Westinghouse J46

J46

J46-WE-8 cutaway
Type	Afterburning Turbojet
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division
Major applications	F2Y Sea Dart F7U Cutlass
Developed from	Westinghouse J34

The Westinghouse J46 was an afterburning turbojet engine that was developed to power several United States Navy aircraft in the 1950s. It was intended to power the improved, swept wing, F3D-3 Skyknight (swept-wing version^[1] ultimately canceled). It also powered the F2Y Sea Dart and the F7U Cutlass jets, and Walt Arfon's Wingfoot Express^[2]^[3] land speed-record car.

Development and Design

The J46 engine was developed as a larger, more powerful version of Westinghouse's J34 engine, about 50% larger. The Westinghouse model number was a continuation of the "X24C" series of the J34. The model number assigned was X24C10, even though the J46 differed in many design features from the smaller J34. It was seen as a lower development risk than the J40 which was in parallel development at the same time. The development program ran into many problems with this engine, including the original electronic control system, compressor/turbine mismatches, combustion instability and control issues at altitude leading to compressor stalling The produced -8, -8A and -8B engines were all derated from the original design specification on both thrust and specific fuel consumption.^[4]

The engine featured a 12-stage compressor that was driven by two turbine stages on a single shaft. Early development engines also featured an afterburner which was a simple "eyelid" design that was actuated by long control rods that ran the length of the engine. By the time the engine reached production, the nozzle design had been changed to an iris type "petal" design activated by the same long control rods now attached to a ring that ran on rollers. Pulling or pushing on the rods moved the ring back and forth with the iris opening or closing. The original design using the electronic control system would have featured a fully controllable A/B thrust from minimum to maximum but this was abandoned when the electronic control could not be brought to acceptable levels of reliability. The final A/B was an "ON/OFF" unit.

Variants

Maintenance on the J46s of a F7U Cutlass aboard USS Hancock (CVA-19), 1957.

J46-WE-3: 3,980 lbf (18.15 kN) thrust^[5] Was to be used the Douglas X-3 "Stiletto". Failed to exit testing due to thrust shortfalls.
J46-WE-4/-10: 3,9800 lbf (20.02 kN) thrust^[5] The non-A/B version of the J46-WE-2/-8B. Intended for the Douglas F3D-3 SkyKnight but did not go into production because of schedule slippage and the F3D-3 cancellation.
J46-WE-8A/B This variant powered the F7U-3 Cutlass and produced 5,500/5,800 lbf of A/B thrust. All -8A engines were upgraded to the -8B build standard after being produced. The F7U-3 was equipped with two J46-WE-8B turbojets giving a 680 mph (1,095 km/h) max speed.^[6] This variant also powered the Harvey Hustler, a speed boat designed to go faster than 275 mph.^[7]
J46-WE-8: 3,980 lbf (20.46 kN) (5,800 lbf (27.13 kN) thrust with afterburner)^[5] This variant powered both the F7U-3 and F7U-3M, the missile-capable Cutlass.
J46-WE-12:This variant powered the F2Y Sea Dart hydroski aircraft. Basically identical to the -8/-8B, the aircraft was equipped with a fresh water spray system that flushed salt deposits out of the engine before takeoff and after shutdown.^[8]
J46-WE-18:This variant produced an increased 6,100 lbf (27.1 kN) of A/B thrust for the proposed A2U-1 attack aircraft, an attack variant of the F7U. This variant was canceled with the aircraft program.^[8]^[9]

Specifications (J46-WE-8)

Data from ^[4]^[10]

General characteristics

Type: Afterburning Turbojet
Length: 198 in (5.0 m)
Diameter: 28 in (0.86 m)
Dry weight: 2116 lb (952.5 kg)

Components

Compressor: Single-Spool, 12-stage Axial
Combustors: Annular, walking stick evaporators
Turbine: 2-stage turbine
Fuel type: JP-4, JP3 or avgas
Oil system: wet sump in accessories gearcase, 3.25 US gal

