The afterburner is generally considered the coolest feature of military fighter jets. Injecting the original fuel into the exhaust stream of a jet engine, the afterburner is responsible for generating hot exhaust gas, and is also the key to achieving supersonic flight for many aircraft. [Integza] Want to see if the same concept can be applied to electric duct fans, And set out to find out.
Of course, building an afterburner for EDF does add a lot of complexity. The flame tube is installed downstream of the EDF and is equipped with a carefully drilled brass tube that serves as a fuel injector. The flame tube is also equipped with a car glow plug to ignite the fuel, which is a lighter gas filled directly from the tank. The whole assembly is wrapped in a transparent acrylic tube so that people can easily see the burning situation inside.
The results were mixed. Although the fuel does burn, it burns in a fairly intermittent manner. Under proper operation, the afterburner will run in a smooth, continuous and roaring combustion. In addition, no thrust measurement was performed, and the assembly hardly shook the table.
So, if anything, the video is more like a guide on how to burn a lot of lighter gases with the help of an electric fan. This concept does have advantages, and we have seen past attempts, but we would love to see a correct setting of thrust readings with and without an afterburner to see if it actually produces some useful thrust. Video after the break.