March_2022_AMP_Digital

1 4 A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | M A R C H 2 0 2 2 propulsive efficiency is achieved via weight reduction on twin-engine aircraft by 700 kg [4] . • Ceramic matrix composite compo- nents. Consisting of silicon carbide continuous fiber within a silicon carbide matrix plus and environ- mental barrier coating system, these lightweight materials exceed the temperature capability of nickel superalloys and reduce the need for cooling air. Fig. 2 — Testbed 80 construction in 2019, showing a plan-view look at the test cell. within the engine’s turbomachinery and validate core architecture against the design intent. Details within 0.5 mm from any of the 20,000+ components that make up a modern gas turbine en- gine can be targeted. Up to 30 images can be captured per second with results instantaneously available to engineers who integrate this information with oth- er data to understand the performance. The Testbed 80 x-ray generator produc- es 9 MeV of energy and can contain ion- izing radiation up to 30 Gray. During x-ray inspection, safety be- comes the number one priority as the test bed becomes a bunker. The solid concrete walls in the cell provide shield- ing and an exclusion zone is defined within a certain radius of the building past which no one can enter. Further- more, an elaborate procedure is con- ducted to ensure the facility is clear of personnel. A series of 45 search but- tons located around the facility must be pushed in a specific order and within a given amount of time, ensuring that all areas are visually checked. After the de- vices have been found, a key is released which allows the inspector to leave the x-ray zone. Physical data collected during testing is used to confirm aspects of engine performance predicted by dig- ital models. To accomplish this, new acquisition systems capture nearly 200,000 samples of transient measure- ments at 0 to 200 Hz in each second of a test run, recording up to 1 terabyte/h and sending the data directly to a se- cure cloud. These new systems consist of loosely coupled architecture that is upgradable, extensible, and flexible. Additionally, improved controls and in- strumentation enhance the cyclic ca- pability built on a new throttle system along with a new supervisory system to conduct testing. SUPPORT FOR ENABLING MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES AND SAF FOR SUSTAINABLE AVIATION Testbed 80 will play a crucial role in supporting several of the pillars in the corporate sustainability strategy at Rolls-Royce. The first and most immediate impact will be made by technologies that reduce fuel burn and thus reduce carbon emis- sions. The facility has been designed to test current large civil aerospace engine products such as Trent 1000 and Trent XWB. However, more efficient engines of the future will be physically even bigger with increased bypass ratios and fan diam- eters. The massive size of the Testbed 80 facility was designed with these future products in mind, with the ability to handle engines up to 155 klbf thrust. The next-generation geared-architecture Ultra- Fan demonstrator, deliver- ing a 25% efficiency gain compared to the first gen- eration of Trent engine, will undergo testing in Testbed 80 in 2022. Building on a more efficient core and technologies from the Advance con- cept via incorporation of a geared in- termediate pressure section, advanced materials will play a key role in the per- formance of UltraFan as these enable higher thermodynamic efficiency and lighter weight architectures [3] . Examples include: • Carbon composite/titanium (CTi) systems to form both fan blades and the fan casing (Fig. 3). Greater Fig. 3 — UltraFan Demonstrator CTi fan blades and casing.