Ramjet Engine Test Rig

Akhil Jaiswal, Akhil Praveen, ASP Gautam, Amal Jyothis V, Amit Kamboj, Anand Kumar, Anurag Singh
B. Tech. Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology
Abstract An experiment had been conducted in the Propulsion
lab in IIST on the Ramjet Engine to study drag force variation
with Mach Number at cold run and to find pressure distribution
across different stations for a given fuel and inlet air flow rate.
The drag followed a parabolic variation with the Mach Number
and as theoretically predicted the static pressure rises in diffuser,
remains fairly constant in combustor and then decreases in the
nozzle.
Keywords- Ramjet Engine, Cold Run, Mach number, Diffuser,
Combustor, Nozzle.
I. INTRODUCTION
A ramjet engine provides a simple, light propulsion
system for high speed flight. Unlike a turbojet engine, ramjets
have no moving parts, only an inlet, a combustor that consists of
a fuel injector and a flame holder, and a nozzle
[1]
. Ramjets
cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed, thus they cannot move
an aircraft from a standstill
[2]
. When mounted on a high speed
aircraft, large amounts of surrounding air are continuously
brought into the engine inlet because of the forward motion of
the aircraft.
The air is slowed going through the inlet, and the dynamic
pressure due to velocity is converted into higher static
pressure. In the burner, a small amount of fuel is combined
with the air and ignited. Leaving the burner, the hot exhaust
passes through a nozzle, which is shaped to accelerate the flow.
Because the exit velocity is greater than the free stream velocity,
thrust is created as described by the general thrust equation.
Thrust = F = m

V

m

V

+(p

) A

where,
p = pressure
m = mass flow rate
V = velocity
A = Area
Subscripts o and e denotes free stream conditions and Exit
conditions respectively.


Figure 1 Ramjet Engine
[3]

An efficient ramjet inlet will recover much of the free
stream stagnation pressure, which is used to support the
combustion and expansion process in the nozzle. Subsonic
ramjets do not need such a sophisticated inlet since the airflow
is already subsonic and a simple hole is usually used.
As with other jet engines, the combustor's job is to create hot
air, by burning a fuel with the air at essentially constant
pressure. The airflow through the jet engine is usually quite
high, so sheltered combustion zones are produced by using
'flame holders' to stop the flames from blowing out.
The propelling nozzle is a critical part of a ramjet design, since
it accelerates exhaust flow to produce thrust. For a ramjet
operating at a subsonic flight Mach number, exhaust flow is
accelerated through a converging nozzle.

II. EXPERIMENT
The experiment was done on the ramjet engine set up at L002
Thermal lab at IIST. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) was used
as the fuel for this experiment. Air was supplied to the engine
by a single stage centrifugal air blower. Load cell was used to
calculate the drag on the engine. Rotameter were used to
measure fuel flow rate. A display panel shows the readings of
thrust and temperature at various conditions.

Figure 2 Setup showing Manometer Readings and Load Cell Readings
The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.

Figure 3 Ramjet Engine
III. PROCEDURE
Part 1:
Set the Pitot static tube at a position 3 to 5 cm in front of the
intake side by adjusting the position adjuster. Set zero in the
thrust/drag indicator. Close the blower intake damper fully by
turning clockwise until it stops, then start the blower. By
opening the intake damper of the blower gradually and
simultaneously note down the drag force, pitot static pressure,
total pressure, blower total pressure, intake air temperature, etc.
Repeat the experiment for various drag forces and tabulate
readings.

Part 2:
Connect the cooling water circuit to the pressure probes. Set the
Pitot static tube at a position 3 to 5 cm in front of the intake side
by adjusting the position adjuster. Set zero in the thrust/drag
indicator. Close the blower intake damper fully by turning
clockwise until it stops, then start the blower. Start the ramjet
engine by allowing the blower air pressure to 5 cm of water.
Adjust the fuel control valve and the blower damper to the
required conditions and note the thrust, fuel flow rate, fuel
temperature, exhaust temperature, inlet air temperature, pitot
static pressure, Pitot total pressure, blower total pressure, etc at
that point. Move the Pitot static tube to different positions and
take the readings and tabulate it. Repeat the experiment with
different fuel flow rate and Mach numbers.


IV. OBSERVATIONS
Table 1 Intake Pressure and Temperature Readings
S.
No.
Drag
F(N)
Static
pressure
p
s

Total pressure
p

Blower total
pressure
P
b

Temperature
of intake air
Ti
o
C
(mm of water)
1 0.835 -20 48.5 67 39.65
2 1.41 -24 76 102 39.6
3 2.38 -36 119.5 157.5 39.25
4 3.605 -54 173.5 227.5 38.6
5 5.56 -79 264 331.5 37.9
6 7.495 -104 350 438 37.7
Table 2 Pressure Readings
Pitot position
from intake
side
X
(cm)
Fuel
flow rate
m
f
(L/hr)
Thrust
F
(N)
Static
Pressure
p
s

(mm)
Total
Pressure
p
(mm)
Blower
Total
Pressure
p
b
(mm)
5
12500
1.7 8 40
54
0 1.55 16 40
-5 1.84 23 38
-10 2.03 23 35
-15 1.9 7 30
-20 1.9 15 29
-25 2.03 13 25
-30 1.93 10 23
-35 1.95 6 23
-38 2.01 2 22
Table 3 Temperature Readings
Pitot position
from intake
side
X
(cm)
Fuel
flow rate
m
f
(L/hr)
Thrust
F
(N)
Inlet air
Temperature
T
i
o
C
Fuel
Temperature
T
f
o
C
Exhaust
Temperature
T
e
o
C
5
12500
1.7

