Through-life performance: From science to instrumentation

这项拟议的研究是开发功能寿命更长、全寿命成本更低的高价值制造(HVM)产品的长期研究议程的一部分。这项研究将实现最近发布的关于工程服务的国家战略和2025年的愿景-实现我们的目标，即在超过200亿GB的英国制造业产出的产品生命周期内，降低20%的全生命周期成本，增加20%的可用性。白皮书《让事物运转。生命工程--发展战略愿景》(克兰菲尔德大学，2015)承认，英国在不断增长的全球服务和支持市场中的份额正在下降5%，目前超过4900亿GB。超过50%的收入来自出口。到2025年，全球市场将增长到7100亿GB[IBISWorld关于全球工程服务的行业报告，2015]。尽管如此，英国仍有约10.7万人在“行业”工作，平均工资是整个制造业的1.5倍[英国国家统计局(ONS)数据，2014年12月]。今天，航空航天和国防部门超过50%的收入来自服务合同。例如，劳斯莱斯的“全面关怀”合同和相关的支持活动。如果没有“终生绩效”研究的支持，这些合同就不会如此成功。《展望》报告《制造业的未来：英国的机遇和挑战的新时代》(政府科学办公室，伦敦，2013)和白皮书都描绘了发展工程服务和支持能力的重要性，但也认识到英国竞争力和生产力所需的扩展服务供应链几乎没有支撑科学和良好实践可用。这一平台赠款将有助于英国在全球市场的份额增加约3%(总计8%)。平台赠款的目的是维持一支具有战略研究能力的世界领先团队，研究终身绩效改进，包括复杂的现场退化评估技术。克兰菲尔德大学和诺丁汉大学之间的团队在过去的十年里一直在合作。他们拥有非常强大的当前研究项目和出版记录的组合，这项研究将把团队发展为一个‘终身绩效改进’的国际卓越中心。这是国际上唯一一个在HVM方面关注这一领域的研究小组。这笔资金将加速世界级研究人员的职业生涯，支持他们成为国际领先的研究人员。目前的研究能力仍然侧重于单一退化的建模和评估。然而，关于化合物降解的知识和模型严重缺乏(例如，多种失效机制的相互作用；腐蚀、疲劳和温度在改变降解过程中所起的作用)。这项研究将面临一项挑战，即研究和模拟机械部件的复合降解，向设计和制造提供关于降解的反馈，并开发仪器来现场评估(即测量大小和深度)降解，包括在无法到达的区域。更好地了解降解科学(无论是单一的还是复合的)对于延长机械部件的寿命以及HVM产品的可用性至关重要。通过非常小的服务访问孔对化合物降解进行现场评估将显著降低维护成本。研究团队将得到以下合作组织的支持：罗尔斯-罗伊斯、庞巴迪、Network Rail、SMD Ltd、HVM Catapult、XP School。他们将与其他500家HVM公司一起直接从这项研究中受益。

The proposed research is part of a long-term research agenda to develop High Value Manufacturing (HVM) products withlonger functional life and lower whole life cost. The research will deliver to the recently published national strategy on'engineering services' and a 2025 vision - achieving our goal of 20% reduction in whole life cost with 20% increase inavailability during the life of a product across more than £20bn of UK manufacturing sector output. A White Paperon 'Making Things Work. Engineering for life - developing a strategic vision' (Cranfield University, 2015), recognised that the UK has a declining 5% share of a rising global market in 'service and support' that currently exceeds £490 billion. Over 50% of the revenue comes from export. The global market will grow to £710 billion by 2025 [IBISWorld Industry report on Global Engineering Services, 2015]. Despite this there are around 107,000 people working in the "sector" in the UK withaverage wages 1.5 times those in wider manufacturing [Office of National Statistics (ONS) Data, Dec 2014]. Today morethan 50% of revenue in the aerospace and defence sectors comes from the service contracts. For example the Rolls-Royce 'Total Care' contracts and related support activities. The contracts would never have been so successful withoutunderpinning 'through-life performance' research. Both the Foresight Report on 'The Future of Manufacturing: A new era ofopportunity and challenge for the UK' (The Government Office for Science, London, 2013) and the White Paper portray theimportance of developing engineering services and support capability but recognise there is little underpinning science andgood practice available to the extended service supply chain needed for UK competitiveness and productivity. This platformgrant will contribute to an increase of around 3% (a total of 8%) in the UK's share of the global market.The aim of the platform grant is to sustain a world leading team with strategic research capability on through-lifeperformance improvement, including complex in-situ degradation assessment technologies. The team betweenCranfield and Nottingham Universities have worked together over the last ten years. They have a very strong portfolio ofcurrent research projects and publication record, this research will develop the team as an international centre ofexcellence in 'through-life performance improvement'. This is the only research group internationally focusing on this area in respect of HVM. The grant will accelerate career of the world-class researchers and support them to become internationally leading researchers. Current research capabilities still focus upon single degradation modelling and assessment. There is however, a significant lack of knowledge and models for compound degradation (e.g. the interaction of more than one failure mechanism; corrosion, fatigue and the role temperature plays in modifying the degradation processes). The research will take on a challenge to study and model compound degradations for mechanical components, give feedback on the degradation to design and manufacturing and develop instrumentation to assess (i.e. measure size and depth) the degradations in-situ, including in in-accessible areas. Understanding degradation science better (both single and then compound) is essential to extend the life of mechanical components and therefore availability of the HVM products. In-situ assessment of the compound degradation through very small service access holes will reduce the maintenance cost significantly.The research team will be supported by partner organisations: Rolls-Royce, Bombardier, Network Rail, SMD Ltd, HVM Catapult, XP School. They will directly benefit from the research along with other 500 HVM Companies.