A Generic Ducted Rocket Test Facility Setup and Simulation Program

System Design and Analysis Corporation (SDAC) proposes to develop a generic ducted rocket engine test facility simulation and data reduction computer program. The program, named Ramcom, will be generic in the sense that it will effectively simulate any ducted rocket or ramjet test setup. Presently, test facilities must expend excessive amounts of effort in pre-test planning and post-test data reduction activities. The proposed computer program will greatly reduce the time and effort required to setup a test. With this tool various "what if?" scenarios can be efficiently simulated prior to actual testing. Ramcom will allow the test engineer rapidly define a particular test setup using a user-friendly graphical interface complete with features such as drag-and-drop icons to represent facility components. The program will then predict the facility operational characteristics and optimize the size of various components such as nozzles and pressure regulators to achieve safe and effective facility operation. The program will also incorporate a standard chemical equilibrium code for accurately predicting the chemical composition and thermodynamic properties of the combustion products. Ramcom will be a full-featured Windows-95 application. It will generate a complete facility configuration report including lists of required facility hardware and instrumentation. The Ramcom program will help test engineers setup and perform ducted rocket engine tests. It can yield considerable savings in time and cost to properly setup and simulate a facility test configuration. Potential customers include commercial, military, and educational research instutions that test air-breathing rocket systems.