Compared with the conventionally gaseous or liquid working media, the specific internal energy of supercritical carbon dioxide (SCD) is higher at the same temperature and pressure, and the critical temperature of carbon dioxide is close to room temperature, making SCD a potential new working medium for pneumatic launch. To analyze the feasibility of this conception, an analytical model of a pneumatic catapult is established on basis of the conservations of mass and energy. The model consists of a high-pressure chamber and a low-pressure chamber connected by multiple valves, and there is a movable piston in the low-pressure chamber that can push an aircraft to accelerate. The effects of the launch readiness state of SCD in the high-pressure chamber, the initial volume of the low-pressure chamber and the valve control on the movement of the aircraft are analyzed. It is found that there is a restrictive relation between the temperature and pressure of the launch readiness state of SCD, i.e., there is a maximum allowable launch readiness pressure when the launch readiness temperature is fixed. If this restrictive relation is not satisfied, the working medium in the low-pressure chamber will drop to its triple point within a few milliseconds, leading to a launch failure. Owing to this restrictive relation, there is an optimal launch readiness state of SCD with the highest working capacity for any allowable launch readiness temperature. The pressure of the low-pressure chamber will decrease significantly as the initial volume increases, leading to a decreased acceleration of the aircraft. The acceleration can be controlled below a critical value by a designed sequential blasting technique of multiple valves. The calculated results show that a 500 kg aircraft can be accelerated from 0 to 58 m/s in 0.9 s with 36 kg of carbon dioxide. This research provides a new technique for the controllable cold launch of an aircraft.

与常规的气态或液态工质相比，超临界二氧化碳（SCD）在相同温度和压力下的比内能更高，二氧化碳的临界温度接近室温，使SCD成为潜在的新型工质用于气动发射。为分析该构想的可行性，基于质量和能量守恒建立气动弹射器的解析模型。该模型由多个阀门连接的高压室和低压室组成，低压室中有一个可移动的活塞，可以推动飞机加速。高压舱中 SCD 发射准备状态的影响，分析了低压室的初始容积和阀门对飞行器运动的控制。发现SCD的发射准备状态的温度和压力之间存在限制关系，即在发射准备温度固定的情况下，存在最大允许的发射准备压力。如果不满足这个约束关系，低压腔内的工作介质将在几毫秒内下降到三相点，导致发射失败。由于这种限制关系，对于任何允许的发射准备温度，都存在具有最高工作能力的 SCD 的最佳发射准备状态。低压室的压力会随着初始容积的增加而显着降低，导致飞行器加速度降低。通过设计的多阀顺序爆破技术，可以将加速度控制在临界值以下。计算结果表明，一架 500 kg 的飞机可以在 0.9 s 内以 36 kg 的二氧化碳从 0 加速到 58 m/s。该研究为飞机可控冷发射提供了一种新技术。