The future of aircraft propulsion

Abstract

The next century offers many challenges to the aero-engine industry in both the civil and the military markets. The primary driver in both markets will be to reduce the cost of acquiring, operating and supporting the product throughout its life. Reducing the environmental impact will be an additional challenge for the civil sector. Aero-engines operate at the limits of technology, take longer to develop than airframes, are often in direct competition for one such airframe and typically have an aftermarket value of up to double their initial cost. It is therefore important to place great emphasis on forecasting customer needs and future market requirements. Developments in the design of turbomachinery, combustion and control systems will offer performance, cost and environmental advantages in both the near and the long term. These developments will be aided by the progression of materials technology. The technologies applied to the product will be complemented by the technologies applied in the design, manufacture and support of products in order to reduce cost at every stage of the product life cycle. In this way the industry will continue to provide value to the customer well into the twenty-first century.