JULY 5TH, 1945

FLIGHT
Survey of Britain's Most Powerful Radial Engine : An Example of
. r l^
O
gi
C
al Layout to Achieve Compactness with Power
T has been eommbn knowledge far some time past that
the Bristol Aeroplane Co., Ltd., have been engaged with
the production of a larger and improved model in the
age of radial, air-cooled, sleeve-valve engines with which
ey have for so long enhanced their reputation. This
mmon knowledgethe result of unofficial "leaks"
ibraced the facts that the new engine was an 18-cylinder
lit of over 2,000 h.p. and was called the Centaurug..
ther than this nothing much was generally known until
nctioned reference, to the engine was made with the
lease of the Short Shetland flying boat (Flight, May 17th,
145), when it was revealed that the Centaurus was of
'er 2,500 h.p.
Even now we are not permitted to give any indication
the power output other than
at it is well in excess of
500 h.p., so that, in assessing
it'cific qualities' relating
>wer, one can
ily use the
;ure of 2,500 as
'datum and
ite that the
uated result is
mewhat lower
an the factual
due.
Probably the
ost impressive
ature to strike
e casual ob-
rver of the
mtaurus is the
mpactness of
e unit in rela-
)n to its power
itput, and, as a
irollary, the achieve-
ent of a clean and efn-
ent fairing by refine-.
ent of design. It is,
course, obvious that
miponent in the engine is the
suit of months, in some cases
;ars, of development, and that
c only means by which such WOLIC-
anship can bear fruit is by way of
ie hard road of technical ability fol-
wed strongly by the incessant trial"
id error of testing. By such means a tremendous fund
E data is amassed, such data being the "history" only
uough which the future may be discerned. Looking
ack in order to look forward applies equally in the tech-
ical as in the ordinary world. .
Specific Powers
From the aspect of arrangement analysis the Centaurus
basically similar to its immediate forerunner, the Her-
jles, with the chief differences that it has four more
flinders and that entirely separate individual gear trains
re embodied front arid rear for driving the sleeves in the
-spective cylinder* banks. Swept volume is naturally
irger, but so is the unit swept volume as, although the
ylinder bores remain the same at 5.75m., the stroke of the
entaurus is 7.0m. as compared with the 6.5m. of the
lercules. This gives the new engine a capacity of 53.6
tres (3,270 cu. in.) in contrast to the Hercules' 38.7 litres
2.360 cu. in.), an increment of 38.5 per cent. In terms of
apacity and power output, at the restricted Centaurus
every
Compactness without complication.
Note the backswept exhaust stack
cooling muffs and the collected exhaust
tail pipes.
power figure of 3,500, the b.h.p. /litre of both Hercules
Centaurus is 46.5, although we know that the latter engine
is somewhat better than this, as may be rough!y indicated
by the figures for b. h. p. /sq. in. of piston area, these
being respectively:. Hercules 4.93. and Centaurus better
than 5.34.
f
: Cooling Arrangements
As an indication of refinement in the design of the cowl-
ing, if. we take as a datum the frontal area of the Hercules
at 2,122 sq. in. and give it the value of unity, then the
Centaurus frontal area of 2,402 sq. in. gives a comparative
ratio of 1.13:1, which is well below the relative h.p..ratio
of 1.385 :1, itself a conservative figure. Put another way,
this means that for an increase in
power output of 38.5 per cent, over
the Hercules, the Centaurus has only
a 13 per cent, greater frontal area,
its specific' power thus being
150.5 h.p./sq. ft.
It must be appreciated that
the goal of really close cowling
...- . . ,.., . -.. is hindered in at-
' . "' ' ' / tainment by the-
very critical fac-
tors of cooling,
and Bri st ol ' s
achievement is
rendered the more
deserving of praise
by virtue of their
having obtained,
with it, an en-
hanced cooling
efficiency. To a
- certain extent the
employment of a
cooling fan driven from the air-
screw spinner can be deemed
partially responsible for the in-
crease in cooling efficiency
but by no means wholly.
As the Centaurus is designed- as a
power plant, the cowling, fairing and
baffling arrangements naturally come
into the picture in addition to the
engine per se, so whilst on the sub
ject of cowling we might as well deal
with it before going on tc the engine'
proper. The subject is well worthy of study.
