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This silly little idea was inspired by the precooled SABRE engines. The premise is; instead of running the fuel (or in the case of SABRE, fluid cooled by the fuel) through channels in front of the engine, why not directly inject it into the air, to cool the inlet surface and more effectively cool the air entering the engine?
If hydrogen embrittlement is too much trouble, maybe a fuel such as methane, or even a heavier hydrocarbon, would be a better option. I'm not sure what this would do to compressors; maybe it might be a better option for some kind of scramjet.
Would this work/be practical/be applicable? Does it have a shred of usefulness anywhere? I'm inclined to think not, hey... there's always the infinite monkey theorum. :facepalm:
KEY:
Blue: Air coming into the engine.
Green: Fuel injected directly into incoming air.
Light blue: Cooled air/propellant mix.
Yellow: Combustion.
Orange & Red: Exhaust.
If hydrogen embrittlement is too much trouble, maybe a fuel such as methane, or even a heavier hydrocarbon, would be a better option. I'm not sure what this would do to compressors; maybe it might be a better option for some kind of scramjet.
Would this work/be practical/be applicable? Does it have a shred of usefulness anywhere? I'm inclined to think not, hey... there's always the infinite monkey theorum. :facepalm:
KEY:
Blue: Air coming into the engine.
Green: Fuel injected directly into incoming air.
Light blue: Cooled air/propellant mix.
Yellow: Combustion.
Orange & Red: Exhaust.
Last edited: