Rami Shehade, ARAeS · 2019-10-31 · 3 Branch Visit: Page 6 4 Lecture Programme 2019: Page 6!...

RAeS Derby Branch Newsletter

Summer 2019

INSIDE THIS NEWSLETTER 1 Welcome & Branch Information: Page 1

2 Branch Lecture Summary: Page 1-5

3 Branch Visit: Page 6

4 Lecture Programme 2019: Page 6

Welcome! Hello fellow Branch Members – I hope you have all been enjoying your summer. Autumn is now approaching and in a couple of weeks we will be kicking off our next lecture season and some interesting event activities. We have a great programme of lectures coming up and I am grateful for the hard work put in by our former committee volunteers Prashant Chakravarty and Raul Arribas in forming this year’s programme before their careers took them away from Derby – we wish them both success in their new roles. As you will see our upcoming programme this year is book-ended by a couple of historical lectures looking at World War 2 aviation and the ‘phoenix from the flames’ story of the Rolls-Royce bankruptcy of the 1970s. In between we have a varied programme of lectures with a forward view of the future of hybrid-electric propulsion, eVTOL technology and space exploration, the economics of the aerospace manufacturing, the F-35 Lightning II and the effects of Ice crystal icing on gas turbines. Hopefully there is something there to interest everyone and I look forward to seeing many of you at the lectures. We also have a couple of interesting visits upcoming to Airbus and other local sites of interest and I encourage you to take part in these and to attend the lectures. Whilst it is increasingly easy to access much information of interest via the internet these days the Branch lectures still offer a great opportunity to not only engage with informative and knowledgeable experts in their fields but to meet and chat with like-minded Branch members and aerospace enthusiasts in our area. But before we get to the new programme this newsletter contains our reports on the events and lectures which closed out last season, including our popular Sir Henry Royce lecture on the subject of Concorde aerodynamics. Whether you are reading to recollect a lecture/event you attended or catching up on one you missed, put your feet up, enjoy the remaining days of sunshine and enjoy the read!

Dr Simon Hall Derby Branch Chair

Simon Hall (MRAeS) – Derby Branch Chairman

55th Sir Henry Royce Lecture Report

“Concorde 50 Years On. Memories of the Evolution of a Unique Aerodynamic Design” Dudley Collard, former Airbus Head of Supersonic Transport Future Studies, 3rd June 2019

The annual Sir Henry Royce Lectures are always a highlight in the Branch’s calendar and attract a large and high-profile crowd. The 55th Sir Henry Royce Lecture was no exception, and like clockwork the crowds gathered in the Rolls-Royce Learning and Development Centre, recent graduates and CEOs alike.

The Royal Aeronautical Society Derby Branch, alongside Rolls-Royce, had the pleasure to welcome Dudley Collard – former Airbus Head of Supersonic Transport Future Studies, to share his stories and experience working on the Concorde project.

Dudley started the lecture by showing Concorde’s general arrangement, the need for fuel transfer to control the aircraft’s centre

Continues on page 2

Derby Branch Information Branch Committee

President: Colin Smith, Chair: Simon Hall, Vice Chair: Mario Di Martino, Hon Secretary: Chris Sheaf, Treasurer: Niranjan Suresh, Lecture

Coordinator: Amina Dalton, Publicity/Editor: Paulas Sekaran/ Daniel Newman, Young Members Rep: Radu Irimia, Professional Development: Richard

Betts. Visits Coordinators: Rami Shehade, Members: Keith Cobley, Braky Zewde, Hilary Barton, James Cowell, Mustafa Kheraluwala.

Branch Contacts

Hon Secretary: Chris Sheaf, e-mail: [email protected], Rolls-Royce plc, ML-103, PO Box 31, Derby, DE24 8BJ Chairman: Simon Hall, e-mail: [email protected], Rolls-Royce plc, SINA-24, PO Box 31, Derby, DE24 8BJ

Publicity/Editor: Paulas Sekaran, e-mail: [email protected], Rolls-Royce plc, SINA-24, PO Box 31, Derby, DE24 8BJ

Young Members Rep: Radu Irimia, e-mail: [email protected], Rolls-Royce plc, SINA-24, PO Box 31, Derby, DE24

Continues from page 1

Unfortunately, government funding for HOTOL was cancelled in 1989.

