An UK UNIVERSITY-industry consortium has been awarded a £3.3 million ($5.1 million) Government grant to develop advanced materials for use in aero-engine turbine blades.
The consortium, headed by Professor Colin Humphreys from the department of materials science and metallurgy at the University of Cambridge, will involve engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, which will use the software at the end of the project.
The project is aimed at developing turbine blades capable of operating at temperatures up to 1,500¡C, allowing turbine-inlet temperatures to be increased. This would lead to more efficient engines and reduce emissions. So-called "neural" computer networks will be used to gain a better understanding of how to combine elements in conventional nickel alloys, based on measurements of the performance of existing blades. Mechanical tests will be performed to validate computer findings.
Another section of the project will focus on the use of quantum mechanics to calculate the performance of new alloys.
"We will be trying to understand the chemical bonding process in alloys," says Humphreys. Another area will be to predict the actual safe life of blades, he adds, as engineers "-don't understand how long they really last".
Source: Flight International
