US3768257A

US3768257A - Momentum compression ramjet engine

Info

Publication number: US3768257A
Application number: US00172417A
Authority: US
Inventors: B Neuffer
Original assignee: Brown Engineering Co Inc
Current assignee: Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc
Priority date: 1971-08-17
Filing date: 1971-08-17
Publication date: 1973-10-30
Anticipated expiration: 1990-10-30

Abstract

A momentum compression ramjet engine employing energy from a high velocity stream of gaseous fuel injected into the open inlet of the engine to accelerate and compress the air by momentum exchange. Velocity energy is converted to pressure energy in a diffuser before the air-fuel mixture enters the combustion chamber where the fuel burns to raise the temperature before the gas is expanded through a jet nozzle. Maximum thrust-to-engine weight ratio and performance characteristics are obtained by the configuration of the air-fuel mixing and compressing chamber of the engine, and novel means utilizing heat of combustion may be employed to maintain pressure in the fuel system.

Description

[451 Oct. 30, 1973 l [75] Inventor:

[ MOMENTUM COMPRESSION RAMJET ENGINE Bruce H. Neuffer, Huntsville, Ala.

[73] Assignee: Brown Engineering Company, Inc.,

Huntsville, Ala.

22 Filed: Aug. 17, 1971 21 Appl. No.1 172,417

[52] U.S. Cl 60/269, 60/39.49, 417/179, 417/196, 60/267 [51] Int. Cl F02k 1/14 [58] Field of Search 60/269, 39.49; 47/196, 179

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,663,142 12/1953 Wilson.... 60/269 3,514,956 6/1970 Bray 60/269 3,494,296 2/1970 Gluntz 417/196 3,659,962 5/1972 Zink et al 47/179 3,517,510 6/1970 Melenric 60/39.49 3,323,304 6/1967 Llobet et a1. 60/269 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 767,360 3/1952 Germany 60/39.49

France (SO/39.49 Great Britain 60/39.49

Primary ExaminerCarlton R. Croyle Assistant Examiner-Warren Olsen Altorney-Beveridge & De Grandi [57] ABSTRACT A momentum compression ramjet engine employing energy from a high velocity stream of gaseous fuel injected into the open inlet of the engine to accelerate and compress the air by momentum exchange. Velocity energy is converted to pressure energy in a diffuser before the air-fuel mixture enters the combustion chamber where the fuel burns to raise the temperature before the gas is expanded through a jet nozzle. Maximum thrusfito-engine weight ratio and performance characteristics are obtained by the configuration of the air-fuel mixing and compressing chamber of the engine, and novel means utilizing heat of combustion may be employed to maintain pressure in the fuel systern.

9 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures PAIENIEDum 30 ms SHEEI 10f 7 BRUCE H. NEUFFER ATTORNEYS PAIENIEBnm 30 I873 SHEET 2 UP 7 PATENTEDnm 30 I973 SHiU 3 OF 7 PATENTEDUCT 30 I975 SHEET 8 [1F 7 MOMENTUM COMPRESSION RAMJET ENGINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to ramjet engines, and more particularly to an improved momentum compression ramjet engine in which momentum from a high velocity stream of gaseous fuel injected into the open inlet of the engine is transferred to inlet air to provide sufficient compression to produce substantial engine thrust at zero and near zero engine velocity.

2. Description of the Prior Art Numerous attempts have been made to develop a jet engine which would operate without the conventional air compressor or other mechanical devices for supplying air under pressure to the combustion chamber of the engine. Best known of these prior art devices is the conventional ramjet engine which employs the ram effect of the engine moving through the air to provide the necessary compression, but which has the serious limitation of being inoperative until boosted to a'critical speed of about Mach 0.3 or greater because of the absence of sufficient compression of the inlet air at lower speeds.

