CoGS will develop hybrid metallic composite aero engine components. The technology will be applied to a mainline shaft and the planet gears within an epicyclic gear box. The predicted weight reduction is significant, resulting in a reduction in aircraft fuel burn and a reduction in CO2 emissions. There are applications of this technology in other sectors, however this is the first application within an aero engine for both mainline shaft and planet gears. The project will be led by Rolls-Royce, Romax will join as a partner and Lentus Composites as a sub-contractor, both suppliers are UK based.

Hexavalent chromates set the benchmark for corrosion protection for a number of industries and they are essential for the safety of current Aerospace products. However, EU REACH legislation has tightly restricted the sale and use of these chemical substances which creates a business continuity threat to the UK and EEA supply chains. One key technology is chromate conversion coatings (CCC) that are essential for the protection of aluminium components. While there are a number of proposed alternatives on the market, previous work has identified these to be unsuitable. A consortium has been brought together in order to develop and industrialise CCC alternatives to ensure that they meet stringent requirements set by the Aerospace industry. The lifetimes of these hex-chrome technologies will be measured using advanced methodology so that they can be safely introduced into Aerospace products. Furthermore, the new technologies will be available for the entire UK supply chain to use, including for other industries such as medical, automotive, oil and gas.

This project, led by Rolls-Royce, will develop the preliminary concept design of an aero gas turbine engine core demonstrator, aimed at verifying advanced technologies for the next generation of large civil engines at a whole system level. In establishing the preliminary concept design, the project will prove the feasibility of progressing to the detailed design the demonstrator and reduce some of the risks associated with the demonstrator vehicle.

Compliance with current and future regulations is instrumental to the wide-scale exploitation of Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) at sea. Satisfactory autonomous operation in accordance with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 (Colregs) is furthermore pivotal to maritime safety. Machine execution of the Colregs has been investigated in limited circumstances and this project aims to develop a more comprehensive capability and demonstrate satisfactory execution in real-world representative sea trials. With academic support, the industrial participants aim to: demonstrate autonomous control of a USV for Mine Counter Measure (MCM) operations, and develop broader USV applications along with navigational support for larger conventional vessels. A key innovation will be the use of networked bridge simulators as a safe yet effective test environment in the first instance. These highly immersive simulators, ordinarily used for mariner training, will be used to rapidly iterate development in light of human reaction from the crew of a virtual vessel encountering a synthetic autonomous vessel and real-world difficulties such as degraded sensor picture.

Rolls-Royce is developing a composite fan system for deployment in future civil gas turbine engines. The primary aim of a composite fan system is to deliver a significant weight saving, which enables substantial improvements in specific fuel consumption (sfc), thereby contributing to reduced emissions and achievement of the ACARE targets. It is predicted that manufacturing major fan system components (blade and case) from composite material will save approximately 350 kg in weight per engine (based on Trent 1000 engine size), which equates to a saving of 150 tonnes of CO2 emissions per aircraft per year. There is far less material waste in the manufacture of a composite case, with >85% of the raw material in the final product, compared to about 15% for a metallic case. The method of manufacture of a composite case also consumes significantly less energy, primarily due to the lower processing temperatures. This was a collaboration between Rolls-Royce and GKN Aerospace. The project successfully demonstrated Composite Fan Case manufacturing capability on representative development equipment, and identified the additional work required to be able to demonstrate manufacturing capability on production equipment. Composite fan cases for the system level engine test programme were manufactured through this project. A reduction in the cost of the composite manufacturing method has been achieved through process optimisation and development of automated methods for the composite fan case. The project is an enabler for the next generation of aero gas turbines and offers enhanced product competitiveness through reduced engine weight, leading to reduced fuel burn and hence lower environmental emissions. The development of the method of manufacture has reduced the process cycle times, with opportunities for further reductions, driving a cost-effective solution. The knowledge gained in this project can be applied to many composite applications in the future.