'New, British and exciting’
To a company that has supplied high-performance engineering materials – from plastics to high-strength alloys – to the motorsport, marine and aerospace industries, becoming a Bloodhound sponsor seemed an obvious choice.
Paul Czorny, business development representative for Smiths High Performance, says the supersonic car project appealed because it was “new, British and exciting” and because of the firm’s extensive experience in supplying materials to some of the most demanding markets.
Since 2013, the engineers at the Bedfordshire company have worked closely with several key people at Bloodhound, supplying high-performance materials – mostly high-strength steel and high-strength aerospace aluminium sheet, plate, bar and tube, as well as plastics
and titanium.
These materials have been used for the fin, the spinal structure, the wheel hubs and the fuel tank housing. “Basically, we have worked on the majority of the structure of the car,” says Czorny.
The extra work incurred by being involved in the project has been a huge source of pride for the firm and a rewarding experience for all involved, he says. “I have been dealing with the Bloodhound team for more than three years, and working with them has been a privilege. They are all experts in their fields and have such unrivalled passion for the project.”
To spread the word about the project and the firm’s involvement, Smiths brought the Bloodhound show car to the company headquarters in Biggleswade for a day. “It was a great chance for our customers, schoolchildren and the general public to see a feat of British engineering to come,” says Czorny. “It’s a real talking point with current and new customers, and it’s the one project that Smiths High Performance is involved with that we can talk about freely.”
He adds: “I think that the Bloodhound project coverage, and ability to promote this feat of British engineering at its best, have given the engineering industry a real injection of life into the possibilities we can offer in the future.”
Cool solutions One of many companies invited to an open day at Bloodhound’s education centre in Bristol’s Great Western Docks was 3CL. The centre’s director, Tony Parraman, enquired as to what the company did and, upon finding out, requested that it help with one or two “little problems”.
3CL is an industrial refrigeration and air-conditioning design and manufacturing firm, and also an installation, service and maintenance contractor. Over the past 40 years, the Shropshire company has designed and made special-purpose refrigeration machines for a diverse range of tasks, from nuclear material cooling to chemical processing in the Middle East. Other projects have included creating bespoke containerised refrigeration plant for mining in five-million-year-old hot rocks, and building military vehicle environmental test chambers.
“So, in answer to Parraman’s question, an engineering challenge such as this is right up our street,” says 3CL managing director George Wicks.
The firm’s engineers are embarking on this latest challenge, working closely with Bloodhound’s engineering lead, James Painter, to create a range of cooling solutions for the 1,000mph car. “With anything that gets warm or hot on Bloodhound, 3CL will be cooling it to maintain optimum operating temperatures,” says Wicks.
He adds that it is a privilege to be working with the talented Bloodhound team’s “simply brilliant people on technical discussions”, but feels that the best is yet to come.
“Our involvement includes engine cooling and temperature control, cockpit cooling, electronics and hydraulics cooling, as well as the ventilation and cooling for the fuelling, service, and turnaround areas – not forgetting the drinks coolers and, we hope, celebratory Champagne ice.”
3CL is still in the design, calculation and consultation process, holding meetings with the team as ongoing requirements are amended and specifications are changed. While the challenge is by no means small, Wicks says that 3CL sees it as a long-term project and is thrilled to be involved. “Being a product sponsor, we are still in the early development stages but are giving our time and products freely and feel proud to be part of this exciting project,” he says. “It provides great self-esteem and will be a perfect opportunity to showcase our products and services to clients.
“Being involved with Bloodhound will show people that, even after more than four decades, 3CL is still at the forefront of what we do.”
Making automotive history After talks with the Bloodhound team last summer, it became clear that his company should get involved with the project, says David Embley, general manager of Atlas Copco Tools. Helping to make automotive history was an attractive proposition for the manufacturer of industrial tools and equipment, but it was the synergy between the Bloodhound project’s aspirations and Atlas Copco’s core values that sealed the deal.
“These [aspirations] are sustainability, ergonomic design, education, and getting more
women into engineering,” says Embley. Involvement with the project also helped the firm’s community work, he says. “It gives us the opportunity to engage with our local community, something that we have already started with a Bloodhound education day at Longdean School in Hemel Hempstead.”
