Detuner (engine)

Detuner is a generic term for a jet engine test cell exhaust system muffler.

Interest by Douglas Jack W.Cullum in the noise generated by aircraft engines and propellers led to the design of a silencer for the W2 700 jet engine developed by Sir Frank Whittle and his team at Power Jets Ltd.

A later version consisted of four acoustic sections with a plain entry section inside the test cell, flanged and bolted together, mounted on wheels, and installed on rails to permit fore and aft movement.

The cavity between inner lining and outer casing was tightly packed with an acoustic absorbent material known as rock (mineral) wool.

Modified versions of the prototype detuner were installed on the Rolls-Royce jet engine test beds at Clitheroe in Lancashire, Barnoldswick in Yorkshire and Derby, Derbyshire where the jet engine continued development.