To overcome the conventional ramjets inherent limitation due to its critical minimum operating speed, attempts have been made to induce a sufficient air flow at lower speeds by an aspiration effect produced by injecting the fuel at a high velocity into the air at the open inlet of the engine. Typical of these prior art devices are those illustrated in US. Pat. Nos. 2,502,332 and 2,542,953, each of which teach the concept of heating a liquid fuel, under pressure, to gasify the fuel before injecting it into the open inlet of the engine. These devices relied upon an exchange of momentum between the gaseous fuel and the inlet air to provide the energy for compressing the air at engine speeds below the minimum critical speed for ramjet operations, with the ram effect being additive at speeds above the critical speed.

While these prior art devices may have been operable in the sense that they were at least theoretically capable of sustaining combustion and therefore developing some jet thrust or usable energy at or near zero velocity, they have nevertheless been unsatisfactory for practical use. For example, they have not been considered practical as aircraft propulsion engines because they have generally not been capable of generating sufficient jet thrust at or near zero speeds to accelerate the aircraft to the required lift-off velocity. Further, the prior art devices have been excessively complex, heavy, and expensive to manufacture, and have been extremely inefficient and unreliable in performance. Limitations on the power range (maximum to minimum thrust ratio) and the propensity to flame out, or loose power, are also defects of known prior art devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The foregoingv and other defects and limitations of the prior art are overcome by the ramjet engine according to the present invention wherein inlet air is mixed with a high velocity jet of gaseous fuel in a mixing tube and accelerated by momentum exchange which provides sufficient compression to produce substantial engine performance at and near zero flight velocity. The length of the mixing tube is such that a substantially complete mixing of the fuel and air is accomplished before the mixture flows into a diffuser including a conical section where the velocity energy of the mixture is converted into pressure energy hence, the name momentum compression engine. The diffuser may also include a cylindrical dump section downstream from the conical portion and leading into the combustion chamber. The inclusion of a dump section of sufficient length has been found to act as an effective flame holder, thereby greatly increasing the operational stability of the engine, especially in smaller diameter engines which have been particularly susceptible to flame-out.

The engine is designed to use a low molecular weight, volatile hydrocarbon or other pressure liquifiable fuel, and a closed fuel system employing the vapor pressure of the fuel is employed to deliver the fuel under pres sure to a fuel inejction nozzle positioned in the engine inlet. Vapor pressure in the fuel system may be maintained at the necessary level by a heat exchange system for transferring heat from the combustion chamber to the pressurized fuel system. If desired, in order to increase the maximum-to-minimum thrust ratio available from the engine, oxidizers may be injected into the fuel-air mixuture, either at the inlet of the engine, or at some point spaced therefrom including the combustion chamber.

In order to reduce the overall length, and consequently the weight, of the engine, particularly for medium and large size engines, fuel may be injected into the open inlet from a plurality of radially and circum frentially spaced nozzles. In addition, a plurality of parallel mixing tubes may be provided, each having one or more fuel injection nozzles positioned in its open inlet and controlled by independent throttle valves enabling one or more of the separate mixing tubes to be bypassed in operation to thereby reduce the minimum thrust available without risking aflame-out as a result of a too-lean fuel-air mixture. Various combinations of the above features may be employed, as desired, in order to provide an engine having the desired operational characteristics. Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved, economical, and reliable momentum compression ramjet engine particularly useful as a propulsion system for missiles and other flight vehicles where engine weight, initial cost, and operational simplicity are primary considerations.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a momentum compression ramjet engine employing an improved momentum exchange pressure system capable of supplying sufficient air and fuel to provide substantial thrust at and near zero velocities, and to provide a maximum range of power available during operation of the engine in flight.