The event, held to introduce the school’s 150 year-eight pupils to the project and teach them more about Atlas Copco’s operations, involved the children designing, building and racing K’nex air rocket cars. “The ultimate aim was to inspire some of the children to consider engineering and other Stem subjects, and help to close the projected shortfall in people qualified in these fields,” says Embley.
Since August, Atlas Copco Tools has supplied a range of handheld air tools that are being used to build the car. These include grinders, sanders, drills and blow guns. “We are also advising the build team on identifying some key applications where the joint fastening is critical,” says Embley.
Using its range of electric tools and quality assurance software, Atlas Copco will be able to ensure that safety-critical joints and fastenings are made to the correct torque levels and rundown angle, that the correct fastenings have been used, and that all have been completed. “These will be essential to the safe running of the car and will help the team to achieve the 1,000mph goal as safely as is possible,” he says.
In addition, Atlas Copco Compressors has supplied two compressors, two air receivers and AirNet pipework for the workshop. Chris Dee, Bloodhound’s assembly and build lead engineer, says: “We need the ability to simulate the start-up procedure for the EJ200 turbofan jet engine that involves the vehicle’s software, hydraulic pumps and AC/DC circuits. In the ‘dry’ workshop test operation, the whole of the 5,000-litre air receiver’s contents of 3.5bar compressed air will be released in just 30 seconds to actuate the jet engine turbine rotation.”
So far, there have been no bumps along the road. But as the deadline for the 2015 test trials looms, the pressure is on for all of those involved. “Timing is key to the project and making sure that the team’s milestones are met on schedule,” says Embley. “Our ability to have products delivered to the technical centre within 48 hours
of request is helping them to
achieve this.”
Once the Bloodhound team in Bristol has received all the components and parts for the car, Atlas Copco’s involvement and application analysis will be ramped up, says Embley. “In particular, supplying advanced tooling solutions will become more important as the car testing begins. The data gathered will help to identify the critical fastening requirements.”
For Atlas Copco, working on the project is about more than just achieving a world record, he says. It’s also about inspiring talented young students to explore their full potential in engineering, and encouraging diversity in the sector. “I hope it promotes greater diversity of people and thinking. There is always a better way, and this approach should benefit UK manufacturing.”
The project could also bring benefits to the area where the Bloodhound car will be run, he adds. “I hope to see the community in the Hakskeen Pan region of South Africa benefiting from longer-term improvements to their environment, such as clean water, communications infrastructure and a boost to the local economy.”
Getting in a spin Chris Jones can clearly remember the day that his company got involved with the Bloodhound project. “I was at an exhibition and I saw their stand,” recalls the managing director of Micro-Epsilon, which supplies sensors and measurement systems. “As an engineer, I believe it’s important that we make efforts to encourage more young people into the sector. So I was onboard with the Bloodhound philosophy of education. I approached them to become a product sponsor – we take part in a lot of difficult projects, so I thought we could help.”
The Merseyside firm’s involvement in the project has included supplying equipment for use in a high-speed wheel-spin test. The test’s objectives were to verify that the expansion, temperature increase and vibration of Bloodhound’s aluminium wheel were within expected, safe limits, and to determine whether the results would closely match the team’s predictions from computer simulation.
For the test, Micro-Epsilon supplied 15 non-contact laser displacement sensors and an infrared thermal-imaging camera. In addition, two laser displacement sensors with a measuring range of 2mm were set up to measure the thermal expansion of the frame that runs across the top of the test rig for calibration purposes.
“Dynamic testing of the wheel is a critical part of the programme,” says Jones. “When spinning at 10,000rpm, there is an element of dynamic movement as forces try to pull the wheel apart. The use of a Rolls-Royce facility, in conjunction with our sensors, meant we could confirm that the wheel behaved as simulation had suggested.”
The test results showed that the 902.6mm diameter wheel expanded by 1.6mm, as expected. Also as expected was the ‘dishing’ of the wheel caused by a variation in expansion rates between the aluminium content and the steel hub.
The empirical data collected during the test will now be used to fine-tune the computer simulations to deliver a more optimum wheel design, according to the Bloodhound team.
During the spin test, Micro-Epsilon’s high-resolution infrared imaging camera was located in a confined space underneath the test rig to monitor the temperature of the entire wheel. The imager was able to capture and store thermal video and images with extremely high optical resolution (382 x 288 pixels) at a full frame rate of 80Hz.
