HBM Provides High Precision Measurement in Bloodhound Development

The AMRC Advanced Structural Testing Centre (ASTC) has utilised HBM’s MGCplus for a number of measurement tasks as part of its contribution towards the development of the Bloodhound SSC project. Phil Spiers, Head of the ASTC comments, “We use HBM’s equipment extensively in our work as a structural testing centre tasked with proving the material properties of new manufacturing processes and completing finished components.

The ASTC is accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and is the only structural test facility within a UK university to hold ‘in-house methods’ accreditation. This means that it can develop new test procedures to prove components under real-world conditions. The ASTC forms a key part of the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing that is a world-class centre for advanced machining and materials research for aerospace and other high-value manufacturing sectors.

Spiers says, “I was keen to be involved when the Bloodhound project was formed to help spread the message about the benefit of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. I firmly believe that without a good skills base and future engineers, the UK will not be able to continue to compete internationally.” AMRC offered its testing expertise and resources to the Bloodhound team, initially helping with spin testing of the car’s carbon brake discs. Other testing projects followed, including measuring friction in the front suspension joints, and calibrating the attachment ring used to monitor the thrust produced by the rocket engine.

Bloodhound SSC is a supersonic land vehicle that aims to achieve 1,000 miles per hour (1,609 km/h) to break the existing land speed record world by over 30 per cent.

Maria Hernandez-Humm
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