Chinese scientists leading hypersonic weapons research have revealed a groundbreaking power solution for aerospace planes. The air-breathing engine, detailed in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese Journal of Propulsion Technology, has the potential to lift an aircraft to more than 30km into the stratosphere and accelerate it to 16 times the speed of sound. This “revolutionary” engine could significantly reduce flight times for intercontinental routes while consuming less fuel than conventional jet engines.
According to the research led by Zhang Yining at the Beijing Power Machinery Institute, the engine operates in two modes: below Mach 7 speed, it functions as a continuous rotating detonation engine. Above Mach 7, it transitions to a nearly straight-line oblique detonation format. The engine relies on detonation as its primary driving force and is expected to offer improved thermodynamic cycle efficiency across various speed ranges.
The researchers did not disclose the efficiency of the engine in their paper, but estimates suggest that nearly 80% of chemical energy can be converted into kinetic energy through the explosion of combustible gases. This contrasts with the 20-30% efficiencies achieved by conventional turbofan engines. The design, integrating rotational and straight-line detonation across a wide speed range, is hailed as a “world first” and is expected to bring a revolutionary change in aerospace propulsion.
The Beijing Power Machinery Institute, China’s largest manufacturer of ramjet engines, supplied propulsion systems for advanced weapons, including hypersonic missiles. The research involved scientists and engineers from the Beijing Institute of Technology’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, an institution under US sanctions.
While the paper presents a promising breakthrough, further research and engineering application parameters are required to develop a practically usable product. The development of sustainable detonation engines has gained traction in recent years, with both China and the United States engaged in fierce competition in the hypersonic field. China achieved the world’s first flight of a rotating detonation engine on a drone platform, showcasing its significant progress in this cutting-edge technology.
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