Green aircraft engine research awarded

Research into greener engines has won a UK-India education and research initiative.

The project is aimed at developing alloys for use in more environmentally friendly aircraft engines and is being conducted by researchers at Imperial College London, the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

The research will lead to engine components that can change shape or position at a particular temperature and the team believes these could replace mechanical moving parts in aircraft, leading to reduced engine weight and increased energy efficiency.

The leading collaborators on this project are Dr David Dye from Imperial's Department of Materials and Dr Upadrasta Ramamurty from the Department of Metallurgy at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

In addition, there will be five studentships contributing to the project - two funded by Imperial and three funded by the Indian Institute of Science.

The UK-India Education & Research Initiative (UKIERI) major award of 204,000 pounds, spread across three-and-a-half years, will be used to support collaborative research workshops between the institutions.

The Rolls-Royce company will also join the project, working with teams from Imperial College and the Indian institutes to design "˜self-actuating' components suitable for use in aero-engines that are likely to be applied initially to noise and emissions reductions systems.