Influence of primary rocket mass flow rate on performance of RBCC

Three-dimensional two-phase numerical method and ground direct-connect test system were used to investigate the influence of primary rocket mass flow rate with different inflow velocity on RBCC performance. Numerical results indicated that: under different inflow condition, the increment of primary flow had different contribution to net thrust and specific impulse; under low mach inflow condition, the increase of primary flow had positive effect on secondary combustion and greatly boosted thrust; under high mach condition, increasing primary flow would chock flow path, and weakened the influence of primary mass flow rate changing on RBCC thrust. Experimental results validated the rule obtained by numerical investigation between primary flow and RBCC performance. Especially under high mach inflow condition, with the Mach number increasing, the contribution of increment of primary flow to RBCC performance was reduced. Both the numerical and experimental investigation results could show that whether in low mach or high mach inflow condition, an optimized primary mass flow rate existed, which was benefit for improving RBCC performance.