About
The University of Nottingham has a long history of working with Rolls-Royce on a wide range of aeroengine-related projects, including projects on the transmission systems. As a result of this successful collaborative research, the University was invited to bid, along with many other universities for the setting up of a Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre (UTC) in Gas Turbine Transmission systems. Nottingham’s bid was successful and the UTC was formally inaugurated in March 1997. Since then the group has grown from 2 research students and 1 experimental officer working with 3 academics in Mechanical Engineering to 12 research students, 7 post-doctoral Research Assistants, 2 technicians, 2 experimental officers and a rigs manager working with 15 academics. In addition to funding from Rolls-Royce for both long-term core research and research to support the development of individual engines, funding also comes from DTI, EPSRC, Euopean Commission and other industrial sources.
With extensive computational and experimental facilities, the group is fully equipped for experimental and numerical analyses. These are used to develop validated modelling tools for all aspects of shaft, support structure, bearings and oil systems behaviour. The extremely complex nature of the research requires an interdisciplinary approach to bring the necessary range of expertise, skills and equipment to bear on the problems. Hence, academics and researchers in the School of Mathematical Sciences and the School of Chemical, Environmental and Mining Engineering join those in the School of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering to collaborate on projects.