GE announces breakthrough in hypersonic ramjet propulsion

General Electric Aerospace (GEA), a leading American aerospace and defence company, has announced a breakthrough in the field of hypersonic propulsion by successfully testing its hypersonic ramjet engine at its research centre in Niskayuna, New York.

The hypersonic ramjet engine utilizes revolutionary rotating detonation combustion (RDC) technology, which is capable of significantly enhancing the efficiency and performance of hypersonic vehicles. It is believed that “this could help enable high-speed, long-range flight with increased efficiency” due to the ramjet’s improved propulsion.

A typical air-breathing ramjet propulsion system can only begin operating when the vehicle achieves supersonic speeds greater than Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound.

GEA engineers are working on an RDC-enabled ramjet that can operate at lower Mach numbers, enabling a flight vehicle to operate more efficiently and achieve a longer range. GE explains that they plan to demonstrate a full-scale version of this system next year.

Hypersonic refers to aerial objects—including aircraft, missiles, rockets, and spacecraft—that can reach speeds through the atmosphere greater than Mach 5, which is nearly 4,000 miles per hour (6437 km/h).

Typically, air-breathing DMRJ propulsion systems require supersonic speeds of over Mach 3 to get going. However, GE Aerospace engineers are developing a rotating detonation-enabled dual-mode ramjet that can work more efficiently at lower Mach speeds.

Last year, GE Aerospace acquired Innoveering, a company specializing in hypersonic propulsion. GE Aerospace has combined its RDC and high Mach R&D expertise with Innoveering’s dual-mode ramjet engine capabilities.

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RDC technology enables more efficient fuel combustion using detonation waves, resulting in higher thrust generation, smaller engine size, and lighter weight than traditional jet engines.

A rotating detonation engine (RDE) is similar to a pulse detonation engine (PDE), such as that famously employed on the German V1 “Doodlebug” flying bombs from World War 2. However, the key difference is that while a PDE requires the chambers to be purged after each pulsed detonation, in an RDE, the waves cycle around the combustion chamber, making the process self-sustaining.

Mark Rettig, Vice President and General Manager of Edison Works Business and Technology Development at GE Aerospace stated that the successful development, integration, and demonstration of GE’s technologies and capabilities would enable them to offer unique hypersonic propulsion systems to their customers both currently and in the future.

“We have assembled the right expertise, with the right capabilities, and invested strategically to ensure we are aligned very closely with the needs of our customers. The significant results we have had to date give us confidence that we are moving in the right direction,” Rettig said.

Rettig also said that the GE team has made significant progress in a short amount of time. It only took 12 months to complete the DMRJ with the RDC demonstration. The team is currently working towards demonstrating a full DMRJ with RDC at scale next year and is on track to achieve its goal.