Military Aviation Industry: News

Tupolev Design Bureau solved the problem of airframe heating when flying at hypersonic speeds
04.11.2023

PJSC Tupolev has patented a hypersonic aircraft with a combined power plant, including two turbojet engines running on jet fuel and another one on cryogenic fuel. About it reports TASS with reference to the description of the invention to the patent.

The invention is designed to solve the problem of airframe heating when flying at supersonic and hypersonic speeds, caused by the interaction of external surfaces with the oncoming air flow.

“When a turbojet engine using cryogenic fuel operates, the aircraft accelerates to hypersonic speed. At the same time, due to the increased friction of the outer parts of the airframe with the air, they are intensively heated and to continue a long flight at hypersonic speed they need to be cooled. For this purpose, cryogenic fuel is supplied from the tank through pipelines to the hottest parts of the aircraft airframe and engine, as a result of which intensive gasification of cryogenic fuel occurs in the pipelines. This process is endothermic in nature, in which heat is absorbed from the heated parts of the aircraft airframe and engine. The heated cryogenic fuel turns into gaseous form and is fed into the engine combustion chamber and afterburner to create thrust,” the description explains.

In a hypersonic aircraft, thermally stable T-6 or T-8B grade fuel can be used as aviation kerosene, and liquefied natural gas or liquefied hydrogen can be used as cryogenic fuel.

Among the authors of the invention is Honored Designer of Russia Valery Benderov, who in 2012-2019 served as program director - chief designer of the multifunctional flight modeling complex (LMK-214), leading design engineer at the Tupolev Design Bureau.

https://aviation21.ru/okb-tupoleva-reshilo-problemu-nagreva-planera-pri-polyote-na-giperzvukovyx-skorostyax/