Alan Bond, responsible for the inception of HOTOL, vowed to continue his

work along with Richard Varvill and John Scott-Scott, who had both been designing HOTOL’s engines at Rolls-Royce. Thus, REL was born. REL

currently employs 115 people and has headquarters in Culham, situated a

few hundred metres from the fusion reactor research centre of the same name. Likened to Lockheed’s Skunk Works, the REL site can design,

manufacture and test components within a week, enabling rapid

development.

Skylon spaceplane cutaway

Acknowledging that their SSTO spaceplane, Skylon, is still somewhat over

the horizon, work is focused on the SABRE engine required to power it.

The SABRE engine has two operating regimes: air-breathing, which

operates from static until Mach 5, and rocket mode to take the craft

onwards to Mach 25 and orbit. The air-breathing engine is able to operate

over such a large envelope because the intake slows the air down to subsonic speeds. This also allows the engine to be tested at sea-level by

pre-heating the air to represent higher Mach numbers, which is

significantly quicker and cheaper than flight test programmes.

At high Mach numbers, the heat generated by slowing the air in the intake

cannot be tolerated. This necessitates an exceptionally high capacity pre-

cooler, which has been one of the key engineering challenges for SABRE. The incoming air must be cooled from 1000°C to -150°C in 0.01s, whilst

avoiding ice formation. A helium loop provides the cooling, with the waste

heat re-used to drive the turbo-compressor. The pre-cooler has been demonstrated in over 500 steady-state tests, with the European Space

Agency (ESA) accepting the technology as fully demonstrated. REL is now

throwing its weight behind a ground demonstrator engine by the end of 2020, to lay the path for a flight test program by 2024. Work is also

ongoing in Westcott to analyse the advanced nozzle system, which has to

transition in order to expand the significantly different flows produced by the two operating regimes.

SABRE Engine with main components labelled

Funding is crucial to the project, with significant revenue still a long way

off. To maximise funding potential, REL have explored applications of

SABRE and the technologies that enable it to ensure a wide range of interested parties. The microchannel heat exchangers have potential

applications across a wide range of industries, including traditional aerospace and power generation. REL also offer their services as a

consultancy to generate income.

Most promisingly, the SABRE engine can be scaled to suit a range of applications, much like a conventional jet. A derivative engine has been

designed, omitting the rocket elements, for hypersonic travel, and was one

of two concepts selected for the EU-funded LAPCAT II (Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies) feasibility study.

Perhaps obviously, the US Air Force has also expressed interest, and REL

have opened an office in Colorado in order to improve access to the US market.

The UK government and ESA have also contributed £60m, and

private investment is expected to rise as the project matures; BAE Systems

bought a 20% stake for £20m in 2015. Although the outcome of this project

is still not certain, the path is clear and the challenges are being tackled one by one.

The speaker concluded a very fascinating lecture with a fitting quote from

physicist Niels Bohr:

“Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.”

We can add that if their (REL’s) prediction is right they will have

contributed to a truly key disruptive technology for Aerospace.

Rami Shehade, ARAeS

Branch Lecture Report

“The TP400 engine for the Airbus A400M Atlas” Jerry Goodwin Chief Design Engineer Europrop

International, 22nd March 2017

The TP400 engine is a large turbo prop engine providing 11000 shaft horse

power. 4 engines are fitted to the A400M. This aircraft is a military

transport that can carry 37 tons over 2420 nautical miles. This places it mid-way between the Hercules with a 20 ton payload and the C17 with a 77 ton

payload. In addition the A400M has rough field capability so can operate in

very remote airstrips as well as being able to drop cargo and troops in flight.

The aircraft entered service in 2013 and 40 aircraft are already operating

with the French Air Force and the RAF as well as Malaysia, Spain and Turkey.

The TP400 engine is a joint venture engine coordinated by Europrop

International based in Madrid Spain. It includes Rolls-Royce, Safran, MTU and ITP as partners. Avio now part of GE provide the gearbox as a supplier.

The engine is a three shaft configuration and is divided up with MTU

providing the IP compressor and IP turbine, RR providing the HPC and IP structure, Safran providing the combustor and HPT and ITP providing the

LP turbine and front bearing housing. Jerry clearly explained how trying to

coordinate so many partners and suppliers with different company and national cultures is a daily challenge!

The engine had seen issues with the power gearbox which has a planetary

mesh with a 9.92 reduction ratio. This is a highly complex system with many assembly vibration modes and it is always a challenge to design the

engine not to sit on a resonance. During production design changes

unfortunately moved the engine into a resonant mode but this has now been understood and corrected.