The main body of the engine in way of the cylinder
-'banks is closely cowled by four panels, two per side, hinged
together at top and bottom on the fore and aft centre
plane of the engine and secured together with three toggle-
type fasteners on each side. The latter are recessed to
give a smooth surface line. Forward of the cowling panels
is the-aerofoil-section annular nose fairing which, with the
very unusual spinner extension fairing (fitted around the
reduction gear casing), provides a smoothly contoured, but
surprisingly small, annular intake duct in the entry of which
rotates the- 18-blade cooling fan fitted to the rear of the
spinner.
It may thus be seen that cooling air entrained is ob-
structed not at all until it reaches the front cylinders.
Having done its due amount of fin circulation the air is
then allowed to escape to the outside atmosphere through
cooling gills in the skirt ring of the main cowling panels.
In consideration of the amount of development design
which has gone into producing the Centaurus, the instance
1*4
FLIGHT
BRISTOL CENTAURUS
; cylinder and head finning is interesting. By experiment
has been shown that the optimum pitch for fin location
in the region of o.iin.-^the pitch on the Centfturus is
[izin. and the cooling area of finning to each cylinder
id head is no less than 32.47 sq. ft.
Not the least novel feature of the cooling arrangements
the fact that, unexpectedly enough, the front,row of
flinders, due to the amazing control of the cooling air-
low, actually runs a trifle hotter than the rear row.
pressure drop in the cooling air through, or, rather, across
he cylinders is the rather high figure of 10 inches of water,
3d, very shrewdly, this is put to incidental, yet none the
useful, advantage in cooling the rear-swept front-"
ylinder exhaust pipes. These are shrouded' with tubular
jufis, open at each end, which extend nearly to the trans-.
jterse centre plane of the engine, and the pressure differ-
ential between front and rear open ends induces an air-
Bow through the muffs which effectively cools the exhaust
Wipes whilst, at the same time, isolating their cooling ajf
prom the ordinary flow to the rear cylinders.
Limits of Cooling
The cooling efficiency of the Centaurus is nearly as high
it is possible to get. There are for the future the addi-
tional refinements of a geared cooling fan running at higher
[speed so inducting a greater mass flow,'and also the closer
pitching of the cooling fins. Nevertheless, it would appear
that the ultimate is at- least within sight, and from this
aspect it is a reasonable assumption that some limit will
sooner or later enforce a barrier against the use of more
potent fuels and increase of engine rating by stepping up
the b.m.e.p. This reflection excludes consideration of the
(use of water/methanol injection and kindred devices which
conceivably might have an increasingly large part to play.
The reduction gear is the well-tried Bristol-Farman type
I bevel epicyclic which is so well known as to render a
[further description superfluous. One element is, however,
[worthy of note; the rear driving bevel and the front
[stationary (sun) bevel ring are both located on annular
Iseatings, the bearing faces of which are spherically curved.
I This measure ensures that thedriving and sun bevels can-
[each rock slightly and so permit the load to be distributed
I equally among all three planet pinnions. The three
["spokes" on which the planets are carried are integral
[with the airscrew shaft, the tailpiece of which is supported"
I in a bearing-in the forward end of the crankshaft. Airscrew'

thrust is carried by a large-diameter ball-bearing housed

in the" front of the r.g. casing forward of the gear itself.
The crankcase of the Centaurus is unorthodox in that
it is composed of three sectionsfront, centre, and rear
the mating faces of which are disposed on the transverse ,
centre planes of the cylinder banks..' Each section has a
diaphragm, those of the front and rear supporting the
sleeve drive bearings and isolating the gear trains from
the crank throws, and that of the centre provides a sup-
port for the main central crankshaft bearing. The front
and rear sections of the casing are secured to the central
section .by hollow bolts on each side of each cylinder.
Mating faces are metal-to-metal, there being no gaskets,
this in itself being a tribute to the Bristol production
efficiency.
Both sets oi sleeve drives are composed of spur gear
trains powered from a common input gear mounted on
the crankshaft. A description of one set suffices for both,
as front and fear Urives are identical. Meshing with the
central input gear are three equispaced intermediate gears
each of which drives the middle wheel of a separate train
of three, each of the three wheels driving a sleeve crank ;
he three sleeve-driving wheels are connected in a train by
dler wheels^one between adjacent pairs. '
A built-up, nitrided crankshaftalso in three sections
6 employed,-the front and fear sections, which include the
balance weights, being attached to the central section by
WWmB
i * J \ \ . - - : \ ' : T: BALANCED ' * %-
mum
two-bolt maneton joints. Each of the balance weights
.contain two 2.875m. dia., 3.52 1b. Saloman ball-type
vibration absorbers which have proved to be very effective
in de-tuning both torsional and flexural vibration. Ex-
amination of the double curvature seat track of the ball
enclosures has established that'the ball movement cither
longitudinally or transversely does not exceed 0.75111.
