The scope of this project is to define, analyse and quantify the technologies which will enable the conversion of the kinetic energy of a landing aircraft, via a suitable electromechanical interface via transient energy storage into long term energy storage or the electrical grid network. Any technologies which are identified as having potential will be analysed not only in terms of power conversion efficiency, but also ranked against practical performance metrics such as weight, robustness, cost, and ultimately energy/carbon savings. The project will primarily be conducted in simulation, however the novel nature of the approach will require some basic experimentation to be conducted to support and confirm the simulation results.Power conversion in terms of this application is predicted to rely upon three basic technology areas to be researched:1. Electromechanical energy conversion of the aircraft motion into electrical energy, via linear or rotary machine.2. Power electronic energy conversion, transient energy storage, conditioning and distribution to long-term storage or the grid.3. Structural stress analysis of the viability of the runway and conversion components to the forces generated.There are two directions for the energy flow generated by the aircraft motion to be harvested. Firstly through a linear-type electromagnetic interface between the aircraft landing gear and the runway. Secondly, by a rotary electromechanical interface to energy storage on board the plane. In both cases, energy conversion, conditioning, energy storage and mechanical stress analysis is crucial. Although power regeneration into the aircraft has been dismissed in the past as being inefficient due to additional energy storage, it is proposed to analyse this method in the light of the developments associated with the More Electric Aircraft which has significant transient and long-term energy storage as part of its power systems structure. In addition, the next generation engines with embedded motor/generators on the engine shafts could possibly be used as a transient inertial energy storage when the engines are switched off. This is a prime example of the study not being restrained by contemporary thought, but looking forward to engage future technologies. This analysis will also draw upon experience by Prof. Stewart in electrically assisted aircraft braking performed in association with Messier-Bugatti, and More Electric Aircraft developments in collaboration with Airbus.The requirements of this project are to identify a family of potential solutions, and rank them according to a cost function based upon realistic performance metrics. In particular the strictures of 'real' aircraft operational constraints will be foremost in the performance analysis. The steering committee will be an important constituent of this approach, helping in the early stages to quantify this cost function.

The scope of this project is to define, analyse and quantify the technologies which will enable the conversion of the kinetic energy of a landing aircraft, via a suitable electromechanical interface via transient energy storage into long term energy storage or the electrical grid network. Any technologies which are identified as having potential will be analysed not only in terms of power conversion efficiency, but also ranked against practical performance metrics such as weight, robustness, cost, and ultimately energy/carbon savings. The project will primarily be conducted in simulation, however the novel nature of the approach will require some basic experimentation to be conducted to support and confirm the simulation results.Power conversion in terms of this application is predicted to rely upon three basic technology areas to be researched:1. Electromechanical energy conversion of the aircraft motion into electrical energy, via linear or rotary machine.2. Power electronic energy conversion, transient energy storage, conditioning and distribution to long-term storage or the grid.3. Structural stress analysis of the viability of the runway and conversion components to the forces generated.There are two directions for the energy flow generated by the aircraft motion to be harvested. Firstly through a linear-type electromagnetic interface between the aircraft landing gear and the runway. Secondly, by a rotary electromechanical interface to energy storage on board the plane. In both cases, energy conversion, conditioning, energy storage and mechanical stress analysis is crucial. Although power regeneration into the aircraft has been dismissed in the past as being inefficient due to additional energy storage, it is proposed to analyse this method in the light of the developments associated with the More Electric Aircraft which has significant transient and long-term energy storage as part of its power systems structure. In addition, the next generation engines with embedded motor/generators on the engine shafts could possibly be used as a transient inertial energy storage when the engines are switched off. This is a prime example of the study not being restrained by contemporary thought, but looking forward to engage future technologies. This analysis will also draw upon experience by Prof. Stewart in electrically assisted aircraft braking performed in association with Messier-Bugatti, and More Electric Aircraft developments in collaboration with Airbus.The requirements of this project are to identify a family of potential solutions, and rank them according to a cost function based upon realistic performance metrics. In particular the strictures of 'real' aircraft operational constraints will be foremost in the performance analysis. The steering committee will be an important constituent of this approach, helping in the early stages to quantify this cost function.

The aim of this research is to investigate, in an interactive programme involving several mutually supportive computational approaches and paradigms, the feasibility of achieving sustained and economically worthwhile frictional-drag reduction at flight Reynolds numbers using cross-flow wall forcing. While the emphasis of the programme is on the fundamental turbulence physics and the prediction of its interaction with wall drag, in general, the programme is closely associated with an important civil aviation goal, namely the reduction in emissions per passenger km by 50% by 2020. The programme will combine studies involving direct numerical simulations and highly-resolved large eddy simulations with two approaches based on linearised streak modelling, one developed by Chernyshenko (Imperial College) and the other by Lockerby (Warwick). The general strategy is to use the full-resolution schemes to gain insight into the near-wall turbulence mechanisms associated with frictional drag, to generate calibration-related input into the linearised streak modelling and to investigate the validity of this modelling for a range of actuation parameters examined with the full-resolution approaches. The proposed research is fundamental in nature and complements well EPSRC's Active Aircraft programme, which is practically-oriented. The ultimate objective is to derive a prediction procedure, based on linearised streak modelling that allows the effect of different configurations of cross-flow wall forcing on drag at flight Reynolds numbers to be quantified. The programme is financially supported by EADS.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Composite materials represent the future landscape for many industries. The possibility of combining better mechanical strength and reduced weight make composites the material of choice in transportation allowing unique design and functionalities in combination with high fuel efficiency. However, the increased use of composites, automatically leads to waste, either end-of-life or manufacturing waste. It is estimated that in the EU by 2015 end of life composite waste will reach 251,000 tonnes and production waste will achieve 53,000 tonnes. The composites industry, (in particular carbon fibre) is under increasing pressure to provide viable recycling technology for their materials. This is the case because the European Commission has controlled landfill and incineration of these materials. Through research and development of novel recycling and re-manufacture processes, this EXHUME project will provide a step-change in composites resource efficiency. These composite materials evoke difficult scientific and technical recycling challenges due to the mixed nature of their composition. The project will demonstrate to the waste industry, vital re-manufacturing science and chemical/process engineering. It will develop the first data sets and exemplars of mixed composite processing and associated resource footprints that can be used to drive the future of scrap re-use across industrial sectors. This project is pioneering in that it: i) Is the first cross-sector research-inspired use of heterogeneous scrap material in manufacture. ii) Develops novel transformation technologies to process thermoset and thermoplastic composites. iii) Develops a fundamental understanding of microstructure-property relationship in scrap material and in manufacturing process science. iv) Provides vital support to companies to exploit the scrap re-manufacturing technology. v) Evaluates the energy and resource efficiency of composite, re-processing, re-use and re-manufacture assessing the environmental impact and business case.