Citation
(2003), "Aerospace materials research project", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 75 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2003.12775eab.011
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited
Aerospace materials research project
Aerospace materials research project
Rolls-Royce reports that it is spearheading a new £4.7 million research programme that looks to develop advanced, affordable, lighter and more capable aerospace materials for the future.
The advanced aero-engine materials (ADAM) programme is a collaboration between Rolls-Royce and QinetiQ plc., together with several UK academic centres of excellence, and is co-funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Rolls-Royce already works closely with several universities and research bodies in the area of materials, and for ADAM it will collaborate with the universities of Birmingham, Cambridge, Cranfield, Manchester, Oxford and Wales (Swansea), together with the Oxford-based Faraday Advance and QinetiQ.
Rolls-Royce Director of Materials, Dr Steve Garwood, said: "Aerospace manufacturers are facing an increasingly tough task in balancing key factors. Improved performance is still of major importance, but cost of manufacture, cost of ownership and environmental impact are also vital considerations today.
"We have to look at all these areas in developing new materials, which is why a co-ordinated, cohesive approach is so important."
Within the ADAM programme, five projects will focus on high temperature turbine materials, lightweight magnetic and electrical technologies, advanced composites, advanced joining techniques and innovative powder material processes. These novel technologies will be delivered in a 4 year timeframe, and the target date for first use in a demonstrator could be as early as 2008.
ADAM is one of the eight Defence and Aerospace Research Partnership (DARP) projects. The DARP programme is managed by the National Defence and Aerospace Systems Panel (NDASP) Research and Technology Task Force, bringing together the DTI, EPSRC, MoD and industry to agree and fund suitable projects.
The academic partners will play a key role in providing a detailed scientific understanding, while Rolls-Royce will take the technical lead and act as programme manager. It will also ensure that results are delivered on time and are disseminated across the UK's industrial and academic base – thereby creating a virtual centre of excellence for the future development of gas turbine materials.