Energy addition method for the electrothermal Ramjet

The electrothermal ramjet is a ramjet-in-tube device that has been proposed for accelerating masses to high speeds for applications such as direct space launch and hypersonic projectile studies. The electrothermal ramjet is similar to the ram accelerator, though one difference is that heat is to be added to the propellant electrically rather than via combustion. This article presents a method for adding heat to the propellant in the electrothermal ramjet configuration via magnetically balanced traveling are discharges. Calculations indicate that current and magnetic field requirements for this method are within attainable ranges and that electrical heat addition should provide advantages over combustion heat release under certain conditions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.