Nasa is building a super-efficient turboelectric plane

Nasa is developing a hybrid jetliner harvests air flowing along the body of the plane to create power.

The futuristic jet could have more thrust with 10 per cent increase in efficiency, paving the way for the next generation of super-efficient air travel, experts claim.

This will allow it to travel farther than traditional planes with the same amount of fuel.  

With this new design, which is due to enter early-stage testing in the coming months, the fan collects the air accelerates it and in doing so generates additional propulsion.

Nasa is developing a plane with turboelectric propulsion that harvests air flowing along the body of the plane to create power

HOW DOES THE STARC-ABL CONCEPT WORK?

Wing-mounted engines supply 80 per cent of the thrust required during take-off and 55 per cent at cruise.

The tail-mounted all-electric (boundary-layer ingesting) BLI turbofan accounts for the remaining thrust.

In a conventional aircraft air clings to the body of the plane. 

However, with this new design the fan collects the air, accelerates it and turns it into thrust which is what gives it its edge, writes New Atlas.

To power the fan, two smaller engines provide thrust and electricity. 

Researchers predict a potential fuel consumption improvement of roughly 10 percent using this innovative system.

The STARC-ABL concept, developed by NASA’s Jim Felder and Jason Welstead, is under consideration as one of NASA’s future experimental ‘X-planes’.

It looks similar to the proven tube-and-wing aircraft you see every day.

But, unlike those aircraft, a significant amount of electrical power, approximately three megawatts, is used for turboelectric propulsion.

Wing-mounted engines supply 80 per cent of the thrust required during take-off and 55 per cent at cruise. 

The tail-mounted all-electric (boundary-layer ingesting) BLI turbofan accounts for the remaining thrust. 

In a conventional aircraft air clings to the body of the plane, writesNew Atlas, but with this new design air is transformed into power.  

To drive the fan, two smaller engines provide thrust and electricity.

With the addition of the rear motor, the wing-mountain engines can be smaller as they don’t need to generate as much thrust.

With the addition of the rear motor, the wing-mountain engines (pictured) can be smaller as they don't need to generate as much thrust

With the addition of the rear motor, the wing-mountain engines (pictured) can be smaller as they don’t need to generate as much thrust

Smaller engines weigh less and produce less drag, reducing the amount of fuel required.

Researchers predict a potential fuel consumption improvement of roughly 10 percent using this innovative system.

An early concept of the STARC-ABL plane is going to be tested in the next few months at Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. 

Wing-mounted engines supply 80 per cent of the thrust required during take-off and 55 per cent at cruise. The tail-mounted all-electric (boundary-layer ingesting) BLI turbofan (pictured) accounts for the remaining thrust

Wing-mounted engines supply 80 per cent of the thrust required during take-off and 55 per cent at cruise. The tail-mounted all-electric (boundary-layer ingesting) BLI turbofan (pictured) accounts for the remaining thrust

In a conventional aircraft air clings to the body of the plane but with this new design air is transformed into power. To drive the fan (pictured), two smaller engines provide thrust

In a conventional aircraft air clings to the body of the plane but with this new design air is transformed into power. To drive the fan (pictured), two smaller engines provide thrust

This is part of Nasa’s New Aviation Horizons initiative to reduce fuel consumption, emissions and noise.

To provide better efficiency with less noise and fewer emissions, Nasa is also set to develop unique vehicle concepts that will use different fuselage shapes; longer, skinnier and more blended wings. 

‘I feel we are at a tipping point in commercial aviation,’ said Jim Heidmann, manager of NASA’s Advanced Air Transport Technology Project (AATT).

The STARC-ABL concept, developed by NASA's Jim Felder and Jason Welstead, is under consideration as one of NASA's future experimental 'X-planes'

The STARC-ABL concept, developed by NASA’s Jim Felder and Jason Welstead, is under consideration as one of NASA’s future experimental ‘X-planes’

An early concept of the STARC-ABL plane is going to be tested in the next few months at Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio

An early concept of the STARC-ABL plane is going to be tested in the next few months at Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio

‘We are exploring and developing game-changing technologies and concepts for aircraft and propulsion systems that can dramatically improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact and accelerate the introduction of new aircraft.’ 

In June Nasa announced it could begin work on its supersonic X-plane as early as next year.

The Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) low-boom flight demonstrator aims to produce a much lower ‘boom’ than other supersonic aircraft, and NASA is hoping to see the first flight tests take place in 2021, according to Aviation Week.

Lockheed Martin has been working on the preliminary design, with hopes to move on to build the demonstrator, but NASA has now opened the door for other companies to submit their own designs as well. 

The Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) low-boom flight demonstrator aims to produce a much lower 'boom' than other supersonic aircraft, and NASA is hoping to see the first flight tests take place in 2021

The Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) low-boom flight demonstrator aims to produce a much lower ‘boom’ than other supersonic aircraft, and NASA is hoping to see the first flight tests take place in 2021

QUIET SUPERSONIC TRANSPORT

QueSST is designed to fly at Mach 1.4, 55,000 feet above the ground.

The aircraft is shaped to separate the shocks and expansions associated with supersonic flight to reduce the volume of the shaped signature, and was developed by Lockheed’s Skunk Works over 20 years.

Recent research has shown it is possible for a supersonic airplane to be shaped in such a way that the shock waves it forms when flying faster than the speed of sound can generate a sound at ground level so quiet it will hardly will be noticed by the public, if at all.

The space agency is hoping to achieve a sonic boom 60 dBA lower than other supersonic aircraft, such as the Anglo-French Concorde, according to Aviation Week. 

The space agency is hoping to achieve a sonic boom 60 dBA lower than other supersonic aircraft, such as Concorde, according to Aviation Week. 

The space agency is looking for plans to develop, build, and flight test an X-plane, and will award a contract in 2018. 

Lockheed Martin, however, is hoping to secure the top spot.

‘We are ready to go on building that demonstrator,’ said Rob Weiss, Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs executive vice president and general manager, at the AIAA Aviation 2017 forum, Aviation Week reports.

‘We feel we have a technological advantage in the amount of investment we have made in the tools and the vehicle itself.’

It’s been decades since NASA has worked on a manned supersonic X-plane, and after the contract is awarded in 2018, the winning team will undergo critical design review in 2019 to bring the plan closer to life.

Then, the agency plans to see the first flight tests in the first quarter of 2021.

For the most part, the demonstrator tests will take place across two phases at the Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, and culminating at the base housing at Edwards AFB. 

Lockheed Martin has put forward a preliminary design of the low-boom demonstrator concept. The space agency is looking for plans to develop, build, and flight test an X-plane, and will award a contract in 2018

Lockheed Martin has put forward a preliminary design of the low-boom demonstrator concept. The space agency is looking for plans to develop, build, and flight test an X-plane, and will award a contract in 2018

The first will focus on aircraft build, checkout, and supersonic flight envelope expansion set for late 2021, followed by efforts focusing on low-boom acoustic validation, according to Aviation Week.

Then, in 2022, researchers will assess the ground signature of the demonstrator, and the effects on atmospheric and flight conditions from the boom.

According to Aviation Week, NASA is hoping the low-boom X-plane will support changes in FAA regulations, to allow supersonic flight over land. 

THE PLANE THAT FLEW PASSENGERS FROM LONDON TO NY IN THREE-AND-A-HALF HOURS

Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger jet that was operated until 2003. 

It had a maximum speed over twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 k per hour at cruise altitude) and could seat 92 to 128 passengers.

Twenty aircraft were built including six prototypes and development aircraft.

Twenty aircraft were built including six prototypes and development aircraft

It was first flown in 1969, but needed further tests to establish it as viable as a commercial aircraft.

Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued flying for the next 27 years.

It is one of only two supersonic transports to have been operated commercially. 

The other is the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144, which ran for a much shorter period of time before it was grounded and retired due to safety and budget issues.

Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) under an Anglo-French treaty. Concorde’s name, meaning harmony or union, reflects the cooperation on the project between the United Kingdom and France. 

In the UK, any or all of the type are known simply as ‘Concorde’, without an article. 

Twenty aircraft were built including six prototypes and development aircraft.

Air France (AF) and British Airways (BA) each received seven aircraft. The research and development failed to make a profit and the two airlines bought the aircraft at a huge discount.

Concorde was retired in 2003 due to a general downturn in the commercial aviation industry after the type’s only crash in 2000, the September 11 attacks in 2001, and a decision by Airbus, the successor to Aérospatiale and BAC, to discontinue maintenance support.

Mechanical technician Dan Pitts prepares a nine percent scale model of Lockheed Martin¿s Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) X-plane preliminary design for its first high-speed wind tunnel tests at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The plane is being build by Lockheed Martin based of a 'silent boom' design perfected by Lockheed's Skunk Works over 20 years

Mechanical technician Dan Pitts prepares a nine percent scale model of Lockheed Martin’s Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) X-plane preliminary design for its first high-speed wind tunnel tests at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The plane is being build by Lockheed Martin based of a ‘silent boom’ design perfected by Lockheed’s Skunk Works over 20 years

 

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