1. Comparison of general features of the turbojet and ramjet engines.

(a) In a turbojet, as the design flight speed is increased, the specific thrust of
the turbojet engine decreases slightly from the value obtained under static
conditions, the decrease being due to the ram drag increasing faster than the jet
velocity, assuming a fixed turbine inlet temperature and compressor pressure
ratio. From the viewpoint of maximum specific thrust development, the
compressor pressure ratio approaches unity when the design flight speed is
approximately 1500 mph, assuming that the cycle temperature is limited by the
turbine blade material to approximately 2000 R. This indicates that for flight
speeds above approximately 1500 mph, the compressor and turbine become
superfluous, and the ramjet engine is better suited for propulsion problems
requiring higher flight speeds, in the regions of the atmosphere where air-
breathing engines can function, up to possibly 100,000 ft altitude.
In comparison, a ramjet by virtue of the fact that it requires no compressor and
turbine for its functioning becomes a simple engine by construction. However
since its cycle pressure ratio is due entirely to ram pressure, the ramjet engine can
function only while it is in motion. Consequently, some form of auxiliary thrust or
boost, usually a rocket engine, must be employed for accelerating the ramjet-
propelled vehicle to the flight speed where it will become self-operating.

(b) In the turbojet engine, assuming that the blades are uncooled, the
temperature of the gases leaving the combustors must be limited to approximately
2000 R due to stress, creep and stress duration considerations. Because of that
temperature limitation, the over-all fuel-air ratio for a turbojet engine burning a
hydrocarbon fuel such as JP-4, is quite low of the order of 0.017.
No such temperature limitation is applicable to the ramjet engine because
it has no parts that are subjected simultaneously to dynamic loads and high
temperatures. Consequently, stoichometric fuel-air ratios may be utilized in the
ramjet engine so that the temperature of the gases discharged from its combustion
system can be 4000 R or higher. As a consequence, the fuel-air ratio for a ramjet
engine burning a conventional hydrocarbon fuel at the maximum combustion
temperature will be approximately f=0.07, or practically four times that for a
conventional turbojet engine operating at its maximum allowable turbine inlet
temperature. The principal limitation on the maximum combustion temperature
for a ramjet engine, apart from the calorific value of the fuel, is the problem of
cooling the hot parts of the engine and the throat of the exhaust nozzle either with
air taken from the atmosphere or the fuel. With currently available construction
materials and hydrocarbon fuels, stagnation temperature is limited to 1500 F and
Mach number is of the order of 3.4 to 4.0, depending on the altitude.

(c) The velocities of the air entering the combustion system are of the same
order of magnitude for both engines. Consequently, both engines require
approximately the same combustor cross-sectional areas to pass the same
volumetric air-flow rates. For the turbojet engine the frontal area is
 dictated by the diameter of either the compressor or the turbine, whichever
is the largest whereas for the ramjet engine, the frontal area is equal to the
combustor cross-sectional area. As a result, the frontal area of a turbojet
engine is inherently larger than that of a ramjet engine having the same
air-induction capacity.

(d) Estimates regarding the production costs of engines indicate that for
flights at Mach 2, the cost of a ramjet engine will be less than 10 per cent
of that for a turbojet engine.

(e) Thus we find that the ramjet engine has the following advantages over a
comparable turbojet engine: -
(i) The ramjet engine has a larger thrust per unit of engine weight.
(ii) It gives a larger thrust per unit of frontal area.
(iii) It operates with a higher cycle of temperature.
(iv) Because of its simplicity, its cost per horsepower is smaller.
(v) Because of the absence of moving parts exposed to hot gases, it
should have higher reliability.
Since the guided missile has a life of only a single flight, the above advantages of ramjet
make it an attractive engine for supersonic missiles. Also since there are no moving parts
that are exposed to hot combustion gases, it should be readily adaptable to nuclear
propulsion.
The most serious disadvantage of the ramjet engine is its inability to develop
thrust at zero flight speed. In addition there are the operating deficiencies associated with
a fixed-geometry diffuser.