So your thinking, spill the beans, what did you get to see? Our tour started in the engine testing area of the site. This is where they fire up their £2 Million Gas Turbines for the first time to see if their firey hearts beat in the right way! The Building is composed of a control centre and the main testing chamber. The control centre is like Rolls Royce's mock cockpit or bridge, from there they can control the engines throttle and monitor all manner of parameters. The main testing chamber is composed of a large inlet for air above the main door at one end, the engine mounting point and then the exhaust stack. The engine is connected up to an alternator at the back that generates electricity through the rotation of the turbine. This is surrounded by an oil tank for running the engine, as well as fuel pipes and rigging so that the engine can be worked on whilst mounted in the rig.
After seeing the Testing Centre we moved over to the technology centre. This contains a small exhibition centre that explains some of Rolls Royce's Technology and how a Gas Turbine works, including a cut away of a turbine and several parts from the inside of the engine. One of which was a front end fan worth half a million pounds! This was very interesting and a great way to understand how an engine works and where Rolls Royce are developing to make the engines more efficient and longer lasting. Under Operation the rear part of the engine which contains the combustion chamber and rear fan can reach 1700 degrees Celsius. This is above the melting point of the metals inside the engine, so engineers must employ special techniques to cool the parts whilst they are under operation.
Finally we were allowed to go into the main assembly area where they assemble the engines before they are shipped out to customers. In here we got to see many of the engines Rolls Royce produce! I got to stand two feet away from a naval engine worth £2 Million! Really a fantastic experience, it has really finally cemented to me that I want to pursue a career in Engineering, as that technology was just completely awesome!
Talk to you soon!
Sam