Design of high performace rotary friction tooling systems for the manufacture of aero-engine components
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Faculty of Engineering
Abstract
The need for high-quality joints, combined with the inherent difficulty in welding most aerospace materials, has fostered aerospace industry to research in solid-state friction-based welding processes. Rotary friction welding, in particular, is a solid state friction welding technique that allows to weld together cylindrical parts by means of the heat generated due to the friction at the interface between the two components and the forging pressure applied by a ram.
The aim of the PhD is to develop a novel specialist tool able to solve issues in the fixturing system in order to improve the weld quality. In order to do that, it is fundamental to implement a numerical model able to describe accurately the process and a measurement system able to extract strategic experimental data for cross-comparison.
The aim of the PhD is to develop a novel specialist tool able to solve issues in the fixturing system in order to improve the weld quality. In order to do that, it is fundamental to implement a numerical model able to describe accurately the process and a measurement system able to extract strategic experimental data for cross-comparison.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Dragos Axinte (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Luca Raimondi (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP/N509309/1 | 01/10/2015 | 30/03/2021 | |||
| 1794878 | Studentship | EP/N509309/1 | 01/10/2016 | 23/12/2020 | Luca Raimondi |
| Description | Academically IFW is conventionally studied from the point of view of numerical simulation of the process considering ideal conditions and disregarding the effect of tooling and machine. This project instead focused on understanding the effects of these two factors and showed how they have a significant impact on the dynamic and outcomes of the process. Improvements to the tooling have been proposed and validated. Finally, a methodology has been developed for the analysis of the data collected by the rig to explain the originating causes. In the third year of the project, a model and methodology to study the machine dynamics have been proposed, providing an important insight for the understanding of the runout evolution during the weld. |
| Exploitation Route | - Improve the simulation of the process; - Understand the real welding conditions and therefore think to possible ways to mitigate the described phenomena. |
| Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Description | Instrumentation has been shared with the industrial partner for improving the quality and repeatability of their process and get a better understanding of the phenomena occurring during the process. Similarly, the methodology for the data analysis (which will be soon published in the form of academic papers) has been employed by the industrial partner. The model developed in the last year of the project will be soon ready for publication and just before this, it will be discussed and shared with the industrial partner. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Description | Training about Rig |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | After the development of the rig a manual and series of guidelines have been created for Rolls-Royce. In addition one week of training has been organised to train the operator in Rolls-Royce in the use of the mechanical setup and monitoring equipment associated with the new instrumentation. |
| Description | EPSRC |
| Amount | £17,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 15220152 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2016 |
| End | 03/2020 |
| Title | Methodology |
| Description | A methodology for the understanding of the influence of the system behaviour during the manufacturing process on the outcomes have been proposed. (No farther details can be released due to the commercially sensitiveness of the equipment to which the methodology is associated) |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Improved knowledge in the relationship between process evolution and conditions and outcomes quality and repeatability. |
| Title | Methodology for the understanding of the root causes for runout during a rotary friction welding |
| Description | An advanced methodology for the understanding of the root causes for runout during a rotary friction welding taking the experimental data of displacement and load as input. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The methodology can be of great help for the friction welding community for improving the welding outcomes and gain an understanding of the physical causes of the runout evolution. |
| Title | Rig |
| Description | A novel rig for the monitoring of advanced manufacturing processes has been developed. This provide a step forward compared to solutions available commercially or proposed in academic literature giving a holistic view of the process. (No farther details can be released due to the commercially sensitiveness of the equipment) |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Influence of the setup on the quality and repeatability of the output. |
| Title | Model |
| Description | A model to correlate the effect of the alignment of the components during welding can affect the process evolution. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The influence of the parts condition/setup has been correlated to the process evolution. |
| Title | Model in support of the methodology for the understanding of the root causes for runout during a rotary friction welding |
| Description | The model takes as input the data of displacement and strain obtained during a weld and use them to study the root causes of the runout observed. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | RFW is commonly studied in term of microstructural evolution and simulation of the welding phase under simplified assumptions which are not able to explain some of the actual phenomena that occur during a weld, such as runout. This model aims to be a powerful tool that can be used by professionals and researchers in the field of RFW to gain a better physical understanding of the phenomena that occur during a weld. |
| Title | Welds |
| Description | A set of welds generated with a DOE input parameters approach have been welded as a process of validation. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This set of weld can be used to estimate the effect of the process parameters on the output quality and repeatatbility. |
| Description | Rolls-Royce |
| Organisation | Rolls Royce Group Plc |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Scientific analysis of the current setup used for an advanced manufacturing process and development of a novel rig (No farther details can be released due to the commercially sensitiveness of the equipment). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provide the machines and equipment necessary for the manufacturing process and precious experience in the process. |
| Impact | - A monitoring rig; - One patent about the rig (still to be filed); - Two papers (one submitted to "Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing" and a second one still to be published). |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Bi-weekly update meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Once every two week the member of the team (UoN) meet the Rolls-Royce partner to have an update about the development of the project and to get precious input from the industrial partner. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018 |
| Description | Measurement Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The "Measurement Seminar" is an important conference/talk in which expert of different companies in the Rolls-Royce basin meet to discuss together the state of the art for anything associated with monitoring and sensing. Two member of our team have been invited to discuss our development in the IFW field. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Rolls-Royce periodic visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Periodically Rolls-Royce organise visits/workshops at the UTC (e.g. "Rolls-Royce Community of Practice") in which the projects in which the UTC is involved are presented. Our team presented regularly the work done in these meetings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018,2019,2020 |
| Description | TAROS 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | In July 2020 the UTC will host the prestigious TAROS conference. Our group has long started organising the event, contacting partners and possible interested attendees, reviewing submitted papers and preparing our own material to be ready for the conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/conference/fac-eng/taros/index.aspx |
| Description | UK-RAS Showcase |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Few selected members from our group (RS1 included) have been presented to the UK-RAS Showcase to promote the activities of the group, look for possible collaborations and in general establish connections with other research groups. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.ukras.org/robotics-week/international-robotics-showcase-2019-programme/ |