This paper discusses the requirements for the propulsion system of supersonic cruise aircraft that are quiet enough to fly over land and operate from civil airports, have trans-pacific range in the order of $11,112km$$(6000nmi)$, and payload in the order of $4545kg$$(10,000lb.)$. It is concluded that the resulting requirements for both the fuel consumption and engine thrust/weight ratio for such aircraft will require high compressor exit and turbine inlet temperatures, together with bypass ratios that are significantly higher than typical supersonic-capable engines. Several technologies for improving both the fuel consumption and weight of the propulsion system are suggested. Some of these directly reduce engine weight while others, by improving individual component performance, will enable higher bypass ratios. The latter should therefore also indirectly reduce the bare engine weight. It is emphasized, however, that these specific technologies require considerable further development. While the use of higher bypass ratio is a significant departure from more usual engines designed for supersonic cruise, it is nonetheless considered to be a practical option for an aircraft of this kind.

1.
Bressollette
,
A.
, 2002, “
Sonic Boom Considerations in Preliminary Design of Supersonic Aircraft
,” M. S. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts.
2.
Kurzke
,
J.
, 1998,
GASTURB: A Program to Calculate Design and Off-Design Performance of Gas Turbines
, User’s Manual, Version 8.0,
J. Kurzke
, Dachau.
3.
Oates
,
G. C.
, 1984,
Aerothermodynamics of Gas Turbine and Rocket Propulsion
,
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
, New York.
4.
Kerrebrock
,
J. L.
, 1996,
Aircraft Engines and Gas Turbines
, 2nd ed.,
MIT Press
, Cambridge.
5.
Seddon
,
J.
, and
Goldsmith
,
E. L.
, 1985,
Intake Aerodynamics
,
AIAA Education Series
,
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
, New York.
6.
Rech
,
J.
, and
Leyman
,
C. S.
,
A Case Study by Aerospatiale and British Aerospace on the Concorde
, AIAA Professional Study Series,
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
, New York.
7.
Wasserbauer
,
J. F.
,
Meleason
,
E. T.
, and
,
P. L.
, 1996, “
Experimental Investigation of the Performance of a Mach-2.7 Two-Dimensional Bifurcated Inlet Duct with 30 Percent Internal Contraction
,” NASA technical memorandum 106728, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
8.
Schuler
,
B. J.
, 2000, “
Experimental Investigation of an Aspirated Fan Stage
,” Ph.D. dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
9.
Gerend
,
R. P.
, and
Roundhill
,
J. P.
, 1970, “
Correlation of Gas Turbine Engine Weights and Dimensions
,” AIAA Paper No. 70-669.
10.
Young
,
J. B.
, and
Wilcock
,
R. C.
, 2002, “
Modelling the Air-Cooled Gas Turbine: Part 1-General Thermodynamics
.”
ASME J. Turbomach.
0889-504X,
124
, pp.
207
213
.
11.
Squire
,
L. C.
, 1981, “
Experimental Work on the Aerodynamics of Integrated Slender Wings for Supersonic Flight
,”
Prog. Aerosp. Sci.
0376-0421,
20
, pp.
1
96
.