System Analysis of a Hydrocarbon-Fueled RBCC Engine Applied to a TSTO Launch Vehicle

Engine system analysis upon a Rocket-Based Combined Cycle (RBCC) engine for the booster stage of a TSTO launch vehicle was conducted, to evaluate the benefits of hypersonic air-breathing technology upon the performance of the launch vehicle. Hydrocarbon fuel (namely ethanol) and LOx was selected as the propellant of the vehicle to enable easy handling and good packaging of high-density fuel into the airplane-like vehicle shape. First, parametric study on the ramjet-duct portion of the RBCC engine was conducted for fixed embedded rocket engine parameters. Then the rocket engine parameters were varied for the fixed ramjet-duct parameters to attain best performance with a fixed ramjet-duct projected area. The analysis method and primary results are herein reported.