When dealing with the extremes of engineering, the smallest design features can still have a huge impact. Such is the case with the new BLOODHOUND land speed record car, where, according to Böllhoff Fastening’s managing director Andy Witts, the use of the company’s RIVNUT saves 0.6kg in weight within Advanced Fuel System’s assembly.
As one of the leading players in the design and manufacture of fuel safety cells, Advanced Fuel Systems constantly pushes the boundaries for applications in the motorsport, automotive, aviation and marine sectors.
The monolithic fuel safety cells enable fuel containment, which facilitates the use of leading edge fuel delivery components, optimising fit and fuel volume. Using a thermosetting cross-linked polymer reinforcing material, a composite of ballistic nylon with a tough seamless urethane coating, the resultant cell offers the flexibility of moving fuel away from impact areas while saving weight – a key aspect in all areas of today’s vehicle design.
Advanced Fuel Systems provided the fuel cells for Thrust SSC, the land speed record vehicle in the late 90s, and was the natural choice for the NEW BLOODHOUND SSC Land Speed Record Vehicle (picture of BLOODHOUND shown is courtesy of Flock London).
The standard nut rings on the cells that allow the delivery components to be attached use two-piece threaded inserts. However, Böllhoff had worked previously with AFS on a light weight alternative using RIVNUT fixings and RIVNUT tooling.
For internal and external threads of components with small wall thicknesses, Böllhoff’s RIVNUT blind rivet nuts and RIVSTUD blind rivet studs are an elegant solution. These elements are mounted without counter pressure (‘blindly’) and can therefore also be set at hollow sections. “Böllhoff assisted with part selection and also final installation, due to the sensitive nature of this project,” reports Witts. “We are always happy to go the extra mile and this project illustrates Bollhoff’s ability to react to niche customers, as well as larger corporations alike. It’s not always about volume.”
The RIVNUT of choice was a closed end aluminium part, which gave the customer several immediate advantages. Production time was decreased and the material choice gave a generous weight saving, resulting in 60% less weight compared to the standard fixings; in real world terms, the finished components came in at 0.6kgs lighter.
“The smallest nut ring used on the BLOODHOUND SSC project had nine RIVNUT parts in it and the largest had 32 in all,” he adds. “A total of 272 RIVNUT parts were set and, due to the speed of installation compared to the usual fixing, we saved approximately one hour, boosting productivity five-fold. This has been a successful niche project and has now given Advanced Fuel Systems another option for the more weight-sensitive customers going forwards and also increased output capacity, due to the installation speed.”
“Bollhoff will continue to work with Advanced Fuel Systems on the standard side of their business, and will hopefully increase the use of RIVNUT parts and RIVNUT tooling throughout the range with time,” Witts concludes.
RACE TO THE FINISH
BLOODHOUND engineers are now engaged in a major programme of work to get the supersonic car ‘race ready’. The car displayed to widespread acclaim in September 2015 was a ‘trial-build’, without fluids, done in part to check the fit of over 3,500 bespoke components. Conventional motor manufacturers typically build hundreds of pre-production prototypes to finalise details. As there is only one BLOODHOUND SSC, the project used this opportunity to see if brackets were in the right place, key components are accessible for servicing and one-off parts manufactured to the correct tolerances.
Where necessary, modifications will be made and new parts created before BLOODHOUND SSC is reassembled and transported to Newquay Aerohub for tie-down tests with its EJ200 jet engine and Nammo rocket system in place. The Rolls-Royce jet is a tried and tested component used to develop the production engines for the Eurofighter Typhoon. Development of Nammo’s rocket resumed last October and will culminate in ‘tie-down tests’, with the system installed in the car at Newquay Aerohub in July-August this year.
With these successfully completed, the team will then do a slow speed (around 220 mph/354 km/h) shakedown test along Newquay’s runway. This will also be an opportunity for the team to practise live-streaming data and imagery from the car – a key aspect of BLOODHOUND’s mission to share the adventure with a global audience.
BACKERS TO THE FORE
None of this would be possible, of course, without the right backing and the BLOODHOUND project is fortunate to have secured a three-year agreement with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group as its prime sponsor and Official Automotive Partner. This leading Chinese automotive group is providing technical, as well as financial, support to the project and promotes its programme throughout Asia. It’s the largest privately-owned Chinese auto group and has grown rapidly over the last few decades. The parent company to Geely Auto, ZGH also owns Volvo Car Group and London Taxi Company (which makes ‘black cabs’). Geely Auto has four international research and design centres, employs close to 10,000 engineers worldwide and has also established universities, further education colleges and technology schools across China.
Geely forms part of a distinguished roster of international organisations supporting the engineering adventure, including Rolls-Royce, Castrol, Rolex, Parker Hannifin, Atlas Copco, STP, Lockheed Martin, Nammo, Thyssen Krupp and Otto Fuchs. Jaguar continues in its role as technical partner to the project, and its V8 engine will remain the Auxiliary Power Unit used to power the oxidiser pump for the BLOODHOUND’s rocket.
By the time the BLOODHOUND team arrives in Cornwall, its Rapid Response and Turnaround Crews will have familiarised themselves with their Geely vehicles and completed extensive training, ready to support high-speed running in South Africa. This will include rehearsing ‘the pit stop from hell’: an intense 40-minute period between timed runs during which the car will be checked, refuelled and made ready for the return leg. This ‘race within a race’ is crucial to setting a record: in 1997, a delay of just a few seconds cost the team the top prize.
With the Shakedown Test successfully completed, BLOODHOUND SSC will be loaded onto a CargoLogicAir Boeing 747 freighter to be airlifted to Upington, South Africa; the team rehearsed the procedure in July last year at the Farnborough International Airshow. BLOODHOUND SSC will then be transported by road to the team’s desert base at Hakskeen Pan. Under the guidance of operations director Martyn Davidson, 16 container loads of equipment will have been shipped in advance and a self-contained village, complete with workshop and TV studios, set up.
It seems BLOODHOUND has its tail up and the scent of victory in its nostrils. Roll on to the final countdown and hurtling through that 1,000mph barrier.
ENGINEERING INSIGHTS
BLOODHOUND’s wheels spin at 10,200rpm – that’s 170 times per second. They generate 50,000 radial G. At this speed, a 1kg bag of sugar would weigh 50 tonnes or the equivalent of a fully laden articulated lorry.
- BLOODHOUND will run on the Hakskeen Pan, South Africa. This is an alkali playa, which is essentially a dried-up lake bed. A team of 317 members of the local community were employed to clear the desert. They shifted 15,800 tonnes of stones by hand, from an area of 22 million square metres – the equivalent of clearing a two-lane road from Bristol to Moscow.
- For the 1,000mph (1,600km/h) runs in 2018, BLOODHOUND SSC will be fitted with three hybrid rockets, which, when combined with the EJ200 jet engine from a Eurofighter Typhoon plane, will produce 135,000 thrust horsepower – equal to 180 Formula 1 cars.
- BLOODHOUND will decelerate from 1,000mph (1,600km/h) at 3G, equivalent to slowing from 60mph (100km/h) to standstill in 1 second.
- BLOODHOUND will go from zero to 1,000mph (1,600 km/h) in 55 seconds and back to zero again in a further 65 seconds, during which time it will cover 12 miles.
- The EJ200 jet engine consumes 65,000 litres of air per second, sufficient to suck the air out of an average-sized house in just 3 seconds.
