There is some advanced stuff out there, including this stuff that
recently surfaced in the press about "Blackstar" a 2-stage to orbit
system that has apparently been in operation for several years. There
is also the liquid methane-fueled Aurora hypersonic recon aircraft, also
in operation for some time...
Ya think I could run Brunnhilde on methylcyclohexane? What kind of oil
would I use? Could I make in the garage from used paint?
--R
http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_awst_story.jsp?id=news/030606p1.xml
Two-Stage-to-Orbit 'Blackstar' System Shelved at Groom Lake?
WORK ON THE ORBITER moved at a relatively slow pace until a "fuel
breakthrough" was made, workers were told. Then, from 1990 through 1991,
"we lived out there. It was a madhouse," a technician said. The new fuel
was believed to be a boron-based gel having the consistency of
toothpaste and high-energy characteristics, but occupying less volume
than other fuels.
Here's some more: http://www.fas.org/irp/mystery/aurora.htm
Keeping an aircraft sufficiently cool during extreme speeds is a primary
challenge of hypersonic flight. According to studies done by General
Dynamics and Boeing, an aircraft travelling at between Mach 5.5 and Mach
6 would have an average skin temperature of approximately 1100-1300
degrees Fahrenheit.<66> One potential solution incorporated in the Air
Force studies, also being explored by researchers at NASA's Langley
Research Center and Wright-Patterson Air Force base,<67> is the use of
Methylcyclohexane (MCH) as both the fuel and the thermal management
medium of the vehicle.
MCH has several advantages over other possible hydrocarbon or cryogenic
fuels. Unlike standard hydrocarbon fuels, MCH has a very high capacity
to absorb heat prior to combustion, up to 1800 Btu per pound of fuel,
which is ten times the capacity of most hydrocarbon fuels.<68> Cryogenic
Methane and Hydrogen have high heat absorbtion capacities as well, but
their use as an aviation fuel is limited by the logistical difficulties
of handling, storage and fuel boil off.<69>
The principle behind MCH thermal management is based on a catalytic
reaction transforming MCH into Toluene and Hydrogen, which are then used
to fuel the aircraft:<70>
A fuel pump pressurizes the fuel to... avoid boiling. The preheater
heats the fuel to the proper reaction temperature while removing heat
from a secondary coolant...After preheating, the fuel passes through the
catalytic heat exchanger/ reactor...
The secondary coolant, Syltherm, circulates to the hot spots to maintain
skin temperatures to within specified tolerances.<71>
One aerospace journal says that an aircraft travelling at Mach 6 would
be inside the combustion envelope of a subsonic-combustion ramjet. It
suggests that the aircraft would thus need an accelerator to get it
moving. One type of accelerator would be a ducted-rocket cycle into the
engine. A fuel-rich, liquid rocket exhaust would be injected into a
ramjet duct, pumping air through it even at rest. A second combustion
then takes place, using atmospheric oxygen.<72> (This second combustion
could produce the loud rumbling noises heard recently in California,
discussed below).
Frederick Moir wrote:
Hi, All.
You lot are making me feel ancient. JP4 was "the latest thing" when I was in
the R.A.F.
We had AvGas (100+ octane aviation fuel) AvCat, AvTag, AvTur and other NATO
stuff, all long gone by now. What comes next, a space ship with a deck full of
peanut plants to fuel an alternate fuel space drive?
Sorry I'm a day late, got run over by a soy eating moose!
Fred Moir
Lynn MA
#2 fueled Klatta Klatta.
