One hallmark of an afterburning engine is inefficiency: Using it guzzles up to three times as much fuel, so pilots typically limit its use to a few minutes per mission.Īlthough the design of an afterburner is simple, it operates with extremely sensitive tolerances. The afterburners on the Olympus engines that powered the Concorde supersonic jet added only about 17 percent to that engine’s thrust.įor the engines that power modern fighters, the increase ranges from about 40 to 70 percent. The resulting blowtorch shoots through a nozzle at the back of the engine, providing a hard kick of extra thrust. The afterburner, which is a long extension at the back of the engine, combines much of the remaining oxygen with jet fuel, squirted into the high-speed exhaust stream from the engine’s turbine, and ignites the mixture. warplanes, which can achieve supersonic cruise speeds without them but continue to rely on them for critical maneuvers.Ī typical jet engine uses only about half the oxygen it ingests, leaving a large amount of potential energy. Producing a big jolt of thrust-and dramatic flame-the afterburner is a simple design dating to World War II, when engineers in Germany, the United States, and elsewhere tinkered with ways to boost the thrust of underpowered jet engines without adding much weight.Īmericans tested their first afterburning engine in 1943, and six decades later afterburners remain in use among the latest generation of U.S. When a jet needs an extra kick to launch from an aircraft carrier, punch past Mach 1, or evade enemy weapons, it uses its afterburner.
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