CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF RAMFAN HYPERSONIC ENGINE

THE NEED EXISTS FOR AIRCRAFT PROPULSION ENGINES WHICH CAN OPERATE EFFICIENTLY AT FLIGHT SPEEDS ABOVE MACH 3. AN INNOVATIVE HYPERSONIC CRUISE ENGINE IS PROPOSED, CALLED THE RAMFAN, WHICH INCORPORATES BOTH A RAMJET AND A FAN. PROJECT OBJECTIVES ARE: TO ESTABLISH THE CURRENT STATUS OF CRITICAL RAMFAN TECHNOLOGIES, TO DETERMINE THE PERFORMANCE POTENTIAL OF THE RAMFAN, AND TO ASSESS THE MERITS OF THE RAMFAN COMPARED TO A RAMJET. THESE OBJECTIVES WILL BE ACHIEVED THROUGH THE PERFORMANCE OFTHREE TASKS. IN TASK 1, THE CRITICAL RAMFAN TECHNOLOGIES WILL BE REVIEWED AND THEIR IMPORTANT FEATURES IDENTIFIED. IN TASK 2, PARAMETRIC STUDIES OF RAMFAN DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS WILL BE CONDUCTED, AND A PRELIMINARY CONCEPTUAL DESIGN WILL BE PREPARED. IN TASK 3, THE FEASIBILITY OF THE RAMFAN CONCEPT WILL BE ASSESSED, AND R&D REQUIREMENTS IDENTIFIED.