Currently viewing the category: "Technology"

The Airline Metro System

On January 17, 2015 · In General Aerospace, Technology

When I was travelling in Chile a short while ago I took a flight from the capital Santiago de Chile to the city of Calama in the Atacama dessert. What was interesting about this flight, was that on its way to Calama the airplane landed for a short stop in Copiapó. Immediately after leaving the runway […]

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Defects and Non-Destructive Testing in Composites

On October 17, 2013 · In Composite Materials, Technology

The treatment of defects in aircraft structural design has been an important aspect in aircraft structural design during the last 50 years. Various different catastrophic events have led to key insights that now shape the design philosophy for primary aircraft structures. One of these […]

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Developments in Composite Materials

On August 18, 2013 · In Bio-mimicry, Case Studies, Composite Materials, General Aerospace, Technology

I have just returned from the International Conference for Composite Materials (ICCM) in Montreal, Canada and would like to share a few observations and key points about the developments in the composite world that may not be so easily accessible to a broader audience.

1) The Great Advance – Applications

ICCM is the biggest conference […]

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Jet Engine Design: Turbine Cooling

On May 1, 2013 · In Aerodynamics, Technology

As I described in a previous post, the efficiency of the gas turbine cycle increases as the turbine entry temperature (TET) is increased. Therefore the hotter the combustion gases that enter the first turbine stage the more specific power the jet engine can produce. Of course the TET is […]

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Jet Engine Design: The Turbine

On April 6, 2013 · In Aerodynamics, Manufacturing, Technology

The turbine is at the heart of any jet engine with its primary task being to drive the compressor. As described previously  without the compressor no mechanical work would be done on the fluid prior combustion and the thrust produced would only be a function of the chemical energy […]

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Thrust Reversal

On August 22, 2012 · In Aerodynamics, Technology

In a typical turbofan jet engine the oncoming airflow is compressed throughout a series of compressor stages, mixed with a fuel (typically kerosene) and combusted, drastically increasing pressure and temperature, and then expanded through a nozzle to provide thrust towards the rear of the aircraft. By accelerating the fluid towards aft, Newton’s Third Law implies […]

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The Scramjet

On August 17, 2012 · In Aerodynamics, News, Technology

The American Air Force has reported that a test of the unmanned hypersonic X-51A “Waverider” scramjet has failed. During the test flight the aircraft disconnected successfully from the the wing of a B-52 bomber but only 16 seconds later a defect in a control fin caused the “Waverider” to spiral out of control and eventually […]

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Simplicity: The Ultimate Sophistication

On June 5, 2012 · In News, Technology

In engineering the devil lies in the detail. However the best solution can often be found in the most simplest of designs! Leonardo DaVinci knew all about it when he wrote: Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication! On an aircraft up to two tons of extra weight is added by the entertainment […]

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