Another object is to provide such a momentum com pression ramjet engine having an improved pressurized fuel system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description contained herein when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A and-1B are, respectively, side elevation views, partially in section, of the forward and rear portions of an improved momentum compression ramjet engine according to the present invention;

.FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front elevational view of the engine shown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 6' is a further enlarged view of a portion of the combustion chamber and fuel supply system for the improved engine according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along lines 7'-7. of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view takenalongline 8--8 of FIG. 6; 1

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken alone linge 9-9 of FIG..6; v f

FIG, 10 is an elevational view, partiallyin section, of a modifiedversion of the enginej FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of the engine illustrated in FIG. 10; I 1

FIG; l2-isan elevational view, partially in section,of

a further modification of the invention;v

' FIG. l3-isa front elevation view of the engine illustrated in FIG. 12. H 1

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of the pressurized fuel system employed in the engine shown in FIGS. 1-9;

- FIG. 15 is a schematic view of a modified pressurized fuel system; and i FIG. 16 is a schematic view of a further modified fuel system. 1

I 7 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings in detail, an improved momentum compression ramjet engine according to the present invention is-indicated generally by the reference numeral l0 and includes an open inlet 12 connected to the forward end of a,cylindrical mixing tube 14 having its outlet connected to the forward inlet portion of the engine diffuser. The diffuser includes a for- "4 a shaped fuel conduit which has its second leg 46 extend ing radially through the wall 32 of inlet 12 to terminate centrally within the inlet 12. A rearwardly directed fuel injection nozzle 48 is rigidly mounted on the distal end of the conduit leg 46, with nozzle 48 being located concentrically in the open inlet 12 and terminatingat its rear end at a position adjacent the forward end of the mixing tube 14. Conduit leg 46 is rigidly supported in position by a flange 50 weldedto the outer surface of inlet housing 32 and by an airfoil shaped cowling 52 rigidly weldedto the inner surface, of the. wall 32 to minimizethe turbulence of air flowing around conduit leg 46. A butterfly valve 54 is positioned in the open inlet 12 and supported by a transverse shaft 5 6 journaled, as by

bearings

58, 60, for rotation about an axis transverse to the inlet to regulate the flow of air'into the engine. The position of the butterfly valve 5 4 is controlled by a linkage indicated, generally 'at 62, actuated by asuitable motor and gear arrangementindicated at 64. This butter-fly valve and valve actuating mecha nism may be eliminated on small diameter versions of the engine, as well as upon certain embodiments of the hereinbelow.

To supply gaseousfuelaunder pressure,- to the 'mani mm 40, and the nozzle 48,-a fuel tank is provided in the ward, conical portion l6 anda rearwardly extending generally cylindricalzdump portion 18 which discharges into the. forward end-of the combustion chamber 20 gated, generally cylindrical cowling or housing 24 by a plurality of annular bulkheads or frames 26 positioned at spaced'intervals along the length thereof. As best seen in FIGS. 1B and 6, the outer cylindrical wall 28 of combustion chamber 20 is an axial extension of the cowling 24, and the annular bulkhead 30 supporting the'after end of dump tube 18 forms the forward end wall of the combustion chamber. I

The open inlet 12 is defined by a smooth inner wall 32 having a minimum diameter at its aft end 34 which is equalto the diameter of the forward end of the mixing tube l4. The wall 32 flares outwardly slightly toward the forward end of the inlet, and terminates in-a rounded, in-turned nose section 36 of the outer cowling 24! An annular fuel manifold is mounted within the space 42 between the cylindricalwall of the mixing tube 14 and the outer cowling '24, at a position adjacent the forward end of the mixing tube. Manifold 40 is connected to the forwardly extending leg 44 of an L- form of a high strength pressure vessel 70.for containing a supply of highly volatile liquid -fuel.72, such as pressure liquiflable ethane. A conduit 74 leads from the tank and is connected to the manifold 76 of a heat exchanger 77 by a tube coupling; 78, anda throttle valve 80 connected in conduit 74 controls the flow of liquid fuel from the tank. A suitable radio-controlled motor, indicated generally at 82, controls the positioning ofthethrottle valve 80. i

