Heat exchanger development at Reaction Engines Ltd.

Varvill, Richard

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2009.11.010

Cited by 86 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…The following operating conditions are considered in this study: The helium outlet temperature of PC is limited to 950K due to material temperature limitations (9,10,21) . The pressure ratio of AirC is derived based on the air outlet pressure after the compression, which is set to 145 bar (8) . The pressure of He entering the PC is approximately 200 bar (21,35) . The helium inlet temperature of HeT remains constant through the whole air-breathing ascent at a value of 1080K (28,29) . The targeted net thrust at a flight speed of Mach 5 and an altitude of 25km is set to 1050kN (8,29,33) . …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The analytical calculation of the parameters of the heat exchangers, in terms of heat transfer and pressure drop, is not the main focus of this study. Thus, for the pre-cooler, a pressure drop of about 0.5 bar is assumed based on the literature (35) and the conservation of energy transferred between helium and air is applied. The performance of heat exchangers number 3 and 4 is calculated in the same way.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…• The pressure ratio of AirC is derived based on the air outlet pressure after the compression, which is set to 145 bar (8) . • The pressure of He entering the PC is approximately 200 bar (21,35) .…”

Section: Core Component-level Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Multi-platform app-embedded model for hybrid air-breathing rocket-cycle engine in hypersonic atmospheric ascent

Tsentis¹,

Gkoutzamanis²,

Gaitanis³

et al. 2021

Aeronaut. j.

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This paper presents a performance analysis on a novel engine concept, currently under development, in order to achieve hybrid air-breathing rocket technology. A component-level approach has been developed to simulate the performance of the engine at Mach 5, and the thermodynamic interaction of the different working fluids has been analysed. The bypass ramjet duct has also been included in the model. This facilitates the improved evaluation of performance parameters. The impact of ram drag induced by the intake of the engine has also been demonstrated. The whole model is introduced into a multi-platform application for aeroengine simulation to make it accessible to the interested reader. Results show that the bypass duct modelling increases the overall efficiency by approximately 7%. The model calculates the specific impulse at approximately 1800 seconds, which is 4 times higher than any chemical rocket.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-platform app-embedded model for hybrid air-breathing rocket-cycle engine in hypersonic atmospheric ascent

Tsentis¹,

Gkoutzamanis²,

Gaitanis³

et al. 2021

Aeronaut. j.

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“…33,34,35 This technology is essential in order to significantly expand the operational envelope of conventional turbine engines by pre-cooling hot ram-compressed air at high speeds. The operation of turbine engines at up to M ∞ ~ 5.5 and a combination of air-breathing and rocket propulsions as accomplished in SABRE will lead to a revolutionary change in the mode of propulsion for space transportation.…”

Section: Rationale and Objectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Skylon Aerodynamics and SABRE Plumes

Mehta¹,

Aftosmis²,

Bowles³

et al. 2015

20th AIAA International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference

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An independent partial assessment is provided of the technical viability of the Skylon aerospace plane concept, developed by Reaction Engines Limited (REL). The objectives are to verify REL's engineering estimates of airframe aerodynamics during powered flight and to assess the impact of Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE) plumes on the aft fuselage. Pressure lift and drag coefficients derived from simulations conducted with Euler equations for unpowered flight compare very well with those REL computed with engineering methods. The REL coefficients for powered flight are increasingly less acceptable as the freestream Mach number is increased beyond 8.5, because the engineering estimates did not account for the increasing favorable (in terms of drag and lift coefficients) effect of underexpanded rocket engine plumes on the aft fuselage. At Mach numbers greater than 8.5, the thermal environment around the aft fuselage is a known unknown−a potential design and/or performance risk issue. The adverse effects of shock waves on the aft fuselage and plumeinduced flow separation are other potential risks. The development of an operational reusable launcher from the Skylon concept necessitates the judicious use of a combination of engineering methods, advanced methods based on required physics or analytical fidelity, test data, and independent assessments. Nomenclature SymbolsA t = nozzle throat area A e = nozzle exit area C L = pressure lift coefficient C D = pressure drag coefficient C z = pressure moment around z-axis F x = pressure force in x-direction, the direction from nose to tail of Skylon F y = pressure force in y-direction, the vertical direction F z = pressure force in z-direction, the span-wise direction h = altitude J = objective function M ∞ = freestream Mach number M j = Jet Mach number at nozzle exit m a = airflow rate m f = fuel flow rate m e = mass flow rate at nozzle exit p ∞ = freestream pressure P 1t = total pressure at the exit of combustion chamber P e = static pressure at nozzle exit T 1t = total temperature at the exit of combustion chamber T e = static temperature at nozzle exit T rec = freestream recovery temperature T tot = freestream total temperature V e = velocity at nozzle exit

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“…Heat exchangers of jet engines with intercooling and recuperation, among others investigated by (Kwan et al, 2011), (Misirlis et al, 2017) and (Gonser, 2008), operate at large heat transfer rates of several MW, as well as precoolers of air-breathing engines for hypersonic flight, cf. (Varvill, 2008) and (Nacke et al 2011). However, they operate at much larger temperatures, densities and temperature differences, hence the technology transfer to fuel cell cooling is not straight forward.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat Release of Fuel Cell Powered Aircraft

Kožulović¹

2020

Proceedings of Global Power &Amp; Propulsion Society

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Using a hydrogen fuel cell as primary power supply for the aircraft propulsion system, the heat dumping poses a large challenge, since the generated heat transfer rate is of the same magnitude as the electric power generated. An appropriate liquid cooling system and corresponding heat exchanger are sized in a preliminary manner and their impact at the aircraft performance is assessed, among others the additional power demand and weight, but in particular the additional drag of the heat exchanger. These results can be considered as first order estimations. It is found that the propulsive power demand of a mid-size commercial aircraft is increased by 27.3% at cruise flight by installing a suitable heat exchanger. Corresponding dimensions are sized and favourable parameters of the heat exchanger are estimated. For example, best performance is achieved if the inlet velocity to the heat exchanger is reduced to 15% of the flight velocity, the diameter based Reynolds number of the heat transferring tubes is 3100, the length of the tubes is 0.217 m and the frontal area is 84% of the fuselage cross section. Due to large frontal area, the integration of the heat exchanger has been identified as a demanding task with considerable impact at the additional drag.

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Heat exchanger development at Reaction Engines Ltd.

Cited by 86 publications

References 0 publications

Multi-platform app-embedded model for hybrid air-breathing rocket-cycle engine in hypersonic atmospheric ascent

Multi-platform app-embedded model for hybrid air-breathing rocket-cycle engine in hypersonic atmospheric ascent

Skylon Aerodynamics and SABRE Plumes

Heat Release of Fuel Cell Powered Aircraft

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