F-22 Turbofan Extras

Afterburners
The main idea behind a jet engine afterburner is to add more thrust (up to 50% or more) without adding much weight or complexity to the engine. An afterburner injects fuel directly into the exhaust gas that has already left the combustion chamber. This heats and expands the exhaust gas further, and that is what increases thrust. However, the downside of afterburners is that they dramatically increases fuel consumption. The two afterburners on the Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 can push the F-22's cruising speed of 1,140 mph to a top speed of 1,600 mph in just a few seconds.

afterburner    No afterburner
                                            http://www.patricksaviation.com/photos/Manolo/10588/                                                            http://www.1000pictures.com/view.htm?caircraft/fighter+fraptor_5000.jpg+x1024+y768
The F-22 flying with full afterburners (left). Notice the red hot exhaust gas that is coming out of the engine due to afterburners heating and expanding the exhaust gas. The F-22 (right) is flying without afterburners, and there is no red hot afterburner exhaust gas coming out of the engine.

Thrust Vectoring Technology
The F-22 has 2-D thrust vectoring technology, which means that the thrust coming out of the turbofan engines can be aimed, or vector, up to twenty degrees up or down. This increases maneuverability, and allows the aircraft to perform at an angle of attack of over sixty degrees, which is an angle of attack thought untouchable until now.
            thrust                              Thrust Vectoring
                                http://www.f-22raptor.com/af_engines.php                                                                                http://www.f-22raptor.com/af_engines.php
The Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 during an engine test (left). The same engine vectoring exhaust gases downward (right).

thrust vectoring
http://www.area51zone.com/aircraft/f22.shtml
The YF-22 (a prototype of the F-22) using thrust vectoring to fly, without stalling, at an angle of 110 degrees (notice the position of the horizon). This is an amazing angle of attack, one that the F-15, F-16, and F-18 cannot achieve for long durations. The F-22, in this example, can sustain this position by angling the thrust vectors downward. 


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Powering the F-22
F-22 Turbofan Extras
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