What is happening in the team picture on the right? I honestly don't know. Really. I have no idea. |
Project Description:
1) With in 2-3 sentences describe what the goal of your project is.
We have to design an engine that will be the most fuel-efficient engine possible. We can choose 4 types of engines, a simple turbojet, a jet with an afterburner, a turbofan engine, or a ramjet. We then have to include the flight conditions, design variables, and engine size.
We have to design an engine that will be the most fuel-efficient engine possible. We can choose 4 types of engines, a simple turbojet, a jet with an afterburner, a turbofan engine, or a ramjet. We then have to include the flight conditions, design variables, and engine size.
Procedure:
1) Describe what were the parameters or settings of your engine. This includes engine type, flight conditions, engine size.
We chose the ramjet as our engine type and had the mach speed of 2.256. Our airspeed was 1498 mph and we had an altitude of 35000 ft. The air pressure was 3.466 lbs/in^2. The throttle was set to 50% and the afterburner was turned off.
We chose the ramjet as our engine type and had the mach speed of 2.256. Our airspeed was 1498 mph and we had an altitude of 35000 ft. The air pressure was 3.466 lbs/in^2. The throttle was set to 50% and the afterburner was turned off.
2) Include a min. 100 word paragraph with the reasoning behind the type you picked. Include research on the engine type and its functions.
One of the reasons that we decided to do the ramjet was because we thought that it would be the least picked engine type out of all 4 engine types. A ram jet is also sometimes called a flying stove pipe. A ramjet is a form of "airbreathing" jet engine, which uses the engine's forward motion to compress the incoming air without the use of a compressor. However, because of this, ramjets are not able to produce thrust at zero airspeed, which means that they cannot perform a liftoff from a standstill on the ground on their own. A ramjet-powered vehicle requires an assisted take-off such as using another form of engine, rocket booster, or another plane to carry the plane that the ramjet is attached to. Ramjets are able to work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 or 2,300 mph. But the ramjet has a been tested to work at up to Mach 6 or 4,600 mph. As the speed of the ramjet increase, the efficiency of the ramjet engine begins to drop with the increasing temperature of the air in the inlet. The increase in the air temperature is a result of the air being compressed in the inlet. As the inlet temperature gets closer to equaling the temperature of the exhaust, the less energy is able to be produced in the form of thrust. So for the ramjets that are able to operate at higher speeds such as Mach 6, they were modified so that the incoming air is not compressed as much which means the air is not heated as much. So the air flowing through the combustion chamber is still moving extremely fast, relative to the engine, so the air would be supersonic. That is why the modified ramjet engines are given the name Supersonic Combustion Ramjet or scramjet for short.
One of the reasons that we decided to do the ramjet was because we thought that it would be the least picked engine type out of all 4 engine types. A ram jet is also sometimes called a flying stove pipe. A ramjet is a form of "airbreathing" jet engine, which uses the engine's forward motion to compress the incoming air without the use of a compressor. However, because of this, ramjets are not able to produce thrust at zero airspeed, which means that they cannot perform a liftoff from a standstill on the ground on their own. A ramjet-powered vehicle requires an assisted take-off such as using another form of engine, rocket booster, or another plane to carry the plane that the ramjet is attached to. Ramjets are able to work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 or 2,300 mph. But the ramjet has a been tested to work at up to Mach 6 or 4,600 mph. As the speed of the ramjet increase, the efficiency of the ramjet engine begins to drop with the increasing temperature of the air in the inlet. The increase in the air temperature is a result of the air being compressed in the inlet. As the inlet temperature gets closer to equaling the temperature of the exhaust, the less energy is able to be produced in the form of thrust. So for the ramjets that are able to operate at higher speeds such as Mach 6, they were modified so that the incoming air is not compressed as much which means the air is not heated as much. So the air flowing through the combustion chamber is still moving extremely fast, relative to the engine, so the air would be supersonic. That is why the modified ramjet engines are given the name Supersonic Combustion Ramjet or scramjet for short.
3) Briefly explain the simulations you completed to test your engine. Include four screen shots of different simulations.
These 4 pictures show a few of the tests that we completed while trying to find the most efficient ramjet engine. Each picture has one or more different variables to increase or decrease the efficiency of the design.
These 4 pictures show a few of the tests that we completed while trying to find the most efficient ramjet engine. Each picture has one or more different variables to increase or decrease the efficiency of the design.
Solution:
1) Explain why you believe that you have a good engine design.
Well, before doing the 4 tests above, we did another test, but we forgot to take a screen shot of it and therefore we do not have a picture of it. However the efficiency of the design created in the first test had a total efficiency percentage of 2,147,483.8%. How we got this, I can't say, I have tried to recreate it and it was not showing up anymore, so it could have been a glitch or we clicked some unknown variable that changed something. But the picture up above shows a efficiency rating of 17363.508% which is also good, but not nearly as good as the first test.
Well, before doing the 4 tests above, we did another test, but we forgot to take a screen shot of it and therefore we do not have a picture of it. However the efficiency of the design created in the first test had a total efficiency percentage of 2,147,483.8%. How we got this, I can't say, I have tried to recreate it and it was not showing up anymore, so it could have been a glitch or we clicked some unknown variable that changed something. But the picture up above shows a efficiency rating of 17363.508% which is also good, but not nearly as good as the first test.
Conclusion:
1) What did you learn in this project?
I learned that to produce a efficient engine that can also produce a reasonable amount of thrust, is a lot harder to do. I has much more variables to create the efficiency then what I expected the forces to be that were acting on the engine.
I learned that to produce a efficient engine that can also produce a reasonable amount of thrust, is a lot harder to do. I has much more variables to create the efficiency then what I expected the forces to be that were acting on the engine.
2) Explain how the engine type impacts performance?
Our engine is unable to produce thrust at a low speeds so in order to produce thrust we need to have a high speed for our engine. This reduces the window to have a good efficiency for our engine.
Our engine is unable to produce thrust at a low speeds so in order to produce thrust we need to have a high speed for our engine. This reduces the window to have a good efficiency for our engine.
3) What factors would you need to consider if you are designing an aircraft to fly efficiently at an altitude of 30,000-40,000 ft.
First, you would need to think about the engine type and what the pros and cons of that type would be. So a ramjet can fly at high altitudes and at fast speeds but I cannot start off at zero miles per hour. Then you need to consider the efficiency of the engine and how much of a thrust to fuel ratio you would need. Then you need to take into account what the air pressure as well as what the air temperature is and how that would affect your engine performance while it is flying between 30,000 and 40,000 feet.
First, you would need to think about the engine type and what the pros and cons of that type would be. So a ramjet can fly at high altitudes and at fast speeds but I cannot start off at zero miles per hour. Then you need to consider the efficiency of the engine and how much of a thrust to fuel ratio you would need. Then you need to take into account what the air pressure as well as what the air temperature is and how that would affect your engine performance while it is flying between 30,000 and 40,000 feet.