Challenging Power Density Requirements for Future Fighter APUs 912177
Future fighters will require more compact, lighter weight, small gas turbine auxiliary power units (APUs) capable of faster starting, and operation, up to altitudes of 50,000 ft. The US Air Force is currently supporting an Advanced Components Auxiliary Power Unit (ACAPU) research program to demonstrate the technologies that will be required to accomplish projected secondary power requirements for these advanced fighters.
The requirements of the ACAPU Program represent a challenging task requiring significant technical advancements over the current state-of-the-art, prominent among which are:
Small high heat release high altitude airbreathing combustors.
High temperature monolithic ceramic and metallic small turbines.
Capability to operate, and transition from non-airbreathing to airbreathing modes.
This paper discusses these challenging requirements and establishes technology paths to match and exceed the required goals.
Citation: Rodgers, C. and Shekleton, J., "Challenging Power Density Requirements for Future Fighter APUs," SAE Technical Paper 912177, 1991, https://doi.org/10.4271/912177. Download Citation
Author(s):
Colin Rodgers, Jack Shekleton
Affiliated:
Sundstrand Power Systems
Pages: 15
Event:
Aerospace Technology Conference and Exposition
ISSN:
0148-7191
e-ISSN:
2688-3627
Also in:
SAE 1991 Transactions - Aerospace-V100-1
Related Topics:
Auxiliary power units
Gas turbines
Military aircraft
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