changer 77 is made up of a plurality of tubes 84each having oneend connected to the manifold 76, and coiled around the internal surface of the combustion chamber. 20. The conduits 84. have their "other ends connected, as by coupling 86 to larger conduits 88 each coiled within combustion chamber20 radially inward from the coil of. the conduits' 84k'Th'e respective conduits 88 extend forward from the combustionchamber within the space 42 within the cowling 24 and are'connected, as by couplings 89, to the manifold 40. Thus it is seen that pressure within the pressurized fuel tank 70 will cause the liquified volatile fuel 72 to flow through conduit 74, upon opening of the throttle valve 80, to

the heat exchanger 77. Heat absorbed by the fuel in the heat exchanger will'vaporize thefuel before it passes through the manifold 40 to be expanded and discharged at a high velocity through the injection nozzle Use of a highly volatile fuel such as ethane, which has a vapor pressure-of approximately 40 atmospheres at l .5C., will assure sufficient pressureat the fuel injection nozzle 48 to aspirate sufficient air'into the engine to sustain combustion even under cold start-up, zerov quickly increase the thrust available from the engine.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 15 of the drawings, a modification of the pressurized fuel system will be described. In this embodiment, a second heat exchanger 90 mounted within the combustion chamber has its inlet 92 connected, through coupling 94, to the conduit 74 leading from the fuel tank 70 and its outlet 96 connected through coupling 98 to the inlet 100 of a third heat exchanger102 mounted within the tank 70 below the level of the liquid fuel therein. Heat exchanger 102 has its outlet 104 connected through the coupling 78 to the inlet manifold 76 of heat exchanger 77. Thus, in this embodiment, liquid fuel flowing from the tank 70 passes first through the relatively small heat exchanger 70 to pick up a quantity of heat from the combustion chamber, then returns to the heat exchanger 102 positioned within the body of the fuel 72 where at least a portion of the heat is surrendered before flowing back through the primary heat exchanger 77 and to the nozzle. Thus, as liquid fuel is drawn from the tank 70, thereby tending to reduce the vapor pressure and cool the liquid fuel within the pressure vessel, heat added to the volume of liquid fuel 72 will maintain the temperature of the liquid, and consequently the vapor pressure, at the desired level so that there is no tendancy for the 'fuel pressure to drop as fuel is rapidly withdrawn from the tank.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 16, a further embodiment of the fuel pressurization system is illustrated. In this embodiment, the basic fuel tank and supply system is essentially the same as that described withregard to FIGS. 6-9 and 14, but further includes means for maintaining the vapor pressure within the tank 70 at a level above the required minimum for efficient operation of the engine. This embodiment is particularly useful when employing a primary fuel such as propane which normally has a relatively low vapor pressure as compared to other more exotic and expensive fuels such as ethane. In this embodiment, a second relatively small pressure vessel 110 contains a volume 112 of a highly volatile fuel such as ethane. A conduit 114 leads from the tank and is connected, through coupling 116, to the inlet 118 of a heat exchanger 120 mounted within the combustion chamber 20. The outlet 122 of the heat exchanger 120 is connected, through coupling 124 to the inlet 126 of a heat exchanger 128 mounted within the small pressure vessel 110, The outlet of the heat exchanger 128 is connected, through conduit 130 and valve 132, to the top portion of the fuel tank 70. Preferably, valve 132 is a pressure activated valve, controlled by the pressure within fuel tank 70, so that the valve automatically opens upon the vapor pressure dropping below a predetermined minimum.

