Abstract
Research Overview
Aircraft propulsion technology is a mature field. It is especially supposed to be stubborn in sticking to proven technology till it becomes impractical to ignore the next trend. The aircraft industry is schizophrenic. On the general aviation front, most of the small aircraft that are flying use technology from the 1960s for propulsion. As it is a small market in relation to the airline market, there is very little technology innovation that happens in this sector. It is serviced by small start-ups and entrepreneurs rather than by large companies. The major engine suppliers in this sector are Lycoming of Pennysylvania and Teledyne Continental Motors of Alabama and while both have sturdy engines to offer to the market, both are still not customer responsive the way players in other sectors are.
The jet engine market on the other hand, lives on new technology. With a large number of aircraft crisscrossing the world every single day, technology advances that can result in significant fuel consumption decreases or just maintenance reduction are immediately snapped up by the market. The next generation of engines will enable planes to cross thousands of miles faster than the current generation. The wired world with its focus on eliminating geography still needs to send hundreds of executives all over the world for its mergers, acquisitions and other business deals. With the spread of outsourcing, executives are often in countries half a globe from their employees. The need for face time drives this sector.
Advances in aircraft technology have traditionally followed the advances in propulsion technology. And because propulsion technology itself is the primary enabler, a look at where it is heading also gives us insights into where the aircraft market is heading. Barely a hundred years after man's first powered flight, man can casually fly at three times the speed of sound in powered flight. In terms of sheer achievement, this change is unparalleled. And driving it are the numerous evolutionary and revolutionary changes in power plant technology. Aircraft power plants are primarily of two types--piston engines and reaction engines. Piston engines are cousins of automotive engines and the two fields regularly borrow advances from each other. So it is not surprising to see what happens today in the automotive field show up tomorrow in the aeronautical field and vice versa. Piston engines are mature technologies with over a hundred years of advancements behind them. And while most of the development is still evolutionary, once in a while, something revolutionary does come along and change the perception of a mature technology. One good example here would be the entry of Solar powered aircraft into a market that has primarily run on gasoline. This research service touches on some of the technologies that could change the sector.
Table of Contents
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Scope and Methodology
- Scope of the Research Service
- Methodology
- Key Research Findings
- Technology Snapshot
- Noteworthy Emerging Technologies and Applications
2 TECHNOLOGY VIEWPOINT AND ADOPTION FACTOR ANALYSIS
- Technology Primer
- Piston Engines--Technology Primer
- Jet Engines--A Technology Primer
- Technology Drivers and Challenges
- Adoption Drivers
- Adoption Challenges and Roadblocks
3 ASSESSMENT OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
- Piston Engines
- Reinventing the Cylinder Head--India
- The Revolutionary Randcam--USA
- Creating Smarter Plugs--USA
- BMW's TurboSteamer Concept--Germany
- The Roton Rotary Valve Design--UK
- The Coates Spherical Rotary Valve--USA
- Thielert Commercializes Diesel Aircraft Engines--Germany
- The Wilksch Airmotive Diesel Engine--UK
- The Revolutionary Design That is the Wankel--Germany
- Zoche Aero Diesels--Germany
- Diesel Air Limited--UK
- The Solar Aircraft--UK and Switzerland
- Firefly Energy Re-Works the Lead Acid Cell--USA
- Jet Engines
- Turbmeca Introduces Ardiden Turboshaft--France
- Supersonic Combustion Ramjets--France
- Scramjet Propulsion Breakthrough--India
- Pulse Detonation Engines--USA
- Thermal Barrier Coatings Using Nanolayered Crystalline Structures--USA
- Thermal Barrier Coatings for Gas Turbine Applications--Japan
- Crack Nucleation of Thermal Barrier Coatings--Canada
- Oxidation Resistance of Thermal Barrier Coatings Increased--Singapore
- Robust Gas Turbine Diagnostics Technology Using Fuzzy Logic--UK
- Aircraft
- Adam Aircraft--US
- Eclipse Aviation--US
- Other Players--Global
- Fuels
- Soya Oil Blend
- Biofuels
4 DIRECTORY OF PATENTS AND KEY CONTACTS
- Key Patents
- Propulsion Technology
- Air Taxis
- Database of Key Industry Participants
- Corporate
- Universities
5 FROST & SULLIVAN 2006 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AWARDS
- Technology Innovation Award
- Award Description
- Award Recipient
- Product Innovation Award
- Award Description
- Award Recipient
6 DECISION SUPPORT DATABASE
- DatabaseTables
- Number of Aircraft in North America (2001-2011)
- Number of Aircraft Globally (1999-2006)
- Number of Military Aircraft Globally (1999-2006)
- Number of Commercial Aircraft in Service (1999-2006)
- Number of Airports Globally (1999-2006)
- Number of Paved Airports Globally (1999-2006)
- Number of Unpaved Airports Globally (1999-2006)
- Number of Airports Globally with Long Runways (1999-2006)
