The Rolls-Royce VIPER 201 test bed facility

A test bed for developing turbine technology

STS owns two Rolls–Royce Viper 201 engines of which one is operational and the second serves as spare parts. The engine facility is located outside London at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, UK. The Viper engine is uniquely modified with six high temperature windows to allow optical access for remote sensing.

The windows give unique access to the hot section of the engine – combustion chamber, nozzle guide vanes, turbine blades. The viper is also eequiped with various thermocouples and engine control tools. The engine can operate up to 13,500 rotations per minute at full load.

Another unique feature is the application of thermal barrier coatings inside the hot section which is unique for such an engine. Material temperatures inside the engine can vary are going up to ca 800 Celsius.

Please contact STS for more information and for potential time slots for testing.