On the optimization of thermally-choked ram accelerator systems

摘要

The performance of thermally-choked ram accelerator systems can be optimized by varying thechemical composition of the reacting mixtures and their distribution along the multistage launcher. Two different approaches to the problem are presented and demonstrated: a) the practical approach, in which the solution is based on a finite number of available mixtures whose thermo-ballistic properties are known, and b) the mathematical approach, in which numerical optimization methods are used to defien the chemical composition of reacting mixtures which will give the highest performance. The importance of including existing practical, system-connected limitations in the optimization procedure is demonstrated using illustrative examples. It is concluded that significant performance gains can be achieved by applying optimization techniques at the preliminary design stage of such systems.