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Rolls-Royce Olympus
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Rolls-Royce Olympus
The Rolls-Royce Olympus (originally the Bristol B.E.10 Olympus) was the world's second two-spool axial-flow turbojet aircraft engine design, first run in May 1950 and preceded only by the Pratt & Whitney J57, first-run in January 1950. It is best known as the powerplant of the Avro Vulcan and later models in the Concorde SST.
The design dates to a November 1946 proposal by Bristol Aeroplane Company for a jet-powered bomber, powered by four new engines which would be supplied by Bristol Aero Engines. Although their bomber design was ultimately cancelled in favour of the other V bombers, the engine design's use of twin-spool layout led to continued interest from the Air Ministry and continued development funding. The engine first ran in 1950 and quickly outperformed its design goals.
The original 100 series engines, of roughly 10,000 lbf (44 kN) thrust, were used in the Vulcan. To compete with the upcoming high-power Rolls-Royce Conway, a redesign resulted in the much more powerful 200 series. The later 300 series added reheat for use in the supersonic BAC TSR-2. Bristol Aero Engines merged with Armstrong Siddeley Motors in 1959 to form Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited (BSEL), which in turn was taken over by Rolls-Royce in 1966. Through this period the engine was further developed as the Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 for Concorde.
Versions of the engine were licensed to Curtiss-Wright in the US as the TJ-32 or J67 (military designation) and the TJ-38 'Zephyr', although none saw use. The Olympus was also developed with success as marine and industrial gas turbines, which were highly successful. As of 2018, the Olympus remains in service as both a marine and industrial gas turbine.
At the end of World War II, the Bristol Engine Company's major effort was the development of the Hercules and Centaurus radial piston engines. By the end of 1946, the company had only 10 hours of turbojet experience with a small experimental engine called the Phoebus which was the gas generator or core of the Proteus turboprop then in development. In early 1947, the parent Bristol Aeroplane Company submitted a proposal for a medium-range bomber to the same specification B.35/46 which led to the Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor. The Bristol design was the Type 172 and was to be powered by four or six Bristol engines of 9,000 lbf (40 kN) thrust to the Ministry engine specification TE.1/46.
The thrust required of the new engine, then designated B.E.10 (later Olympus), would initially be 9,000 lbf (40 kN) with growth potential to 12,000 lbf (53 kN). The pressure ratio would be an unheard of 9:1. To achieve this, the initial design used a low-pressure (LP) axial compressor and a high-pressure (HP) centrifugal compressor, each being driven by its own single-stage turbine. This two-spool design eliminated the need for features such as variable inlet guide vanes (Avon, J79), inlet ramps (J65), variable stators (J79) or compressor bleed (Avon) which were required on single spool compressors with pressure ratios above about 6:1. Without these features an engine could not be started nor run at low speeds without destructive blade vibrations. Nor could they accelerate to high speeds with fast acceleration times ("spool up") without surge. The design was progressively modified and the centrifugal HP compressor was replaced by an axial HP compressor. This reduced the diameter of the new engine to the design specification of 40 in (100 cm). The Bristol Type 172 was not selected for development in favour of the Vulcan and Victor, but the engine design was promising enough that development continued to be funded for use on the Vulcan and other projects.
The first engine, its development designation being BOl.1 (Bristol Olympus 1), had six LP compressor stages and eight HP stages, each driven by a single-stage turbine. The combustion system was novel in that ten connected flame tubes were housed within a cannular system: a hybrid of separate flame cans and a true annular system. Separate combustion cans would have exceeded the diameter beyond the design limit, and a true annular system was considered too advanced.
In 1950, Dr (later Sir) Stanley Hooker was appointed as Chief Engineer of Bristol Aero Engines.
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Rolls-Royce Olympus
The Rolls-Royce Olympus (originally the Bristol B.E.10 Olympus) was the world's second two-spool axial-flow turbojet aircraft engine design, first run in May 1950 and preceded only by the Pratt & Whitney J57, first-run in January 1950. It is best known as the powerplant of the Avro Vulcan and later models in the Concorde SST.
The design dates to a November 1946 proposal by Bristol Aeroplane Company for a jet-powered bomber, powered by four new engines which would be supplied by Bristol Aero Engines. Although their bomber design was ultimately cancelled in favour of the other V bombers, the engine design's use of twin-spool layout led to continued interest from the Air Ministry and continued development funding. The engine first ran in 1950 and quickly outperformed its design goals.
The original 100 series engines, of roughly 10,000 lbf (44 kN) thrust, were used in the Vulcan. To compete with the upcoming high-power Rolls-Royce Conway, a redesign resulted in the much more powerful 200 series. The later 300 series added reheat for use in the supersonic BAC TSR-2. Bristol Aero Engines merged with Armstrong Siddeley Motors in 1959 to form Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited (BSEL), which in turn was taken over by Rolls-Royce in 1966. Through this period the engine was further developed as the Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 for Concorde.
Versions of the engine were licensed to Curtiss-Wright in the US as the TJ-32 or J67 (military designation) and the TJ-38 'Zephyr', although none saw use. The Olympus was also developed with success as marine and industrial gas turbines, which were highly successful. As of 2018, the Olympus remains in service as both a marine and industrial gas turbine.
At the end of World War II, the Bristol Engine Company's major effort was the development of the Hercules and Centaurus radial piston engines. By the end of 1946, the company had only 10 hours of turbojet experience with a small experimental engine called the Phoebus which was the gas generator or core of the Proteus turboprop then in development. In early 1947, the parent Bristol Aeroplane Company submitted a proposal for a medium-range bomber to the same specification B.35/46 which led to the Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor. The Bristol design was the Type 172 and was to be powered by four or six Bristol engines of 9,000 lbf (40 kN) thrust to the Ministry engine specification TE.1/46.
The thrust required of the new engine, then designated B.E.10 (later Olympus), would initially be 9,000 lbf (40 kN) with growth potential to 12,000 lbf (53 kN). The pressure ratio would be an unheard of 9:1. To achieve this, the initial design used a low-pressure (LP) axial compressor and a high-pressure (HP) centrifugal compressor, each being driven by its own single-stage turbine. This two-spool design eliminated the need for features such as variable inlet guide vanes (Avon, J79), inlet ramps (J65), variable stators (J79) or compressor bleed (Avon) which were required on single spool compressors with pressure ratios above about 6:1. Without these features an engine could not be started nor run at low speeds without destructive blade vibrations. Nor could they accelerate to high speeds with fast acceleration times ("spool up") without surge. The design was progressively modified and the centrifugal HP compressor was replaced by an axial HP compressor. This reduced the diameter of the new engine to the design specification of 40 in (100 cm). The Bristol Type 172 was not selected for development in favour of the Vulcan and Victor, but the engine design was promising enough that development continued to be funded for use on the Vulcan and other projects.
The first engine, its development designation being BOl.1 (Bristol Olympus 1), had six LP compressor stages and eight HP stages, each driven by a single-stage turbine. The combustion system was novel in that ten connected flame tubes were housed within a cannular system: a hybrid of separate flame cans and a true annular system. Separate combustion cans would have exceeded the diameter beyond the design limit, and a true annular system was considered too advanced.
In 1950, Dr (later Sir) Stanley Hooker was appointed as Chief Engineer of Bristol Aero Engines.
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