HighSpeed Times

HighSpeed Times
Newsletter of the AIAA High Speed Air Breathing Propulsion Technical Committee
No. 1, Issue 1 – January 2011
This issue
Message from Newsletter Editor p.3
In the Spotlight p.4
Supercruising the Friendly Skies p 5
Test your Knowledge p. 7
Spot the Difference! p. 8
Pop Culture p. 9
Joaquin Castro
HSABP TC Chair
2010-12
AIAA HSABP TC NEWSLETTER No. 1, Issue 1 – January 2011
AIAA High Speed Air Breathing Propulsion Technical
Committee (HSABPTC), bringing together experts in
the field who are dedicated to promoting its science
and technology through education and dissemination
of scientific ideas.
https://info.aiaa.org/tac/PEG/HSABPTC/default.aspx
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AIAA HSABP TC NEWSLETTER No. 1, Issue 1 – January 2011
Message from the Newsletter Editor
Dora Musielak, Ph.D.
Communications Chair
AIAA High Speed Air Breathing Propulsion Technical Committee
I hope this message finds all of you healthy and well following the busy holiday season.
In this newsletter the featured article focus on high speed commercial transport. As leaders of high
speed air breathing propulsion you know that the crucial element for developing supersonic aircraft is
efficient supersonic engines, and so it seems fitting that we shift our attention - for now-from the
world-record setting scramjets to advanced turbo-engines.
I would like to alert you to an area of need that is deserving of our continued attention: education.
As a national technical committee we have a responsibility to continue advancing high speed air
breathing propulsion technology and one important aspect of this charter is education. I urge you to
make it a priority at this 2011 ASM to work on plans for the near future that includes both professional
and non-professional level education activities. Let us do what we haven’t done before and initiate an
outreach program specifically focused on K-12 education.
Please join me in welcoming the new TC members. Venkat Tangirala, Membership chair, will
announce their names at our annual HSABP TC Meeting on January 4, 2011. Don’t miss it!
I also draw your attention to our upcoming 47th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference
& Exhibit. JPC will take place at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA, on 31 Jul - 3 Aug
2011. The theme of this year’s event is “Turning Propulsion Ideas into Reality” and it seems fitting
that we as a committee are well represented both as participants and visible leaders. Let us make
conference commitments as soon as possible. And most importantly, I urge everyone to set goals and
suggest activities that may help us achieve them and take us to the next level of visibility within the
aerospace propulsion community.
In closing, I would again remind all our members that your active participation is what makes our
TC successful and productive. We need volunteers to record Minutes and to prepare the next issue of
the Newsletter. Also, I encourage everyone to submit news bits and contribute a featured article. Let’s
use the TC Newsletter to brag about our accomplishments. Also, please visit our SharePoint site from
time to time, and if you have suggestions for improvement, or would like to volunteer in maintaining it,
please contact me at Musielak@scientist.com or dmusielak@uta.edu . Your contribution is crucial for
enhancing Communications in any topic related to HSABP.
As the New Year begins, I extend to each of you my best and warmest wishes for continued
success, health and happiness.
Dora Musielak
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AIAA HSABP TC NEWSLETTER No. 1, Issue 1 – January 2011
Dr. J. Phil Drummond has returned to NASA as a Distinguished Research
Associate. As most of you know, Phil retired from his full-time NASA position
early in 2010, but he is not done with his pioneering work and thus has
returned to Langley on a part time basis to continue his research.
Congratulations, Phil!
von Karman Institute Lecture Series: High Speed Propulsion: Engine Design - Integration
and Thermal management
A first-of-a-kind short course namely 'von Karman Lecture Series: High Speed Propulsion: Engine
Design - Integration and Thermal management' was organized by the von Karman Institute for Fluid
Dynamics, Belgium, at Wright State Univ., Dayton, OH on 11/29-12/1.
The audience included researchers from AFRL, WPAFB, Navair in Dayton and NASA Glenn, Cleveland
with audience of 50+. Topics covered include: (i) Hypersonic Research in USA, (ii) Novel concepts to
improve gas turbine performance, (iii) novel propulsion cycles, (iv) Pulse detonation engines, (v) Ramjet dev't
in UK, (vi) thermal management of dual mode ramjets, (vii) Scramjet intake and nozzle designs, (viii)
Scramjet combustion, (ix) scramjet thermal management and (x) Review of X-51 project activities.
This lecture series, a must for every researcher in the combustion and propulsion areas, included
excellent discussions on a variety of novel concepts that have bearing on propulsion projects such as gas
turbine cycles, augmentors, PDEs and thermal management.
Two of our own HSABP TC members namely Venkat Tangirala of General Electric Research Center
(Pulse Detonation Engines: pure propulsion and hybrid engine applications) and Steve Beckel of ATK
(Scramjet intake and nozzle designs and Scramjet combustion topics) were among the distinguished
Lecturers.
The HSABP TC members are very proud of Venkat and Steve’s work in this excellent course.
