A consortium of three UK universities is training the next generation of materials scientists to make gas turbines run hotter, cleaner, and more efficiently. Gas turbines power almost all aircraft and a third of the UK’s electricity. Passenger numbers are forecast to double or triple by 2050, and the power sector’s use of gas turbines is predicted to rise sharply. To avoid irreversible climate change, CO₂ cuts of 60–90% are needed. The UK has Europe’s largest gas turbine industry—employing over 400,000 people and generating £2 billion in power-sector exports alone—so improving turbine efficiency is both an environmental and an economic priority. This Doctoral Training Partnership, backed by EPSRC and Rolls-Royce, funds fundamental materials research into structural metallic systems—the alloys and coatings that must withstand extreme temperatures and stresses inside a turbine. If successful, the work could lead to engines that burn less fuel, emit less CO₂, and remain reliable over longer lifetimes. That would directly affect air travel costs, national energy security, and the UK’s ability to meet emissions targets without shutting down industry. The programme also ensures a pipeline of skilled metallurgists and materials scientists for UK academia and manufacturing.
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This Doctoral Training Partnership is between the universities of Cambridge,Swansea and Birmingham.Dwindling resources and climate change are forcing engineering designers to utilise materials and energy supplies with ever-greater efficiency. It is argued that cuts in CO2 emissions of between 60-90% must be achieved if irreversible climate change is to be avoided. At present, almost all aircraft propulsion and over 1/3 of the UK's total generating capacity rely on gas turbines. Their flexibility and efficiency compared with the alternatives mean that their use in power generation is predicted to dramatically increase for the foreseeable future. Similarly, a substantial growth in air travel is also predicted with passenger numbers forecast to double or triple by 2050. Achieving drastic reductions in the emissions from gas turbines, without bring national economic activity to a standstill, requires urgent activity on a very wide number of fronts. This is particularly important for the UK. It has Europe's largest gas turbine industry, second only to the US, including major engine makers, such as Rolls-Royce, Alstom and Siemens, together with approximately 3,000 companies supplying alloys, high integrity components, such as discs, blades and shafts, as well as coatings and seals. The industry as a whole employs over 400,000 people and generates 2 billion in exports in the power sector alone.EPSRC and Rolls-Royce plc have established a Strategic Partnership in the field of Structural Metallic Systems for Gas Turbine Applications with two key aims:i) To undertake the fundamental materials research necessary to improve the efficiency and environmental sustainability of gas turbine engines.ii) To train the next generation of world-class materials scientists and metallurgical engineers in structural metallic systems that will be critical to the future health of the discipline in UK academia and industry. Both these aims meet key UK needs in research and training as identified in the International Review of Materials 2008, the RAE Recommendations and the EPSRC EngD Review 2008. They also form an integral part of the propulsion roadmap of the Materials and Structures National Technical Committee of the Aerospace and Defence knowledge transfer network.
Brian Connolly (Co-Investigator)Catherine Rae (Co-Investigator)Howard Stone (Co-Investigator)Karen Perkins (Co-Investigator)Mark Whittaker (Co-Investigator)Martin Bache (Co-Investigator)Nicholas Green (Co-Investigator)Paul Bowen (Principal Investigator)William Clegg (Co-Investigator)
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