The camera was also equipped with a detector that provides excellent thermal sensitivities of 40mK. This enables the camera to detect very small changes in temperature. “The wheel heats up to 95°C from friction effects caused by the buffeting of the air,” says Jones.
Micro-Epsilon’s products will also be fitted on the car during the record attempt in South Africa next year. Primarily, the firm’s laser sensors will be used to measure ride height. “This is done by shining a laser on the ground so that we can measure dynamic movement of the vehicle and the ride height can be adjusted accordingly,” says Jones.
The biggest challenge with this ride-height sensor has been designing its packaging to withstand the extreme conditions of the record attempt, he says. “The packaging is going to be shaken around quite violently during the running of the car, so all internal components have been mounted to ensure they can withstand the forces being applied.” Desert conditions also pose a design problem. “We had to custom-design the optics, to ensure that the laser intensity reflects off the desert floor in the manner that it should,” he says.
The work on the Bloodhound project has been technically challenging but a lot of fun, says Jones. “The Bloodhound team have been great to work with. They are really positive, and they are working flat out to make this dream come true.”
'It's been a great journey'
Gill Sensors and Controls is one of the behind-the-scenes heroes of Formula One, quietly supplying some of the world’s best motorsport teams with its range of liquid-level, position and speed sensors. But the confidentiality agreements that are in place with such teams mean that the firm rarely gets to shout about what it does.
That lack of publicity is one of the reasons the Lymington company wanted to get involved with the Bloodhound project. Firstly, it wants the project to be a success as a means of promoting British engineering. But it also recognised that Bloodhound offered Gill the chance to get some recognition for its work.
“It’s great to be able to show what we can do,” says Simon Peaty, sales engineer at Gill. “We have got some great sensor technology, but when we are providing F1 solutions there are confidentiality agreements in place. Bloodhound allows us to say to customers ‘this is what we can do’.”
Gills’s role on the programme started about two-and-a-half years ago, after Bloodhound engineers came across the firm’s technology while taking apart a Cosworth engine. “That was an oil-level sensor,” says Peaty. “But as conversations progressed, we talked about other products such as capacitative liquid level sensors, which have no moving parts and so are highly reliable. Those ended up as being the products fitted on the main and auxiliary fuel tanks to measure the volume of fuel onboard.” Other level sensors on Bloodhound, meanwhile, are installed on the coolant tanks.
The Bloodhound car will feature a rocket that comprises a solid fuel made from synthetic rubber similar to that used in aircraft tyres (HTPB, or hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene,) with metal powders and burning rate modifiers added to the mix. This is contained within a composite case slung beneath Bloodhound’s other powerplant – an EJ200 jet engine.
The fuel needs oxygen pumped into it at a furious rate. A previous sensor solution couldn’t give quick enough readings, so the Bloodhound team chose to fit two stainless-steel Gill sensors that give accurate and timely readings, despite the forces being applied during the running of the car.
“The sensors needed to be ultra-reliable as they are fitted in a unit that is installed right behind the driver,” says Peaty. “If the sensors don’t work when they come to run the car, then it’s game over. The Bloodhound team would have to split the car open to get them out.”
As well as level sensors, Gill is also supplying rotary, angular and linear position sensors for the project. The firm’s Blade 360 rotary sensors, for instance, will reveal the angle of the front/rear winglets to enhance aerodynamic performance.
There are also sensors fitted on the front and rear suspension deflection, enabling the car’s wheels to penetrate the surface crust of the desert where the car will run to just the right level, without cutting into the softer sand underneath. “The sensors tell Bloodhound when the car’s wheels are going too deep,” says Peaty.
In addition, inductive position sensors are being used as brake retraction sensors for the car’s disc brakes, while Gill’s Blade 360 rotary sensor tells engineers how far the hydraulically activated air-brake doors have opened.
One final application of Gill’s technology is the use of its linear position sensors on the accelerator and brake pedals. “The car uses drive-by-wire technology, so when Andy Green [who will drive the Bloodhound] puts his foot down, it will be our sensor that tells the whole car to go,” says Peaty. “It’s the same on the brake pedal. So we are involved right at the beginning and right at the end of the record attempt.”