Despite several setbacks the production line is now operating smoothly

ramping up to a rate of 100 engines a year and the engine is a good performer within the Air Forces. They are continually trying out new ways

to operate the aircraft and get the best out of it.

Airbus A400M

All in all the audience were left with a much greater appreciation of the TP400 and the different challenges relative to a large civil engine.

Braky Zewde, MRAeS

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mailto:[email protected]





of gravity position, for maximum engine thrust throughout supersonic cruise, and how fuel typically accounted for 50% of take-off weight, compared to a payload of 6%. He then gave a brief overview of preliminary supersonic transport design on both sides of the channel and how aerodynamic improvements were vital to the viability of the project. The international treaty under which the Concorde was developed allocated the airframe aerodynamic design and development to Sud Aviation. The overall shape of the wing thus stemmed from Sud’s early work. So Dudley took the audience through the different concepts for a supersonic aircraft, starting with the initial studies on the ‘Super Caravelle’, through to the first prototype Concorde in 1965. This was accompanied by an old general arrangement drawing of Concorde, which along with most of Dudley’s other layout work, was a copy of an original hand-drafted engineering drawing. These rare drawings provided a refreshing take on things in an increasingly digitalised world. By today’s standards computers were still in their infancy. Much work was still done by hand, both in the design office and in wind tunnel model manufacture. As an example Dudley showed how a 1/18 scale wooden model was made in just two weeks, giving testament to the speed and skill of the modellers. Concorde flew for the first time on the 2nd of March 1969, in a basic configuration with fixed air intakes and no fuel transfer capacity. Using an impressive photograph of the prototype Dudley pointed out some of the many design changes that had to be made to arrive at the certificated production aircraft. These included changes to the engine intakes, outer wing profile, wing leading edge, and increased wheel size for higher take-off weights. Putting the Concorde project into an historical context he showed how much work was done by hand. Although some computer systems did exist, the technology was still basic, and to quote Dudley: “[hand calculations] made you very good at not making mistakes”. He remembered being told by a colleague “Performance [is] too important to trust to a computer”! Hand calculations were time-consuming and often needed multiple iterations; a far cry from the speed of computational fluid dynamics used in modern aerodynamics. This helped the engineers to understand the calculations they were performing and only focus on the analyses that added value and drove efficiency. Taking into account 1960’s computer capacity and speed the development flight simulator was a great technical challenge. It quickly became a key element in Concorde’s development. Dudley presented a number of aerodynamic modifications in some detail. These included the installation of vortex generators on the aircraft’s nose, to give lateral stability at high incidence, and the major redesign of the outer wing. Thermal effects on aircraft shape and trim were shown. Concorde’s fuselage geometry was completely changed by the adoption of a ‘direct vision’ nose and a lengthened rear fuselage. Following engine surge on the prototype at low incidence at Mach 2, it was necessary to redesign the inboard wing leading edge, something Dudley did personally. Successful operation of the variable geometry engine air intake was crucial to Concorde’s success. The responsibility of this fell to ‘Bristol’ and it proved to be a major challenge. Bristol also developed the first civil aerospace digital control system for the engine intakes, to allow them to adapt to varying conditions throughout the flight cycle.

After the introduction of Concorde into service, focus shifted to the next version of the aircraft known as ‘Aircraft B’. Aircraft B offered 12% and 5.5% improvement to lift/drag for subsonic and supersonic flight respectively. This was achieved through better testing and knowledge learnt from the first aircraft, along with improved aerodynamics and engines for greater efficiency and reduced noise. Due to the imposition of new strict aircraft noise regulations after the service entry of the first Concorde, Aircraft B never made it to production. Warren East, the CEO of Rolls-Royce Group, gave the closing remarks, giving his thanks to Dudley for an inspiring lecture, and highlighting the themes of collaboration, teamwork and partnership that played a vital role in the success of the Concorde. Warren stated, “As the aerospace industry looks to its next supersonic passenger aircraft, I’m sure the lessons and spirit of innovation showed by Dudley and all those involved in Concorde will be remembered.”

The RAeS Derby Branch would like to thank Rolls-Royce Plc for its ongoing support to the Sir Henry Royce lecture series.

