PARAMETRIC STUDY ON THE THRUST OF BUBBLY WATER RAMJET WITH A CONVERGING-DIVERGING NOZZLE

To predict the thrust of bubbly water ramjet with a converging-diverging nozzle, the physical processes occurring in the diffuser, mixing chamber and nozzle were analyzed. The mathematical models were constructed separately under the restrictions of certain assumptions. The bubbly nozzle flow was examined using a two-fluid model and accomplished by specifying the water velocity distribution in the nozzle. The numerical analysis of flow field in the nozzle shows that the Mach number at the throat is 1.009, near unity, and supersonic bubble flow appears behind the throat. There is greater thrust produced by bubbly water ramjet, compared with single-phase air ramjets. Subsequently, the influences of vessel velocity, air mass flow rate, inlet area A(i), area ratio (i.e., mixing chamber to inlet area A(m)/A(i)), and initial bubble radius on the thrust were emphatically investigated. Results indicate that the thrust increases with the increase of air mass flow rate, inlet area and the area ratio, and the decrease of initial bubble radius. However, the thrust weakly depends on the vessel velocity. These analytical and numerical results are useful for further investigation of bubbly water ramjet engine.