As the Bloodhound project moves towards the first running of the car later this year, Peaty says that excitement levels are building.
“We are proud to be involved. The Bloodhound team have been great to work with. It helps that we have been involved since the very beginning. It’s been a great journey.”
Inspiring the next generation Delcam has been involved with Bloodhound since November 2013 after Mark Forth, the firm’s advanced manufacturing product manager, heard about the supersonic car project on a BBC Radio 4 programme. Since then, the Birmingham firm has contributed a great deal to support the project, offering its advanced CADCAM software to manufacture some key components for Bloodhound.
“One example of this is the steering support column – an essential component for ensuring that Bloodhound remains on track during its world land speed record attempt,” says Mark Gadsden, product marketing manager at Delcam and lead on the firm’s Bloodhound sponsorship.
However, the focus has really been on supporting customers that are manufacturing parts for Bloodhound using Delcam’s CADCAM software, he says. “The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) at Sheffield University, for example, used our specialist high-speed machining software, PowerMill, to produce the front suspension sub-assembly for the car.”
Otherwise known as the goat’s head, this sub-assembly is composed of four huge, five-axis machinings that are made from 7075 aluminium-alloy forgings used for the greatest strength and control of residual stresses. Using the latest CNC machinery, the
AMRC machined the parts, and removed 94% of the metal, leaving only what was vital for the design. This process reduced the weight for the whole assembly from 924kg to just 68kg.
Conor La Grue, Bloodhound’s engineering lead and commercial and product sponsorship lead, says: “Both the material and the machining for the goat’s head have been fully sponsored. This is amazing when you consider that for the price of the materials, project management, programming, machining and inspection you could easily fill a not insignificant garage full of your favourite supercars.”
The PowerMill software was also used by manufacturing techology solutions firm Jaivel, in Mansfield, to program more than 50 components for Bloodhound, including the housing and gearbox parts for the car’s auxiliary power unit – a Jaguar supercharged V8 engine which pumps fuel to the car’s Nammo rocket.
While, as a sponsor, Delcam has received no payment for its contribution to the project, Gadsden says one of the great advantages about Bloodhound is that everything is open-source. “We have produced YouTube videos of the parts we’ve helped provide for Bloodhound, which has contributed to a return on our sponsorship investment,” he says.
The main challenge for Delcam during its involvement with the project has been providing support for Bloodhound while also completing commercial production work, says Gadsden. “To overcome this, we raised the profile of the project internally, to get more buy-in across the organisation,” he says.
Another key benefit for the firm has been the opportunity to engage with the educational sector and help to inspire the next generation of engineers. “We now have several Bloodhound Stem ambassadors who have been lucky enough to receive training at Bloodhound’s technical centre and see the car being built,” says Gadsden. “Since then, our ambassadors have visited local schools to share their passion for science and
engineering, and explain the technology behind Bloodhound.”
Gadsden believes that the project has helped to promote the innovation and manufacturing expertise of small firms, proving the country’s manufacturing
supply chain to be a “world leader in undertaking complex engineering challenges”.
Bloodhound has also given the small firms involved a great platform for networking and opportunities to forge stronger partnerships, he adds. For example, Delcam recently collaborated with SGS Tools at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in the US to promote the association that both companies have with the project.
Ultimately, small firms’ involvement with Bloodhound is about looking to the wider positive future impact that the project will have for the manufacturing and engineering sectors, says Gadsden.
“Some 2.5 million schoolchildren have already learnt about the project, and inspiring the next generation of engineers is crucial if the UK is going to successfully compete as a manufacturing powerhouse in the decades ahead.”
Networking with big companies The Bloodhound project would have not got where it is today without the more than 180 small firms that have so far contributed to its supply chain. Happily for the small firms that offer their products and services to the project for free, getting involved also brings them plenty of benefits. These range from raising the profile of their organisation to networking with blue-chip companies.
Bampton Packaging, an industrial packaging and export packing firm in Nottingham, can attest to such benefits – it has seen an increase in business since it became a part of the Bloodhound supply chain. The firm is tasked with packing all the vital spare parts for the car to go to South Africa, and has already packed the first wheels for testing at Hakskeen Pan in 2015.
