https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Bloodhound supersonic car project, UK and South Africa

23rd June 2017

By: Sheila Barradas

Creamer Media Research Coordinator & Senior Deputy Editor

     

Font size: - +

Name of the Project
Bloodhound supersonic car (SSC) project.

Location
UK and South Africa.

Client
Founder sponsors include Swansea University, the Engineering and Sciences Research Council, the Serco group, the University of the West of England and STP.

Project Description
The project involves the construction of, possibly, the world’s fastest car.

The SSC is an amalgamation of car and aircraft technology, with the front half being a carbon-fibre monocoque, similar to that of a racing car, and the back half being a metallic frame, with panels like those of an aircraft. It will weigh more than seven tonnes and is expected to reach a speed of more than 1 600 km/h.

The Bloodhound will have a slender, 14-m-long body, with two front wheels mounted within the body and two rear wheels mounted externally within the wheel fairings.

Jobs to Be Created
Not stated.

Value
R515-million.

Duration
The Bloodhound is expected to make its 1 609 km/h run in 2018.

Latest Developments
The Bloodhound SSC will be driven for the first time at Cornwall Airport Newquay, in the UK, this October, twenty years after the current land-speed record of 1 228 km/h was set.
 
Wing Commander Andy Green, who steered the Thrust SSC to a new record on October 15, 1997, will also be at the wheel of the Bloodhound SSC.

The Newquay runway trials will mark the culmination of a month of tests to prove the car’s steering, brakes, suspension, data systems, besides others, as well as the EJ200 jet engine, sourced from a Eurofighter Typhoon. 

The Bloodhound is expected to be driven at speeds of up to 321 km/h on the 2.7 km long runway.

The final record attempt will take place on South Africa’s Hakskeen Pan, in the Northern Cape, in 2018, when the ultimate goal is to reach a speed of 1 600 km/h.

Before it moves under its own power at Newquay, the Bloodhound will undergo several days of static tie-down tests. 

The jet engine will be run up, with the car chained to the ground, so that the performance of the car’s bespoke air intake, fuel and electrical systems can be checked. All being well, this will be followed by dynamic testing.

Of primary interest is the low-speed capability of the jet engine intake, positioned above the cockpit.

Designed to work best at speeds of more than 1 287 km/h, the project engineers need to understand how it performs at very low speeds. 
 
Having real-world acceleration data will enable Bloodhound chief aerodynamicist Ron Ayers to plan the sequence of runs in South Africa that, it is hoped, will result in a new land-speed record.

The Newquay trials will also be Green’s first opportunity to drive the car and experience the steering feel, throttle, brake action, noise and vibration, which cannot be simulated.

It takes a team to run the Bloodhound and this will also be the first opportunity to train the support crew, as well as develop the car’s operating procedures, prove and refine the safety protocols, and practice radio communications, before heading to the Kalahari in late 2018.

During the Newquay tests, the car will be powered only by a jet engine and use wheels shod with pneumatic tyres, 84 cm in diameter, from an English Electric Lightning fighter, specially reconditioned by Dunlop. The Bloodhound has three power plants, a Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet, a cluster of Nammo hybrid rockets and a supercharged Jaguar V8 engine that drives the rocket oxidiser pump.

As the runway wheels and suspension are slightly thicker than the solid aluminium wheels that will be used in the desert, some sections of carbon-fibre bodywork will not be fitted.

“The runway trials at Cornwall Airport Newquay will be the biggest milestone in the history of the project so far,” says Bloodhound project director Richard Noble.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Castrol (lubricants, brake and hydraulic fluids), Poynting (antennas).

On Budget and on Time?
The land-speed record attempt has been postponed to 2018. Initially planned for 2015, the UK-driven record attempt has faced a number of deferments, owing largely to budgetary constraints.

Contact Details for Project Information
Mettle PR, on behalf of Bloodhound, Jules Tipler, tel +44 7811 166 796 or email jules.tipler@mettlepr.com.
 

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

Showroom

Showroom image
Alcohol Breathalysers

Supplier & Distributor of the Widest Range of Accurate & Easy-to-Use Alcohol Breathalysers

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Rentech
Rentech

Rentech provides renewable energy products and services to the local and selected African markets. Supplying inverters, lithium and lead-acid...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.515 0.571s - 159pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now