These snippets might be interesting:
The final amount of cooling is dependent on the temperature of the heat sink used in the test. “In the current campaign, we rejected heat to a water boiler; the test done several years back in the UK rejected heat to a liquid nitrogen boiler,” he notes. “The ultimate choice for a flight system as to what temperature you cool the air down to is an integrated trade study depending on the application. Our current thoughts are that for either Sabre or precooled jet engines, you would likely not need to cool down to cryogenic temperatures.”
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For high-speed turbojet applications in the nearer term, the HTX significantly reduces compressor delivery temperature (T3). This maintains sea-level conditions in front of the compressor over a wider range of speeds, thus maximizing net thrust. For space access applications, the HTX will pass chilled air to a turbo-compressor and into a rocket thrust chamber, where it will be burned with subcooled liquid hydrogen fuel.
Reaction Engines is now conducting a detailed examination of the HTX prior to assembling updated versions more tailor-made for testing with jet engines—though this time in front of the engine rather than sitting in its exhaust. “We’d like to apply the learning from this test to see what can be done for precooled propulsion next,” says Dissel. “We are very interested in the ability to enable a fast jet engine and to be able to demonstrate that here on the ground and then transition that to flight-test opportunities. That’s the next progression, and this buys down a major risk element of the Sabre engine.”
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For an initial step, Reaction is studying the relatively small GE J85. “That’s our candidate at the moment. If we can show a jet engine operating at 20-40% past its design point, that would help prove the value proposition as quickly as possible,” he adds. The current precooler is sized for airflow rates of around 30 lb./sec. making it suitable for such an engine.
In the UK, where work is underway toward testing the core of the Sabre engine in 2021, Reaction is also starting an effort to evaluate the precooler with a Eurojet EJ200 under a £10 million ($13 million) project announced in July by the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Rapid Capability Office. The project, which also involves BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, is intended to inform engine studies for Britain’s future combat aircraft, the Tempest.
The RAF says the effort could also lead to lower costs both in terms of purchase and maintenance, a key focus of Britain’s Future Combat Air System Technology Initiative to research and develop new technologies that can be injected into UK Eurofighter Typhoons and Lockheed Martin F-35s as well as potentially feature in a future Typhoon replacement in the 2030s.