Post on 12-Jan-2023
Eugene M. Gluhareff’s Pressure Jet Engine
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine
Richard Bramlette
University of Kansas
Spring 2012
1
The Conventional Turbojet Engine
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine 3
Compressor
Diffuser / Inlet Combustion
Chamber
Turbine
Nozzle
Advantages
• High Thrust-to-Weight
• Component Tailoring
• Sub/Supersonic Operation
Disadvantages
• High Temperature/Stress Conditions
• High Maintenance
• Some Exotic Materials
The Pulse Jet Engine
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine 4
Valved Pulsejets
Valveless Pulsejets
• Valves open/close inlet
• Fuel injection and combustion
• Nozzle length must be tuned
• Valves need to be replaced often
• No moving parts
• Low maintenance
• Nozzles double as inlets
• Ram-air not available
Valved
Inlet
Fuel Injection
Combustion
Chamber
Tuned-Pipe
Nozzle
Tuned Inlet &
Sec. Exhaust
Tuned-Pipe
Nozzle & Inlet http://www.home.no/andreas.sunnhordvik/English/mechanical/valveless_e.htm
The Pressure Jet Engine: A Subsonic Ramjet
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine 5
Gluhareff Pressure Jet Principles
• Fuel-Rich Air is Progressively Mixed
• Near-Stoichiometric Fuel/Air Ratio in Combustion Chamber
• Fuel Preheat Increases Temp. & Press.
• Resonance in Inlet Stages
Cold Liquid Fuel
Preheated Gaseous
Fuel
Ambient Air
Ambient Air
All Stainless Steel Construction
- Weldable, rust- and temp-resistant
The Pressure Jet Engine: Brayton-Gluhareff Cycle
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine 6
Specific Volume, ν
Pre
ssu
re, P
Brayton-Gluhareff
Brayton Cycle
• Liquid fuel heated into high-temp. gas
• Added fuel pressure
• High temp. combustion
• Increased expansion
• Inlet Compression
• Combustion
• Exhaust to Ambient
• Conv. Ramjet Cycle
0
1 2
3
2a 1a
Inlet Compression
Nozzle/Exhaust Expansion
Added Fuel Pressure from fuel injection
Pressure-Augmented Engine Cycle P-v Diagram
G8-2-N Commercial Engines
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine 8
G8-2 Series Engines
• N = Rated Thrust in Pounds
• Engines scaled up very well
• Sold engines & kits worldwide
• Available in -5, -15, -20, -40, -80, -130, and even -350 & -700 models
• Engine thrust was proportional to nozzle pressure
• Increased speed increased fuel efficiency using ram air
Eugene M. Gluhareff: Personal History
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine 10
Family Background/Life
Selected Engineering Career
• 1916 – Born in St. Petersburg, Russia
• 1942 – B.S. AE – Rensselaer (RPI)
• 1994 – Died
• 1947 – Sikorsky – Develop Pulsejet Heli
• 1950s – Pressure Jet Invented
• 1953 – EMG Engineering Started
• 1960 – USN – Work on Rotary Drones
• 1964 – Douglas – Apollo S-IVB
• Early 1990s – EMG-300 Flies
EMG: Early Engine Development
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine 11
Research into Rotorcraft Propulsion
Early Research for Igor Sikorsky
• Worked on VS-300 and R-4
• Solved many control issues
• Pioneered balanced single-blade rotors
• Foundational rotorcraft patents
• 1949 – Left Sikorsky to pursue tipjets
• 1950 – His first “tipjet” rotor flies
• 1955-56 – Research with NACA Langley
• 1970s onward – Selling engines and kits
EMG: Government Contracts
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine 12
EMG Engineering
• 1953 - Started his own company
• MEG-1X, -2X Developed
• MEG-3X – Developed for USAF
• NACA Langley Research
EMG: Tipjet Research with NACA – Langley (1955-56)
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Analysis & Testing of Pressure Jet System
• Applied design to a transport helicopter
• Wind-tunnel testing of design
• Developed theory & experimental data
• NACA RM E54L23 & L56B17
EMG: 1970s - A Kit You Can Build
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EMG Engineering Kits
• Sold engines for a variety of projects
• Finished engines and kits available
• Kits required a good shop and welding experience
Intended Purpose: Tipjet Helicopters
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Advantages over Conventional Helicopters
• Very low torque transmission to body
• No tail-rotor required
• Lower engine weight
• Overall reduction in Take-Off Weight
http://www.aviastar.org/ helicopters_eng/hiller.html
Intended Purpose: Tipjet Helicopters
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine 17
Propeller-Driven Rotors
Hiller Ramjet-Driven Rotors
• Conventional thrust generation
• Limited maximum tip speed
• Abandoned as torque problem was mitigated.
• Very simple design
• Allowed high tip-speeds
• Very high fuel consumption
• Low efficiency at low tip speeds http://www.aviastar.org/ helicopters_eng/hiller.html
http://www.hubschraubermuseum.de/exponate/nagler-rolz-nr-54
Intended Purpose: Tipjet Helicopters
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine 18
MEG-1X: Single-Rotor Balanced Backpack
MEG-2X: Dual-Rotor Backpack
• Proved concept of Backpack Helicopter
• Used his balanced single-rotor design
• Successfully flew with no problems
• Remarked to have less vibration than dual-rotors
• 1950 – His first “tipjet” rotor flies
• More conventional twin-blades
• More power but shorter endurance
• Test flown several times
MEG-3X Flying Platform
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine 19
MEG-3X
• Two G8-2-15 Engines used
• Gross weight of 408 lb (with Pilot)
• Low Rotor had inherent stability
• Controlled by shifting C.G.
Pressure Jet-Powered Bikes & Go-Carts
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http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/kart.html
Jet-Powered Bikes
Jet-Powered Go-Carts
• G8-2-20 Engine used
• Reached speeds of ~28 mph
• G8-2-20 Engine used
• Reached speeds of ~15 mph
BD-5J Modified with Pressure Jets
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine 21
Modified BD-5J
• Two G8-2-130 Engines used
• 1984 - Installed by Leland Macrorey
• C.G. and volume limitations hurt range
• Problems with asymmetric thrust
Pressure-Jet Flying Platform “Space Ranger”
The Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine 22
Jet-Powered Bikes
• Four G8-2-130 Engines used
• Max Gross weight of 520 lb (with Pilot)
• Built by Richard Timewell
• Controlled by shifting C.G.
GTS-15: An Engineering Teaching Stand
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A Teaching Tool
• 15 lb thrust engine installed
• Measured Variables:
• Exhaust Speed & Temp.
• Exhaust Fuel/Air Ratio
• Nozzle & Tank Press. & Temp.
• Thrust Force
• Heated Propane Tank
• Fuel flow and ignition control
References & More Information
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Irina Gluhareff – http://www.gluhareffhelicopters.com
Gluhareff Pressure Jet Engine: Past, Present, and Future Dr. Ron Barrett, University of Kansas
Irina Gluhareff, Gluhareff Helicopters, LLC Presented at 2008 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit (AIAA-2008-867)
Watch us run the G8-2-80 during Engineering EXPO!