Comparative analysis of commercial and military jet engines in the last 50 years

Abstract

Books and documents explain the operation and characteristics of jet engines without showing how they have evolved over the past 50 years. For each decade, there are also differences between the jet engines produced considering the main aeronautical poles globally, such as the United States, Russia / China, and Europe. Information provided by the manufacturers of engines, books, maintenance, and certification documents, allowed data relating to general characteristics to be collected and cataloged for all jet engines so that a comparative analysis could be carried out. The information used was Year of Production / Certification, Statics Sea Level Thrust, Weight, Sea Fuel Consumption (SFC), Overall Pressure Ratio, and Mean Time Before Maintenance (MTBM). The information collected was displayed in graphs that allowed better analysis of the more than 1100 jet engines analyzed, showing the evolution of the jet engines by country each decade and within each use of the engine, commercial or military. Based on the data collected, it was possible to group the engines based on their characteristics, showing the most significant jet engines in the history of the aeronautical industry. This comparative analysis shows that although the Americans produced their first jet engine after the Europeans, American engines quickly showed improvements in the qualities analyzed, highlighting the United States as the central hub in the first decades of the Cold War. However, the conflict also brought about a rapid rise in the quality of Russian / Chinese engines that competed in quality for three decades with American engines. From the 1990s onwards, Europeans again appeared as the most significant competitors for Americans, which persists today. This study shows a more detailed analysis of jet engines over the past decades. It allows a greater understanding of how the aeronautics sector has developed in the area of jet engines and can help students and interested parties better prepare for the study on aeronautical propulsion when focused on the Jet Engines area.