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The Bloodhound Project Jet engine

Jet engine

Around half the thrust of BLOODHOUND SSC will be provided by a Eurojet EJ200 jet engine, which is a very advanced military turbofan engine normally used in a Eurofighter Typhoon plane.

In BLOODHOUND, the EJ200 is housed in the back half of the Car in the upper chassis, above the rocket. It weighs approximately 1 tonne and would suck all of the air out of an average house in just 3 seconds.

Why a jet engine?

A jet engine may seem very different from a car’s diesel or petrol engine, but it is still an internal combustion engine. Air is sucked into the engine and is compressed, fuel is added and then burns, and this expands, pushing the exhaust out of the nozzle which produces thrust.

The EJ200 produces 9 tonnes of thrust, which provides the initial power to take the Car to 650mph.

The BLOODHOUND Project has been loaned three EJ200s by the UK’s Ministry of Defence – these are ‘early development’ engines which are close to the end of their flight hours.

Modifying the EJ200 for use in a car

The EJ200 is a digitally-controlled engine which was designed to be used in a jet fighter plane, not a car. This means that certain functions aren’t ideal for use in BLOODHOUND without some modifications.

Crucially, for example, if the EJ200 loses its connection to its control unit, it is designed to continue operating so that the plane doesn’t stop flying. However, in BLOODHOUND we do need the engine to stop if the digital control unit fails so that the Car doesn’t career off into the desert. So Andy has a manually operated valve which he can use to shut off the jet engine’s fuel supply and thereby shut down the engine.

The air intake has also had to be changed. At 1,000mph the intake will experience internal pressures of around 1.4 Bar (20psi) so it has been successfully pressure tested to 1.7 Bar (26psi). 

Read more

If you’re interested in the EJ200 jet engine and how it is being used in BLOODHOUND, you can read about:

LatestRelated Photos

  • EJ200 jet engine - detail

Cisco BLOODHOUND TV

Anatomy of the Car: The Air intake

Thursday, 12 October, 2017

Bloodhound TV

Engineering News

Car news – July 2017

Tuesday, 11 July, 2017

News

As the Team prepares BLOODHOUND SSC for the runs at Newquay in October, it’s all go at the Technical Centre (BTC). Parts continue to arrive from suppliers and before long we should have all bespoke BLOODHOUND-designed parts necessary to build the Newquay-specific car configuration.

Project News

Latest Car news

Tuesday, 6 December, 2016

News

Work has been continuing apace at the BLOODHOUND Technical Centre over the last month, where the main focus for the Team has been preparing the lower chassis and fuel tanks for a jet fuel systems test in mid-December. We have also been working on the upper chassis - and there's another busy month ahead.

Project News

Trial fit of the EJ200 Jet Engine

Wednesday, 1 October, 2014

News

Today at the BLOODHOUND Technical Centre near Bristol, the EJ200 jet engine was carefully lowered onto the lower chassis ...

Engineering News

EJ200 Testing

Thursday, 20 June, 2013

News

The Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine was designed with one purpose, to sit in a Eurofighter Typhoon fighter plane, it was not designed to be used in a jet car. The jet needs to think it is sitting in a Typhoon and recieving the inputs it would expect from the aircraft.

Sponsor News

Rolls-Royce backs BLOODHOUND

Monday, 13 May, 2013

Press Release

• Rolls-Royce jet engine powering BLOODHOUND SSC
• First land speed record sponsored by Rolls-Royce

• Rolls-Royce ambassadors helping to inspire future generation of engineers

Rolls-Royce PLC today announced support for The BLOODHOUND Project. A Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine will be used in conjunction with a custom designed hybrid rocket to propel the car to over 1,000 mph (1,600 kmh or Mach 1.4).
Rolls-Royce will also provide financial and technical support for the project.