The flame temperature of combustion in a rocket engine refers to the temperature achieved during the combustion of propellant in the combustion chamber. Unlike air-breathing engines (like those on aircraft), rockets carry their own oxidizer and do not rely on atmospheric oxygen for combustion. The flame temperature in a rocket engine is a critical parameter that influences the engine’s performance and efficiency.
The adiabatic flame temperature Tadiabatic is an estimate of the maximum temperature reached during combustion when no heat is lost to the surroundings. The formula for adiabatic flame temperature is:
Where:
- Tadiabatic: Adiabatic flame temperature (in Kelvin).
- : Inlet air temperature (in Kelvin).
- : Fuel temperature (in Kelvin).
- : Specific heat at constant pressure (in J/(kg·K)).
- : Ratio of specific heats ().
- : Specific gas constant (in J/(kg·K)).