Ayaks
Encyclopedia
The Ayaks is a hypersonic
aircraft program started in the Soviet Union
and currently under development in the Russian Federation by the Saint Petersburg
Institute for the Hypersonic Systems of Leninets Holding Company. The concept of the aircraft was developed by Vladimir Freishtadt (Владимир Львович Фрайштадт) in the late 1980s as a response to the American
Aurora aircraft program. The Ayaks was initially supposed to be produced in three variants:
The design of the aircraft utilized a number of novel and controversial ideas that only in 1993 were officially recognized as non-contradicting to modern science.
s began to explore a new type of aircraft. The Ayaks was to be a new Soviet aerospaceship capable of flying and conducting a wide range of missions in the mesosphere
, for both military and civilian purposes. The original concept was inspired by Lockheed
's Aurora hypersonic reconnaissance aircraft project, but later was expanded into the wider concept of hypersonic multi-purpose military and civilian jets, as well as a platform for launching satellites.
is the third layer of the Earth's atmosphere
, from 50 to 85 km (164,000 to 279,000 ft) high (just below the thermosphere
and above the stratosphere
). It is very difficult to fly in the mesosphere — the air is too rarefied for aircraft and too dense for satellites to fly. In addition, the air in the mesosphere is highly ionized due to space particle beam
s. The ability to conduct military activities in the mesosphere gives a country some significant military potential. The aircraft might be planned to be used as a form of an asymmetrical response to SDI (U.S. President Ronald Reagan
's Strategic Defense Initiative
), since most of the planned anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems would not be effective in the mesosphere.
to collect and slow down highly ionized and rarefied air. The air is mixed with fuel into the mixture that burns in the combustor
, while the electricity
produced by the inlet's MHD generator is used in the magnetoplasmadynamic thruster
to provide additional thrust
. The plasma
funnel developed over the air inlet from the magnetohydrodynamics
forces greatly increases the ability of the engine to collect air, increasing the effective diameter of the air inlet up to hundreds of meters. Thus, the Ayaks' engine can use atmospheric oxygen
, even at heights above 35 km (115,000 ft).
The fuel feed system of the Ayaks engine is also novel. When the aircraft reaches hypersonic
speed, it uses the heating energy from air friction to increase the heat capacity of the fuel ("reform" the fuel). The aircraft has double shielding between which water
and ordinary, cheap kerosene
circulates. The energy of surface heating is used to break up water into hydrogen
and oxygen
. Thus, the heating capacity of the fuel increases, and the surface of the aircraft cools down.
The whole concept is named "Magneto-plasmo-chemical engine" (Магнитоплазмохимический Двигатель).
According to Paul A. Czysz, there are six novel ideas in the concept of the Ayaks's engine:
The idea of thermally shielding the engine comes directly from the fundamental analysis of an ideal turboject for maximum thrust analysis in Oates textbook. That is, putting the turbine (work extraction) upstream and the compressor (work addition) downstream. The thermodynamics works, however the advanced thermo-fluids analysis shows that in order to add sufficient heat to power the aircraft without thermally choking the flow (and unstarting the engine) the combustor has to grow and the amount of heat added grows as well. It is more "efficient" in using the heat, it just needs a lot of heat. While thermodynamically very sound, the real engine is too large and consumes too much power to ever fly on an aircraft.
For further reference there are some AIAA papers on this cycle under Transposed Turbojet and Inverted Turbojet.
, the specifications of the Ayaks are:
Earlier publication cited even more impressive expected performance of service ceiling of 60 km and speed of 15..30M
, stated in his book a different explanation about how MHD
is used in this project. His study was based on a paper published in January 2001 in the French magazine Air et Cosmos by Alexandre Szamès and in the same month from information gathered in a small convention about advanced propulsion in Brighton, England. He talks about the parietal MHD converter
which he tells is possibly what Aurora is more likely to use. He also claims that the Hall effect
induced by the parietal MHD converter
is what generates the plasma in front of the plane. The plasma creates a cocoon which will give stealthiness
.
Hypersonic
In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that is highly supersonic. Since the 1970s, the term has generally been assumed to refer to speeds of Mach 5 and above...
aircraft program started in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and currently under development in the Russian Federation by the Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
Institute for the Hypersonic Systems of Leninets Holding Company. The concept of the aircraft was developed by Vladimir Freishtadt (Владимир Львович Фрайштадт) in the late 1980s as a response to the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Aurora aircraft program. The Ayaks was initially supposed to be produced in three variants:
- As a platform for launching satelliteSatelliteIn the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
s into spaceSpaceSpace is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
; - As a multipurpose hypersonic military aircraftMilitary aircraftA military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:...
; and - As a hypersonic transport aircraftTransport aircraftTransport aircraft is a broad category of aircraft that includes:* Airliners* Cargo aircraft* Mail planes* Military transport aircraft...
.
