AIAA 2009-5031

45th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit

2 - 5 August 2009, Denver, Colorado

Performance Demonstration of a Variable Flow Ducted

Rocket Engine by Test Flight
Yoshihiro YAMANO1, Yoshiyuki IKEGAMI2, Hisahiro NAKAYAMA1, Eishu KIMURA3, Junichi SATO1,
Yuichi OTABE1, Akihiko YOSHIDA4
Technical Research and Development Institute, Ministry of Defense

We launched full scale experimental vehicles with variable-flow ducted rocket engine to
demonstrate its performance in various flight conditions. Observed transition time from burnout
of an integral rocket booster to onset of ramjet combustion were satisfactorily short. Stable
ramjet combustion in various angle of attack and sideslip angle, and thrust control capability of
the engine were successfully demonstrated. Flight control of the vehicles, that have axially
asymmetric configuration, via path angle and acceleration was demonstrated, as well.

Nomenclature
Pc
Pt0
Pmax
pr
d

=
=
=
=
=

total pressure at ram combustor exit

total pressure of airflow
maximum pressure through ram combustion phase
total pressure recovery rate
pressure loss in ram combustor

I. Introduction

UCTED rocket engine (DRE) is one of the promising ramjet propulsion systems for the next generation missiles
because DRE enables supersonic flight with higher specific impulse than conventional solid rocket motors. One of
the major technical difficulties of DRE is sensitivity of stable ramjet combustion to incoming air mass flow through
inlets, which is affected by flight conditions such as altitude, velocity, incident angle to inlets, and so on. To overcome this
problem, Variable Flow Ducted Rocket Engine (VFDRE) was proposed and has been investigated by various researchers.
Among others, TRDI also has been investigating the VFDRE from 1990s. Though we have conducted numerous wind
tunnel tests [1] and RAMJET tests [2], it is essential to obtain the aerodynamic stability of the vehicle and the combustion
stability of the ram burner in actual flight to demonstrate the feasibility of VFDRE. This report provides results of ground
launch test of the VFDRE experimental vehicle. Figure 1 shows an experimental vehicle accelerated by an auxiliary
booster.

II. Test Vehicle Configuration

Configuration of the VFDRE experimental vehicle with auxiliary booster is shown in figure 2. The vehicle has two
rectangular, fixed geometry supersonic inlets underneath the body, four control fins, a gas generator chamber, and a ram
combustor. Initially, the ram combustor is equipped with jettisonable nozzle and is filled with solid propellant, to form an
integral rocket booster (IRB).
In the fore-body, electrical devices, such as control unit, inertial device, telemetry, are equipped. A destruction device for
safety and a battery unit are equipped there, as well. The coordinate system of the VFDRE is also shown in figure 2.
DRE, as a variant of ramjet engines, requires sufficient mass of air flow into the ram combustor to start ramjet
operation. Therefore, when the DRE is launched from an air plane, the velocity of the airplane is used so as to decrease the
amount of booster propellant. However, under the condition of ground launch, IRB does not have sufficient volume for
1

Research Engineer, Air Systems Research Center, 1-2-10 Sakae-cho, Tachikawa, Tokyo 190-8533, JAPAN.
Chief, Gifu Test Center, Naka, Kakamigahara, Gifu 504-0000, JAPAN.
3
Deputy Head, Department of Guided Weapon Systems Development, 5-1 Ichigayahommura-cho, Shinjuku, Tokyo
162-8830, JAPAN.
4
Director, Advanced Defense Technology Center, 1-2-24 Ikejiri, Setagaya, Tokyo 154-0001, JAPAN.
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Copyright 2009 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.

entire booster propellant because the experimental vehicle was designed mainly for air launched missile. To solve the
problem, an auxiliary booster with fixed fins was used.
Glycidyl Azide Polymer (GAP), major ingredient of the gas generator propellant, is a self-decomposing material. The
decomposition process of GAP is maintained by heat generated by N3 decomposition in the molecular structure, so that no
additional oxygen is required. The fuel gas generated is mixed with air in ram combustor and start to burn spontaneously.
One of key challenges in this project was to ensure ignition and sustain of ramjet combustion. To achieve this
objective, the fuel flow rate had to be adjusted according to the inlet air flow. In our engine, the heat-resistant rotating fuel
control valve was inserted between gas generator and ram combustor, and was critically controlled to adjust the fuel flow
rate. This ground launch test was also scheduled to verify the control sequence of the fuel control valve.
As mentioned above, ramjet combustor performance is influenced by incoming air flow conditions. To evaluate
stability of ramjet combustor, we used inlet margin (IM), which is the margin between pressure recovered by the inlets and
total pressure in ram combustor, and it characterizes available capacity of inlet air flow. Figure 3 shows the definition of
IM. The experimental VFDRE vehicle was designed to work optimally when IM over 10% is maintained. In order to
maintain the designed IM, angle of attack and sideslip angle were limited within -5~+5 degree in our experimental vehicle.
In some cases, however, we had to exceed over this limit on purpose in order to observe phenomena in the transient fuel
flow change.

