Spray and combustion characteristics of a dump-type ramjet combustor

Abstract

Spray and combustion characteristics of a dump-type ram-combustor equipped with a V­gutter flame holder were experimentally investigated. Spray penetrations with a change in airstream velocity, air stream temperature, and dynamic pressure ratio were measured to clarify the spray characteristics of a liquid jet injected into the subsonic vitiated airstream, which maintains a highly uniform velocity and temperature. An empirical equation was modified from Inamura's equation to compensate for experimental conditions. In the case of insufficient penetration, the flame in the ram-combustor was unstable, and vice versus in the case of sufficient penetration. When the flame holder was not equipped, the temperature at the center of the ram-combustor had a tendency to decrease due to the low penetration and insufficient mixing. Therefore, the temperature distribution was slanted to the low wall of the ram­combustor. These trends gradually disappeared as the length of the combustor became longer and the flame holder was equipped. Combustion efficiency increased when the length of the combustor was long and the flame holder was equipped. Especially, the effect of the flame holder was more dominant than that of the combustor length in light of combustion efficiency.