What is "shcramjet"

A Shock-Induced Combustion Ramjet Engine (abbreviated as Shcramjet; also called Oblique Detonation Wave Engine (ODWE), or simply referred to as Shock-Ramjet Engine) is a new concept in airbreathing ramjet engines, proposed to be used for hypersonic, as well as, single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) propulsion applications. From the overall design point of view, the shcramjet engine is similar to a scramjet engine; however, unlike the diffusive mode of combustion in scramjet engine, a shcramjet engine combustion takes place across a very thin region of standing oblique shock and/or detonation waves stabilized over a wedge, blunt body etc. Since combustion in a shcramjet engine is confined to very short region across the igniting wave, the combustor length in a shcramjet can be significantly shorter than the scramjet that requires a lengthy combustor for complete fuel-air mixing and combustion. Hence, compared to scramjet, the shcramjet has a reduced overall weight (which directly leads to substantial reduction in overall vehicle weight of a hypersonic waverider design) and higher efficiency. Also, the shcramjet is believed to have a better overall propulsive performance than the scramjet at higher Mach numbers, especially above Mach 12. Recent researches have stipulated that airbreathing engines such as scramjets and shcramjets provide a more efficient high-speed vehicle propulsion system than rocket engines. These potential advantages of shcramjet has recently attracted substantial efforts into their research all around the world.