May 21 2009
A bid to set a new world land-speed record using world - class research has attracted over 1000 organisations who will use the project to inspire the young through an education programme.
The 'Bloodhound' project, led by Richard Noble of the UK, plans a car capable of 1000 mph - a speed 30% faster than any car has gone before. The bid for the world record is due to take place in a remote desert location in 2011. The idea of an iconic engineering feat which would boost the popularity of science and engineering amongst students came from the current UK Science Minister, Lord Drayson.
'We will have failed if we get 1000mph and don't get the national surge in science and engineering.' said Richard Noble emphasising the project's primary aim. ' The second objective is to create a project that requires excellent research and technology while providing for students to join in the adventure'. In 1997 Noble pushed the land speed record through the sound barrier to 763mph. The new Bloodhound car powered by a combination of a single jet and a rocket will need to generate upwards of 47,000lbs thrust if it is to reach the 1000 mph target.
In research terms the project is a journey into the unknown and an aerodynamics team at Swansea University in the UK is playing a vital role, with support funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), the team has spent the last year creating the predictive airflow data that has shaped the car. In time the research could lead to better vehicle or aircraft design, improved fuel efficiencies and even new medical techniques.
Researcher Ben Evans explains their approach: 'It's the kind of thing aerospace engineers would have traditionally done in a wind tunnel but we are doing it on a big multi-processor super computer. Wind tunnels have massive limitations. Bloodhound is a car, so it's rolling on the ground and there are no wind tunnels where you can simulate a rolling ground with a car travelling faster than the speed of sound'.
One of the major research challenges of such high speeds is highlighted by Evans: 'Once you go beyond the speed of sound you can no longer send a pressure wave forward to tell the air ahead of you you're coming. What happens is a big pressure wall builds up in front. Rather than air slowly and smoothly getting out of the way, at supersonic speeds these changes happen very suddenly in a shockwave. What we are trying to understand is what happens when this interacts with a solid surface a matter of centimetres away. As the shockwaves interact with the desert they actually eat up the desert floor. This introduces sand particles into the aerodynamic flow around the car and this interaction is not accounted for in standard CFD work.'
The research team's work has already influenced the aerodynamic design of innovative titanium wheels and the air intake, and options for the car's dramatic nose shape to minimise the 'spray drag' effect caused by sand particles.