The design of the aircraft utilized a number of novel and controversial ideas that only in 1993 were officially recognized as non-contradicting to modern science.
History
In the early 1980s, Soviet scientistScientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
s began to explore a new type of aircraft. The Ayaks was to be a new Soviet aerospaceship capable of flying and conducting a wide range of missions in the mesosphere
Mesosphere
The mesosphere is the layer of the Earth's atmosphere that is directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere. In the mesosphere temperature decreases with increasing height. The upper boundary of the mesosphere is the mesopause, which can be the coldest naturally occurring...
, for both military and civilian purposes. The original concept was inspired by Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
's Aurora hypersonic reconnaissance aircraft project, but later was expanded into the wider concept of hypersonic multi-purpose military and civilian jets, as well as a platform for launching satellites.
Significance
The mesosphereMesosphere
The mesosphere is the layer of the Earth's atmosphere that is directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere. In the mesosphere temperature decreases with increasing height. The upper boundary of the mesosphere is the mesopause, which can be the coldest naturally occurring...
is the third layer of the Earth's atmosphere
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
, from 50 to 85 km (164,000 to 279,000 ft) high (just below the thermosphere
Thermosphere
The thermosphere is the biggest of all the layers of the Earth's atmosphere directly above the mesosphere and directly below the exosphere. Within this layer, ultraviolet radiation causes ionization. The International Space Station has a stable orbit within the middle of the thermosphere, between...
and above the stratosphere
Stratosphere
The stratosphere is the second major layer of Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere. It is stratified in temperature, with warmer layers higher up and cooler layers farther down. This is in contrast to the troposphere near the Earth's surface, which is cooler...
). It is very difficult to fly in the mesosphere — the air is too rarefied for aircraft and too dense for satellites to fly. In addition, the air in the mesosphere is highly ionized due to space particle beam
Particle beam
A particle beam is a stream of charged or neutral particles which may be directed by magnets and focused by electrostatic lenses, although they may also be self-focusing ....
s. The ability to conduct military activities in the mesosphere gives a country some significant military potential. The aircraft might be planned to be used as a form of an asymmetrical response to SDI (U.S. President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
), since most of the planned anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems would not be effective in the mesosphere.
Novel "Magneto-plasmo-chemical engine"
The Ayaks was projected to employ a novel engine that uses some form of MHD generatorMHD generator
The MHD generator or dynamo transforms thermal energy or kinetic energy directly into electricity. MHD generators are different from traditional electric generators in that they can operate at high temperatures without moving parts...
to collect and slow down highly ionized and rarefied air. The air is mixed with fuel into the mixture that burns in the combustor
Combustor
A combustor is a component or area of a gas turbine, ramjet, or scramjet engine where combustion takes place. It is also known as a burner, combustion chamber or flame holder. In a gas turbine engine, the combustor or combustion chamber is fed high pressure air by the compression system. The...
, while the electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
produced by the inlet's MHD generator is used in the magnetoplasmadynamic thruster
Magnetoplasmadynamic thruster
The Magnetoplasmadynamic thruster is a form of electrically powered spacecraft propulsion which uses the Lorentz force to generate thrust...
to provide additional thrust
Thrust
Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's second and third laws. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction on that system....
. The plasma
Plasma (physics)
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
funnel developed over the air inlet from the magnetohydrodynamics
Magnetohydrodynamics
Magnetohydrodynamics is an academic discipline which studies the dynamics of electrically conducting fluids. Examples of such fluids include plasmas, liquid metals, and salt water or electrolytes...
forces greatly increases the ability of the engine to collect air, increasing the effective diameter of the air inlet up to hundreds of meters. Thus, the Ayaks' engine can use atmospheric oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
, even at heights above 35 km (115,000 ft).
The fuel feed system of the Ayaks engine is also novel. When the aircraft reaches hypersonic
Hypersonic
In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that is highly supersonic. Since the 1970s, the term has generally been assumed to refer to speeds of Mach 5 and above...
speed, it uses the heating energy from air friction to increase the heat capacity of the fuel ("reform" the fuel). The aircraft has double shielding between which water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
and ordinary, cheap kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
circulates. The energy of surface heating is used to break up water into hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
and oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
. Thus, the heating capacity of the fuel increases, and the surface of the aircraft cools down.
The whole concept is named "Magneto-plasmo-chemical engine" (Магнитоплазмохимический Двигатель).
