Bloodhound LSR

Bloodhound LSR
File:Bloodhound SSC project logo.PNG Logo of the project and image of the vehicle
Body and chassis
Class	Land speed record vehicle
Powertrain
Engine	Rolls-Royce Eurojet EJ200 afterburning turbofan Falcon HTP hybrid rocket Cosworth CA2010 Formula 1 V8 race engine (APU)
Dimensions
Length	13.5 m (44 ft)
Width	1.9 m (6.2 ft)
Kerb weight	6,422 kg (14,158 lb) (fuelled)
Chronology
Predecessor	ThrustSSC

Bloodhound SSC is a supersonic car currently in development. Its goal is to attain a 1,000 mph world land speed record. The team aims to break the land speed record with the pencil-shaped car, powered by a jet engine and a rocket designed to reach 1,000 miles per hour (1,609 km/h) together with a Cosworth CA2010 Formula 1 V8 petrol engine auxiliary power unit. It is being developed and built with the intention of breaking the land speed record by 33%, the largest ever margin.

If £15 million of sponsorship funding is obtained the construction should be complete by the end of 2012 and the record attempts should take place in 2013 and 2014. Bloodhound SSC will be tested on the Hakskeen Pan in the Mier area of the Northern Cape, South Africa where a track 20 km long, 500 m wide has been cleared by a local workforce, employed by the Northern Cape Government.

Development

The project was announced on 23 October 2008 at the Science Museum in London by Lord Drayson - then Minister of Science in the UK's Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills - who in 2006 first proposed the project to Richard Noble and Andy Green (the two men, between them, have held the land speed record for 29 years).

Richard Noble, engineer, adventurer, and former paint salesman, reached 633 mph (1,019 km/h) driving turbojet-powered car named Thrust2 across the Nevada desert in 1983. In 1997, he headed the project to build the ThrustSSC, driven by Andy Green, an RAF pilot, at 763 mph (1,228 km/h), thereby breaking the sound barrier, a record first for a land vehicle (in compliance with Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile rules).

The task of driving the Bloodhound will fall to Wing Commander Green, who will lie feet-first in the Bloodhound SSC. As the car accelerates from 0-1,000 miles per hour (1,609 km/h) in 42 seconds, he will experience a force of approximately 2.5g (two-and-a-half times his body weight) and blood will rush to his head.

To slow the vehicle, Green will deploy airbrakes at 800 mph (1,300 km/h), and subsequently parachutes at 600 mph (970 km/h), with disc brakes used below 250 mph (400 km/h). As he decelerates, experiencing forces of up to 3g, blood will drain to his feet, with a risk of driver blackout. To condition his body for these intense g-forces, he will practise in a stunt aircraft, flying upside-down over the British countryside.

Design

The project is based in the former Maritime Heritage Centre on the Bristol harbourside, located next to Brunel's SS Great Britain.

Aerodynamics

The College of Engineering at Swansea University has been heavily involved in the aerodynamic shape of the vehicle from the start. Professor Oubay Hassan, Professor Ken Morgan and their team have used Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to provide an understanding of the aerodynamic characteristics of the proposed shape, at all speeds, including predicting the likely vertical, lateral and drag forces on the vehicle and its pitch and yaw stability. This technology, originally developed for the aerospace industry, was validated for a land-going vehicle during the design of ThrustSSC. It was this involvement with the previous land speed record that prompted Richard Noble to approach Swansea in April 2007 for their help with this latest challenge. Swansea University's School of the Environment and Society was also enlisted to help determine a new test site for the record as the test site for the ThrustSSC record attempt has become unsuitable.

Engines

A prototype Eurojet EJ200 jet engine developed for the Eurofighter and bound for a museum, was donated to the project. This will take the car to 300 mph (480 km/h), after which a bespoke hybrid rocket designed by Daniel Jubb (nicknamed "Rocket Dan") will boost the car up to 1,000 miles per hour (1,609 km/h). A third engine, a 750 hp (560 kW) 2.4 Litre Cosworth CA2010 Formula 1 V8 petrol engine, is used as an auxiliary power unit and to drive the oxidiser pump for the rocket. The jet engine will provide nine tonnes of thrust and the rocket will add another 12. The supersonic car will have roughly the same power as 180 F1 cars.

Wheels

The four 36-inch (910 mm) diameter wheels will rotate at up to 10,200 rpm and will be forged from solid aluminium to resist the 50,000 g centrifugal forces.

Construction

Full scale model

Engineers produced the scale model which was exhibited at the launch, and will integrate the engineering behind the car into its curriculum, working with design team, led by Chief Engineer Mark Chapman. The car will be built at a site in Bristol. The site will include an educational centre. A full scale model was unveiled at the 2010 Farnborough International Airshow, when it was announced that Hampson Industries would begin to build the rear chassis section of the car in the first quarter of 2011 and that a deal for the manufacture of the front of the car was due. Chief Engineer Mark Chapman says, "We aim to shake down the vehicle on a runway in the UK at the beginning of 2013."

Education

The Bloodhound Project is first and foremost an education project designed to inspire future generations to take up careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by showcasing these subjects in the most exciting way possible. The education programme covers all phases (ages) of education from primary through to secondary and further education, plus Bloodhound@University. Any school, teacher, youth group or home educated family in the world can register their details on the BLOODHOUND SSC website and download the free curriculum resource materials. Education institutions in the UK or South Africa can request a visit from a member of the Bloodhound education team or STEM Ambassador who will work alongside a teacher and deliver a presentation on the project. The Bloodhound education programme is also working with other STEM interventions and initiatives to ensure the Project reaches as many schools as possible. These include F1 in Schools (Bloodhound Class), the Smallpeice Trust, Primary Engineer, Science Made Simple and Young Engineers

See also

• List of vehicle speed records
• North American Eagle Project
• The Bullet Project

External links

• Official website
• Andy Green's BLOODHOUND SSC diary for the BBC
• BLOODHOUND SSC at Swansea University
• BLOODHOUND SSC at the AoC (Association of Colleges) 2010 Annual Conference
• Amos, Jonathan (22 October 2008). "Supersonic car targets 1,000mph". BBC NEWS - Science & Environment. BBC. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
• Semple, Ian (23 October 2008). "Faster than a bullet - the 1,000mph car". The Guardian. Guardian Newspapers. Retrieved 23 October 2008.
• Piper, John (20 March 2009). "Unleash the Bloodhound: How to design a 1,000mph car". The Guardian. Guardian Newspapers. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
• Bloodhound SSC 1000 mph rocket car, land speed record attempt (animation) on YouTube
• Bloodhound SSC vs Eurofighter Typhoon race (animation) on YouTube