Full Electric Combustion Chamber for Turbojet Engines

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Plasma propulsion engines which are currently used in space missions use the kinetic energy of the plasma itself to generate the thrust required by the spacecraft. My idea, instead, is of using the plasma and its great heat to replace the heat generated by the combustion of fuel in today's jet engines.

The idea of a full electric combustion chamber for turbojet engines comes from the observation of plasmas generated using a common microwave oven. By concentrating the microwaves, you can create jets of plasma from common air. What began as a scientific hobby has matured me the idea of using this phenomenon for the propulsion of atmospheric aircraft, still enjoying the turbojet engines that are a proven technology. My proposal then is to develop some "reaction chambers" to replace the current combustion chambers used in turbojet engines (Pic.1). These reaction chambers, with some measures (like antenna, etc.), concentrating the microwaves would lead to the state of plasma part of the air sucked in by the compressor and, putting into contact with the rest of the air, temperature and then volume would increase thus going to perform the same task of a current combustion chamber, however without the use of a drop of fuel (Pic.2).

I did some tests, although very primitive, and I also tried to build a kind of reaction chamber (Picture 3) to prove my theory, but given the scarcity of my equipment and my limited knowledge of the subject have not been able to make it work. It is also necessary to conduct tests on the effective thrust generated, the efficiency of heat transfer between plasma and compressed air, and above all power and type of microwaves best to use and then the type of generator to be used: all research that I have neither resources nor theoretical knowledge enough thorough to do.

If it were demonstrated effectively functional, I believe it would be a very interesting technology economically because you can think to use the turbojet engines currently produced simply by replacing the combustion chambers and also in the case where you use an electric generator to produce the energy required to such a type of engine, however, the consumption of fossil fuel would be less than the current one. With the appropriate structure in a few months I think it is possible to understand the real potential of this idea, but for the moment I can only suppose and continue studying.

Sorry for my bad English.

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  • ABOUT THE ENTRANT

  • Name:
    Luca Amati
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