III. Launch Test

Data acquired from the ground launch test was used to evaluate ramjet transition characteristics, ramjet combustion
stability against maneuver, thrust controllability, and the attitude control system of the VFDRE experimental vehicle in
flight. Data from direct-connect flow tests (also known as connected pipe tests) and hardware in the loop (HWIL)
simulations previously conducted was also used as reference in order to investigate experimental vehicle performance.
The launch test was conducted in a branch of Air System Research Center in Niijima Island which is a missile range of
TRDI. Test equipment and materials for sequence control, measurements and safety monitoring were set up. The
schematic view of the launch test is shown in Figure 4. The data acquired on the vehicle such as acceleration, angular rate,
velocity, and combustion data were telemetrically received and recorded.
Two flight patterns were planned and are shown in Figure 5. The purpose of the 1st flight pattern is to collect data in
the straight flight path, as a nominal case of this launch test. Data in the turning flight path with angle of attack change
were also collected. In the 2nd flight pattern, data when the airframe rolls and turns to change sideslip angle were collected.
The vehicle rolls through 90 degrees during ramjet phase in the 2nd flight pattern.

IV. Results and Discussions

A. Transition
Transition performance from boost phase to ram combustion phase is very important for our VFDRE. Figure 6
schematically shows pressure trace in the ram combustor from burnout of the IRB to onset of steady ramjet operation.
Transition time was defined as the time from IRB nozzle ejection to the onset of ram combustion, which is defined as the
time when the pressure in the ram combustor exceeds the threshold after the first pressure increase shown in figure 6. Here,
the first pressure increase is caused by IRB sliver combustion.
Figure 7 is pressure trace of the ram combustor measured during the 2nd flight. Transition time during the 1st flight
and the 2nd flight was 0.17 second and 0.15 second, respectively. Transition time was expected to be less than 0.25 second
by the system design requirement. Therefore, transition to ram combustion phase satisfied the requirement. Besides,
transition times obtained by direct-connect flow tests with the same airflow conditions were 0.18 second and 0.22 second,
respectively. While the test conditions were not exactly the same as the flight test, no significant difference was observed.
B. Ram Combustion

Figure 8 and figure 9 show the ram combustion stability during the two flight patterns described previously.
Both of the flights included the turning maneuver to make variation of the angle of attack or side slip angle to
observe the influence on ram combustion stability. The variation of angle of attack or side slip angle caused by
maneuvers is shown in the top of the figures. The time histories of the angle of attack and sideslip angle are
approximately agreed with the predicted calculation under some disturbance (only shows the maximum and
minimum value). To confirm the continuation of ram combustion, estimated pressure without ram combustion is
also shown in bottom of the figures (described as Estimated Pressure (Unburned)). In the middle of the figure, IM
shows the inlets condition. If IM is more than 0%, the inlets act as super critical condition, that is to say the inlets
are in normal operating range. If IM is less than 0%, the inlets have no margin for incoming air called sub critical
condition. In this condition, ram combustion is said to be unstable and has the risk of extinguishment.
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In Figure 8, from 7.5 second to 19 second, the vehicle flew without maneuver, but as the fuel flow was controlled to
reduce after 15.3 second in order to investigate throttling capability of the experimental vehicle. Though the pressure
slightly decreased at the time, it remained stable through straight flight. As illustrated in figure 8, inlet margin was mostly
maintained value greater than 10% as planned until 19 seconds.
The pressure went down after 19 second because the inlet air flow decreased as the angle of attack was decreased to -8
degree, which is well below the optimum operation limit. At that time IM rapidly decreased and became negative, which
indicates inlets were operated at sub-critical condition. Ram combustion seemed to be sustained after 10G turn from 19
second, since the ram combustor pressure is higher than the estimated unburned value.
Figure 9 shows the 2nd flight data. In the 2nd flight, the vehicle rolls through 90 degrees during the ram combustion
phase, and then subsequent dive took place so as to investigate effect of sideslip maneuver.
All the time through the ram combustion phase, sideslip angle was controlled within 5 degree designed limit. IM was
kept positive through the ram combustion phase and ram combustor pressure was well above the value, which is estimated
pressure without ram combustion. Thus, stable operation with rolling and turning maneuvers was demonstrated.

C. Thrust Controllability
Gas generator chamber pressure, rotation angle of fuel control valve, fuel mass flow rate and acceleration during the
2nd flight are shown in figure 10. The gas generator chamber pressure is increased as the valve rotation angle decreased
(i.e., closed), and then the fuel flow rate into the ram combustor is increased. As a result, the acceleration in body axis
direction (Xb), i.e., thrust, is also increased.

D. Airframe Control
Flight path angle and acceleration are shown in figure 11. During straight flight, the airframe attitude was controlled
by flight path angle. When the vehicle turned, the airframe was controlled by acceleration. As shown in the figure, the
flight path angle agreed well with the prediction. Thus the angular variation was controlled as planned during the ram
combustion phase by controlling the flight path angle. The acceleration in Zb axis also agreed with the prediction. These
results show that the attitude control worked well to keep the asymmetrical body stable as well as to maintain the positions
of inlets against the air flow within the optimal position during flight.

