Numerical Analysis of Solid Fuel Scramjet Combustors

Based on the combustor model and experimental data of Ref.2, numerical simulations of three different combustor geometries presenting three situations with solid fuel regression were conducted using FLUENT software. The combustor inlet airflow had a Mach number of 1.5, total temperature of 1270 K and total pressure of 30 atm. The HTPB fuel and a global one-step reaction mechanism were used. The results of non reacting computation reveal that the airflow velocity deceases in the majority zone of combustor with the solid fuel boundary regression. The results of reacting computation reveal that the supersonic zone in the divergent section of three cases gets larger than non reaction case. Combustion takes place in the vicinity of solid fuel wall. Combustion efficiency is in the range of 35%~45%. Specific thrust and specific impulse both decrease with fuel regression and are both lower than experimental results.