After Combustion: Detonation!

RACING TO PULSE DETONATION




A division of General Electric and Pratt & Whitney-two titans of jet-engine design-are battling to develop the first operational pulse-detonation engine.




Employees

GE: 26,000

P&W: 33,000



2002 Revenues


GE: $11.1 billion

P&W: $7.6 billion



Milestones

GE: 1-A: First U.S. jet engine (1941); J93: First Mach 3 engine (1957); GE90-115B: World record for single-engine thrust: 127,900 lb. (2003)


P&W: J57: Powered first supersonic production aircraft, the F-100 Sabre fighter (1953); PW2000: First engine to use digital controls for maximum fuel efficiency (1984); F119-PW-100: Allowed supersonic cruise without afterburner, in F-22 Raptor (1997)



PDE Status

GE: Bench-scale experiments ($8 million invested since 1999)

P&W: Full-scale multi-chamber test engine ($20 million invested since 1993)



Tech Strategy

GE: Aerodynamic valve prevents airflow to the chamber at the appropriate time,
permitting detonation.

P&W: High-speed rotary valve cuts off airflow to each of five combustion chambers; a pre-detonator initiates the transition.



Short-term goals

GE: Hybrid PDE prototype by 2005

P&W: Pure PDE missile prototype by 2005



20-year strategy

GE: Hybrid engines for subsonic and supersonic aircraft

P&W: Pure PDE missiles, then hybrids in military and passenger jets