China's breakthrough engine could make global flights in 1 hour
Chinese scientists have successfully tested a new detonation engine using kerosene, which could revolutionize air travel. With these promising first tests complete, they estimate that creating a passenger airplane capable of flying anywhere within an hour could be feasible in the next few years.
Chinese scientists announced the success of testing an innovative engine that uses classic aviation kerosene as fuel, potentially transforming air travel. The advanced engine allows flights at speeds of up to Mach 16, equivalent to 12,427 mph, and could reduce intercontinental travel time to merely half an hour.
A new era in aviation
This detonation engine generates a shock wave that reaches speeds faster than sound through rapid bursts of fuel mixture. Chinese researchers successfully overcame a key challenge: transitioning to a safer and more common aviation kerosene, which is difficult to detonate. To initiate the necessary explosions, they introduced a special protrusion into the chamber.
Initial tests of the prototype Yunxing airplane conducted by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences were successful. The team, led by Han Xin from the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained that the shock wave compresses and ignites the mixture, forming a powerful explosion front.
The airplane withstood extreme conditions during a flight in the JF-12 Tunnel in Beijing, which simulated a complete high-speed environment. Results published in the "Journal of Experiments in Fluid Mechanics" indicated that this engine is a thousand times more efficient in combustion than competing ramjet systems for hypersonic speeds.
The future of air travel
The development prospects for passenger airplanes using this technology are promising. At speeds of up to Mach 16, these airplanes could become a reality within the next decade, once challenges related to the temperatures affecting the surfaces of hypersonic vehicles are addressed. Additionally, the new engine, with a combustion chamber 85 percent shorter than those in scramjet engines, reduces the structure's mass and may increase flight range.
In tests conducted in the JF-12 aerodynamic tunnel in Beijing, the engine achieved speeds of over Mach 5. The shock wave resulting from ultra-rapid explosions provides powerful thrust, and the engine's construction is simpler and lighter than that of other technologies.
Chinese researchers aim to develop a passenger airplane capable of reaching any global location within an hour by 2030. At a speed of Mach 16, a journey from Shanghai to Los Angeles could take just half an hour. If integrated into military technology, it could enable the development of a new generation of missiles, drones, and bombers, potentially offering a strategic advantage in future conflicts.
