The Theory and Operation of the Afterburner
Abstract
The afterburner is a propulsion process of the aircraft engine through the provision of thrust power purposely for speedy take-off and combat of certain conditions. The primary purpose is to augment the central performance of the jet engine to facilitate quick flights, rise and combat conditions. The afterburner dates back in the World War II times of collaboration of Germany, and American engineers. They reasoned together on how to increase the thrust of the then less powered aircraft engines without the inclusion of extra weight.
The operations of the afterburner are highly sensitive to make up with even though its design is simple. The main challenge of service is the maintenance of flame stability as the ignition process takes place in the course of air eviction from the turbines direct to the afterburner. Some engineers argue that the jet engines are reaction form of engines which performs through the disposition of mass from one direction and profiting from the other direction. The afterburner generally provides a constant rise of the engine’s thrust except for complexity and weight.
Introduction
Almost every jet engine possesses the reheat component that mainly gets associated with military aircraft. It serves a significant role in propulsion of the aircraft engine through the provision of thrust power purposely for speedy take-off and during combat certain conditions. The process takes place once the fuel is induced in the turbine by use of the downstream jet pipes. Once the fuel gets burned, it raises the thrust with the exclusion of the engine weight. However, the fuel consumed is highly costly and less efficient, thus hindering minimal bursts in practice.
The afterburner theory
Following the long-standing issues of ratio balance between the heavyweight to thrust and hindered power rates of aircraft engines, the American navy comes up with the design of an afterburner. The essential purpose was to augment the primary performance of the jet engine to facilitate quick flights, rise and combat conditions. That was accomplished by the introduction of extra fuel in the engine’s turbine and ignite it close to the stoichiometric situation. Benningfield 2007 states that the process can inject thrust with a 30-36 per cent at flight within 25,000-30,000 altitudes. That promises a 70% performance.
The initiative was officially beginning in 1946, and in two years the project was launched successfully through concurrent tests using the Navy jet. The origin of the idea got drawn following the break of the world war II, and every nation sought out a means to combat their situation. The war brought about the mutual engagement and sharing of idea between the countries. The agreement on production of a super performing aircraft seemed to dominate the American Navy. The complete information on how to come about with the improved aircraft engine got passed to the USA government. However, some researchers argue that the idea dominated by the British of whom never executed it.
The major thrust and catalytic flame embodied with constant pop sound make up the afterburner. The afterburner gets dated back in the World War II collaboration of Germany, and American engineers who reasoned together on how to increase the thrust of the then less powered aircraft engines without the inclusion of extra weight. After the American tests, decades now the afterburner has been employed to enhance supersonic speeds up-to-date.
Operation
Once a jet requires an extra boost to launch through the carrier of the aircraft, release tactical weapons, or uplift performance, it employs the afterburner. An ordinary plane, specifically a jet’s engine consumes an optimal amount of oxygen it takes in and produce massive potential power. The afterburner which gets extended behind of the jet’s engine takes in the oxygen remaining and joins it with the jet fuel, passed through the exhaustion stream at supersonic speed and the gets ignited by the turbine. The resultant flame shoots the back opening at the back of the jet’s engine, therefore, offering an extra thrust and speed.
The boost sizes typically differ. For instance, the Olympus engines have afterburners used to power the Concorde jet provided approximately 17% thrust of the engine, suggest Benningfield 2007. The modern jets that get used in the military zone possesses engines thrust rise range from 50% to 70%. Inefficiency is one of the characteristics of a hallmark afterburner engine. The engine usually consumes a lot of fuel that is not proportional to the amount of the performance produced. In most cases, the pilots in operations have limited use on it; they are hindering their overall performance in sensitive missions.
The operations of the afterburner are highly sensitive to make up with despite its simple design from the lookout. The main difficulty of service is the maintenance of flame stability as the ignition process happens in the course of air eviction from the turbines direct to the afterburner. In the process of ignition, the fuel gets into few tiny tubes that are circular surrounding the engine. The cells contain many holes that help to spray the fuel into the air chambers and get ignited sparks produced by an electronic device within the engine.
In the process of ignition, a lot of care gets advised that the fuel spraying, which is always at high speed, it does not cause tailpipe removal. That is because the process is never fully assured success if a minor error transpires. The afterburner’s axis gets built to provide passage channel of the flame produced after ignition. The stability of the blaze gets enhanced through keen addition of fuel into the tubes, and the jet pipe ends. At the end of the jet pipes, the exhausted gases flow steadily out of the engine in a flame form once the air and fuel combine.
Some technicians argue that the jet engines are reaction form of engines which performs through the disposition of mass from one side and profiting from the other side. The air used to burn the fuel in the engines usually come from the atmosphere where the burned fuel expands the atmospheric air, which eventually pops out of the exhaust back and forms a thrust. Currently, the turbines are used to enhance the efficiency required with the engine working at low weight and pace, suggest Sohn and Park 2015. That gets enhanced by the oxygen available in the stream.
Conclusion
The most prominent profitability of the afterburner is the provision of the constant rise of the engine’s thrust except for complexity and weight. The whole process gets reduced by injection of fuel in the engine, several tubes and a holder where the fuel burns, and electronic sparkers that ignite it. However, the driver takes in a lot of fuel which is costly. In that case, the jets or rockets fly often and consume the fuel sparingly.
References
Benningfield D. (2007) How Things Work: Afterburners. Retrieved June 4, 2020, from https://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/how-things-work-afterburners
Halliwell I. & Kurzke J. (2018) Component performance
Shaija A., Rao G.S. (2019) Computational Analysis of Reacting Flows in Afterburner
Sohn H.C., Park J. (2015) Characteristics of flow and thrust variations in a jet engine with a variable area nozzle. Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology