Pictured above during a recent visit to SMAE are (L-R) Prof. Brian Falzon (SMAE), Rob Fox (Rolls Royce), Frank Kirkland (Rolls Royce) & Prof. Mark Price (QUB).  Over the last number of years the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering has been developing and proactively expanding their research links with Rolls-Royce.  This has been achieved mainly through the work of Professor Cecil Armstrong and Dr Trevor Robinson in the area of computer aided engineering.

On Thursday 24th November the School hosted a visit from Rolls-Royce and Frank Kirkland delivered an open lecture covering their modelling and testing activities for large aerospace gas turbine engines.

The Lecture was entitled:  FROM PHYSICAL VERIFICATION TO VIRTUAL CERTIFICATION - THE EVOLUTION OF LARGE AEROSPACE GAS TURBINE CERTIFICATION.  The presentation focused on the changes which have taken place over the last 20 years in the approaches which engine manufacturers have made in developing faster certification programs to meet the requirements of the airframe manufacturer. This considered the move from physical verification approaches using many engines performing large amounts of testing to modern scenarios where physical testing is performed at the corner points to validate analytical approaches used for certification. The presentation also covered the steps which may be required as we move forwards to a future where certification for new engines may be achieved through purely analytical means.

The audience included members of staff, researchers and undergraduate students from our three undergraduate degree programmes - all enthusiastice listeners to a great lecture.

Many thanks to Frank for an excellent talk!