Participation in the French LEA program as collaborator from the Russian side

Purpose of the LEA program is a flight test for the demonstration of a wide-range scramjet with a variable-geometry combustion chamber.

LEA flight testing sequence

Participation: The main task fulfilled by the �Experimental Research in Combustion� group of MAI is realization of ground tests of a full-scale combustion chamber model by simulating the whole range of flow conditions corresponding the experimental vehicle flight.

Phases:

At MAI, after the development of a new vitiated air heater, a water-cooled model of the variable-geometry combustion chamber (with a 2/3 width) has been experimentally tested. More then 200 test runs have been performed to simulate conditions of the flight Mach number 2-7+ using kerosene, hydrogen, and methane-hydrogen mixture as a fuel (see the figure below).

Today, a new full-scale, full-width combustion chamber model is under preparation for the next test series, which will be conducted in 2009-2010.

Scheme of the three-stage vitiated air heater

Testing of combustion chamber on the MAI test bench

The work is performed in the frame of collaboration with MBDA-France since 2003.

More details about the work completed by 2008 and future plans can be found in the paper French R&T effort for high-speed airbreathing propulsion Status in 2008 ( IAC-08-C4.5.5, 2008)