ATREX
Encyclopedia
The ATREX engine developed in Japan
is an experimental precooled jet engine
that works as a turbojet at low speeds and a ramjet
up to mach
6.0.
ATREX uses liquid hydrogen fuel in a fairly exotic single-fan arrangement. The liquid hydrogen fuel is pumped through a heat exchanger in the air-intake, simultaneously heating the liquid hydrogen and cooling the incoming air. This cooling of the incoming air is critical in achieving a reasonable efficiency. The hydrogen then continues through a second heat exchanger positioned after the combustion
section, where the hot exhaust is used to further heat the hydrogen, turning it in a very high pressure gas. This gas is then passed through the tips of the fan providing driving power to the fan at subsonic speeds. After mixing with the air, the hydrogen is burned in the combustion chamber.
The development of this engine lost focus in favor of the new hypersonic precooled turbojet engine (PCTJ) .
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
is an experimental precooled jet engine
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
that works as a turbojet at low speeds and a ramjet
Ramjet
A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a stovepipe jet, or an athodyd, is a form of airbreathing jet engine using the engine's forward motion to compress incoming air, without a rotary compressor. Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed and thus cannot move an aircraft from a standstill...
up to mach
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
6.0.
ATREX uses liquid hydrogen fuel in a fairly exotic single-fan arrangement. The liquid hydrogen fuel is pumped through a heat exchanger in the air-intake, simultaneously heating the liquid hydrogen and cooling the incoming air. This cooling of the incoming air is critical in achieving a reasonable efficiency. The hydrogen then continues through a second heat exchanger positioned after the combustion
Combustion
Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
section, where the hot exhaust is used to further heat the hydrogen, turning it in a very high pressure gas. This gas is then passed through the tips of the fan providing driving power to the fan at subsonic speeds. After mixing with the air, the hydrogen is burned in the combustion chamber.
The development of this engine lost focus in favor of the new hypersonic precooled turbojet engine (PCTJ) .
External links
- Official ATREX project site (English version)
- Official ATREX project site (Japanese version)