Airplane Launching System: viable project?

[akhare]

So I have an idea for a new way to launch commercial aircraft using an electromagnetic launching system. The Navy did something similar to this, but I have a major improvement on it and a way to bring it to commercial airports. The problem is that it is a very large system obviously, so can I just build a prototype or detailed computer model of my system?

Also, I am currently a junior, so do I have enough time to do an experiment on this scale? I was thinking of getting a majority of the work done over summer.

[rmarz]

akhare - It would interesting for you to explain the advantages you see for this launch system for commercial aircraft. The Navy has developed electromagnetic systems for aircraft launch from modern aircraft carriers (EMALS, or Electro Magnetic Aircraft Launch Systems) but their requirements are very specific. To launch a plane off a short deck requires the aircraft to accelerate from 0 to say 170 mph in about two seconds, subjecting the pilot to upwards of 3.5 G's. That doesn't seem to be advisable for commercial airplane passengers. Also, the airplane is subject to significant stresses, so has been designed to be much more rugged than large commercial planes. Today's airports that provide all the infrastructure to process 10's of thousands of passengers per day also have multiple runways of 8,000-10,000 feet in length to allow take-off and landing operations with safe margins. I don't see the benefit of an EMALS type launch system for commercial applications.

It might be interesting to discuss what your major improvement is, perhaps the military could be interested as well.

Rick Marz

[akhare]

While I was doing my background research, I discovered that planes use the most fuel, sometimes up to 25%, during takeoff (http://www.worldwatch.org/planes-utiliz ... ng-takeoff) and so I thought a solution to this would be to use an electromagnetic launch system instead, which would serve to conserve a lot of the fuel that is wasted during takeoff. I don't have the details fully worked out yet, but in essence this system would utilize the longer runways of airports to reduce the acceleration needed to launch so that it would be viable for passengers, and also to utilize the kinetic energy of landing aircraft to charge the system. Those are the biggest reasons why I think an EMALS type system would be useful for airports, but I don't know if this idea is really original enough to warrant full investigation and development.

[rmarz]

akhare - I would question your assumptions. I don't believe that the fuel consumption is as excessive during take-off as you suggest, certainly not 25% of total fuel. A typical Boeing or Airbus jetliner will have 3-4X the fuel consumption rate on full thrust take-off versus cruise settings. However, the take-off roll may only be 30-45 seconds compared to several hours of flight time. More fuel is burned during the climb to cruise altitude, than take-off, and that consumption is not changed by an EMALS system.

With regards to recovering the kinetic energy of landing the plane, the other half of the Navy aircraft carrier launch/recovery system is the Advanced Arresting Gear, or AAG system. It uses the energy generated by the arresting cable spooling out to generate electricity that is then stored in large capacitor banks. In order to recover the energy from a landing jetliner, we would have to replicate some form of capture system, similar to an arresting cable, to do that. Again, probably not practical to so heavily redesign the aircraft for the additional stresses, and the passengers discomfort would not be acceptable. One of the issues of new, innovative solutions is that they must demonstrate a real benefit over prior methods. Sometimes we cynically refer to this innovation conundrum as "a solution looking for a problem". Just my thoughts. I just want you to re-think the problem, the alternate solutions and create a good hypothesis for your idea before pursuing experimentation.

Rick Marz

[akhare]

Oh I see, they must have meant that the climb to cruising altitude burns most of the fuel. Well then, my solution does indeed lead to more problems than it solves.

No worries, I'm still in the initial stages of trying to find a good idea or problem to solve. Back to the drawing board for me I guess

I'm really interested in aerodynamics and aerospace, though honestly I find pretty much anything related to engineering, physics, or chemistry pretty awesome, but I'm having trouble in narrowing down a topic. Do you have any ideas for a topic to investigate?

Thanks so much for your help!

[rmarz]

akhare - I can't suggest a topic for you to create an experiment from, but I commend your curiosity and interest in these areas of science. Continue to read and explore and you will find an area of particular interest that you will want to pursue even to the point of creating a hypothesis that will lead to a scientific experiment. Use the resources of the Science Buddies search tool to help narrow down your interests. I suggest a query of aerodynamics, flight, aviation and similar. Good luck.

Rick Marz

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... deas.shtml