Turbine bypass engine: A new supersonic cruise propulsion concept

Engine performance and mission studies were carried out for a single-spool Turbine Bypass Engine concept. Comparisons were made between the TBE, a conventional single-spool turbojet, and the Pratt & Whitney Variable Stream Control Engine. The airplane assumed for the study was a Mach 2.32 commercial supersonic transport. The nominal mission was a 4000-nautical miles total range with a 300-nautical miles subsonic cruise leg. The figure of merit was the minimum takeoff gross weight for the mission. Comparisons of the three engines were also made for the 4000-nautical miles total range with longer subsonic cruise legs.