.In operation of the engine employing this fuel system, the valve 132 is opened upon ignition of the engine so that the vapor pressure of the highly volatile fuel 112 is applied to the less volatile fuel 72 in the fuel tank 70. As fuel is withdrawn from 'tank 70, thereby increasing the volumeand reducing the pressure of the vapor in the tank, liquid fuel will flow from tank .110 into theheat exchanger 120 where it will be heated and vaporized, then back through the heat exchanger 128 to surrender a portion of its heat before passing, still as a vapor, into the void above the level of the liquid 72 infuel tank 70. Thus, the pressure within the tank 70 will be maintained at the vapor pressure of the more volatile fuel within the small tank 110.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, a modification of the basic geometry of an engine according to the invention is illustrated in which three fuel injection nozzles are mounted in the open inlet 12 of the engine. The nozzles 140 are radially and circumfrentially equally spaced, and each nozzle is connected, through a conduit 142 to a coil 144 of the primary fuel heat exchanger positioned within the combustion chamber 20. In order to simplify the illustration, only one coil 144 is illustrated in FIG. 10, it being understood that three such coils, each having its inlet connected to the fuel inlet manifold .76 and its outlet connected to a separate conduit 142, would normally be employed for this construction. Alternatively, of course, a single, large coil 144 could be employed, with the outlet conduit 142 being connected to a manifold which, in turn, would be connected to the three fuel nozzles.

Referring now to FIGS. 12 and 13, a further modification of the invention is illustrated wherein the outlet conduit 146 of the primary'fuel heat exchanger 148 is connected to a manifold 150 which, in turn, is connected to four individual conduits 152 each connected to and supplying fuel to a separate fuel injection nozzle 154. In this arrangement, the respective fuel injection nozzles 154 are each positioned centrally within the open inlet 212 leading to the inlet end of a mixing tube 214. The individual mixing tubes 214 have their outlet connected to the inlet portion of a diffuser section including a conical portion 216 and a cylindrical dump tube portion 218, with the respective dump tubes 218 having their outlet communicating directly with the forward inlet end of the combustion chamber 220. The four mixing tubes and diffusers are arranged concentrically around the longitudinal axis of the engine and cooperate to provide four separate mixing and difusing paths leading from the inlet of the engine to the combustion chamber. As indicated in FIG. 12, each of the respective fuel supply conduits 152 are provided with shutoff valves 156 which may be employed to stop the flow of fuel to any one or more of the respective fuel injection nozzles 154.

The embodiments of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 10-13, and described above, are particularly useful in adapting the engine to provide a relatively wide throttling range for a momentum compression ramjet engine employing a fixed geometry jet nozzle. As is well known, a fixed geometry jet nozzle is relatively simple to design and highly economical, from the standpoint of initial cost, when compared with variable area jet nozzles. However, thrust and specific impulse limitations of such fixed geometry nozzles greatly restrict the vehicle flight characteristics. For example, an engine sized to be throttled to meet cruise drag requirements will tend to have poor acceleration and climb characteristics, particularly at speeds below about Mach 0.7 where the available ratio of minimum to maximum thrust may be in the range of about 0.6 to 1, these restrictions being imposed by mixture ratio flamability limits for lightweight hydrocarbon fuels. Further, at higher altitudes, the problem becomes more critical because acceleration and climb cannot be per formed below increasingly higher Mach numbers required toprovidethe necessary ram air.

The embodiments of the engine illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 13, and other combinations of the features illustrated therein, provide a relativelysimple solution to the above problem without resorting to the use of the variablegeometry nozzle. For example, the multiple nozzle embodiment of the engine, illustrated in FIGS. and 11, greatly reduces the length of the mixing tube required to produce the required air-fuel mixing, and

' therefore substantially reduces the overall length and weight of the engine. For example, experiments have shown that, for good engine performance for a single mixing tube momentum compression ramjet engine, the minimum mixing tube length is about seven times its diameter with shorter tubes substantially reducing engine performance because of incomplete air-fuel mixing before diffusion, and greater lengths resulting in excess friction losses. However, by providing a multinozzle array at the inlet of the mixing tube, it has been found that the length of mixing tube required to provide substantially complete air-fuel mixing is reduced to 7 times the effective diameter served by each nozzle of the array. When three or more nozzles are employed, this effective diameter (D) has been found to be equal to the actual diameter (D,) of the mixing tube divided by the square root of the number of nozzles Thus, for example, for a mixing tube having a D, of 2inches, and employing an array of four nozzles (N=4), the effective diameter is: D =2l i=l, and the required length of tube (L) is: L=l 7=7 inches. Since a tube length of 14 inches would have been required (7 D,) for a single nozzle, it is seen that a substantial savings in engine length and weight can be realized by the use of multiple nozzles.

