enginehistory.org

[fstarr]

The answer to this question is usually "No! Good turbine blade materials had yet to be developed.

However, I have recently been evaluating Sir Frank's 1929 proposal for a jet engine "demonstrator".This differs from his later concepts, in being an engine with a two stage centrifugal compressor and two stage Curtis type turbine.

This combination gives a relatively slow running engine in which turbine blade stresses would have been under 5 tons/sq in, less than half those in engines like the WI, W2 and Derwent. Furthermore, although tubine inlet temperature was to be over 700°C, blade temperatures were in the 550-580°C range, without blade cooling.

With such a design, the austenitic stainless steel exhaust valve alloys, which were coming into service in the late 1920s, would have been adequate. With an airflow 30lb/sec, thrust would been about 1100lb, sufficient to demonstrate the jet engine concept.

I will be giving a talk on this to the Westen Branch of the Newcomen Society in Filton, Bristol on 17th April 2014. It is entitled "Lost Opportunities....Whittle Tubojet Demonstrator of 1929"