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UK-based Reaction Engines has received validation for its pre-cooler heat exchanger technology for its SABRE engine, which could potentially enable aeroplanes to fly to the opposite corner of the world in less than four hours.

On behalf of the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency (ESA) assessed the technology and found that the pre-cooler test objectives have all been met and the critical tests demonstrated the technology required for the SABRE engine development.

Reaction Engines founder Alan Bond, who led the research, said that these tests indicated a fundamental breakthrough in propulsion technology.

The lightweight heat exchangers could revolutionise the design of thermodynamic cycles of aerospace engines and open up several operational characteristics, such as high Mach cruise and low-cost, re-usable space access, Bond added.

SABRE is an air-breathing rocket engine that uses both jet turbine and rocket technology.

The pre-cooler technology is so quick that in less than 1/100th of a second it can cool the temperature of the incoming hot air stream that is over 1,000°C to as low as-150°C without creating frost.

Over 100 test runs were conducted at Reaction Engines Oxfordshire, UK facility.

These test runs integrated the groundbreaking flight-weight cooling technology and frost control system with a jet engine and a helium cooling loop in order to demonstrate the thermodynamic cycle of SABRE engine.

"This technology has the potential to be used with current aeroplanes, which could improve fuel efficiency by up to 10%, saving airlines about $20bn a year."

ESA Propulsion Engineering head Mark Ford said that one of the major obstacles in building air-breathing engines for launch vehicles was the development of lightweight heat exchangers.

"With this now successfully demonstrated by Reaction Engines Ltd, there are currently no technical reasons why the SABRE engine programme cannot move forward into the next stage of development," Ford added.

The pre-cooler heat exchanger technology would enable SABRE-engine powered vehicles to fly five times the speed of sound, or 25 times the speed of sound in Earth’s orbit.

Institution of Mechanical Engineers Transport and Manufacturing head Philippa Oldham said that the new heat exchanger to control the SABRE engine temperature would have a significant impact on the UK aerospace engine industry.

"This technology has the potential to be used with current aeroplanes, which could improve fuel efficiency by up to 10%, saving airlines about $20bn a year," Oldham added.

This latest success complements the company’s several other technology demonstrations such as contra-rotating turbines, combustion chambers, rocket nozzles and air intakes. It signals advancement in development of vehicles such as SKYLON, a reusable space vehicle powered by SABRE engines to transport satellites and cargo into space.

Image: The pre-cooler technology is so quick that in less than 1/100th of a second, it cools the temperature of the incoming hot air stream that is over 1,000°C to as low as-150°C without creating frost. Photo: courtesy of Reaction Engines Ltd.