Big-end bearings carry-on the unique Bristol precedent
of employing white-metalled sleeves shrunk on to the
crankpins, in contrast to the more usual floating-bush
type bearing. Each crankpin carries a master connecting
rod to which the other eight very slim con-rods are articu-
31 i
. .JOLY 5TH, I945
SLEEVE
DRIVING
;RANK
SLEEVE VALVE
DRIVING GEARS
FOR BACK ROW
OF CYLINDERS
SUPERCHARGER
DRIVING GEAR
CENTRIFUGES
MOUNTING
FOR STARTER
ELF ALIGNING
CRANKSHAFT
ROLLER BEARINGS
IIMII7T\ :
PORT MAIN 1
AIR ENTRY
TO
SUPERCHARGER^ '
y < i
IGNITION
HARNESS
I-UEL
INJECTOR
UNIT
EXHAUST
OUTLETS
V)
lated ; incidentally, the ordinary con-rods are wider across
the flanges than they are in depth of web. It is of interest .-., , . " , - . - . , .-.
to note that the master-rod big-end bearing is of 12.05
j . in. projected area, whilst the wrist-pin bearing area of
the normal rods !s 1.583 sq. in., as against a httle-end
a r r a n g
Le n t and structural details of the Centaurus. Careful
area of 1.575 sq. in. Oil ducts in the crankshaft lubricate profiling of the cooling air intake entry is a noteworthy
the main and big-end bearings and also feed j ets in the - feature of the design. The sectioned cylinder at the top
balance weights which spray the pistons, sleeves and little- .
o
f the drawing clearly shows the relative disposition of piston ".
ends.; wrist-pins are lubricated from the big-end supply and rod assembly with cylinder, sleeve, head and porting. .
-r.-, v. 1
16 FLIGHT
JULY 5TH, 1945
BRI S TOL
CENTAURUS
1
through spring-loaded oil retainers.
The three high-capacity main bearings
are of large diameter and of the
spherical roller, self-aligning type,
crankshaft end thrust being restrained
by the central bearing. Maximum
angularity of the master rods is
13 deg. 38 min., but some of the
normal rods (which are not evenly
spaced on the master) reach an angu-" _..-;
laruty of something over .20 deg. ' '
Cylinders are machined from forged billets, each barrel
being retained by 16 large-diameter studs, the nuts, for
which are locked in position by spring locking plates. As
previously mentioned, the heads are deeply indented and
are, additionally, made in two sections. The top half is a
casting (including fins) into which the forged and machined
bottom half is shrunk.
Sleeves are of the latest stiffened type and as master
rod sleeves have a harder time than the others, they are
shell pressed, in contrast to normal sleeves, which are cast.
There are five ports in each sleeve, two each for inlet and
exhaust, and one which is a common port for both. Port-
ing areas are respectively: inlet, 6^65 sq. in., exhaust,
4.00 sq. in.
Pistons are very short-skirted and each is fitted with two
wedge-section gas rings, a channel-section scraper ring and
a normal type bottom scraper ring. "Projected area of the
gudgeon pin in the piston is 3.23
sq. in. and, as the rod little-end
bearing area is 1.575 sq. in., the
ratio is 0.487 : 1.
The Centaurus is aspirated by a
two-speed, single-stage blower oper-
ated in conjunction with a Hobson-
R.A.E. fuel injector. Air is en-
trained on both sides of the engine
and ducted to the respective main
entries on each side of the drive
casing, where it is fed into a beau-
tifully formed turbine-type entry
to the double-shrouded impeller.
This discharges through a diffuser
vane ring to the several induction
pipes serving the cylinders. All the
induction pipes are the same length
in order to ensure equal distribu-
tion, and terminate in cast light-
alloy branch yokes which are
bolted to the cylinders and dis-
siavt
POPftT
/
VALVE
VALVt
/
/ / EXHAUVi
/
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
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> <
I
I
p
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1
INLET
\ \
\
\
\
\
\
\
\ \
\ \
C R ANK S HAFT ANGLES
Diagram of sleeve and poppet valve
overlap showing opening against
crank angle.
tribute the charge
over the porting
areas.