Lecture report written by: Daniel J Newman .MRAeS

A PDF copy of this Lecture Report and Dudley’s original technical report upon which the lecture is based are available to any member upon request from the Branch. Please contact [email protected] to request a copy.

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Branch Lecture Report “Adventures in Noise” 10th April 2019

Joe Walsh worked in the Noise Department at Rolls-Royce for 37 years. He became the company expert in the field and was a Rolls-Royce Associate Fellow. His presentation was aimed to give the general public an appreciation of the field, the challenges in measuring Aircraft Noise, how noise is generated, how it might be controlled and what opportunities there might be in the future. Sound is unsteady pressure fluctuations and Noise is unwanted Sound Energy. However the energy levels involved are tiny. A football stadium cheering a goal only provides enough energy to boil 2 eggs! The human ear can measure these pressure changes over a fantastically large range. This means a logarithmic scale is required to characterise noise with 3 dB equating to a doubling of sound energy. The human ear can hear sound over a wide range of frequencies however tests have shown that certain frequencies are more annoying than others. As Noise is unwanted “annoying” sound this is important. In addition if the sound energy is bunched at a particular frequency this causes a Tone which is particularly annoying. Research has taken these factors to provide a perceived Noise scale “Effective Perceived Noise Level” measured in decibels that is used to benchmark different aircraft noise levels. Beyond this scientific definition there are emotional factors affecting the perception of aircraft noise. Humans have a subjective response to sound depending on their attitude to aviation, how in control of the noise they feel and other factors. For example someone else’s baby crying in a confined space is much more annoying than your own Baby’s crying. Sound spreads from a source and the inverse square law shows that energy is reduced by a quarter (6db) for every doubling of distance. This means the distance of the aircraft from the observer is critical and aircraft that climb away fast from airports cause less departure noise. In early jets the main noise source was from the fast moving jet coming out of the hot nozzle. Lighthill showed that this Noise Energy was proportional to jet velocity to the power of 8. As bypass ratios have increased, jet velocities have reduced and therefore this noise source has become much less dominant. People often ask ‘why do Noise tests take so long?’ The reason is that to measure these small energy changes there needs to be a very stable atmosphere with no precipitation and a controlled temperature range. If these things are not controlled a lot of the energy especially at high frequency can be absorbed by the atmosphere and give a false result. Noise flight testing is often done in dry climates such as Montana for Boeing or Southern Spain for Airbus. However it is very expensive to do the amount of flying required to get statistically significant data and the Airframers try to only do this once in the programme. Future modifications are tested by comparing the flight test result to outdoor static Noise tests. This enables a much more controlled environment and a detailed understanding can be built up of the Noise Sources on an Engine from microphones mounted at all angles around the engine. Joe moved on to methods of Noise control in gas turbines. Jet Noise has traditionally been controlled by forced mixers that break up the eddies in the wake. As fan noise has become more dominant alot of detail design has been established around the shape of blades and vanes and the ratio of the numbers of the two. One specific improvement example was discussed in more detail. Older engines had fan inlet acoustic lining made from many different segments. As CFD modelling has become more powerful this has been able to show that these discontinuities scatter the Noise and much more escapes the engine. This provided the business case to develop “Spliceless” acoustic linings. These are single piece linings with no discontinuities. The benefit s of these linings on fan noise has been significant. Looking to the future Joe talked about the challenges of noise for supersonic aircraft. He also talked about the difficulties of introducing Anti-Noise at Aircraft scale. This is something that works well for headphones and in propeller aircraft cabins. The session was ended with a lively Q&A.

Lecture report written by: Braky Zewde MRAeS


Branch Lecture Report “Young Persons Lecture Competition” 28th March 2019

The RAeS Derby Branch ‘Young Persons Lecture Competition’ was held this spring. The annual competition, which is part of the RAeS National NE Rowe Competition, aims to encourage young professionals to venture into the fascinating world of Aviation even further and tackle the challenge of public speaking along with it. The participants get an opportunity to choose any aviation related topic of their choice and speak about it in front of a senior leadership panel, who then provide personalised feedback and ways to improve. This year the preliminary heats for both the categories, under 22 and age 22-30, took place in February. The range of topics was very diverse: from ‘Air Traffic Control’ to ‘Block Chains’, ‘Internet of Aviation’ to ‘Use of Batteries’ and even about ‘Solar probes to the Sun’. After an intense round of talks and a difficult decision making process by the judges, two finalists from each category were selected to go further to the finals for a face off! The finals took place in the Innovation Lab on D-Site in Rolls-Royce Derby campus. The brand new facility provided a perfect setting for the event. All finalists took to the stage and gave heartfelt speeches in front of the panel of judges whom they were keen to impress with their knowledge and enthusiasm. The winners of the finals were Joshua Thomson-Smith for his presentation on “Building a Block Chain for the Skies” in the 22-30 category and Amina Dalton for her presentation on “Come Fly With Me” in the u22 category. The winners walked away with a £100 cash prize, a trophy with a chance to participate in the national competition, and an invitation to the 55th Sir Henry Royce Lecture formal evening dinner.

