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Academics and industry heads hope the newly launched Aerospace Integration Research Centre (AIRC) at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire can cut development timetables by up to a half. Airbus and Rolls-Royce engineers will work together with academic researchers at the facility, adjacent to the only university airport in the country.
The centre includes labs, offices and a specialised simulation area as well as a cavernous 1,500m² ‘open space’ work area, currently housing a full-size Airbus wing. University and industry heads hope the AIRC will boost the UK’s aerospace research capabilities and ensure that promising work doesn’t fall into the ‘valley of death’ between academia and commercial use.
With the main challenges of improving efficiency to reduce impact on the environment and increasing fleet capacity to meet rising demand – Airbus predicts 5% annual growth in the sector for 20-30 years – engineers at the centre will explore striking new ideas for air travel.
“What the public will see is the evolution of new plane designs and concepts,” said Cranfield aerospace director Iain Gray. “With the increasing rate of adoption of new technologies – electric hybrid is probably the biggest game-changer over the next couple of decades – that gives us the opportunity to look at completely different shapes.”
Possible concepts on display at the research centre’s launch day included triangular passenger planes with no discernible distinction between fuselage and wings. Further integration of engines into wings is also a key aim of the centre, as Airbus and Rolls-Royce introduce larger engines for better efficiency.
Even more radical ideas will be investigated, said Rolls-Royce director of technology strategy Henner Wapenhans. “We see that from drones, that they have got lots of different electrical motors,” he said. “In future, aircraft might have more distributed kinds of engines because that might be more efficient.”
While ‘blue sky’ concepts may previously have been unlikely to fly, rapid technological advancement and close industrial collaboration mean Cranfield concepts may stand a better chance, said Wapenhans: “We are in such a fast-changing world that it will happen sooner than you think.”
AIRC head Tim Mackley said the centre’s simulation area would be a key factor in its success. He cited a case where concept designs were fed into simulation modules, letting an expert pilot ‘fly’ the virtual aeroplane and offer detailed feedback to engineers, who could iron out undesirable features. “If we are going to conquer these reduced timescales, that’s the sort of activity that will enable it,” said Mackley.
Other research at the centre includes work on drone flight patterns, and fibre-optic sensing technology for helicopter blades.
Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.