For relatively small engines, the required length of conical diffuser necessary to convert the velocity energy to pressure energy is correspondingly short. However, operation of such small diameter engines in which the air-fuel mixture passes directly from the conical diffuser into the combustion chamber has been particularly troublesome due to the inability to maintain the flame in the combustion chamber. This difficulty has been overcome in the engine according to the present invention by providing a dump tube on the end of the conical diffuser which acts as a flame holder. While the dump tube is'a simple cylindrical tube having a diameter equal to the diameter of the exit of the conical diffuser section, it nevertheless acts as an effective flame holding device. For small diameter engines, the length of this dump tube required to act as an effective flame holder has been found to be approximately three times its diameter, whereas for larger engines, the length may be somewhat less.

Further operational advantages are accomplished by the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13 which employ a plurality of fuel-air mixing tubes, each served by its own primary fuel foow nozzles, or nozzles. This results in a substantially reduced engine weight and overall engine length due to the substantial reduction in the length of the mixing and difusing section resulting from the reduction in the diameter (D,) of the individual mixing tubes. By providing valves which may be employed to selectively cut off the fuel flow through the primary fuel nozzles to the individual mixing tubes, the engine may be operated on a bypass mode. Thus, air flowing through those tubes whose primary fuel nozzle flow is cut off would bypass the mixing process and to a substantial extent also bypass the combustion process due to the fact that this air would not become fully mixed with the combustion gases until near the jet nozzle. This construction results in a maximum specific impulse which is approximately twice that of the single mixing tube embodiment, with the result that, in an engine having four parallel, concentrically arranged mixing tubes operating at speeds of about Mach 0.7 with fuel cut off to two of four mixing tubes, the cruising time for a given flight vehicle being substantially doubled. Further, operation at the very high air-to-fuel ratios available on this bypass mode requires a larger jet nozzle diameter than for the conventional single mixing tube engine, with the result that the maximum thrust capacity of the engine is'also increased. Thus, the throttling range of a four mixing tube engine over that of a single mixing tube engine having the same size combustion chambers was increased for a ratio of 1.6:1 to 25:1. Stated another way, the bypass engine could be throttled to 40 percent of full thrust whereas the comparable single tube engine could be throttled only to 62 percent ofmaximum thrust.

It should be apparent that, by combining the multiple nozzle concept with the multiple tube concept, an engine having minimum length and weight and maximum operating range may be produced. Thus, while I have disclosed and described preferred, embodiments of my invention, I wish it understood that I do not intend to be restricted solely thereto, but that I do intend to include all embodiments thereof which would be apparent to one skilled in the art and which come within the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a momentum compression ramjet engine having a combustion chamber including an outlet in the form of a jet nozzle and means supplying a combustible mixture of fuel and air under pressure to said combustion chamber including at least one injection nozzle positioned to direct a stream of high velocity gaseous fuel into the open inlet of an elongated mixing tube to mix with ambient air within the mixing tube and accelerate the air through the tube from the open inlet by momeneter and having a length within the range of 6 to 8 times the effective diameter of the mixing tube wherein the effective diameter of said mixing tube is equal to the actual diameter thereof divided by the square root of thenumber of fuel injection nozzles positioned in the open inlet of the mixing tube, and a conical diffuser section for converting velocity energy into the pressure energy and having an inlet connected directly to the outlet of said mixing tube.

2. The momentum compression ramjet engine defined in claim 1 comprising at least three injection nozzles mounted in said open inlet, and wherein the length of said mixing tube is about 7 times the effective diameter thereof.

3. The momentum compression ramjet engine defined in claim 1 further comprising a dump tube section of substantially uniform diameter and having an inlet connected directly to the outlet of said diffuser and an outlet opening directly into said combustion chamber, the length of said dump tube being at least as great as its diameter.

