Innovative pulse detonation engine (PDE) technology which could find application in high-speed missiles and advanced aircraft will be flight tested in 2002 under a $7.5 million NASA contract awarded to Boeing.
Under NASA's Revolutionary Concepts (RevCon) programme. Boeing will build a missile-sized PDE for ground testing by NASA Glenn and flight-testing by NASA Dryden, pylon-mounted under a Boeing F-15B.
The PDE is an air-breathing jet engine with no moving parts which promises to operate from zero airspeed up to Mach 3-4, making it a potentially attractive alternative to turbojets and ramjets, particularly for high-speed missiles.
In a PDE, combustion takes place inside an open-ended tube in which fuel is mixed with air and detonated. As the detonation wave travels down the tube at hypersonic speed, it draws in fresh fuel and air and the cycle repeats.
Each pulse lasts only milliseconds, allowing the PDE to produce continuous thrust. Design of the inlet is critical to the engine's operation, and the integrated flow path will be ground tested a NASA Gleen using a full-scale inlet.
NASA believes the PDE will produce more thrust than a conventional steady-burning jet engine, while fuel consumption could be 30-50% lower. The US Navy is looking at the pulse-detonation engine as a potential powerplant for a high-speed strike weapon.
Source: Flight International
