RESEARCH STUDIES FOR SUPERSONIC COMBUSTION.

Abstract : A summary is presented of research on supersonic combustion conducted during a 4 year period by GASL. The research discussed is oriented toward fuels and conditions pertaining to supersonic combustion in ramjet engines. Fields encompassed are (1) reaction kinetics of a hydrogen air system, (2) diffusion and combustion of reacting gases, and (3) the testing of highly idealized combustion processes. Studies in the latter field indicate the speed range for supersonic combustion ramjets can be lowered to the 3-6 Mach number range. It is concluded that sufficient progress has been made on the understanding and analysis of supersonic combustion processes to give a sound basis for application to the design of a practical ramjet engine. (Author)