Performance

Maximum thrust: 3,980 lbf (21.4 kN) dry, 5,800 lbf (26.7 kN) afterburning. A "modernization" program replaced many parts on production J46-WE-8B and J46-WE-8 engines to give higher thrust and longer turbine life. On tests fully modernized engines approached 6,000 lbs of thrust. No updated specification was issued to cover such engines. Thrusts and SFC's here are for the official approved specification guarantees.
Overall pressure ratio: 5.32:1
Air mass flow: 73 lb/sec
Turbine inlet temperature: 1,525F
Fuel consumption: 1.088 military dry / 2.40 in A/B
Thrust-to-weight ratio: 2.3:1 dry, 2.9:1 afterburning

Survivors

Carolinas Aviation Museum, - four units in storage, three came from Florida. Also have two afterburner units, not attached to engines.
Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum, - two units including a -8 cutaway on display (see photo above)
Project Cutlass, Phoenix Arizona, - six units, including two airworthy engines with afterburners
Hiller Aviation Museum, cutaway exhibit engine
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Exhibit 1971-0911, J46-WE-8B, Serial WE405773, 15 total running hours, including acceptance testing and 3 flights in an F7U-3. In storage.
Green Mamba dragster owned by Doug Rose in Tampa, Florida

No -1, -2, -3, -5, -12 or -18 engines are known to exist

References

Notes

↑ Vectorsite.net: F3D Skynight
↑ Air & Space Magazine,March 01, 2009, Oldies and Oddities: The Bonneville Jet Wars
↑ Air & Space Magazine,March 01, 2009, Oldies and Oddities: The Bonneville Jet Wars Photos
1 2 Aero Engines 1954 (1954). Flight. 9 Apr 1954. pg 461
1 2 3 Roux 2007, pp. 237–238.
↑ History Wars Weapons: F7U Cutlass
↑ Cady, Steve (1965). Californians Seek Water Speed Mark. The New York Times, 28 Nov 1965. pg. S11.
1 2 Aero Engines 1956 (1956). Flight. 11 May 1956, p. 596
↑ Westinghouse J46 Axial Turbojet Family, Paul Christiansen, Bleeg Publishing, 2016. ISBN 978-0692764886
↑ Westinghouse Turbojets (1953). Flight. 13 Nov 1953. pg 642

Bibliography

Roux, Élodie. Turbofan and Turbojet Engines: Database Handbook. Raleigh, North Carolina: Éditions Élodie Roux, 2007. ISBN 978-2-9529380-1-3.

Westinghouse aircraft engines

Turbojets	J30 J32 J34 J40 J43 J45 J46 XJ54 J81

Turboprops/Turboshafts	T30 T70

United States military gas turbine aircraft engine designation system

Turbojets	J30 J31 J32 J33 J34 J35 J36 J37 XJ38 J39 J40 XJ41 J42 J43 J44 J45 J46 J47 J48 XJ49 J51 J52 J53 J54 J55 J56 J57 J58 J59 J60 J61 J63 J65 J67 J69 J71 J73 J75 J79 J81 J83 J85 J87 J89 J91 YJ93 J95 J97 J99 J100 YJ101 J102 J400 J401 J402 J403 J700

Turboprops/ Turboshafts	T30 T31 T33 T34 T35 T36 T37 T38 T39 T40 T41 T42 T43 T44 T45 T46 T47 T48 T49 T50 T51 T52 T53 T54 T55 T56 T57 T58 T60 T61 T62 T63 T64 T65 T66 T67 T68 T69 T70 T71 T72 T73 T74 T76 T78 T80 T100 T101 T400 T405 T406 T407 T408 T700 T701 T702 T703 T706 T708 T800

Turbofans	TF30 TF31 TF32 TF33 TF34 TF35 TF37 TF39 TF41 F100 F101 F102 F103 F104 F105 F106 F107 F108 F109 F110 F112 F113 F117 F118 F119 YF120 F121 F122 F124 F125 F126 F127 F128 F129 F135 F136 F137 F138 F400 F401 F402 F404 F405 F408 F412 F414 F415

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.