We have a few positions open in several subcommittees.
Please take this opportunity to serve the TC and join your
colleagues in fulfilling the goals set forth in our charter.
Just say Yes!
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AIAA HSABP TC NEWSLETTER No. 1, Issue 1 – January 2011
Supercruising the Friendly Skies
What would it take to make a round trip to Europe in one day and circumvent jetlag? Sexy new designs for a
supersonic airliner and powerful fuel-efficient green engines!
By Dora Musielak - AIAA HSABPTC Communications
The prospect of a commercial traveler zipping over the puffy clouds faster than a speeding bullet
is fascinating. But when in 2000 an Air France Concorde crashed on take-off and killing all 109
people on board, the dream of supersonic travel seemed to end.
Alas, never underestimate the vision and will of engineers.
It is true that a major challenge of supersonic flight is the sonic
boom, the bang created by the movement of pressure waves
around an aircraft as it passes through the sound barrier. But
this is not an insurmountable challenge.
In 2010, both Boeing and Lockheed Martin submitted clever
ideas to NASA proposing new airplane designs that could take
the boom out of supersonic flight. The two teams completed
18-month studies for NASA to define concepts for N+3
supersonic airliners, and draw up roadmaps to mature the
technologies needed to develop their aircraft. They found that
100-seat-plus supersonic transport could be commercially and
technically viable in the 2030-35 timeframe.
The designs of the new supersonic aircraft are reminiscent of
the Concord, but Lockheed Martin and Boeing claim to have
incorporated many updates in an effort to solve critical design
and operational issues. The most obvious improvement needed
is reduction of the huge noise that characterizes supersonic
flight, noise which is created by both the engines and the sonic
boom.
Both companies expect to put a new muffler on the problem.
The Boeing team recommended to NASA a fixed wing
configuration (nicknamed Icon II) with V-tails and upper surface
engines as the technology reference concept plane for N+3. The
Icon II concept can carry 120 passengers in a two-class, singleaisle interior, and can cruise at Mach 1.6 to Mach 1.8 with a range
of about 5,000 nautical miles.
Lockheed Martin’s concept design of
an environmentally friendly supersonic
plane and propulsion system. Credit:
Lockheed Martin Corp.
Artist’s rendering of Boeing’s concept
for a future supersonic commercial
plane that potentially could go into
service in the years 2030 to 2035.
Credit: The Boeing Co.
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AIAA HSABP TC NEWSLETTER No. 1, Issue 1 – January 2011
Supercruising (continued)
Lockheed Martin approach incorporates an inverted-V at the tail end of its aircraft. With this
futuristic-looking design engineers plan to control airflow in a way that could lessen the sonic boom heard
on the ground. Both the Boeing and the Lockheed Martin designs place the engines on top of the wings
rather than below like those on the Concorde. The goal is to have some of that roar of the engines shielded
from the ground by the wings. NASA’s N+3 goals are for sonic boom of 65-75PLdB (Concorde was
107PLdB), airport noise a cumulative 20-30EPNdB below Stage 3 (Concorde was 45EPNdB above) and
cruise NOx emissions of less than 5g/kg of fuel.
The Boeing supersonic team includes BR&T, BCA, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, General Electric,
Georgia Tech, Wyle and M4 Engineering. The Lockheed Martin team includes GE Global Research, Purdue
University, and Wyle Laboratories
Of course there is still the challenge of extra power, and therefore fuel, required to fly supersonic.
Propulsion plays a key role in the successful development of supersonic airliners, as no commercial engine
exists now that can meet the efficiency and environmental goals with the durability required for sustained
supersonic cruise. And with the near-term emphasis on reducing sonic boom sufficiently to permit
supersonic flight over land, inlet and nozzle design has emerged as a crucial component to develop further.
Based on Lockheed Martin provided requirements and targets, for example, GE developed an
Variable Cycle Engine (VCE) propulsion system and a conventional Mixed Flow Turbo Fan (MFTF)
propulsion system expected to meet or exceed the environmental goals set by NASA, as well as an MFTF
optimized solely for cruise efficiency. Propulsion research is also focusing on materials and cooling
technology to handle the high temperatures. In addition, studies are centered on maximizing the efficiency
and minimizing the environmental impact of supersonic transports. Reducing both airport noise and sonic
boom are seen as more feasible if the aircraft is small, so studies on both sides of the Atlantic are focusing
on a business jet as the first step. Many experts believe that business jets are a stepping stone to the large
supersonic commercial jets.
In fact, Gulfstream and Aerion have begun to hone their designs for a supersonic business jet (SSBJ).
Aerion Corporation of Nevada, which “was formed for the purpose of developing and commercializing a
fundamental breakthrough in supersonic transportation,” has set 2015 as the year it will launch its new
Supersonic Business Jet (SSBJ).
