Turbomeca Palouste

The Turbomeca Palouste is a French gas turbine engine, first run in 1952.[1] Designed purely as a compressed air generator, the Palouste was mainly used as a ground-based aircraft engine starter unit. Other uses included rotor tip propulsion for helicopters.

Palouste
Rolls-Royce license-built Palouste
Type Gas turbine
National origin France
Manufacturer Turbomeca
Major applications Sud-Ouest Djinn

Design and development

Designed and built by Turbomeca, the Palouste was also built under license in Britain by Blackburn and Rolls-Royce. Originally conceived as an aircraft ground support equipment starter gas generator, it was used also as propulsion for the Sud-Ouest Djinn and other tip-jet powered helicopters.

The Palouste was a very simple unit, its primary purpose being to supply a high flow rate of compressed air to start larger jet engines such as the Rolls-Royce Spey as installed in the Blackburn Buccaneer (this aircraft having no onboard starting system).[2] Air from the centrifugal compressor was divided between external supply (known as bleed air) and its own combustion chamber.

Sea Vixen on the USS Forrestal in 1962. A Palouste air starter pod is in front.

Several British naval aircraft were adapted to carry a Palouste in a wing-mounted air starter pod installation to facilitate engine starting when away from base.[3]

A novel use of a surplus Palouste engine was its installation in a custom-built motorcycle known as the Boost Palouste. In 1986 this motorcycle broke an official ACU 1/4 mile speed record at 296 km/h (184 mph). The builder modified the engine to include a primitive afterburner device and noted that pitch changes which occurred during braking and acceleration caused gyroscopic precession handling effects due to the rotating mass of the engine.[4]

Variants
Palouste IV
The gas generator used to power the Sud-Ouest S.O.1221 Djinn and other tip-jet helicopters.
Palouste IVB
[5]
Palouste IVC
[5]
Palouste IVD
[5]
Palouste IVE
[5]
Palouste IVF
[5]
Palouste 502
(P.102 and P.104) Blackburn / Bristol Siddeley / Rolls-Royce production for air-starter units.
Autan
A development of the Palouste delivering a higher mass flow of compressed air.[6]
Autan 2
1 x axial + 1 x centrifugal compressor stages

Applications

Specifications (Palouste 4)
Palouste engine fitted to a Sud-Ouest Djinn helicopter

Data from Flight :BRITISH POWER UNITS 1953,[7][8]

General characteristics
  • Type: Gas generator
  • Length: 1,233 mm (48.5 in)
  • Diameter: 478 mm (18.8 in)
  • Dry weight: 90 kg (200 lb)

Components
  • Compressor: Single-stage centrifugal flow
  • Combustors: Annular combustion chamber
  • Turbine: Two-stage axial flow
  • Fuel type: Kerosene
  • Oil system: Dry sump, pressure spray at 300 kPa (43 psi)

Performance
  • Maximum power output: 190 hp (140 kW) equivalent air horsepower at 33,000 rpm at sea level
  • Overall pressure ratio: 3.8:1
  • Air mass flow: 3.5 kg/s (7.7 lb/s) at 34,000 rpm
  • Turbine inlet temperature: TIT 1,070 K (800 °C) ; JPT 793 K (520 °C) at 34,000 rpm
  • Fuel consumption: 110 kg/h (240 lb/h)
  • Oil consumption: 0.2 kg/h (0.44 lb/h)
  • Thrust-to-weight ratio:
  • Air output: 1.1 kg/s (2.4 lb/s) at 350 kPa (51 psi) at 33,000 rpm
  • Power-to-weight ratio: 0.61 kg/kW (1 lb/hp)

See also

Related development

Comparable engines

Related lists

References
  1. Gunston 1989, p.170.
  2. "PROVING THE BUCCANEER". Flight International. 81 (2760): 168. 1 February 1962. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  3. "Aircraft Ground Power Units.. ". Flight International. 87 (2924): 456. 25 March 1965. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  4. The Boost Palouste - jet-pack.co.uk Retrieved: 24 July 2009
  5. Wilkinson, Paul H. (1964). Aircraft engines of the World 1964-65 (20th ed.). Washington D.C.: Paul H. Wilkinson. p. 168.
  6. Bridgman, Leonard (1955). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1955-56. London: Jane's all the World's Aircraft Publishing Co. Ltd.
  7. "BRITISH POWER UNITS 1953". Flight. LXIV (2328). 3 September 1953. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  8. Wilkinson, Paul H. (1957). Aircraft engines of the World 1957 (13th ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd. p. 62.

Further reading
  • Gunston, Bill (1998). World encyclopaedia of aero engines (4th ed.). Sparkford, Nr Yeovil, Somerset, [England]: Patrick Stephens. ISBN 978-1852605971.
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