Hydrogen-Ammonia Synergistic Scramjet Combustor

Broad Mach Feasibility

Enables ammonia-hydrogen synergistic supersonic combustion in scramjets without altering flame paths, providing a viable combustion organization for ammonia-fueled high-Mach flight.

Song, Xin · Cai, Zun · Jianheng, Ji · Zihang, Chen · Wang, Taiyu · Li, Fan · Sun, Mingbo

Nature Communications 2025

Specifications

Ignition Mach number

{'zh': '3', 'en': '3'}

Sustained combustion Mach number

{'zh': '6', 'en': '6'}

Flame establishment time increase (upstream)

{'zh': '57.1', 'en': '57.1'} %

Flame establishment time increase (downstream)

{'zh': '100', 'en': '100'} %

Advantages

Broad Mach feasibility

Demonstrated ammonia-hydrogen ignition at Mach 3 and sustained combustion at Mach 6, confirming feasibility across a broad Mach range.

Unchanged flame paths

Ammonia addition at low Mach numbers does not alter flame paths, so existing hydrogen-based combustion organization schemes can accommodate ammonia without modification.

Upstream injection superior

At high Mach numbers, upstream hydrogen injection ignites more ammonia and produces more intense combustion than downstream injection.

Applications

• Scramjet engines：Provides a combustion organization scheme for ammonia-fueled scramjets across a broad Mach range
• Hydrogen-ammonia fuel：Validates the feasibility of hydrogen-ammonia mixed fuel in scramjets
• Hypersonic vehicles：Supports power system design for ammonia-fueled hypersonic vehicles
• Aerospace combustion technology：Advances research on hydrogen-ammonia synergistic supersonic combustion technology