Investigation of the influence mechanism of geometric throats in variable-geometry rocket-based combined-cycle combustors

Abstract

To explore the reaction mechanism a geometric throat and its influence on the performance of the combustor, this paper studies the working process of a rocket-based combined-cycle (RBCC) variable geometry combustor with geometric throats under Ma4 inflow conditions by both numerical simulation and ground direct-connect testing. The main research contents and conclusions are as follows: (1) The geometric throat can accurately control the choking position. The fuel in the variable geometry combustor can complete the concentrated heat release and bring higher combustor pressure. The thrust of the geometric throat combustor is 8.7% higher than that of the thermal throat combustor. Therefore, the geometric throat combustor provides a better combustor performance than the thermal throat combustor. (2) When the throat area of the Ma4 configuration is adopted, the thrust and specific impulse in the combustor are at their the highest, reaching 6.0% and 0.4% higher than those of the Ma5 and Ma3 throat configuration combustors, respectively. This shows that a certain amount of combustor heat release needs to match the corresponding geometric throat area to ensure the optimal performance of the combustor. (3) In the Ma4 combustor configuration, after closing the primary rocket, the thrust in the combustor decreases by approximately 10.8%, but its specific impulse performance greatly improved by 39.3%. Therefore, the geometric throat can be used in the RBCC mode transition process in combination with the secondary fuel injection strategy to avoid the thrust trap in the mode transition process.