V. Conclusions
The conclusions of this paper are as follows:
(1) Short transition time from the burnout of the integral booster to the onset of the ram combustion, below the design
objective 0.25 seconds in flight, was achieved.
(2) Stable ram combustion of the VFDRE experimental vehicle during maneuver such as varied angle of attack, sideslip
angle and roll angle was demonstrated.
(3) Thrust controllability of the VFDRE experimental vehicle was also demonstrated.
(4) The attitude control system of the VFDRE experimental vehicle worked well to keep the asymmetrical body stable, as
well as maintain the positions of inlets against the air flow within the optimal angle during flight.

Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. Aerospace Company for their help in development
of this VFDRE experimental vehicle.

References
1

Nakayama, H., Full-scale Firing Tests of Variable Flow Ducted Rocket Engines employing GAP Solid Fuel
Gas Generator, AIAA Paper 2009-5121, 2009.
2
Tokunaga, H., Development of Wide-Range Supersonic Intake for Variable Flow Ducted Rocket Engine,
AIAA Paper 2009-5223, 2009.

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Figure 1: An experimental vehicle accelerated by an auxiliary booster

Auxiliary Booster
Combustion Unit
Ram Combustor
(filled with IRB propellant)
Fuel Control Valve
Gas Generator Chamber
Control Fins
Fore-Body

Shroud
Inlet

Figure 2: Configuration of VFDRE experimental vehicle

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Inlet Margin
IM

pr
d

=
=
=
=

100

P
Pc
Pt0

P
InletsConditions

total pressure at ram combustor exit

total pressure of airflow
total pressure recovery rate
pressure loss in ram combustor

IM 0SuperCritical
IM 0Critical
IM 0SubCritical

Figure 3: Definition of inlet margin

Patrol Helicopter
Experimental
Vehicle
Camera
Tracking
Radar

Launch Pad

Patrol Boats

Control Place
Search Radar
Figure 4: Schematic view of the launch test

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Figure 5: Flight patterns of ground launch test

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Ram Combustor Pressure

Influence of Sliver
Transition Time

Pmax
Pmax

10% of Pmax
Onset of Ram Combustion
Time
Ignition of Gas Generator
:Fuel gas starts to flow into the combustor

Port Cover Open

IRB Nozzle Status

IRB Nozzle Separation

Figure 6: Definition of transition time

Transition Time

Ram Combustor Pressure

0.15

Pmax

Ram Combustor Pressure

(Normalized)

Pmax
10% of Pmax

0
IRB Nozzle Status (Separation)

7.2

7.4

7.6

7.8

Time [s]
Figure 7: Transition time during the 2nd flight

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8.0

Angle of Attack [deg.]

Nose Up

Angle of Attack
Predicted
(with Disturbance)

10
5

10G Turn

0
Maximum

-5
-10

Minimum

-15

Ram Combustor Pressure

(Normalized)

Inlet Margin [%]

Nose Down

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
-10

Inlet Margin

Test Data
Estimated Pressure
(Unburned)

Ram Combustion Phase

10

15

20

25

30

Time [s]
Figure 8: Ram combustor pressure stability during the 1st flight

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Sideslip Angle [deg.]

Nose Left

10

Rolls through 90

Side Slip Angle

Predicted
(with Disturbance)
5G Turn

Maximum

-5
-10

Minimum

-15

Nose Right

50
Inlet Margin [%]

Inlet Margin
40
30
20
10

Ram Combustor Pressure

(Normalized)

Test Data
Estimated Pressure
(Unburned)

Ram Combustion Phase

10

15
20
Time[s]

25

Figure 9: Ram combustor pressure stability during the 2nd flight

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30

35

Gas Generator Chamber

Pressure [MPaA]
Mass Flow Rate [kg/s]

Valve Rotation
Angle [deg.]

15

Gas Generator Chamber Pressure

Command

10
5
0
60

Valve Rotation Angle[deg.]

Command[deg.]

40
20
0

2.0

Mass Flow Rate

1.5
1.0
0.5
0

Acceleration
2
in Body Axis [m/s ]

20

Acceleration in Body Axis

0
-20
-40

10

15
Time [s]

Figure 10: Thrust control of VFDRE

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20

Flight Path Angle [deg.]

Ascent

40

Controlled by Flight Path Angle

20
0

Flight Path Angle

-20

Predicted
(with Disturbance)
Maximum
Minimum
Nominal

-40
-60
-80

Descent

Acceleration
2
in Zb Axis [m/s ]

200
Controlled by Acceleration Rate
in Body Axis

150
Acceleration in Zb Axis
Nominal
Command

100
50
0
-50

10

15
20
Time [s]

25

Figure 11: Flight path and acceleration in Zb direction

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30

35