(Warren East, Amina Dalton, Mario Di Martino,

Joshua Thomson-Smith, Paul Stein)

If you would like to help out with the Young Persons Sub-Committee of the Derby Branch then get in touch with the YP Rep Radu Irimia on [email protected] Summary report written by: Daniel Newman

Branch Lecture Report “Selling Airlander 10” George Land – Hybrid Air Vehicles, March 2019

George started his career in British Aerospace as a commercial graduate trainee. He worked on the Gripen fighter, future strategic tanker aircraft project and on asset management with the BAe146. He then moved to APPH, a firm making landing gear, and after a brief stint in the nuclear industry joined Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV).

The ‘Airlander 10’ is a unique hybrid aircraft – George was keen to point out that contrary to appearance the vehicle is not classified as an airship as not all of its lift is provided from the gas bag! The aircraft has a payload of 10 tonnes and a range of 2000 nautical miles at an altitude up to 12,000ft, is powered by 4 diesel engines and cruises at a speed of 20-75 knots. It will be certified for flight in instrument meteorological conditions and at night, with a cockpit similar to modern airliners and multi-day endurance.

HAV’s primary competition is from Lockheed Martin who are looking at a larger aircraft aimed primarily at the cargo market. The ‘Airlander 10’ however hopes to maintain a first to market advantage, although the difference in scale between HAV and Lockheed Martin vehicles may be a market factor.

HAV are based in Bedford which has a history of engineering and technical expertise and continuity with airship design e.g. Barnes Wallis worked on the famous R100 airship.

Most non rigid airships are much lighter than air and therefore operate in equilibrium, but the ‘Airlander 10’ is heavier than air, so depends on the aerodynamic lift provided by its shape under forward motion and vectored thrust from its engines in order to stay airborne. ‘Airlander 10’ takes off and climbs like a conventional aircraft but without requiring a runway. The heavier than air nature of the craft also means it is more stable during loading and unloading of cargo or passengers – airships with neutral buoyancy are very sensitive during loading/unloading and can, in some circumstances, operate on one person off, one person on policy. The fabric of the ‘Airlander 10’ gas bag, a mix of vectron, tedlar and mylar, is the most expensive element of the vehicle. It is produced by a company that makes spacesuits, and is expected to have a life of 10 years. The structure is made from carbon fibre structure, with vectoring ducts and vanes made of fibreglass. The first prototype flight of ‘Airlander 10’ was a demonstration for the US army which is a potential customer for a military cargo version of the vehicle. The ‘Airlander 10’ needs very little support to operate, and its own mooring mast can be carried on board. One of the primary but novel markets HAV is also looking at is luxury tourism. The commercial market is expected to be about 50% of the ‘Airlander 10’ market, with the capacity to carry 16 passengers, 2 pilots and 3 crew for 2000NM – the distance between the UAE and India. Similar to a cruise ship, this variant of Airlander would include a customised cabin with dining area, panoramic views, bar, lounge area, and service quarters for the crew. George commented that marketing a novel, expensive ($60m) luxury tourism asset is difficult, particularly as no trade shows exist for hotels in the sky. The luxury market is expanding very fast however, cruise and hotel groups around the world are creating new luxury brands and novelty, exclusivity, and green credentials (especially with ‘Airlander 10’s potential to become an all-electric solar driven aircraft) are prized. Beyond the initial ‘Airlander 10’ HAV are also working on designing a larger ‘Airlander 50’ with a 50 tonne payload but mainly for cargo. ‘Airlander 50’ is planned to carry 6 ISO shipping containers or 40 seats and earth moving equipment, with a crew of 2 pilots and a loadmaster. It can utilise an external or underslung load or keep rear doors open for larger loads (e.g. for transporting wind turbine blades). George finished his lecture by commenting that HAV’s Shareholders will wait to see if the ‘Airlander 10’ is a commercial success however, before the company launches the ‘Airlander 50’. The lecture was followed by a lively Q&A with the Branch audience. Lecture report written by: Prashant Chakravarty

