JET ENGINES

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Water jet
Description
For propelling boats; squirts water out the back through a
nozzle
Advantages
Can run in shallow water, high acceleration, no risk of
engine overload unlike propellers!, less noise and vibration,
highl" maneuverable at all boat speeds, high speed
e#cienc", less vulnerable to damage from debris, ver"
reliable, more load $e%ibilit", less harmful to wildlife
Disadvantages
Can be less e#cient than a propeller at low speed, more
e%pensive, higher weight in boat due to entrained water, will
not perform well if boat is heavier than the &et is sized for
Motorjet
Description
'ost primitive air breathing &et engine( )ssentiall" a
supercharged piston engine with a &et e%haust
Advantages
Higher e%haust velocit" than a propeller, o*ering better
thrust at high speed
Disadvantages
Heav", ine#cient and underpowered( )%amples include+
Coand,-./.0 and Caproni Campini 1(.
Turbojet
Description
A tube with a compressor and turbine sharing a common
shaft with a burner in between and a propelling nozzle for
the e%haust( 2ses a high e%haust gas velocit" to produce
thrust( Has a much higher core $ow than b"pass t"pe
engines
Advantages
3implicit" of design, e#cient at supersonic speeds 4'5!
Disadvantages
A basic design, misses man" improvements in e#cienc" and
power for subsonic $ight, relativel" nois"
Turbofan
A turbofan is a t"pe of &et engine, similar to a turbo&et( 6t
essentiall" consists of a large ducted fan with a smaller
diameter turbo&et engine mounted behind it that provides
propulsion and also powers the fan( 7art of the airstream
from the ducted fan passes through the turbo&et, providing
o%"gen to burn fuel to power the turbo&et( 8ut part, usuall"
most, of the $ow b"passes the turbo&et, and is accelerated
b" turbine blades acting like a propeller( 9he combination of
these two processes produces thrust more e#cientl" than
other &et designs(:.;
A few designs work slightl" di*erentl" and have the fan
blades as a radial e%tension of an aft-mounted low-pressure
turbine unit(
9urbofans have a net e%haust speed that is much lower than
a turbo&et( 9his makes them much more e#cient at subsonic
speeds than turbo&ets, and somewhat more e#cient at
supersonic speeds up to roughl" 'ach .(<(
All of the &et engines used in currentl" manufactured
commercial &et aircraft are turbofans( 9he" are used
commerciall" mainl" because the" are highl" e#cient and
relativel" quiet in operation( 9urbofans are also used in
man" militar" &et aircraft(
Low-bypass Turbofan
Description
=ne- or two-stage fan added in front b"passes a proportion
of the air through a b"pass chamber surrounding the core(
Compared with its turbo&et ancestor, this allows for more
e#cient operation with somewhat less noise( 9his is the
engine of high-speed militar" aircraft, some smaller private
&ets, and older civilian airliners such as the 8oeing >0>, the
'cDonnell Douglas DC-?, and their derivatives
Advantages
As with the turbo&et, the design is aerod"namic, with onl" a
modest increase in diameter over the turbo&et required to
accommodate the b"pass fan and chamber( 6t is capable of
supersonic speeds with minimal thrust drop-o* at high
speeds and altitudes "et still more e#cient than the turbo&et
at subsonic operation
Disadvantages
1oisier and less e#cient than high-b"pass turbofan, with
less static 'ach 0! thrust( Added comple%it" to
accommodate dual shaft designs( 'ore ine#cient than a
turbo&et around '5 due to higher cross-sectional area
High-bypass Turbofan
Description
First stage compressor drasticall" enlarged to provide
b"pass air$ow around engine core, and it provides
signi@cant amounts of thrust( Compared to the low-b"pass
turbofan and no-b"pass turbo&et, the high-b"pass turbofan
works on the principle of moving a great deal of air
somewhat faster, rather than a small amount e%tremel"
fast( 'ost common form of &et engine in civilian use toda"-
used in airliners like the 8oeing >A>, most >B>s, and all
Airbus aircraft
Advantages
Cuieter due to greater mass $ow and lower total e%haust
speed, more e#cient for a useful range of subsonic
airspeeds for same reason, cooler e%haust temperature(
Dess nois" and e%hibit much better e#cienc" than low
b"pass turbofans
Disadvantages
Ereater comple%it" additional ducting, usuall" multiple
shafts! and the need to contain heav" blades( Fan diameter
can be e%tremel" large, especiall" in high b"pass turbofans
such as the E)/0( 'ore sub&ect to F=D and ice damage( 9op
speed is limited due to the potential for shockwaves to
damage engine( 9hrust lapse at higher speeds, which
necessitates huge diameters and introduces additional drag
Ro!et
Description
Carries all propellants and o%idants on-board, emits &et for
propulsion
Advantages
