Ram jet powered by a laser beam |
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| 申请号 | US29958972 | 申请日 | 1972-10-20 | 公开(公告)号 | US3818700A | 公开(公告)日 | 1974-06-25 |
| 申请人 | AVCO CORP; | 发明人 | KANTROWITZ A; ROSA R; | ||||
| 摘要 | A ram jet vehicle is powered in flight by laser beam radiation which heats the ram jet gas in the vehicle combustion chamber or exhaust nozzle. The beam is incident upon the vehicle or a part thereof that directs the radiation to the ram jet gas in the combustion chamber or exhaust nozzle. The gas is sufficiently absorptive of the radiation either intrinsically or because of added material to absorb substantial power from the beam and thereby add to the gross thrust of the jet gas. | ||||||
| 权利要求 | 1. In a ram jet powered supersonic vehicle having a convergent inlet air duct for receiving and directing air to throat means, combustion chamber means for receiving air from said throat and providing ram jet gases at about at least 2500*K, and a divergent exhaust nozzle for receiving aNd expanding said heated ram jet gases to produce thrust, means for further heating said heated ram jet gases in said exhaust nozzle to increase the gross thrust produced by said ram jet gases flowing through said throat means comprising: a. first means including a first surface forming an integral part of said divergent nozzle for receiving laser beam radiation which is incident upon the vehicle from a point remote from said vehicle, said first surface being reflective to said incident laser beam radiation and contoured to substantially direct said laser beam radiation incident on it toward said throat means; b. second means for varying the cross section of said throat means; and c. third means for adding to the ram jet gases an alkali metal substantially increasing the absorption of the incident laser beam radiation by said ram jet gases. 2. In a ram jet vehicle, as in claim 1, wherein: a. the ram jet gas begins as air entering the vehicle at an inlet diffuser; b. the gas from the inlet flows through a converging duct to said throat and from said throat through said exhaust nozzle to an exit; and c. the ram jet gas is heated by the incident radiation in the exhaust nozzle. 3. A ram jet vehicle, as in claim 2, and additionally including: a. fourth means carried by said vehicle and associated with said first means for detecting incident laser beam radiation on said first means; and b. transmitting means actuated by said fourth means for transmitting back to said source of laser beam radiation signals proportional to the amount of laser beam radiation incident on said first means. 4. In a ram jet vehicle, as in claim 2, wherein: a. the added alkali metal is added to the ram jet gas downstream of the throat. 5. A ram jet vehicle, as in claim 2, and additionally including: a. means for adding a fuel to the entering air; and b. means for initiating combustion of said fuel near the throat whereby the exhaust gas is heated to its final temperature partially by said combustion and partially by absorption of the incident laser beam radiation. 6. In a ram jet vehicle, as in claim 5, wherein: a. the added alkali metal is added to the ram jet gas downstream of the throat. 7. In a ram jet vehicle, as in claim 5, wherein: a. the added alkali metal is added to the ram jet gas upstream of the throat. 8. In a ram jet vehicle, as in claim 1, wherein: a. the wavelength of the laser beam radiation is about 10.6 microns and the alkali metal is potassium. |
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