Edited by: DJ Newman



Geoff Wilde Lecture Report “RAF: Engineering the Next 100 Years” Air Marshal Julian A Young, Chief of Material (Air) Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of Defence. 13th February 2019

In February Air Marshall Young gave a fascinating talk to a packed audience at Nightingale Hall on the future of the Royal Airforce at this year’s annual Geoff Wilde lecture, run in conjunction with the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust. AM Young began his lecture by reminding the audience that July 2018 had marked the 100 year anniversary of the RAF and that there had been many ‘RAF100’ celebratory events throughout the year culminating in a fly-past over Buckingham Palace with Typhoons creating the figure 100. The events were to Commemorate, Celebrate and Inspire the next generation. They certainly achieved their aim and were attended by retired veterans and young air cadets alike. AM Young then looked ahead to the next 100 years reflecting that the F-35 Lightning and Chinook are both expected to be in service with the RAF until 2068. The F-35 has reached Initial Operational Capability with 9 aircraft and 14 pilots stood up and able to serve anywhere in Europe or the Middle East. In 2068 the silhouette of the F-35 will probably be the same but the software and hardware is likely to be totally different and much more capable than today. The focus of the lecture next turned to the Defence Equipment and Support organisation which equips and supports the Armed Forces. This is now a combined role covering both procurement of new equipment and support of existing kit. The strong team of 11,000 personnel manages equipment contracts with industry and project manages the work with a budget of £3.6 Billion. Upgrading existing aircraft occurs continually and the Typhoon has recently been fully upgraded for the air to ground role allowing the Tornado to finally be retired in 2019. 62% of the DE&S budget goes on supporting equipment in service. New stealthy aircraft present a particular challenge for maintenance as opening any internal access bays requires fully resealing and curing the skin to maintain its stealthy characteristic. The DE&S is so good and cost effective at its maintenance that it has also won a number of contracts to support the European military fleets of F-35’s. AM Young went on to say that the RAF works closely with other air forces and today has some unique capabilities. The Radar data from it’s Sentinel electronic surveillance aircraft is highly sought after. The RAF has its own fleet of communication satellites which can link data from other assets such as drones directly into the cockpit of the fast jets. The General Atomics Protector Drone can carry a heavy weapons payload and be used in unsegregated airspace and automatically avoid light aviation or gliders. The RAF is however trying to be as civilian as possible but as military as necessary. An example of this was given where the RAF is willing to buy off the shelf capability such as the P8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft rather than insist on bespoke expensive customisations. Looking ahead AM Young indicated that drone concepts such as the BAE Systems Taranis demonstrator are in progress and work has now begun on a future combat aircraft demonstrator programme under Team Tempest. In the opinion of the Air Marshall this is likely to end up as an international collaboration before going into production. The lecture concluded by considering the Human Factors vital to the DE&S. Attracting the right people into Engineering and avoiding the talent drain to competing areas such as finance are key challenges for the RAF and supporting STEM events is seen as key to maintain the talent pipeline. The lecture ended with a lively Q&A.

Lecture report written by: Braky Zewde MRAeS

Branch Lecture Report “Advanced Oil System Simulation – Simulating the Blood Flow of an Aero-Engine” Prof. Morvan – Rolls-Royce, Group Technology Strategy Manager. January 2019