Fer" few moving parts, 'ach 0 to 'ach 5GH, e#cient at
ver" high speed I 'ach .0(0 or so!, thrust J weight ratio
over .00, no comple% air inlet, high compression ratio, ver"
high speed h"personic! e%haust, good cost J thrust ratio,
fairl" eas" to test, works in a vacuum-indeed works best
e%oatmospheric which is kinder on vehicle structure at high
speed, fairl" small surface area to keep cool, and no turbine
in hot e%haust stream
Disadvantages
1eeds lots of propellant- ver" low speci@c impulse K
t"picall" .00-AG0 seconds( )%treme thermal stresses of
combustion chamber can make reuse harder( 9"picall"
requires carr"ing o%idizer on-board which increases risks(
)%traordinaril" nois"
Ra"jet
Description
6ntake air is compressed entirel" b" speed of oncoming air
and duct shape divergent!, and then it goes through a
burner section where it is heated and then passes through a
propelling nozzle
Advantages
Fer" few moving parts, 'ach 0(? to 'ach GH, e#cient at
high speed I 'ach 5(0 or so!, lightest of all air-breathing
&ets thrust J weight ratio up to B0 at optimum speed!,
cooling much easier than turbo&ets as no turbine blades to
cool
Disadvantages
'ust have a high initial speed to function, ine#cient at slow
speeds due to poor compression ratio, di#cult to arrange
shaft power for accessories, usuall" limited to a small range
of speeds, intake $ow must be slowed to subsonic speeds,
nois", fairl" di#cult to test, @nick" to keep lit
Turboprop #Turboshaft si"i$ar%
Description
3trictl" not a &et at all K a gas turbine engine is used as a
powerplant to drive a propeller shaft or rotor in the case of
a helicopter!
Advantages
High e#cienc" at lower subsonic airspeeds B00 knots plus!,
high shaft power to weight
Disadvantages
Dimited top speed airplanes!, somewhat nois", comple%
transmission
&ropfan ' (n)ute) *an
Description
9urbo&et engine that also drives one or more propellers(
3imilar to a turbofan without the fan cowling
Advantages
Higher fuel e#cienc", potentiall" less nois" than turbofans,
could lead to higher-speed commercial aircraft, popular in
the ./?0s during fuel shortages
Disadvantages
Development of propfan engines has been ver" limited,
t"picall" noisier than turbofans, comple%it"
&u$sejet
Description
Air is compressed and combusted intermittentl" instead of
continuousl"( 3ome designs use valves
Advantages
Fer" simple design, commonl" used on model aircraft
Disadvantages
1ois", ine#cient low compression ratio!, works poorl" on a
large scale, valves on valved designs wear out quickl"
&u$se )etonation engine
Description
3imilar to a pulse&et, but combustion occurs as a detonation
instead of a de$agration, ma" or ma" not need valves
Advantages
'a%imum theoretical engine e#cienc"
Disadvantages
)%tremel" nois", parts sub&ect to e%treme mechanical
fatigue, hard to start detonation, not practical for current
use
+ir-aug"ente) ro!et
Description
)ssentiall" a ram&et where intake air is compressed and
burnt with the e%haust from a rocket
Advantages
'ach 0 to 'ach A(GH can also run e%oatmospheric!, good
e#cienc" at 'ach 5 to A
Disadvantages
3imilar e#cienc" to rockets at low speed or e%oatmospheric,
inlet di#culties, a relativel" undeveloped and une%plored
t"pe, cooling di#culties, ver" nois", thrust J weight ratio is
similar to ram&ets
Sra"jet
Description
3imilar to a ram&et without a di*user; air$ow through the
entire engine remains supersonic
Advantages
Few mechanical parts, can operate at ver" high 'ach
numbers 'ach ? to .G! with good e#ciencies
Disadvantages
3till in development stages, must have a ver" high initial
speed to function 'ach I<!, cooling di#culties, ver" poor
thrust J weight ratio 45!, e%treme aerod"namic comple%it",
airframe di#culties, testing di#culties J e%pense
Turboro!et
Description
A turbo&et where an additional o%idizer such as o%"gen is
added to the airstream to increase ma%imum altitude
Advantages
Fer" close to e%isting designs, operates in ver" high
altitude, wide range of altitude and airspeed
Disadvantages
Airspeed limited to same range as turbo&et engine, carr"ing
o%idizer like D=L can be dangerous( 'uch heavier than
simple rockets
&reoo$e) jets ' L+,E
Description
6ntake air is chilled to ver" low temperatures at inlet in a
heat e%changer before passing through a ram&et and J or
turbo&et and J or rocket engine
Advantages
)asil" tested on ground( Fer" high thrust J weight ratios are
possible 4.A! together with good fuel e#cienc" over a
wide range of airspeeds, mach 0-G(GH; this combination of
e#ciencies ma" permit launching to orbit, single stage, or
ver" rapid, ver" long distance intercontinental travel
Disadvantages
)%ists onl" at the lab protot"ping stage( )%amples include
M8GAG, 3A8M), A9M)L( Mequires liquid h"drogen fuel which
has ver" low densit" and heavil" insulated tankage