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It is highly unusual for detailed engineering data and drawings of a high-speed car to be made available to the public. Formula One is paranoid about secrecy for fear of losing competitive advantage. Top-end sports car makers are also reticent about giving unfettered access to their technical details.
But the team behind the design and build of the Bloodhound supersonic car, which will make an attempt on the land-speed world record next year, have no such qualms. They have issued a full set of design drawings for the 1,000mph car online for all to see. They particularly want mechanical engineers to pore over the CAD drawings and animations to suggest improvements to the vehicle.
In total, downloadable 3D drawings of 4,000 individually designed components can be viewed on-screen. CAD models can be deconstructed layer by layer, rotated on all axes and zoomed in and out, using professional engineering software from Siemens. It is a refreshing example of collaborative working.
“Everything we have so far has been put online,” said Mark Chapman, Bloodhound chief engineer.
“Animations can be downloaded and the car can be exploded into pieces on-screen. It’s a very powerful viewing tool. It can all be done in amazing detail.
“Some parts of the vehicle are still unfinished. But that’s fine, because we want to encourage suggestions. We want people to talk about what we have done and to have their own ideas.”
The supersonic car has been designed to accelerate from 0 to 1,050mph and back in just 100 seconds. It will have to safely handle some phenomenal forces and loads acting upon it: the 47,000-lb thrust (equivalent to 133,000thp) generated by its jet and rocket engines; 30-tonne suspension loadings; air pressures on the bodywork of up to 10 tonnes per square metre; air brakes which each exert 2.2 tonnes as they open; and solid aluminium wheels which weigh 90kg each and will be spinning at 10,200rpm, generating 50,000 radial g at the rim.
Chapman said that unlike more traditional forms of motorsport, such as Formula One, there is no competitive risk in sharing secrets. World land-speed record-breaking is bound by few rules: the car must be continuously controlled by a driver, run on at least four wheels and make two passes through the measured mile within one hour. This means the Bloodhound team is happy to discuss the car design in great detail.
“We want people to see how the car design is evolving,” said Chapman. “We will keep on adding data as and when the design is updated.”
A key aspect of the Bloodhound mission is to share the land-speed record attempt adventure with the biggest audience possible. The core aim is to inspire young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM subjects) by showcasing these subjects in the most exciting way possible. Consequently, the design drawings will be distributed to more than 4,500 schools and colleges across the UK, where they can be accessed by more than 1.5 million students.
John Wood, president of the IMechE, which is supporting the project, said: “This project is helping to inspire the next generation of engineers. Putting all the data online is like a modern-day equivalent of the cut-outs that you used to find in comics like the Eagle. But this has the added benefit of being a real project.”
The Bloodhound project has gone through 36 months of detailed design work, leading to the refined versions of the design drawings that are available online. Hampson Industries will shortly start cutting the first steel and aluminium to fabricate the rear chassis. Cosworth is close to preparation of its Formula One racing engine and software package which will control the pump to test Bloodhound’s 122kN (27,000 lb) prototype hybrid rocket in the summer.