Plasma Nozzle
| Powered by phpBay Pro |
Jet engine design feasiblity.?
I know that jet engines draw their abilities to produce thrust from the expansion of hot gases (low-density plasma) through a nozzle of some sort. Now, the energy required to produce these hot gases is derived from the combustion of the air-fuel mixture. As such, each unit of fuel when combusted releases a specific amount of heat energy, no? Nevertheless, the energy is stored in the form of a chemical that is carried as fuel. My second question is this: "If one could introduce a high energy plasma (with an energy level greater than or equal to the energy release of the the fuel per set unit of fuel) into the aforementioned combustion chamber/can of the engine, would the engine still function as normal?"
There is no reason why your idea cannot be implemented. The engine will remain an air breathing machine. But first, the combustion chamber is designed for combustion. That chamber will have to be exchanged for a 'mixing chamber' so that the airflow and plasma into the high pressure vanes and turbine rotor blades does not create any hot spots. These components are usually sensitive to the airflow temperature. And so there will be a restriction as to how much you would be allowed to increase the airflow temperature.
You will get rid of the fuel nozzles, fuel pumps and fuel. The fuel control will be replaced by a plasma control system.
The airflow may need adjustment if the plasma that you introduce into the system affects the total airflow for which the engine was designed.
Such a system may find application where it is difficult to port fuel year round, eg, the freezing north. Could a small nuclear plant ($20M) be adapted for the plasma? Obviously, these are ground level applications for industrial jet engines. Maybe military applications for the many-engined heavy transport aircraft. Most countries would object to a nuclear powered aircraft flying over their territory.
These are just my thoughts. Hope I did not miss anything major! Your proposal will obviously have to compete with other systems for whatever application you have in mind.
Hope this helps
Additional: In case you were thinking of using just the hot plasma gas in the combustor, there will be additional consideration - You would have to pressurize the plasma to the same high pressure already in the combustion chamber. Also, in this case, you have to cater for cooling high pressure air that's usually taken off the compressor module of the engine to cool various components of the engine - such as the first stage vane, the rotors of the turbine module. And also, you will need to provide high pressure cool air(relatively cool in the engine) to seal the bearing cavities to keep the oil inside the bearing chambers. All in all, a bit of a mess! Best to just use the compressor module to generate high pressure air that (i) can then be mixed with the very high temperature plasma and that (ii) can be used for cooling and sealing.
Edit: But, in the end, the plasma temperature would be too high for the hot end of the engine!
Additional II: A plasma is an electrical conductor. I would think that even a cold plasma (1% ionization) has to be assessed. Perhaps a temperature near the ionization temperature of the gas would be good enough. Again, though, the plasma temperature would be too high. for the engine.
Only the very hot air mixed with air off the compressor module seems like a proposal to be investigated!
Recently Purchased:
| Powered by phpBay Pro |