4. The momentum compression ramjet engine defined in claim 3 wherein the length of said dump tube is about three times the diameter thereof.

5. In a momentum compression ramjet engine including momentum compression means for supplying a combustible mixture of gaseous fuel and air under pressure, the improvement wherein said momentum compression means comprises a mixing and accelerating chamber, a plurality of elongated mixing tubes mounted in generally parallel spaced relation within said chamber, said mixing tubes each having an open inlet for admitting ambient air, at least one fuel injection nozzle mounted in the open inlet of each said mixing tube and positioned to discharge a high velocity stream of gaseous fuel axially therethrough from said open end, said mixing tubes each having an outlet communicating with a common combustion chamber having an outlet in the form of a jet nozzle, the improvement wherein said mixing tubes each have a length of about 7 times the effective diameter thereof, said effective diameter being defined as the actual diameter of the mixing tube divided by the square root of the number of nozzles positioned in the open inlet thereof.

6. In the momentum compression ramjet engine defined in claim 5, the further improvement comprising a separate fuel supply conduit supplying fuel under pressure to the nozzles in each said open inlet, and valve means connected in at least selected ones of said conduits, said valve means being selectively operable to control the flow of fuel to each of said selected ones of said conduits.

7. In the momentum compression ramjet engine defined in claim 6, the further improvement comprising at least three fuel nozzles mounted in the open inlet of each of said mixing tube.

8. In the momentum compression ramjet engine defined in claim 6, the further improvement comprising a like plurality of conical diffusers each having an open inlet connected one to the outlet of each said mixing tube, said conical diffusers each having an open outlet communicating with said common combustion chamher.

9. In the momentum compression ramjet engine as defined in claim 8, the further improvement comprising a like plurality of elongated cylindrical dump tubes, said diffusers each having an open outlet connected to the inlet of one of said dump tubes, said dump tubes each having an outlet connected to and communicating with said common combustion chamber.

Claims

1. In a momentum compression ramjet engine having a combustion chamber including an outlet in the form of a jet nozzle and means supplying a combustible mixture of fuel and air under pressure to said combustion chamber including at least one injection nozzle positioned to direct a stream of high velocity gaseous fuel into the open inlet of an elongated mixing tube to mix with ambient air within the mixing tube and accelerate the air through the tube from the open inlet by momentum exchange, the improvement wherein said means supplying said combustible mixture of fuel and air comprises a first mixing tube of substantially uniform diameter and having a length within the range of 6 to 8 times the effective diameter of the mixing tube wherein the effective diameter of said mixing tube is equal to the actual diameter thereof divided by the square root of the number of fuel injection nozzles positioned in the open inlet of the mixing tube, and a conical diffuser section for converting velocity energy into the pressure energy and haVing an inlet connected directly to the outlet of said mixing tube.

5. In a momentum compression ramjet engine including momentum compression means for supplying a combustible mixture of gaseous fuel and air under pressure, the improvement wherein said momentum compression means comprises a mixing and accelerating chamber, a plurality of elongated mixing tubes mounted in generally parallel spaced relation within said chamber, said mixing tubes each having an open inlet for admitting ambient air, at least one fuel injection nozzle mounted in the open inlet of each said mixing tube and positioned to discharge a high velocity stream of gaseous fuel axially therethrough from said open end, said mixing tubes each having an outlet communicating with a common combustion chamber having an outlet in the form of a jet nozzle, the improvement wherein said mixing tubes each have a length of about 7 times the effective diameter thereof, said effective diameter being defined as the actual diameter of the mixing tube divided by the square root of the number of fuel nozzles positioned in the open inlet thereof.

8. In the momentum compression ramjet engine defined in claim 6, the further improvement comprising a like plurality of conical diffusers each having an open inlet connected one to the outlet of each said mixing tube, said conical diffusers each having an open outlet communicating with said common combustion chamber.