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Friction Welding for Aeroengine Applications

Summary of the impact

Research at the University of Manchester has supported the development of inertia and linear friction welding of high temperature materials for aeroengine application. The research has guided process parameter development and led to deployment of these new welding techniques at Rolls-Royce plc. In particular, inertia friction welding is now used in modern gas turbine engines, such as the Trent 900, which powers the A380, Trent 1000 for the Boeing 787 and Trent XWB for the Airbus A350. In addition, research has enabled blisk technology (welding of blades on disks), which has delivered up to 30% weight saving on critical rotating components.

Submitting Institution

University of Manchester

Unit of Assessment

Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering

Life extensions of nuclear power plant

Summary of the impact

The lifetimes of Hartlepool and Heysham I nuclear power stations have been extended from 2011 to 2019 as a direct result of our research into the development and application of new measurement techniques for the accurate determination of residual stresses. These life extensions are contributing to the health of the UK economy, maintaining jobs, ensuring security of electricity supply, and deferring the need for decommissioning and replacement of two nuclear power stations at a cost of several billion pounds each. The electricity generated during the life extension period has a market value of over £8 billion. New numerical modelling methods, underpinned by our measurements, are now used by the nuclear industry in life assessment procedures.

Submitting Institution

Open University

Unit of Assessment

Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)
Engineering: Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering

Analysis of residual stress in aero engine fan blades

Summary of the impact

Wide Chord Fan Blades provide a key competitive advantage for Rolls-Royce's £8.6bn aero-engine business employing 1500 staff. In service, blades experience massive loads and high-frequency vibration, creating the potential for failure. In response to blade-off events on the Trent™ 800 engine, Rolls-Royce (RR) urgently needed a means of inhibiting fatigue crack growth, and selected laser shock peening (LSP). Research in the UoA, elucidating the mechanism and outcomes of LSP, provided critical scientific underpinning for its introduction into the production process for the Trent™ 800 and, subsequently, other engines. Further the UoA now provides manufacturing process QA. Orders for the new Trent™ XWB engine, relying on LSP, exceed £60bn, with partners The Metal Improvement Company establishing dedicated LSP treatment facilities for RR in the UK (with 30 employees) and Singapore.

Submitting Institution

University of Manchester

Unit of Assessment

Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Materials Engineering

Veqter - exploiting residual stress measurement technique to provide unique structural integrity assessment service (for redaction)

Summary of the impact

Residual stresses are the stresses locked into a component during manufacture. It is essential that the magnitudes of these residual stress fields are known as they may combine deleteriously with applied loads. This can lead to premature failure, of a component or structure, at loads the designer would otherwise view as safe. Researchers at Bristol have developed a residual stress measurement technique called deep-hole drilling, which allows measurements of residual stresses both near the surface and throughout the thickness of the specimen, even for very large components which other methods are unable to measure. Veqter Ltd was created in 2004 as a University spin-out company to provide deep-hole drilling residual stress measurements for industry. The company has grown [text removed for publication]. Primarily, Veqter is a service company, undertaking laboratory and on-site residual stress measurements on safety-critical components using hardware and analysis algorithms developed at the University. It is the only company worldwide that offers this facility and its customer base includes EDF Energy, the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organisation, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Airbus. Veqter's measurements allow these companies to better understand the structural integrity of safety-critical plant.

Submitting Institution

University of Bristol

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering

So You Think You Can Design A Jet Engine?! - A Toolkit For Communicating Materials Research

Summary of the impact

This prize-winning outreach project exploits our capability in 3D X-ray imaging to showcase our world-leading research activities in aeroengine materials and manufacturing processes, stimulating young people's interest in science and technology by challenging them to design an engine of their own. Involving an extensive schedule of public events, workshops and activity days, as well as a permanent exhibit at Manchester's Museum of Science & Industry, the project has engaged and enthused hundreds of thousands of members of the public. These outreach activities were recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering through the award of its Nexia Solutions Education Innovation prize.

Submitting Institution

University of Manchester

Unit of Assessment

Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Physical Sciences: Other Physical Sciences
Chemical Sciences: Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)
Engineering: Materials Engineering

Aircraft structures: Life extension and damage tolerant design

Summary of the impact

We have optimised aerospace structural designs and assessment methods through development and application of hybrid residual stress characterisation techniques. Our research results on bonded crack retarders have redirected industry development programmes on hybrid metal laminate material systems and been used to evaluate reinforced structural concepts for US Air Force wing and fuselage applications. Methods to assess and mitigate maintenance-induced damage have been developed and implemented based on our research. Our contour measurement technology has been transferred to the US Air Force, which now has the capability to perform measurements in-house and support work with both NASA and the US Navy.

Submitting Institution

Open University

Unit of Assessment

Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Materials Engineering

The development of new standards for aluminium rail vehicle welding and crashworthiness

Summary of the impact

The Cullen Report into the Ladbroke Grove rail crash attributed the catastrophic failures of the rail vehicles to "weld unzipping" (brittle fast fracture). Research carried out at Newcastle University into the fabrication and design of aluminium rail vehicles has informed two new European standards: EN 15085 "Railway applications — Welding of railway vehicles and components" and EN 15227, "Crashworthiness requirements for railway vehicle bodies". These two standards have been developed to ensure that the "weld unzipping" failure cannot re-occur in a rail crash. The two standards were formally adopted throughout the EU in 2008, and are mandatory for all aluminium rail vehicles used across Europe.

Submitting Institution

Newcastle University

Unit of Assessment

Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Civil Engineering, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering

Direct Metal Laser Sintering and Melting (DMLS/M) for producing complex geometrical parts in advanced materials

Summary of the impact

The University was the first adopter of the Direct Metal Laser Sintering/Melting (DMLS/M) technology in the UK resulting in significant research and knowledge transfer activities in the UK and globally. The University has and continues to be a catalyst in technology introduction for 5 out of the 10 UK companies that use this technology. This accounts for £2.5M of capital investment within the UK and is currently the largest concentration of this technology worldwide. Research has involved process optimisation, analytical simulation, materials development (including MMCs) with UK and international partners. Application research engagement has been in Automotive (including F1), Aerospace, Medical and Jewellery sectors.

Submitting Institution

University of Wolverhampton

Unit of Assessment

Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Biomedical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Interdisciplinary Engineering

A new joining process for deep sea pipelines

Summary of the impact

Automated dry hyperbaric (high pressure) gas metal-arc welding (GMAW) is used in deep-sea pipelines for remote repair and "hot-tap" connections to operating pipelines. Cranfield's process can be used for depths of up to 2,500 metres. The process has been applied in production with a new joint being made at a depth of 265 metres on a live gas pipeline. As part of the Åsgard Subsea Compression project, it will improve the recovery from the Mikkel and Midgard reservoirs by around 280 million barrels of oil equivalents, worth more than 28 billion dollars at today's prices.

Submitting Institution

Cranfield University

Unit of Assessment

Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Chemical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Interdisciplinary Engineering

Use of novel small specimen testing methods for improvements in power plant maintenance operations

Summary of the impact

A range of small specimen creep testing methods have been developed through research carried out at the University of Nottingham (UoN). These tests are being used in the following ways: RWE npower has used the impression creep test on approximately 180 samples taken from its power plants in the UK, France and Holland; AMEC has installed two impression creep test rigs for testing nuclear power plant materials for a range of EDF Energy power plants; Laborelec is using the small ring techniques for evaluating nickel based super alloys in turbine blades for clients in Belgium and Holland and the Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI) has used the small specimen techniques, with the assistance of UoN, on power plant structures in the USA.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Civil Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering

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