Is there any theoretical problem powering the fan with an electric motor A question that I have been wondering about lately is whether it would be possible to power the fan in a modern hi-bypass turbofan with an electric motor and achieve performance comparable to the kerosene-fueled engine. Or is the 10% of air that flows through the combustion chamber crucial for the operation of the system?
(I wish to ignore all things that make electric aircraft unviable, like power-to-weight ratio of engines and battery capacity)
Edit: I have realized that the &quot;electric&quot; part of the question is really not the core of the question. What I am really interested in is whether it would be feasible to power a plane using only the fan and not the exhaust jet with a performance similar to a current jet (which would make the engine similar to a turboprop with many blades and a cover around it)
Taking into account your wish to ignore all things that make electric aircraft unviable, like power-to-weight ratio of engines and battery capacity, the answer is yes.
You would, however, need to compensate the missing jet engine thrust by increasing the fan thrust.
Otherwise the answer is no.