The ATREX engine (Air Turbo Ramjet Engine with eXpander cycle) developed in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
is an experimental precooled
jet engine
A jet engine is a type of reaction engine, discharging a fast-moving jet (fluid), jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition may include Rocket engine, rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and ...
that works as a
turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
at low speeds and a
ramjet
A ramjet is a form of airbreathing jet engine that requires forward motion of the engine to provide air for combustion. Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around and can operate up to .
Ramjets can be particularly appropriat ...
up to
mach
The Mach number (M or Ma), often only Mach, (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a Boundary (thermodynamic), boundary to the local speed of sound.
It is named after the Austrian physi ...
6.0.
ATREX uses
liquid hydrogen
Liquid hydrogen () is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecule, molecular H2 form.
To exist as a liquid, H2 must be cooled below its critical point (thermodynamics), critical point of 33 Kelvins, ...
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, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. 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).
See also
*
RB545
HOTOL, for Horizontal Take-Off and Landing, was a 1980s British design for a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) spaceplane that was to be powered by an airbreathing jet engine. Development was being conducted by a consortium led by Rolls-Royce and Br ...
*
Skylon Skylon may refer to:
* Skylon (Festival of Britain), a landmark structure of the 1951 Festival of Britain
* Skylon (spacecraft)
Skylon was a series of concept designs for a reusable single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane by the British company React ...
References
External links
Official ATREX project site(English version, archived version, July 9, 2005)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atrex
Space program of Japan
Jet engines