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Technology update
Concepts selected for NASA aeronautics project
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Once developed, the Pulse Detonation Engine will be test flown on-board a NASA SR-71 Blackbird and fired to a speed of Mach 3.
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Three advanced aeronautical concepts were selected by NASA for its Revolutionary Concepts (REVCON) project, which encourages the development of ideas that could lead to revolutionary experimental planes. The selected concepts are AeroCraft, a piloted, partially buoyant airship; the Blended Wing Body, a powered, remote-piloted flying wing; and the Pulse Detonation Engine, a design geared toward lower maintenance and operating costs.
AeroCraft concept is designed to serve markets such as cargo transportation that require transportation faster than ocean freight, but cheaper than airfreight. Project partners include project leader Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, CA; NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA; and MicroCraft in Tullahoma, TN. Lockheed Martin Skunkworks in Palmdale, CA, and American Blimp Company in Hillsboro, OR, also support the program. Proposed flight experiments for the $10 million project will be conducted using a scale model of AeroCraft at Dryden in 2001.
How the PDE works
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The Blended Wing Body (BWB) research aircraft is designed to improve fuel efficiency, maximum takeoff weight, and direct operating costs for commercial carriers, which in turn could translate into lower costs for airline customers. The project is a partnership between NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA; Dryden; Ames; and Boeing Phantom Works in Long Beach, CA. First flight of the aircraft is scheduled for 2002. Funding for this project totals $1.5 million.
The Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE) project, which is described by NASA as a revolutionary approach to future high-speed jet propulsion, will cost $9.6 million. Its design will provide higher propulsion efficiency and simplicity using significantly fewer parts, resulting in lower maintenance and direct operating costs. The PDE operates by producing thrust from the pressure rise due to detonation waves. It repeats the air-fuel intake, detonation, expansion, and exhaust processes at a very high rate. The engine will be tested in a wind tunnel at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, OH. At Dryden, the system will be flown onboard a F-15B research aircraft for "cold flow" (non-combusting) test of critical PDE components - the inlet, air induction valve, and nozzle. It will eventually be attached to an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft and fired to a speed of Mach 3. The live-fire tests are scheduled for 2002.
As envisioned, the BWB wingspan would be 67 feet wider than a Boeing 747-400, which would still allow use of existing runways and taxiways.
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These three concepts will become the first elements of the project to use the ongoing flight research program at Dryden. The project also seeks to advance traditional approaches to aerospace technology and create methods to reduce development and certification time for new aircraft and flight systems. As these projects progress, NASA's Office of Aero-Space Technology will issue research announcements to solicit new ideas for future REVCON selections.
Frank Bokulich
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