Blower d r i v e
for " M" or " S "
gear is by means
of t wo com-
pound hydraulic
clutches, oil for
whi ch passes
through two cen-
trifuges which re-
move all sludge
and deleterious
matter. Both are
60
50
40
JO
20
10
K
. 0
75
1-50
25
10
75
l _r -
M
_ _
AX. B.H.F
K
|
j j
~ t
|
1
PER S Q . IN. OF F
1
J
i
I5T0N A R L A
20 22 24 26 | 28 I9J0 52 34 36 1 38 1940 42 4
1
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"*=
HI
J
I
"in
I
1
B. PER 8
1
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H.R
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1 -
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4 46
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27 ?4 26 28 1950 J2 J4 J6 16 IS>4Q 2 14 40
Bristol engine development of specific
power and specific weight against year.
Cylinder baffles, by means of which the air
is directed to cover the optimum fin area.
ENGINE
. These two details show the disposal of
, head finning and the cooling air flow
r
^ -. ' paths.
CYLINDER
SUEV E
mounted above the clutches and are readily accessible for
cleaning. The clutches themselves are driven by a spring-
drive gear on the tail of the crankshaft to protect the drive
from cyclic torque variations. Gear
ratios are: low, 6.761:1, and high,
9.03:1, which, at 2,700 r.p.m.
(crankshaft) result in an impeller
tip speed of respectively 1,012 and
1,325 feet/sec. Maximum blower
compression ratio is achieved at
2,700 engine r.p.m. in " S " gear
and equals 3-5:1.
Selection of blower gear is
governed by a valve which varies
the supply of oil to the clutches as
required, and the valve determines
the gear according to the induction
charge requirements of the engine,
this being linked up with the
Hobson-R.A.E. injector. This in-
jector was developed by Farn-
borough and is manufactured by
Claudel Hobson. It meters the cor-
rect amount of fuel into the blower
entry according to* an integration
of blower and back pressure differ-,
ential with charge temperature
existing for a given engine speed.
The injector nozzles are fitted in
the twin air entries to the blower
immediately "down-stream" of
the butterfly throttles. Mixture
ratio for f,ull power is roughly 10 :1
by weight, and for economic cruis-
ing conditions approximately 16:1
by weight.
At the rear of the supercharger
drive shaft is a gear box contain-
ing the drives for the supercharger
itself and the various engine acces-
sories, such as fuel and oil
pumps, magnetos, tachometer, en-
gine starter, etc. The twin mag-
netos which, externally, look
strangely like little centrifugal
blowers, are mounted on raking
faces to port and starboard of
PLATE
OTTOM (-
YUNDt R I
SFKRKNG PLUGS
1 ' ' " ^ ' . '
5TH, 1945
' *: .
!
;--.:r :
FLIGHT
BRISTOL CENTAURUS
j ,:(mentioned gear box, whilst the engine starter is
ited vertically above it and engages through a dogged
ing-
e following major items on the Centaurus are supplied
ie undermentioned firms :
ignetos British Thomson-Houston.
uition Harness Plessey or Marconi. ..
arking Plugs Lodge. , ' - "
jxible Pipes Superflexit or Avery. -
J Material: High Duty Alloys.
n s
: \ Machining: Well worthy or Bristol.
ton Rings Brico, Welhvorthy, or Hepworth and
Grandage. ~ .
ector Hobson. _ ' ."
BRISTOL
Type ...

Bore and stroke

Compression ratio
Swept volume
Diameter over cylinders
Airscrew reduction gear ratio ..
Airscrew rotation
Airscrew shaft size ... ..
Fuel specification
Oil specification
Oil consumption(average)
Engine weight (bare, dry)
Firing order
CENTAURUS
18-rylinder, two-row radial, air-
cooled, sleeve-valve, with two-
speed supercharger and Hobson-
K.A.E. injector.
5.75 in. x 7,0 in.
7.8:1. " -,
S.-270 cu. in. (33.0 litres).
55.3 in.
0.444 engine speed. ' -
L.H. tractor.
S.B.A.C. standard No. fi.
D.E.D. 247;. (100/130 grade).
D.E:D. 2472.
2.5 g.p.h. at 2,400 r.p.m.; 1.12f:.p.h.
at 1,000 r.p.ni.
. 2,780 1b.
