3 ms·
I wonder if it would have any effect adding a statoreactor tube to the end of a rocket engine ( as a kind of postcombustion chamber) to take advantage of all th
by omegant 14y ago
I wonder if it would have any effect adding a statoreactor tube to the end of a rocket engine ( as a kind of postcombustion chamber) to take advantage of all that heat. Maybe adding some fuel to that part to make use of atmosferic oxigen to increase power. Above 30km you may drop it.
I don't think it would be too heavy as it doesn't have moving parts. The question is if it would generate power enough to be worth all the trouble.
- jasonwatkinspdx 14y agoI'm not sure I understand what you're suggesting, but it sounds like some form of ram afterburner?
- omegant 14y agoYes exactly. Has it been done or studied?.
- jasonwatkinspdx 14y agoI do not understand how the physics of a ram afterburner would work. A ram duct generates compression via aerodynamic drag. It slows and compresses the air forced into it by controlling shocks. The expansion stage of a brayton cycle engine maximizes exhaust velocity rearward and hence by Newton's third law creates thrust. Constricting the exhaust will only reduce efficiency. If you're talking about an expansion duct with secondary combustion, that has nothing to do with ram effect and is just an afterburner. By and large afterburners are hideously inefficient, but many military craft still include them because it is easier to manufacture an afterburner tolerant of secondary combustion temperatures than a turbine. SABRE erodes this motivation as the incident temperature into the flame holders (or rocket nozzles) is dramatically lower than common in a turbine engine, so you can get more of the energy possible from the oxygen density of the engine's intake flow without secondary combustion.