Quasi-One-Dimensional Numerical Method for Solid Fuel Scramjet Combustor Analysis and Design

To research the performance of a solid fuel scramjet combustor, a solid fuel regression rate model was coupled into a quasi-one-dimensional flow equation, and so the flow parameters and fuel regression rate could be calculated together. According to the regression rate and the combustor diameter in the previous moment, the combustor diameter of the next moment could be obtained. The unsteady combustion and flow matter in the combustor was simplified into a steady calculation of every moment by solving the boundary condition at different moments independently. The numerical results were compared to actual experimental data from the literature, and they agreed well with the experiment. Taking the fuel/air ratio and Mach number as the optimization conditions, the initial size of the combustor could be obtained. On the basis of an optimized combustor, the relevant parameters’ variation rules were calculated and analyzed. It was found that during the working process, the combustor flow field could be kept at the supersonic flow state, the axial fuel regression rate at a specific moment first increases and then tends to be steady, the local fuel regression rate at a specific position decreases gradually with time, the mass flow rate at the combustor exit and the fuel/air ratio is relatively steady, and the total pressure recovery coefficient and the specific impulse of the combustor decline gradually.