3 ms·
Yes exactly. Has it been done or studied?.
by omegant 14y ago
Yes 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.