1, 12, 5, 16, ft, 2, 13, 0, 17, 10, 3, 14,
7, 18, 11, 4, 15, 8.
Something of Past Effort and Future Intentions Together with
Announcements of New Engines and Aircraft
OMPAKABLY with most other major concerns, all
of which go to make the British aircraft industry,
only a small proportion of the work the Bristol Aero-
Co., Ltd., have been engaged upon during the past
3ars has come to light. However, as a result of an
ition staged at Bristol on June 28th, we are now
losirion to give a fairly wide survey of the company' s.
ties.
the preceding pages will be found a description
e latest and most powerful Bristol engine, the
urus ; but, in addition to the new
:, three new models of the well-
Hercules are also announced,
being designated . respectively
00, 120 and 130- All, of course,
asically similar, the chief dif-
es lying in the superchargers.
lark 100 is the latest military
les, and has the highest maxi-
power output of the three at
b.h.p. It employs a two-speed
:harger of improved entry shape
f
npe.ller design together with a
n-K.A.E. fuel injector. Mark
ercules also have the new two-
blower and Hobson-R.AIE. in-
but operate at slightly reduced
1, these engines having been
:ed primarily for high-altitude
ircraft, for which employment
are fatted with a special rear
having an increased capacity
>ry drive capable of transmit-
p to 150 h. p. to cope with the
blowers necessary for pressuris-
Qie Hercules 130 is actually the
odd described in the May 24th
f Flight, and is fitted only with
le-speed supercharger, being designed for economic
ion at moderate altitudes.
list on the subject of aircraft power units it is appro-
1 to reveal t hat Bristols have been interested for
jtime in the various forms of gas turbines, and, in
' carried out trials on the exhaust-driven turbo-
larger as early as 1923 and 1924. Theoretical
were continued, and were given additional impetus
p. success of Air Commodore Whittle' s brilliant
work on jet-propulsion. It was felt t hat the
idicated by their previous experience lay in the
3C
2 6
2 < S
2 4
22
20
fie
' 16
U_
2 12
9,o
6
4
2
-
1920 22 24 26 281930 32 34 J63B 1940 42 44 46
Increase in altitude at which suc-
cessive engines have maintained boost
equivalent to Jupiter at full throttle,
s_ea level.
larger and longer-range aircraft, and their design work,
which was directed towards the provision of a gas-turbine
for these types, was concentrated along specific lines early
in 19 \i. This has culminated in the production of a gas-
turbine in which the bulk of the power is utilised to drive
a variable-pitch airscrew of normal type ; means have also
been provided in the design for the recuperation of heat
energy, which would otherwise be lost in the jet discharge.
That the power for many types of both civil and mili-
tary aircraft of the future will be provided by jet propul-
sion or the gas turbine is certain.
There is, however, much development
to be done before the gas turbine can,
for instance, be an economical propo-
sition for airline operation, and it is,
therefore, prudent to assume t hat the
reciprocating engine stili has years of
useful life before it.
The preference of airline operators,
for radial engines in the larger classes
of civil transports was fairly marked
before the war, and it would appear
that this preference still stands. The-
list of new aircraft powered by Bristol
is impressive:
Cciitaurus, i&-cylinders. "over 2,500 li.h.p."
Short Shetland flying boat.
Airspeed A.S.57 airliner.
Bristol Type 167 (Brabazon I) airliner
Hercules, 14-cylinders. 1,675/1,800 b.h.p.
Short Sunderland (lying boat.
Handley Page Hermes airliner.
Hand ley Page-Hermes transport.
Handley Page Halifax transport.
Vickers-Armstrong Viking airliner.
Bristol Freighter.
Bri-tol Wayfarer aircoach.
One of the merits of the Bristol
engine is that the original design was
generous in conception with precisely'
the need for increasing powers in mind. The Hercules,
for instance, has been increased from 1,375 b.h.p. in 1937
to 1,800 b. h. p. to-day, a gain in power of over 30 per cent.,
which has been obtained at the expense of only about 10
per cent, increase in engine weight. Both HercuJcs and
Centaurus are certainly capable of development to still
higher outputs, and may confidently be expected to cover
the 2,000-3,000 b. h. p. range in the near future. Below this
range it is probable t hat Bristol will also offer a develop-
ment of the Perseus nine-cylinder sleeve-valve engine with
a power of around 1,200 b.p.h. compared with the pre-war
,
,, %