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To reduce the travelling time of long-distance flights, e.g. Brussels to Sydney, in about 2 to 4 hours, advanced propulsion concepts and technologies need to be developed. This requires a new flight regime with Mach numbers ranging from 4 to 8. At these high speeds, classical turbo-jet engines need to be replaced by advanced airbreathing engines.
 
 
Project Objectives
 
Two major directions at conceptual and technological level are considered: ram-compression and active compression. The latter has an upper Mach number limitation but can accelerate a vehicle up to its cruise speed. Ram-compression engines need an additional propulsion system to achieve their minimum working speed. Key objectives are the definition and evaluation of:
 
 

• different propulsion cycles and concepts for high-speed flight at Mach 4 to 8 in terms of turbine-based and rocket-based combined cycles
• critical technologies for integrated engine/aircraft performance, mass-efficient turbines and Heat exchangers, high-pressure & supersonic combustion experiments and modelling

Turbine Based Combined Cycle

	Rocket Based Combined Cycle

• two airbreathing engines for selected reference vehicle(s) and trajectory point(s)
• dedicated combustion experiments for supersonic and high-pressure combustion, including potential fuels and its interaction with flow-field turbulence
• modelling and validation of combustion physics on the basis of chemical kinetics and fuel spray vaporization models and turbulence affecting the combustion
• aerodynamic experiments for major engine components (intakes, nozzles, full engines), and establishment of data for interaction of vehicle and propulsion aerodynamics.
• evaluation and validation of advanced turbulence models to evaluate unsteady, separated flow regimes and to develop transition models based on intermittency related parameters
• performance prediction of contra-rotating turbines and light cryogenic fuel heat exchangers

• definition of requirements and operational conditions for high-speed flight at system level
• dedicated experimental data-base specific to high-speed aerodynamics for supersonic and high-pressure combustion and flow phenomena.
• setting-up and validating physical models supported by numerical simulation tools to address supersonic and high-pressure combustion, turbulence and transition phenomena.
• feasibility study of weight performance turbine and heat exchanger components