A NOVEL VERY-LOW-COST AIRBREATHING PROPULSION SYSTEM

CURRENTLY, AIRBREATHING PROPULSION SYSTEMS WHICH OPERATE IN THE HIGH SUBSONIC REGIME ARE EXPENSIVE, COMPLEX, HEAVY AND USE PERISHABLE FUELS. TO OVERCOME THESE LIMITATIONS, A NOVEL PROPULSION CONCEPT BASED ON A PULSE DETONATION ENGINE (PDE) OR A CONVENTIONAL RAMJET COMBUSTOR (CRC) COUPLED WITH A BORON SOLID FUELED HYBRID GAS GENERATOR (HGG) IS PROPOSED. THE INNOVATION DRAWS FROM RECENT SUCCESSES IN COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS AND FROM SYSTEMS ENGINEERING STUDIES PERFORMED BY THE AUTHOR. THE PROPOSED PROPULSION SYSTEM HAS MANY HIGHLY DESIRABLE FEATURES INCLUDING A VERY LOW UNIT COST, DESIGN SIMPLICITY, OPERATIONAL SIMPLICITY, AND STORABILITY. THE PROPULSION SYSTEM CAN OPERATE OVER A RANGE OF MACH NUMBERS AND IS WELL SUITED FOR PROPELLING A STANDOFF MUNITION AT HIGH SUBSONIC SPEEDS.