Super cooled jet engine to hit Mach 5

[llanlad2]

Here's one for any aeronuts around here....in theory anyway.

Technology created by scientists at Reaction Engines that can cool air entering an engine from 1,000C to -150C in a hundredth of a second without creating icy blockages. Should allow space travel and speeds of 2000mph.

The management team is very highly engineered. Ex Rolls-Royce, rocket designer types.

The link above is to a video/interview with the founder of the company. The previous embedded link didn't work.

[LorenS]

Re: Super cooled jet engine to hit Mach 5

Those heat exchangers look very fragile.

[Ghent12]

Re: Super cooled jet engine to hit Mach 5

I'm wondering why this wasn't ever mentioned by any of my peers or instructors during my time earning a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering...

Those heat exchangers look very fragile.

So do the fan blades of the turbines and compressors in more conventional gas generator engines. Since this is evidently a product of serious engineering effort and skill, you can expect that the heat exchangers are engineered to be just strong enough to do their job and perhaps address in some way some of the worst-case or common problem scenarios the engine is likely to face, and no stronger beyond some safety factor. The concept is quite interesting and I will definitely be following this.

[llanlad2]

Re: Super cooled jet engine to hit Mach 5

I'm wondering why this wasn't ever mentioned by any of my peers or instructors during my time earning a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering...


So do the fan blades of the turbines and compressors in more conventional gas generator engines. Since this is evidently a product of serious engineering effort and skill, you can expect that the heat exchangers are engineered to be just strong enough to do their job and perhaps address in some way some of the worst-case or common problem scenarios the engine is likely to face, and no stronger beyond some safety factor. The concept is quite interesting and I will definitely be following this.

Well it looks like hypersonic jet travel is still viable as BAE have just invested £20 million to buy 20%.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...0m-for-it.html

The engineering and performance of the heat exchangers really is mindboggling. Click here to learn more.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: Super cooled jet engine to hit Mach 5

Well it looks like hypersonic jet travel is still viable as BAE have just invested £20 million to buy 20%.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...0m-for-it.html

The engineering and performance of the heat exchangers really is mindboggling. Click here to learn more.

Thanks for that technical info.
That heat exchanger is a marvel of design and manufacturing.
It must cost a bloody fortune, and I still think it's fair to call it fragile.

I'm not aware of any other applications that require a high capacity heat exchanger to be so ultra light weight and so rapid response.
Most of the applications I am familiar with (other than car and truck radiators) are for process heating and cooling, like in power plants or waste water treatment plants or chemical plants. In those applications the heat exchangers can be huge and heavy, and they usually are.
Still, it's very cool, thanks for finding it.