Performance characteristics of a scramjet engine using JP-10 fuel containing aluminum nanoparticles

High energetic nanoparticle as additives is of great significance for liquid hydrocarbon fuels that will exhibit high heat value and potential performance improvement in hypersonic and related combined circle propulsion system. In the study, the JP-10 slurry fuel containing 16 wt% aluminum nanoparticles was experimented upon a scramjet engine to investigate the combustion efficiency and engine performance in comparison to pure JP-10 fuel. It is the first to realize the stable combustion of hydrocarbon fuel containing nanoparticles in scramjet engine. The wall pressure profile and calculated Mach number along the combustor are firstly compared and analyzed with the equivalence ratio of 0.56, 0.73 and 0.91. At the equivalence ratio of 0.56, the addition of aluminum nanoparticles promoted the engine to transition from the scramjet mode to the dual-model ramjet mode in advance, and the wall pressure along the combustor path to increase significantly. The combustion efficiency data of the two fuels are calculated by one-dimensional impulse analysis method. The results show that the combustion efficiency of slurry fuel is significantly higher than that of pure fuel. Besides, the addition of aluminum nanoparticles also enhanced the density specific impulse. When the equivalence ratio is 0.56, 0.53 and 0.91, the density specific impulse of slurry fuel increases by 34.37%, 11.33% and 8.96% respectively. The above research indicates that the use of slurry fuel containing aluminum nanoparticles indeed improves engine performance and has great potential in engineering applications.