Development of a Mixed Bed Catalytic System for Providing Endothermic Cooling with in-situ Generation of Hydrogen Gas for Scramjet Combustors

摘要

When hypersonic vehicles operate at Mach numbers 4-8, the temperature of the hot parts of the combustor would increase from approximately 1000K to 4000K, and the thermaludmanagement of such large quantities of waste heat becomes anudimportant design consideration. Endothermic cooling provides an efficient method of cooling scramjet combustors by making use of certain endothermic reactions, like for example, the catalytic cracking reaction. Apart from providing endothermic cooling, this technology can also be used for the in-situ generation of hydrogen gas in the cracked fuel. The presence of hydrogen decreases the ignition time and ignition delay of kerosene and it also helps in anchoring flames at high speeds of airflow in audscramjet combustor. We have developed a mixed bed catalyticudsystem consisting of molecular sieves and reformax-100 catalysts for proving endothermic cooling as well as the in-situ generation of hydrogen gas. The results of our findings are described in this communication.