Connect, no.80, October 1996
Following a recent change in Government policy which widens the scope for participation in R&D contracts TWI, in a consortium with industry and academia, successfully bid for a project within the IMI Integrated AerospaceManufacture programme and was the first UK RTO to receive a contract from this new funding source.
The £2 million project began in April 1996 and is called Cost effective manufacture: welding of aerospace materials. The consortium includes British Aerospace, Short Brothers, DERA, Rolls,-Royce, Bunting Titanium, Cranfield University, UMIST, University of Liverpool and theUniversity of Essex.
The project has the following key objectives:
- to develop fusion welding to allow design and manufacture of reliable airframe structure welded seams
- to establish acceptability of fusion welded aluminium alloys for airworthiness
- to develop procedures and prototype equipment to demonstrate reliable welding of nickel and other high strength alloys
- to pioneer a mathematical model for power beam welding of aerospace alloys
- to pioneer a mathematical model for power beam welding of aerospace alloys · to set up methods for reliable monitoring and control of welding processes
TWI is responsible for specific technical objectives as well as programme management.
For further details, please contact the programme manager at TWI, Sue Dunkerton sue.dunkerton@twi.co.uk.
