A Simplified Method for Assessing the Performance of an Engine in the Acceleration Role.

摘要

This report gives a simple analysis for assessing the relative importance of engine specific weight and specific fuel consumption for an acceleration engine. Such an engine may power the boost phase of a single-stage-to-orbit vehicle,the first stage of a multistage vehicle,or the acceleration phase of a hypersonic cruise vehicle;it is assumed that the performance of later stages is not relevant to the optimization. The major limitations of the method are the assumptions that the thrust/drag ratio and the specific fuel consumption are constant during the flight and the fact that no restriction is put on vehicle acceleration. However,within these limitations the analysis allows comparisons to be made over a wide range of engine types.