Skeptics argue that the companies producing supersonic business jets cannot sell enough of them
to pay for the advanced research needed to develop the craft to maturity. But that has not lessened the
interest. Gulfstream Aerospace, for example, launched a design project with the Sukhoi Design in Moscow
and is also working on a new jet.
As an industry, commercial aviation has developed larger and more comfortable jets, but they are
still flying at the speed they did in the 1950s. High speed is the next frontier. Let us push forward and
develop the required powerful fuel-efficient green propulsion to meet the future.
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AIAA HSABP TC NEWSLETTER No. 1, Issue 1 – January 2011
Test your Knowledge
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
When was the first patent submitted for a scramjet engine and who authored it?
What is the name of the first missile powered by a ramjet engine and its max speed when t flew
for the first time?
When was the first demonstration of supersonic combustion that provided a net positive
thrust?
What was the theoretical thrust of the scramjet engine on the X-30?
Name the first ever scramjet-powered vehicle; when was its record-breaking flight?
Name the first supersonic transport and give the date of its last flight.
Define “supercruising” and name the first aircraft capable of supercruise.
Is the supersonic combustion process in a scramjet a detonation or a deflagration? Explain.
What is the main performance issue for a scramjet-powered aircraft flying in Mach range 10-24?
Consider a space plane being designed to fly as a single stage to a low Earth orbit having r/ro =
1.03, where ro = 3960 mi = 6370 km is Earth’s radius. What parameter would you consider to be
the most important to attain the highest air-breathing engine overall efficiency o? Would
operating on hydrocarbon fuels be better as opposed to using hydrogen to reach that
efficiency? Explain.
Post your answers on our TC’s website!
News from around the World
Continental Airlines and mechanic guilty in deadly Concorde crash
Paris, France (CNN) -- The fiery crash that brought down a Concorde supersonic jet in 2000, killing
113 people, was caused partially by the criminal negligence of Continental Airlines and a mechanic
who works for the company, a French court ruled in Dec 2010.
Continental Airlines was fined 202,000 euros ($268,400) and ordered to pay 1 million euros to Air
France, which operated the doomed flight. Read more about this article at
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/12/06/france.concorde.trial/index.html
China Clones, Sells Russian Fighter Jets
ZHUHAI, China—A year after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a cash-strapped Kremlin began
selling China a chunk of its vast military arsenal, including the pride of the Russian air force, the
Sukhoi-27 fighter jet. For the next 15 years, Russia was China's biggest arms supplier, providing $20
billion to $30 billion of fighters, destroyers, submarines, tanks and missiles. It even sold Beijing a
license to make the Su-27 fighter jet—with imported Russian parts. Chinese fighter jets, believed to
be J-11Bs, train over Tibet in July. Today, Russia's military bonanza is over, and China's is just
beginning. Read more at
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704679204575646472655698844.html?mod=W
SJ_hps_editorsPicks_1
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AIAA HSABP TC NEWSLETTER No. 1, Issue 1 – January 2011
Spot the Difference!
Can you see the differences between these pictures? There are at least 7, but if your eyesight is sharp enough
you’ll find a few more …
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AIAA HSABP TC NEWSLETTER No. 1, Issue 1 – January 2011
HSABP in Pop Culture
• The 1983 television movie "Starflight: The
• One of the engine types available for the
Plane That Couldn't Land" explores the
concept of a hypersonic jetliner for
passenger transportation, developed by the
fictional company Thornwall Aviation. The
jetliner uses scramjet engines to reach a
point high in the stratosphere for a quick
two-hour jump from Los Angeles to Sydney,
and the engines are powered with
hydrogen. The jetliner is (accidentally) stuck
in orbit.
• In the 2005 movie “Stealth” both the F/A37 Talon and UCAV EDI are powered by pulse
detonation engines with scramjet boosters.
customizable aircraft in “Ace Combat X” is called
the "SCRAMjet."
• In the episode "Pandora's Box" of the CBS
television show Numb3rs, a crashed plane was
carrying a ScramJet engine prototype as
undeclared cargo for testing.
• The FOX Military Science-Fiction series “Space:
Above and Beyond” featured the 2063 AD USMC
and USASF using endo/exo atomspheric
Scramjet fighters called SA-43 "Hammerheads".
• The 2005 video game, Dreamfall: The Longest
Journey set in the future, depicts scramjets as a
common form of transportation.
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AIAA HSABP TC NEWSLETTER No. 1, Issue 1 – January 2011
Representatives of the AIAA HSABP TC at the annual meeting, 2010 JPC in Nashville, TN
Contact Us
Contact the Editor of AIAA HSABP TC Newsletter at
musielak@scientist.com
Submit story ideas or your own article!
High Speed News
No. 1 Issue 1, January 2011
AIAA High Speed Air Breathing Propulsion
Technical Committee
Joaquin Castro - TC Chair
Marty Bradley – Past Chair
Ryan Starkey – Vice Chair
https://info.aiaa.org/tac/PEG/HSABPTC/default.aspx
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