PUBLISHER: Aviation & Defense Market Reports (A&D) | PRODUCT CODE: 1383244
PUBLISHER: Aviation & Defense Market Reports (A&D) | PRODUCT CODE: 1383244
Following Germany's surrender in 1945, significant wartime discoveries and advancements were revealed. General Electric and another American engine manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney, helped Whittle and other British designers by incorporating German teachings. Early jet engines, such as the ME 262, drank a lot of gasoline. As a result, the first challenge was to build an engine that could generate a lot of thrust while using very little fuel.
Pratt & Whitney solved this problem in 1948 by combining two engines into one. The engine had two compressors that rotated independently, with the inner one providing high compression for optimal performance.
In the early 2000s, advancements in fighter engine technology stalled. Engineers discovered that extracting even minor gains in thrust or range from fighter turbofan designs was difficult. Adaptive technology, which adds a third stream of airflow to the engine and allows it to be adjusted, provided a method for speeding up the development of new engines.
Advanced technologies such as hydrogen propulsion, open fan architecture, and hybrid electric engines will also be among the key upcoming aircraft engine technologies. Alternative technology development is not limited to civilian applications such as Urban Air Mobility or other commercial aircraft; military aircraft have always had a strong desire for greater electrification.
Electric propulsion may have a greater positive impact on airplane design than previously anticipated. While directly replacing ICEs with electric motors may provide advantages such as simplicity, reliability, reduced noise, and lower maintenance costs, significantly greater advantages can be realized by leveraging the unique integration capabilities of electric-propulsion systems within the airframe. The ability of the EMs to be scaled down without significant loss of efficiency, as well as the relative ease of distribution of electric power within the aircraft, is a distinct advantage.