INVESTIGATION OF THE PROPERTIES OF COOLED SUPERSONIC FLOWS

THE PROOF OF CONCEPT STUDY HEREIN PROPOSED DEALS WITH THE VALIDATION OF THE KEY TECHNOLOGY NEEDED TO REALIZE THE PERFORMANCE POTENTIAL OF THE UNIFIED CYCLE ENGINE (UCE) WHOSE OPERATIONAL ENVELOPE WAS EXPLORED IN THE PHASE I EFFORT. THE TECHNOLOGY TO BE VALIDATED, ALLOWS THE UCE TO EFFICIENTLY PROVIDE USEFUL AMOUNTS OF THRUST OVER A RANGE CONDITIONS FROM SEA-LEVEL STATIC TO MACH 5 AT HIGH ALTITUDE WITHOUT THE USE OF TURBOMACHINERY OR OXIDIZERS OTHER THAN ATMOSPHERIC AIR. THE TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED FOR OPERATION FROM MACH 5-25 IS NOT ADDRESSED IN THIS STUDY. THE COMPONENTS TO BE TESTED WILL FIRST BE MODELED MATHEMATICALLY. THEN, BASED UPON THE MODEL, A TEST ARTICLE WILL BE CONSTRUCTED. A SERIES OF TESTS WILL BE RUN, WHEREIN THE FLOW FIELD PROPERTIES WITHIN THE TEST ARTICLE WILL BE SURVEYED. FINALLY, A VALIDATED MATHEMATICAL MODEL WILL BE ARRIVED AT FOR DETERMINING THE PERFORMANCE OF DEVICES UTILIZING THIS TECHNOLOGY. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT UCE ENGINES WILL FIND APPLICATION IN THE PROPULSION OF SUPERSONIC AND HYPERSONIC CRUISE VEHICLES,AS WELL AS TRANSATMOSPHERIC VEHICLES. THE PHASE I EFFORT HAS SHOWN THESE ENGINES TO BE POTENTIALLY SUPERIOR TO COMPETITIVE ENGINE CYCLES FOR THE APPLICATIONS LISTED. PROPULSION SYSTEMS FOR COMMERCIAL SUPERSONIC AND HYPERSONIC TRANSPORT AS WELL AS TRANSATMOSPHERIC VEHICLES. THE PHASE I EFFORT HAS SHOWN THESE ENGINES TO BE POTENTIALLY SUPERIOR TO COMPETITIVE ENGINE CYCLES FOR THE APPLICATIONS LISTED.