Monday, December 19, 2022

The waste heat is the problem with modern stealth jet fighters.



The F-35 "Lightning II" is the next-generation stealth fighter. And the developers are making that supersonic multirole stealth aircraft invisible at least for radar and infrared. The low infrared signature means that the IR-guided missiles are not as effective against that aircraft as they are against regular or traditional fighters. 

When combustion engines are operating. They are creating heat. And developers must conduct that heat somewhere. In regular jet fighters, the engine just shines waste heat away. Or the heat. What engines create would conduct the air that flows over those system's cores. 

In stealth jets, the engine is in a thermal insulator. That thermal insulator denies infrared radiation travel across it. That makes the IR signature of the aircraft very low. But because the heat cannot escape from the engine causes a similar effect as the closed windows and well thermal insulation in houses. 

That thermal insulation rises the temperature of the engine. And conducting that waste heat away from the engine is problematic. If the heat would not conduct away that causes thermal damage in the aircraft. But if the thermal insulator would not exist, that makes the strong IR signature and makes aircraft vulnerable to IR homing missiles. 

https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/collins-pratt-whitney-pitch-new-f135-power-cooling-system

https://www.tekniikkatalous.fi/uutiset/f-35-tuottaa-kohta-7-kiukaan-edesta-hukkalampoa-ja-siina-piilee-tekninen-ongelma/8d6f1fe1-5689-44f3-a7d8-531fc310ef97


https://www.tekniikkatalous.fi/uutiset/saksa-ostaa-10-miljardilla-f-35-havittajia-ja-aseita-hinta-samaa-luokkaa-kuin-suomella-mutta-koneita-saksa-saa-puolet-vahemman/1153c4e7-cd45-48dd-99b4-725b48028ba9


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