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The piston engine
Why a piston engine ?
Spark-ignition piston engines (or gasoline engines) and gas turbines have different advantages and disadvantages depending on the application. Here are some of the advantages of spark-ignition engines over gas turbines.
- Better efficiency at part load due to their ability to change their airflow and air-fuel ratio depending on load, which is not the case for gas turbines. Which they are more efficient at maximum load.
- Lower cost of acquisition, use and maintenance.
- For well-established technical reasons, below 800 KW, a modern piston engine, designed specifically for aeronautics, will be more efficient than a turbine. The evolution of the compression rates of the smallest of them shows their lower limit.
- A piston engine turns slower than a gas turbine, which has a consequence for the size of a reduction gear or an alternator.
- The infrared signature and noise of a piston engine are advantageous compared to that of a turbine.
- When powered, the piston engine is less sensitive to altitude.
- The choice between a gasoline engine and a gas turbine depends on the specific application and performance requirements.
This chart expresses the mass (engine + fuel) that must be taken into account for a 3-hour mission
and per kW produced. It allows you to compare different engines. Source: Bernard CERTAIN study