, K.P., Helicopters without Tail Rotor, Asia Academic Seminar, 2012
4. Benameur, A, Design of a ramjet and its test bench, 2012
5. Scolaire, A, Ramjet Helicopter, 2012
6. Horlock, J.H., Advanced Gas Turbine Cycles, Elsevier Science, First Edition, 2003
7. Turns, S.R., An Introduction to Combustion , McGraw Hill, Second Edition, 2000
8. Hojnacki, T.J., Ramjet Engine Fuel Injection Studies , Public Release, 1972
9. Oberg, E., Machinerys Handbook , Industrial Press, 26th Edition, 2000
10. Razavi, M., The Effect of Spark Plug Position on Spark Ignition Combustion
11. Fry, R.S, A Century of Ramjet Propulsion Technology Revolution, Journal of Propulsion
and Power, Vol. 20, No.1, 2004
12. Cantwell, The Ramjet Cycle, Scramjets,
http://web.stanford.edu/~cantwell/AA283_Course_Material/AA283_Course_Notes/Ch_0
3_Ramjet_Cycle.pdf , 20/10/2014
13. Kirk, D. R., Air Breathing Engines,
http://ssc.bibalex.org/viewer/detail.jsf;jsessionid=509F5280987DA27D4B9B3406841642
1F?lid=C137E673190DFBB01155531C5C29C71C&aid=A27B8A0840E100DF2B9061
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=3 , 20/10/2014
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http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/ramjet.html , 20/10/2014
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20/10/2014

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Acknowledgments
Had it not been for Prof. Karunakarans constant motivation and support, I would have
surely spurned this wonderful opportunity to graduate with a Dual Degree. His timely advice
made me see the folly in my decision to opt out of the DD Program, and my conversion was
quickly reversed. When I will look back on these days in the future, I will always experience
immense gratitude for having been guided to persist.
I would like to especially thank Prof. Gadre, for having mentored me at a time of
complete chaos and confusion. Without his constant and unrelenting affection I would not have
been able to persist in my efforts to work towards the completion of this program.
I am grateful to Prof. Vedula for his kind support and understanding disposition.
I would also like to express my gratitude to Prof. Arin for his guidance on the ignition
problem and also for the freebie glow plugs.
From the team at RM Lab, I would particularly wish to thank Sajan and Ronnie Sir for
their help and support with the machining of engine blocks. A special thanks to Srishail for his
help imparted through discussions on problems and with the fabrication of sheet metal funnel. I
would also like to thank the current interns for their help, as well as the former intern students
Anne and Alex, for their work on the ramjet project which served as a sound starting point.
Last but not least I would like to thank my friends and family for their relentless support,
patience and at rare times even sheer tolerance.

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