The company is well-suited to this kind of specialised project, as it has many years of experience in designing and manufacturing bespoke packaging for complex military equipment, often destined for overseas locations. Managing director David Williams says: “As we have our own in-house design team, we do not have any challenges in respect of the design and manufacture of cases required to pack the parts, but the challenge with this project is timescales.”
While much of the firm’s work with Bloodhound has yet to begin, the Bampton team has already been supporting the project’s promotional activities, kitting out support vans to safely transport all the equipment used for Bloodhound-related educational events in this country.
The firm also supplies the foam blocks that are used for some of the Bloodhound educational projects. “These are taken to schools and events where children shape the blocks, fit wheels, then race their models using mini rockets,”
says Williams.
Although Bampton is just one small cog in the giant Bloodhound machine, the firm is proud of its role and has already begun seeing a lot of interest generated in the company as a result, he says. “Being involved means a small firm is there among some big blue-chip companies. It gets a lot of interest from our existing customers, and is often a talking point with potential customers.”
In addition, having a ready-made connection with other companies in the Bloodhound supply chain brings its own perks, says Williams. “We have been contacted by, and have done work with, several of the other sponsors. We are hopeful, as the project speeds up, that we will receive more interest from other companies involved, as our name becomes known to a wider audience.”
'It's a project in a million'
Parker has a history of supporting land-speed record-breaking attempts. Back in the 1990s, the Warwick motion and control technology company was a key supplier on the successful Thrust SSC, which achieved a speed of 763mph. That legacy meant the company was keen to get involved with Bloodhound, and it joined the programme as far back as 2010.
If getting Bloodhound from zero to 1,000mph is one of the biggest challenges involved in the project, so is stopping the vehicle after it reaches the ‘measured mile’. Slowing the car by 60mph every second, in extreme conditions, is no mean task. And at top speed, traditional brakes won’t work – so Bloodhound will rely on powerful air brakes to slow down safely.
The company’s involvement in the project includes supplying hydraulic cylinders and related products to open the air-brake doors. The Bloodhound team has calculated the loads that the air-brake doors will exert onto the cylinders, and Parker has supplied products with sufficient strength.
Two Parker hydraulic cylinders are mounted to one of the bulkheads. These cylinders drive a saddle, with a double-linkage mechanism between the saddle
and the doors. One drive bar operates a bell crank, and the second drive bar operates from the bell crank to the door.
“We tried to use as many standard products as we could when designing and building the cylinders, but there has needed to be some tweaks and customisation,” says Mark Cattermole, industrial systems product manager at Parker. “Standard port fittings on the cylinders would have encroached on the jet engine – and Rolls-Royce isn’t keen on that. So we turned the hydraulic ports through 90 degrees.
“We also had to make sure there was no chance of the cylinders buckling. So we have designed and made them so that they can comfortably take the loads being applied.”
Parker has also supplied a composite hydraulic accumulator to support Bloodhound as a back-up. If an emergency situation arose and hydraulic power was lost, the accumulator would supply an additional store of energy through a controlled amount of oil.
Traditionally, accumulators are made of steel and very heavy. But for Bloodhound, Parker has produced a bespoke design made of a composite material. Technologically, this is a big step forward, as this product offers substantial weight savings.
“Steel accumulators would have been simply too heavy for this application,” says Cattermole. “Composite offers the same strength, but is considerably lighter. It’s a niche product, admittedly. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen a composite accumulator ever before.”
Vehicle stability is another crucial factor. Bloodhound’s size, weight and speed of travel mean that the team needs maximum control over lift and downforce on the run. With this in mind, Parker is supplying hydraulic equipment that will control the vehicle winglets throughout the run.
There are two winglets at the front and two at the back, to help with the trim of the car when the rocket and jet turn on and off. The Bloodhound team will map what lift or downforce is needed through the run profile, and the winglets will adjust automatically to their specification.
“This is still a live project,” says Cattermole. “We are manufacturing the hydraulic equipment for the winglets this month. They are very small parts, so in this instance we have decided to stick with steel because weight isn’t really an issue.”
People at Parker have thoroughly enjoyed being involved in the Bloodhound project, according to Cattermole. Engineers from the two organisations have worked together with mutual respect, he says.
“It’s a project in a million. The Bloodhound team is packed full of clever engineers. They have appreciated our support. And they have been great fun to work with.”