A Two-shaft Resource for Investigation of Engineering Phenomena in High Performance Transmission Systems Facility

The next generation of aero-engines will need to meet more stringent environmental targets
than today’s engines; they will need to be more cost effective to operate in order to meet
airline customer demands; and they will also need to be more reliable to meet our
expectations as the travelling public. In order to achieve these targets the next generation
of aero-engines will have to run hotter, at higher shaft speeds, and the core of the engine
which contains the bearing chambers will need to become smaller. It is already a very
difficult task to design bearing chambers and internal gear boxes so that the oil can reach all
of the components it needs to lubricate, and so that the oil collects as much of the heat from
inside the chamber as possible without damaging the oil. Higher temperature, faster running
engines with smaller chambers will make this even more difficult. For these reasons, a twoshaft
test rig facility is proposed to be built at the University of Nottingham UTC. The facility
will allow the UTC, Rolls Royce and other businesses to test and evaluate new technologies
for the development of engine and power gas-turbine oil systems and bearing chambers. It
will also enable them to perform basic science to better understand how oil behaves in the
harsh conditions found in a bearing chamber at flight conditions. This facility will better
prepare the UK to perform in the global aerospace market and have translational benefits to
related industries.