Did China make a scientific breakthrough that might lead to a hypersonic jet that can cross the Mach 6 barrier? Chinese scientists have tested a 'hypersonic afterburner', whose thrust has been doubled at Mach 6, which is six times the speed of sound, or 5,800 km per hour (3,600 miles per hour). 

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This is a secondary combustion mechanism, developed by Beihang University researchers in Beijing. In simple terms, secondary combustion gives more thrust to an engine that is already launched through primary combustion. The new mechanism, claim the scientists, can nearly double the thrust of a scramjet engine.

This was made possible "by injecting magnesium powder into the exhaust gases from conventional jet fuel combustion," said a report in South China Morning Post, citing the research.

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The simulation test was held at 30km altitude.

How will the new afterburner of hypersonic jet work?

An afterburner is an additional combustion chamber in jet engine. It sends off more fuel to the exhaust stream to  increase its thrust. This is used in military aircraft, particularly supersonic flights.

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The afterburner developed by the Chinese researchers uses magnesium, an element with 'violent reactivity'. 

The first fuel of the Chinese jet is kerosene. The researchers demonstrated how the residual water vapour and carbon dioxide from the burned kerosene oxidises and ignites magnesium particles, thereby giving the plane further thrust.

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At Mach 6, kerosene burns to near exhaustion, leaving scorching gases of 1,800 kelvin (1,527 degrees Celsius) rich in water and carbon dioxide. The magnesium particles then react explosively with the waste gases already inside the engine, releasing energy that was once thrown away, SCMP report said citing the research.

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"In ground tests...injecting magnesium at 13 per cent of the exhaust mass boosted thrust by 86.6 per cent, with combustion efficiency reaching 65.1 per cent," it noted.

The engine’s specific thrust, or force per airflow, went up from 613 Newton-seconds per kg to 1,126 Newton-seconds per kg.

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The new design could reduce launch weights and extend ranges for missiles and hypersonic aircraft, but the researchers admitted that more testing is required to scale up this technology for real use.

The race for hypersonic weapons

Various military powers are in a race for improving the speed and lethality of their hypersonic weapons. As the name implies, hypersonic weapons are designed to fly at five times the speed of sound (which is Mach 5). Several countries are in the process of developing missiles, jets and glide vehicles that can breach Mach 5.

The US, for instance, is likely to unveil its first hypersonic weapon in September.

China, said the SCMP report, has been trying to achieve hypersonic engine speeds of Mach 10 and beyond.

(With inputs from agencies)