In January, Professor Hervé Morvan, Group Technology Strategy Manager at Rolls-Royce Plc, gave the Branch a lecture on simulating oil flow within engines using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Prof. Morvan completed his undergraduate degree in Paris, and went on to do his PhD at Glasgow University before joining the University of Nottingham as a lecturer. He helped launch Aerospace Engineering as a new degree subject at the University of Nottingham and helped found the Nottingham Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society. As part of his PhD, Prof. Morvan worked on adding terms to basic lubrication theory including accounting for the effect of heat and capillary action. As an example of how the amount of available computing power has increased, a piece of code which took him 3 months to run during his PhD now only takes 2 weeks. Prof. Morvan started his research career looking at large scale hydraulics for electricity suppliers e.g. understanding the consequences of failures such as hydro-electric dam breaks. He then moved on to Olympic swimming, succesfully working with Speedo on swimwear that helped redistribute the muscle and fat of the swimmer to help them swim better. Over his career, one of the issues Prof. Morvan has helped to address in CFD is setting the size of the problem to solve, for example, if one wants to look at the flow of air within a room, the room can be broken down into a series of "boxes" known as a mesh, within which the flow can be looked at to give the overall flow within the room. If the mesh is too big, the simulation may be inaccurate as some effects are missed; if the mesh is too small, the simulation can take much more computing power and time than required to arrive at an answer that is more detailed than necessary. To help solve this problem, Professor Morvan worked to produce Matlab code that helped set the size of mesh. This would then suggest whether a high resolution simulation (smaller mesh size) is required and where it is needed. Furthermore, his codes were designed to can ‘talk’ to each other and switch between higher and lower resolution as required. With gas turbine engines, most of Professor Morvan's work has been on the Trent family, with occasional forays into the BR series and EJ200. His work is now on the Ultrafan, primarily on the gearbox. The 1m diameter Ultrafan gearbox can go through the entire contents of its oil tank in roughly 6 seconds and has an oil film that is only 100 microns thick on average. This film needs to be simulated around the whole diameter, taking into account both static and dynamic conditions across the whole flight envelope. The very high levels of shear in a rotating gas turbine due to the rotational speed also need to be accounted for. However oil does also pool, and recirculate within the pool, deteriorating as it does so. All this is compounded by the fact that a drop of oil can vary in size from a fraction of a micron to hundreds of microns. The designs of the bearing race and how oil coats and sprays off bearings also needs further study. Research has been undertaken into perpendicular spray but oblique spray has been largely ignored until now. Prof. Morvan’s lecture concluded with a look at the future of CFD, and how, with the spread of electrification, CFD will become critical for the efficient use of liquid cooling. Finally, Professor Morvan also shared his strong conviction that the Mirage 3 is the most beautiful aircraft ever built. Lecture report written by: Prashant Chakravarty

Edited by: DJ Newman


RAeS Derby Branch on the Internet and the Rolls-Royce intranet The Branch Internet pages are on the RAeS website – http://www.aerosociety.com – log on and follow the Branches link for the latest information. The Branch pages on the Rolls-Royce intranet also contain news and information about the Branch, as well as information about RAeS membership and services. They can be found here.

Suggestions or Comments Please feel free to contact the relevant committee member as listed above if you have any suggestions or comments on the activities of the RAeS Derby Branch.

Branch Visits Report Airbus Wings Facility Broughton, Wales, UK 4th September ‘19

Members of the Derby Branch recently enjoyed a visit to the Airbus wing manufacture facility at Broughton. The factory was built as a shadow factory in WWII for Vickers Armstrong and has been making aircraft and aircraft parts for over 70 years. During the war they were able to produce a Wellington Bomber in just over 24 hours. Today the factory is the main facility for assembling wings for Airbus. There are 6000 employees on site and the business is very active in the local community. The majority of the A320 wings are produced here at a rate of 50 wings a month. In addition all A330 and A350 wings are produced here. The A380 production has just come to a halt with the decision to end production of the super jumbo. On this visit the group visited the brand new purpose built A350 production line. The factory is vast with the port and starboard assembly lines mirrored. The Wing covers (upper and lower skin) are made of carbon fibre and are a much more complex shape than the traditional aluminium designs. They include stiffening features and are produced in Germany and flown in via the Beluga transport. The wing ribs come in from South Korea. All the pieces are fitted together on a horizontal jig and temporary fasteners are used to hold them in place. Giant drilling robots make the holes for all the permanent fasteners to be attached by hand. Following inspection each completed wing is loaded into the Beluga transporter through its large nose door. The next generation of Beluga XL aircraft are just coming on line and will be able to fit two A350 wings rather than the current one. This was a fascinating visit and we hope to return in the future to see other parts of the factory.

