Turbomeca Palouste

Palouste

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

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.

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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.

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)

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)

References

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