Research and development of ramjet engine for high-mach integrated control experiment (HIMICO)

The HIMICO (High-Mach Integrated Control experiment) project is under way by universities and JAXA. The purposes are to establish the flying test bed of hypersonic flight experiments and to demonstrate the integration control technology of the airframe and the engine. Currently, the performance of the ramjet engine for HIMICO is being acquired and improved. Two kinds of verification experiment are shown here: a supersonic wind tunnel test and a combustion test. On the supersonic wind tunnel test, the performance maps of the air-intake are acquired at Mach 3.0, 3.4 and 3.8. The condition of the buzz occurring is investigated. We should decide the flight experimental conditions of the engine under which the buzz does not occur. With an angle of sideslip (AOS), the secondary flow which is caused by sidewalls reduces the air-intake performance: total pressure recovery and mass capture ratio. Both theoretical and atheoretical oblique shock waves are generated on the 1st ramp. This state causes the air-intake performance deterioration. On the combustion test, heat tolerance of the thermal insulator and the ignition with the igniter are confirmed. The measured maximum combustion temperature is 1138 K. We plan to conduct a system firing test using the ramjet test facility (RJTF) in JAXA to obtain the integrated performance for the first flight experiment.