Bringing the pulsejet engine into the 21st century
Last Updated: 21 May, 2002
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Objectives The goal of the X-Jet project is the design and development of an advanced pulsed-combustion jet engine which matches or exceeds the performance of similarly sized turbojet engines and can be manufactured at a significantly lower price. The target market for these engines is primarily that of remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs), target drones and the other forms of unmanned aircraft increasingly used by the military. Supplementary markets include recreational and civil appliations where low cost, modest power levels (up to 500lbs thrust) and high efficiency are important criteria.
Background During the past decade, the application of pulsating combustion to the design of jet engines has gathered renewed momentum, with a number of US government and privately funded development programs currently underway. All of these projects are aimed at producing an extremely advanced and technically complex design known as a Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE). So far most of the research has been confined to laboratory based combustion analysis and modeling with a view to obtaining an exceptionally powerful type of combustion known as a detonation. Many millions of dollars have already been poured into the development of the PDE because it offers the promise of an engine that is significantly more efficient than existing turbojets and which is capable of propelling vehicles at supersonic speeds. However, should the research into the PDE actually produce a working design, such an engine will likely be as complex and expensive to manufacture as a modern-day turbojet engine. By comparison, the X-Jet is designed to produce a more modest level of performance at a significantly lower cost (less than 10% that of the equivalent turbojet) -- making it imminently suitable for a wide variety of rolls such as powering remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs), target drones, cruise missiles, ultralight aircraft, etc. Anyone seeking further information on the X-Jet project is welcome to contact me
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