Overview
ABSTRACT
Several types of space propulsion exist according to the way the propulsive mass is accelerated. Regardless of the chosen method, designing propulsion systems involves a significant number of mechanical principles and theories. The dimensioning and production of the devise requires the knowledge and mastery of mathematical and physical tools. This article thus reviews the essential notions of the flight (regime, standard atmosphere, etc.), the aerodynamic and thermodynamic formulae which are used in propulsion in the planning stages, as well as the various level of air and combustion modeling.
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Read the articleAUTHOR
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Marc BOUCHEZ: Graduate of the École catholique d'arts et métiers de Lyon and the École supérieure des techniques aérospatiales - Engineer in the Aerodynamics Department – Propulsion – Lethality of MBDA France - Temporary professor of propulsion at several universities and grandes écoles
INTRODUCTION
This four-part dossier on aerospace propulsion provides an increasingly detailed introduction to propulsion systems for aircraft, rockets and missiles.
This article is therefore a reminder of the essential concepts of flight (speeds, standard atmosphere, etc.), the aerodynamic and thermodynamic formulas used in propulsion at the preliminary design stage, and the different levels of air and combustion modeling.
The main definitions are discussed: constructive index, dilution ratio, specific impulse.
In this presentation, particular attention is paid to the link with the design of the flying vehicle whose propulsion is to be studied, and to the orders of magnitude of the parameters associated with a given level of technology.
The examples and data provided are taken from the open literature, sometimes deliberately left in English, as the applications of these engines inevitably lead to restrictions on certain particular points of these propulsion systems from a commercial or military point of view.
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Bibliography
We have deliberately limited the bibliography to a few works that cover all the aspects presented here, and provide numerical examples and calculation methods that are accessible to engineers without supercomputers.
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