The American GE Aerospace has conducted tests with a hypersonic engine that also operates at low speeds.
Hypersonic weapons fly towards their target at a minimum of 5,000 kilometers per hour and are therefore difficult or impossible to stop with existing anti-aircraft systems. At least, that is what was thought and that is also what Russian President Vladimir Putin said in 2018 during the unveiling of the hypersonic Kinzhal missile. It now appears that the current models, which the Americans, Russians and Chinese are working on, are not the superweapons that people had in mind. In May this year, Ukrainian troops shot several Kinzhals out of the sky with their Western Patriot missiles.
But a new American propulsion, Rotating Detonation Combustion (RDC), could well ensure that hypersonic missiles take a step forward. And that engine was now tested for the first time.
Scram!
Hypersonic missiles use scramjet engines. The technology in such a supersonic combustion ramjet is simpler than that of a jet engine. In existing jet engines, a turbine sucks air into the engine, which is compressed. Further on, fuel (kerosene) is added and then the mixture is ignited. During combustion the pressure increases even further; the gas mixture with the resulting combustion gases expands strongly and leaves the engine at the rear.
A scramjet, on the other hand, uses its own speed to compress the air. The internal pressure and temperature rise so high that the fuel ignites automatically. So far fewer moving parts are needed to make it work and, in particular, the omission of the expensive and vulnerable turbine means that much higher speeds are possible.
Fast but controllable
The disadvantage is that a scramjet must first reach that enormous speed before it can provide thrust and this is still done with old-fashioned launch vehicles. To give the hypersonic missile a greater range, the hypersonic projectile is also raised to a high altitude, after which it shoots towards its target in a dive/glide. And that long, high flight makes him vulnerable.
So what is needed are engines that can power a hypersonic missile throughout its entire flight, that can fly low despite their extreme speed and yet, like a cruise missile, be controllable. To achieve this, the American GE Aerospace developed the Dual-Mode Ramjet with so-called Rotating Detonation Combustion.
Minitornado
An RDC works with a cylinder that falls into a slightly larger cylinder. By injecting and igniting a mixture of air and fuel into the space between the two cylinders, that mixture spins at supersonic speeds. As more fuel and air are supplied, the pressure continues to increase and more heat is produced. By then ejecting that ‘hot mini tornado’ from the back, the rocket is propelled. Also watch the video below.
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The new engine, which can operate both below and above Mach 5, was demonstrated on a test stand at GE’s plant in Niskayuna, New York. GE Aerospace expects to have a full version of the engine ready in 2024.
{Source: KIJK Online]
2023-12-23 14:22:02
#Americans #step #hypersonic #missile #technology