39

27
1170
0 1.55 1157
-5 1.84 1163
-10 2.03 1186
-15 1.9 1199
-20 1.9 1149
-25 2.03 1168
-30 1.93 1170
-35 1.95 1159
-38 2.01 1149
V. EQUATIONS AND SAMPLE CALCULATION
Part 1
Investigate Drag for cold run
=
2
1

1
(1)
where,
= 1.4 (air)
P
s
= Static pressure in mm of water (Absolute)
P = Total pressure in mm of water (Absolute)
#For reading 1
P
s
= (-20+10339) mm
P = (48.5+10339) mm
Using Equation (1), M=0.097

Part 2
Investigation of Thrust and Pressure Distribution
=
where,
= mass flow rate
= Density of air
v = Velocity at the inlet
A = Area of inlet
=

where,
P
s
= Static pressure
T = Temperature
R = Gas constant

=
where,
v = Velocity of flow
M = Mach number
R= Gas constant
T= Temperature in Kelvin
Thrust = (

+(

where,

= mass of air

= mass of fuel
V
j
= Exit Velocity
u
a
= Inlet Velocity
P
e
= Pressure at exit
P
a
= Ambient Pressure
A
e
= Exit Area
# For reading 1
P
s
= 8mm water
P = 40 mm water
T = 310 K
A
e
= 0.0132665 m
2

Using Equation (1), we get M = 0.066
u
a
= M * sqrt(1.4*(8.314/0.02897)* 310)
= 23.48 ms
-1

Similarly for the exit station we get velocity as
V
j
= 39.719 ms
-1
=
10.347
8.314
0.02897
310

= 1.14 kg-m
-3

1.14 0.0132665 23.48

= 0.35385 kg/s

0.007428 /
Using Equation (5), we get Thrust = 5.26 N
nd Pressure Distribution
2
3
4

5
Similarly for the exit station we get velocity as

we get Thrust = 5.26 N
VI.
Graph 1 Drag
Graph 2 Static Pressure
VII.
In cold run of the ramjet engine test rig, the drag force
with Mach Number approximately parabolically from 0.8
M= 0.097 to 7.495 N at M=
experiments, it is inferred that the static pressure rises in the
diffuser section, and then
combustor and finally decreases in the nozzle section to the exit
of ramjet.
VIII. C
On comparing the drag dependence on Mach number with the
standard results, it is inferred that the obtained results
the standard test results to a very large extent. Also from the
theoretical predictions static pressure is expected to increase,
remain constant and then decrease in diffuser, combustor and
nozzle respectively which is in excellent agreement with t
results obtained in this experiments.
Small deviations from standard results are there in this
experiment which may be due to
effects, boundary layer separation and uncertainties in the
measurement of different parameters and va
Further there can be sources of error due to which we
discrepancy in results. There could be several reasons for this
such as error in reading of d
bubbles in the manometer, transient variations and fluctuations
in load cell readings etc.
GRAPHS

Drag vs. Mach number

Static Pressure vs. Length
RESULT
In cold run of the ramjet engine test rig, the drag force increases
approximately parabolically from 0.835N at
to 7.495 N at M= 0.25. In the second set of
experiments, it is inferred that the static pressure rises in the
remains nearly constant in the
combustor and finally decreases in the nozzle section to the exit
CONCLUSION
On comparing the drag dependence on Mach number with the
standard results, it is inferred that the obtained results agree to
the standard test results to a very large extent. Also from the
theoretical predictions static pressure is expected to increase,
remain constant and then decrease in diffuser, combustor and
nozzle respectively which is in excellent agreement with the
results obtained in this experiments.
Small deviations from standard results are there in this
experiment which may be due to viscosity and frictional
effects, boundary layer separation and uncertainties in the
measurement of different parameters and variable quantities
Further there can be sources of error due to which we obtained
. There could be several reasons for this
such as error in reading of devices manually like manometer,
transient variations and fluctuations
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to acknowledge with appreciation the numerous
and valuable persons whose contribution has been important in
this report. We would like to thank our instructor Dr. Rajesh S
for their valuable help. We also thank our lab assistants for
clearing our doubts.
REFERENCES

[1] http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/ramth.html
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramjet
[3] http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/propulsion/q0033.shtml
[4] Dr. Rajesh S, Dr. Deepu M, IIST Lab Hand Out

APPENDIX I
Specifications
Ramjet engine : Type 5/300, 127mm diameter X 407mm long
Fuel : LPG
Air supply : Single stage centrifugal Air Blower

APPENDIX II
Table 4 Calculated Values for all Readings for Part 1
S.
No.
Drag
F(N)
Static pressure
p
s


Total pressure
p
Mach
Number

(cm of water)
1 0.835 10340 10408.5 0.097168
2 1.41 10336 10436 0.117362
3 2.38 10324 10479.5 0.146295
4 3.605 10306 10533.5 0.176888
5 5.56 10281 10624 0.217033
6 7.495 10256 10710 0.249526
Table 5 Calculated Values for all Readings for Part 2
Pitot
position
from
intake
side
(cm)
Fuel
flow
rate
Q
(L/hr)

Fuel mass
flow rate
m
f

(kg/s)

Static
Pressure
p
s

Total
Pressure
p
Mach
Number
(mm of water)

-5 12500 0.007482639 10347 10379 0.066432
0 12500 0.007482639 10355 10379 0.057518
5 12500 0.007482639 10362 10377 0.045463
10 12500 0.007482639 10362 10374 0.040666
15 12500 0.007482639 10357 10369 0.040676
20 12500 0.007482639 10354 10368 0.04394
25 12500 0.007482639 10352 10364 0.040685
30 12500 0.007482639 10349 10362 0.042352
35 12500 0.007482639 10345 10362 0.048438
38 12500 0.007482639 10341 10361 0.052545