Modeling and Performance Study of Pre-cooling Air Turbo Rocket Engine in the Air-Breathing Mode

The whole system mathematical simulation model of pre-cooling air turbo rocket engine (PATR engine) was established by the component method, the influence of the design parameters of key components on the system performance was analyzed, and the variation law of the performance parameters along the flight trajectory of the engine was calculated in the air-breathing mode. The velocity and altitude characteristics at typical operating conditions are also studied. The results indicate that the system performance (specific thrust, specific impulse) increases with higher turbo efficiency and heat transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger. The engine economy is optimal when the hydrogen flow is the design value, and both the engine economy and thrust are optimal when the helium flow is the design value. The specific impulse and thrust of core engine first increase and then decrease along the flight trajectory, and the system performance reaches a peak when Ma = 2.1. It is found that the air flow captured by inlet is the main factor affecting the engine velocity and altitude characteristics.