Studies for the Design of a Dual Mode Ramjet Flight Test Vehicle

Abstract

The present report describes aerodynamic studies for the design of a dual mode ramjet flight test vehicle which were performed within joint DLR/ONERA research cooperation JAPHAR (Joint Airbreathing Propulsion for Hypersonic Application Research). The cooperation is organized around the blue-print of a possible experimental vehicle that provides a solid context for the different studies and allows to synthesise all the results through the propulsive balance. The design of the experimental vehicle is studied within the first working group (WG1) of JAPHAR. The work of WG1 is shared between DLR (Institute of Design Aerodynamics) and ONERA. The present report summarises the work of DLR Braunschweig. It gives a short introduction into the cooperation and describes the design studies for the experimental vehicles investigated until now. Within a detailed comparison of a common wing-body vehicle and a waverider configuration the effects of forebody shape, vehicle mass, dynamic pressure and the propulsion system on the definition of a dual mode ramjet flight test vehicle, the trim losses and the trajectory definition are discussed. Based on this first comparison, a wing-body combination with a very efficient waverider forebody is designed and analyzed. The results of these investigations indicate the relative importance of individual design parameters which may be used in a further aerodynamic design of a dual mode ramjet flight test vehicle.