Gluhareff Pressure Jet

The Gluhareff Pressure Jet (or tip jet) is a type of jet engine that, like a Pulse jet, has no moving parts. It was invented by Eugene Gluhareff, a Russian engineer who envisaged it as a power plant for personal helicopters and compact aircraft (such as Microlights).

How it works

Having no moving parts, the engine works by having a coiled pipe in the combustion chamber that superheats the fuel (propane) before it's injected into it. In the combustion chamber, the fuel/air mixture ignites and burns, creating thrust as it leaves through the exhaust pipe. Induction and compression of the fuel/air mixture is done both by the pressure of propane as it's injected, along with the sound waves created by combustion acting on the intake stacks.

The engine has three intake stages, which are sized according to the sound created by the combustion process when running. This has exactly the same effect as the turbine and compressor in a turbojet, creating a vacuum that sucks in air. The intakes, along with the exhaust, are sonically tuned for maximum effectiveness. Early prototypes produced very small amounts of thrust, before Gluharev developed it from early experiments on producing thrust from using the pressurized fuel's kinetic energy to suck in the air and compress it prior to combustion.

Advantages

*No moving parts, meaning very little wear.
*Simple throttling, which is a valve in the fuel line.
*Clean burning and very low emissions, especially as it's designed to use propane which burns very clean.
*It's possible that the engine can be built at home from plans or a kit. These are already commercially available.
*Simple design means that engines can be incorporated into either a Helicopter's rotor blades, or a fixed wing aircraft's wings or tailfins.

Disadvantages

*Engines need to be sonically tuned for maximum efficiency.
*Noise is very similar to a two stroke engine, which could be cause of discomfort for passengers and people on the ground.
*Very high engine temperatures are a problem (engine can glow bright orange which creates an obvious material problem).
*Difficult to mount due to operating temperatures, intake valve assembly and fuel supply.

External links

* [http://www.roweaviation.com A company selling the original plans for this engine, which can be built at home.]
* [http://www.rqriley.com/gluharef.html A company selling plans for this engine, which can be built at home.]
* [http://www.tipjet.com/ Gluhareff Helicopter company website.]
* [http://www.vortechonline.com/jets/gallery/ A showcase of vehicles using the Gluhareff Pressure Jet engine, from the company that produces them as either kits or fully assembled engines.]