Aviation engine (aircraft engine, aircraft engine) – basically a heat engine installed on aircraft as part of the aircraft propulsion system, which realizes the thrust required for flight within the atmosphere.
Classification
Aircraft engines, by the method of creating thrust are divided into three groups: propeller; jet; combined.
Propeller aircraft engines – piston aircraft engines, which create thrust by rotating the propeller, as well as combined aircraft engines, provided that the thrust created by the propeller is more than 50% of the total (equivalent) engine thrust.
Jet aircraft engines are direct-reacting thermal engines that convert the energy of the fuel into the kinetic energy of the gas jet flowing out of the engine – causing a reaction force directly used as the driving force – the thrust. Two types of jet engines are used in aviation: air-jet engines (AIR), which use atmospheric air oxygen to burn the fuel; rocket engines (RD), which use oxidizer transported by the aircraft itself to burn the fuel.
Combined (mixed) aircraft engines – creating thrust, consisting of the reaction force of the flow of combustion products, flowing out of the engine, and the thrust created by conventional or special propeller (propeller fan). The main types of combined engines are: turboprop engines (TVD); double-circuit turbojet engines (DTRD); propeller-fan aircraft engines (PAF).
Turbojet, turboprop, twin-circuit and propeller-fan aircraft engines are united by a common name – gas-turbine aircraft engines (GTEs).
Aircraft engines have special requirements for reliability, specific power or thrust-to-weight ratio, specific fuel consumption, as well as for overall dimensions and shape.
Obsolete concepts of unrealized projects:
In service or in operation in the past:
- Piston aircraft engine
- Gas turbine engine
- Pulsejet engine
- Turboprop engine
- Turbofan engine
- Air-jet engine, Jet engine
- Rocket Engine
Promising concepts:
- Nuclear aircraft engine
- Aviation electric motor – has dominated aircraft modeling since the early 2000s. It has been widely used on UAVs since the mid-2000s. Light-engine manned airplanes with electric engines are being created.