Visit report written by: Braky Zewde MRAeS

Rami Shehade, Visits Coordinator

Upcoming Branch Events… “COOL AEROnautics” Derbyshire School STEM events 25th October 2019

Launch of 2019 – 2020 Lecture Programme. Please see programme below.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

On becoming a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) and with that signing up to its Code of Conduct, you take on the responsibility of maintaining and developing your competency and recording your CPD. The RAeS provides support to its members CPD through many channels; the Aerospace magazine, Lectures, Blogs/Podcasts, Volunteering for the Society, Branch meetings. The RAeS has an online tool mycareerpath where your CPD can be recorded. The mycareerpath sits under My Professional Development within your personal login members’ area. If your CPD record sits within another system, it is possible to upload it to mycareerpath. From January 2019, it is mandatory for Engineering Council registrants (CEng/IEng/EngTech) to record their CPD on mycareerpath. On behalf of the Engineering Council the RAeS will then be carrying out an audit of a sample of the CPD records. More about CPD will be briefed in the Aerospace Magazine in early 2019 but getting your CPD onto mycareerpath can start now. If you need any help or advice then please contact the membership team at RAeS HQ using the email address [email protected] or you can talk to one of the Branch committee members, who will be happy to help.

Hilary Barton, Branch Committee

Branch Committee News

Lecture Co-Ordinator Committee role:

Following exciting new career prospects away from Derby our Branch Lecture Co-ordinator, Prashant Chakravarty has recently stepped down from the committee lecture coordinator role.

On behalf of the RAeS Derby Branch, the committee would like to thank Prashant for all the great work and enthusiasm he has given to the Branch lecture programme over the last few years. We wish him the warmest of futures in the next chapter of his career.

It is also our pleasure to announce Amina Dalton who will be stepping into the role of new Lecture Co-ordinator for the Branch.

Amina is the latest winner of the Derby Branch Young Persons Lecture (u22), and has since been an influential member within the Branch young person’s sub-committee. On behalf of the RAeS Derby branch, we would like to welcome Amina to her new role, and we look forward to working with her during next year’s upcoming lecture programme.

Want to get involved in the Royal Aero Society Derby Branch?

The local Derby Branch committee are always looking for new and enthusiastic volunteers to help support the upcoming season of Branch activities. We welcome any contribution big or small, and offer exciting opportunities to get involved with lectures, attend trips and STEM events, as well as networking with other Branches and some of the industry’s most influential names.

If you are interested please get in touch via the following Branch email: [email protected]

http://www.aerosociety.com/

https://www.aerosociety.com/get-involved/branches-divisions/derby/?dm_i=4OGU,OD30,325T8T,2VKWI,1




Lecture Programme 2019

Of Sons and Skies: Flying Through World War Two

Date: Wednesday 11th Sept 2019

Venue: Nightingale Hall, Rolls-Royce Leisure Centre

Lecturer: Robert Arley (author)

E-FanX – Pioneering MW Scale Hybrid-Electric Propulsion

Date: Wednesday 9th Oct 2019


Lecturer: Riona Armesmith (Rolls-Royce Programme Director)

The Global Impact of eVTOL Technology on the Aerospace Market

Date: Wednesday 13th Nov 2019


Lecturer: Dan Hayes & Michael Smith (VRCO)

Ice Crystal Icing and its Impact on Engine Certification

Date: Wednesday 15th Jan 2020


Lecturer: Martin Maltby (ex BAe) & Geoff Jones (RR)

When Lightning Strikes Twice (2020 Geoff Wilde Lecture in assoc with Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust)

Date: Wednesday 12th Feb 2020

Venue: RR Learning & Career Development Centre, Wilmore Rd

Lecturer: Dave Gordon (RR Defence Director)


Young Persons Lecture Competition

Date: tbc (Feb 2020)

Venue: tbc

Lecturer: tbc

Europe’s Place in Space – the Role of the European Space Agency

Date: Wednesday 11th March 2020


Lecturer: David Parker (ESA Director of Human & Robotic

Exploration)

Branch AGM & lecture Aerodynamic: Inside the High-Stakes Global Jetliner Industry

Date: Wednesday 8th April 2020


Lecturer: Kevin Michaels (Consultant & Author)

The Fall and Rise of Rolls-Royce Ltd (Perspectives on the 1971 Bankruptcy)

Date: Wednesday 13th May 2020


Lecturer: Alan Edge (author)

56th Sir Henry Royce Lecture

Date: TBC (summer 2020)

Venue: TBC

Lecturer: TBC

Rami Shehade, ARAeS · 2019-10-31 · 3 Branch Visit: Page 6 4 Lecture Programme 2019: Page 6!...

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Transcript of Rami Shehade, ARAeS · 2019-10-31 · 3 Branch Visit: Page 6 4 Lecture Programme 2019: Page 6!...