A study for scramjet strut thermal performance

Numerical simulations were performed to investigate the effects of material and radiation heat transfer on the heat exchange of two struts in a dual-mode scramjet combustor. One strut was installed in the front of the combustor corresponding to an inflow condition of high speed and low stagnation temperature, the other was installed in the rear of the combustor corresponding to an inflow condition of low speed and high stagnation temperature. Some active and passive thermal protection systems were introduced, and the influence of the cooling water velocity on the cooling performance of the downstream strut leading edge was also investigated. The results show that the upstream strut suffers more obviously aerodynamic heating than the downstream one. After considering the radiation between the struts and air, the leading edge temperature of both struts decreases approximately 150 K. The active cooling has an obvious influence on the downstream strut, which can operate in a long duration at a cooling water velocity of 10 m/s.