According to Paul A. Czysz, there are six novel ideas in the concept of the Ayaks's engine:
- Energy bypass via coupled MHDMagnetohydrodynamicsMagnetohydrodynamics is an academic discipline which studies the dynamics of electrically conducting fluids. Examples of such fluids include plasmas, liquid metals, and salt water or electrolytes...
generator/accelerator: a portion of the free kinetic energyKinetic energyThe kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes...
of air bypasses the combustion chamber, thus reducing entropyEntropyEntropy is a thermodynamic property that can be used to determine the energy available for useful work in a thermodynamic process, such as in energy conversion devices, engines, or machines. Such devices can only be driven by convertible energy, and have a theoretical maximum efficiency when...
rise in the combustion chamber; - Reforming of the hydrocarbonHydrocarbonIn organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....
fuel, increasing its energy concentration; - Ionization of the air in the nose of the aircraft and the airflow entering the engine;
- Powering the fuel reforming process by the MHD generator in the nose of the engine;
- Increase of the combustion effectiveness of the engine by injecting plasma and/or hydrogen upstream of the main fuel injectors; and
- Diverting some electrical energy produced by the MHD generator to peaceful or military directed-energy devices.
The idea of thermally shielding the engine comes directly from the fundamental analysis of an ideal turboject for maximum thrust analysis in Oates textbook. That is, putting the turbine (work extraction) upstream and the compressor (work addition) downstream. The thermodynamics works, however the advanced thermo-fluids analysis shows that in order to add sufficient heat to power the aircraft without thermally choking the flow (and unstarting the engine) the combustor has to grow and the amount of heat added grows as well. It is more "efficient" in using the heat, it just needs a lot of heat. While thermodynamically very sound, the real engine is too large and consumes too much power to ever fly on an aircraft.
For further reference there are some AIAA papers on this cycle under Transposed Turbojet and Inverted Turbojet.
Specifications
According to the data presented at the 2001 MAKS AirshowMAKS Airshow
MAKS is an International Air Show held near Moscow, Russia on Zhukovskiy LII air field. The first show, Mosaeroshow-92, was held in 1992. Since 1993, it was renamed to its current name and is held on odd years .MAKS is an important event in Russian business...
, the specifications of the Ayaks are:
| Parameter | Hypersonic Satellite Launcher | Multi-purpose Hypersonic Craft | Transport Hypersonic Craft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum takeoff weight, tonne Tonne The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI... |
267 | 200 | 390 |
| Loaded Weight, tonne | 113 | 85 | 130 |
| Empty weight, tonne | 76 | ||
| Mass of the second stage, tonne | 36 | ||
| Payload, tonne | 10 | 10 | |
| Satellite mass, tonne | 6 | ||
| Turbojet engines | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Magneto-plasmo-chemical engines | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Thrust, turbojet engines, tonne | 4×25 | 4×25 | 4×40 |
| Thrust, magneto-plasmo-chemical engines | 4×25 | 6×14 | 4×40 |
| Maximal speed, m/s | 4000 | 4000 | 4600 |
| Service ceiling Service ceiling With respect to aircraft, a ceiling is the maximum density altitude an aircraft can reach under a set of conditions.The word ceiling can also refer to the height of the lowest obscuring cloud layer above the ground.-Service ceiling:... , km |
36 | 36 | 36 |
| Practical range at M = 8 ... 10 and height of 30 km | 14200 | 10000 | 12000 |
Earlier publication cited even more impressive expected performance of service ceiling of 60 km and speed of 15..30M
Early speculation
In 2003, a French aeronautical engineer and MHD specialist, Jean-Pierre PetitJean-Pierre Petit
Jean-Pierre Petit is a French scientist, senior researcher at National Center for Scientific Research as an astrophysicist in Marseille Observatory, now retired...
, stated in his book a different explanation about how MHD
MHD
MHD may refer to:*MHD, former name of the HDTV network for MTV, VH1, and CMT now known as Palladia *Military history detachment...
is used in this project. His study was based on a paper published in January 2001 in the French magazine Air et Cosmos by Alexandre Szamès and in the same month from information gathered in a small convention about advanced propulsion in Brighton, England. He talks about the parietal MHD converter
MHD generator
The MHD generator or dynamo transforms thermal energy or kinetic energy directly into electricity. MHD generators are different from traditional electric generators in that they can operate at high temperatures without moving parts...
which he tells is possibly what Aurora is more likely to use. He also claims that the Hall effect
Hall effect
The Hall effect is the production of a voltage difference across an electrical conductor, transverse to an electric current in the conductor and a magnetic field perpendicular to the current...
induced by the parietal MHD converter
MHD generator
The MHD generator or dynamo transforms thermal energy or kinetic energy directly into electricity. MHD generators are different from traditional electric generators in that they can operate at high temperatures without moving parts...
is what generates the plasma in front of the plane. The plasma creates a cocoon which will give stealthiness
Stealth technology
Stealth technology also termed LO technology is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, to make them less visible to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection...
.
See also
- Aurora (aircraft)
- Soviet space programSoviet space programThe Soviet space program is the rocketry and space exploration programs conducted by the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from the 1930s until its dissolution in 1991...
- SuperweaponSuperweaponA superweapon is an extremely powerful weapon by the standards of its time and its scale. Examples include the Tsar Bomba , various superguns and other various weapons employed to give a decisive advantage over opposing countries or forces. The given advantage is usually based on intimidation and...