羅羅和普渡大學(xué)合作進(jìn)行了一個飛機(jī)發(fā)動機(jī)的研發(fā)項目,共斥資3300萬美元,旨在研制新一代的飛機(jī)助推系統(tǒng)。
“我們致力于打造燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)性更好、性能更優(yōu)的發(fā)動機(jī),因此飛機(jī)發(fā)動機(jī)的研發(fā)是羅羅的重要使命。” 羅羅北美國防航天部門總裁Phil Burkholder表示,“我很有信心,我們(與普渡大學(xué))的協(xié)作研究將帶來飛機(jī)發(fā)動機(jī)領(lǐng)域的長期、穩(wěn)定進(jìn)展。”
羅羅指定普渡大學(xué)為大學(xué)技術(shù)合作伙伴(UTP),合作關(guān)系將初步涵蓋兩個研究中心,即先進(jìn)的熱管理系統(tǒng)和先進(jìn)的壓縮系統(tǒng)研究,拓展了目前大學(xué)技術(shù)中心(UTC)的研究領(lǐng)域。2003年,在普渡大學(xué)建立了第一個在歐洲以外地區(qū)成立的羅羅UTC,致力于研究高馬赫數(shù)推進(jìn)系統(tǒng),目前這個項目的研究重點已轉(zhuǎn)向先進(jìn)的熱管理系統(tǒng)。普渡大學(xué)也因此獲得了羅羅在美國的首個UTP指定合作機(jī)會。
“普渡大學(xué)新設(shè)立了一項聯(lián)合倡議,旨在提升壓縮機(jī)的氣動熱特性。普渡大學(xué)也將因此成為首個在歐洲以外地區(qū)擁有兩所該領(lǐng)域研究中心的機(jī)構(gòu),”大學(xué)的首席企業(yè)和全球合作關(guān)系官Dan Hirleman表示,“羅羅的投資將進(jìn)一步促進(jìn)普渡大學(xué)Maurice J. Zucrow實驗室的發(fā)展,這是全美最大規(guī)模的,依托于大學(xué)建立的推進(jìn)系統(tǒng)實驗室。”
2015年初,普渡大學(xué)宣布,禮來基金會(Lilly Endowment)向其捐贈了500萬美元,用于擴(kuò)建Zucrow實驗室。這是大學(xué)獲贈的4000萬美元的一部分,旨在支持工程與技術(shù)學(xué)院的五個革新型項目發(fā)展,以及普渡大學(xué)圖書館的建設(shè)。這筆捐款是普渡大學(xué)收到的有史以來最大額的現(xiàn)金捐贈。
與羅羅建立的新型合作關(guān)系表明,借助禮來基金會的捐贈款項,普渡大學(xué)致力于促進(jìn)工程技術(shù)領(lǐng)域的研究與教育工作,尤其是熱管理系統(tǒng)的研發(fā),可用于先進(jìn)的助推系統(tǒng)、壓縮系統(tǒng)和渦輪技術(shù)發(fā)展,以及分析方法的研究。
“這項工作將對行業(yè)發(fā)展產(chǎn)生重大影響,” 機(jī)械工程副教授Nicole Key表示,“我們知道,我們的工作對未來的發(fā)動機(jī)設(shè)計有重大影響,不僅如此,我們還有能力同時研究許多助推技術(shù)與工程領(lǐng)域的基礎(chǔ)問題。”
Zucrow圖書館、普渡大學(xué)機(jī)場、以及普渡大學(xué)航空航天學(xué)院(原名Lafayette航空航天學(xué)院)坐落于普渡研究園航天區(qū),占地面積980英畝。2015年,羅羅宣布其研究項目團(tuán)隊搬遷到航空區(qū)第一大樓的研究技術(shù)實驗室,占地面積4萬平方英尺。普渡研究園航天區(qū)的所有權(quán)和管理權(quán)歸普渡研究基金會所有。
在談及與羅羅的新型合作關(guān)系時,普渡大學(xué)校長Mitch Daniels表示,“羅羅公司享有極高的聲譽(yù),對于大學(xué)的航天區(qū)而言是非常合適的合作伙伴,我們之間的合作一定會有力促進(jìn)航天區(qū)的發(fā)展,我們認(rèn)為這對于普渡大學(xué)的未來發(fā)展也非常重要。”
羅羅公司的員工中有近600名普渡大學(xué)校友,該公司也在印第安納波利斯運營著一個先進(jìn)航天技術(shù)的研究與設(shè)計中心,命名為“自由工廠”(LibertyWorks)。
作者:Jean L. Broge
來源:SAE《航空工程雜志》
翻譯:SAE上海辦公室
Rolls-Royce, Purdue partner on jet engine design
Rolls-Royce and Purdue University have formed a $33 million jet-engine research and development program to create next-generation aircraft propulsion systems.
“Research and development in jet engines is an important objective for Rolls-Royce as we strive to create jet engines that are more energy-efficient and can perform more effectively,” said Phil Burkholder, President of Rolls-Royce Defense Aerospace, North America. “I am confident that our collaborative research [with Purdue] will result in strong long-term advances in jet engine development.”
Rolls-Royce is designating Purdue as a University Technology Partnership (UTP), which will initially encompass two research centers in the areas of advanced thermal management systems and advanced compressor systems, expanding beyond the current University Technology Center (UTC) designation. The first Rolls-Royce UTC established outside of Europe was launched at Purdue in 2003 to study high-Mach propulsion, and that program is transitioning into a focus on systems for advanced thermal management. Purdue has thus received the first UTP designation in the U.S.
“The added signature initiative to advance aerothermal processes in compressors will make Purdue the first university outside of Europe to have two such research centers,” said Dan Hirleman, Purdue’s Chief Corporate and Global Partnerships Officer. “The investment by Rolls-Royce will further support Purdue’s Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories, the nation's largest university-based propulsion laboratory.”
In early 2015 Purdue announced that Lilly Endowment had provided $5 million to expand Zucrow as part of a $40 million grant to the university to support five transformational projects in the colleges of engineering and technology, as well as Purdue Libraries. The grant was the largest cash donation given in Purdue's history.
The new partnership with Rolls-Royce is a reflection of Purdue’s commitment to leveraging the Lilly Endowment grant to bolster research and education in engineering and technology, in particular research and development in thermal management for advanced propulsion systems, compressor and turbine technology, and analytical methods.
“This work will have an important impact on the industry,” said Nicole Key, an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering. “We know we are impacting future engine designs and yet we are able to simultaneously investigate many fundamental questions into the science and engineering of propulsion.”
The Zucrow Laboratories, Purdue University Airport, and Purdue Aviation (formerly Lafayette Aviation) are located within the 980-acre Purdue Research Park Aerospace District. In 2015, Rolls-Royce announced its move into a research and technology lab in the district’s first building, a 40,000-ft² facility. The Purdue Research Park Aerospace District is owned and managed by the Purdue Research Foundation.
In speaking about the new partnership with Rolls-Royce, “There is no more fitting or prestigious first step for the university’s Aerospace District, which we imagine is a big piece of Purdue’s future,” said Purdue President Mitch Daniels.
Rolls-Royce, which employs nearly 600 Purdue alumni, also operates an advanced aerospace technology research and design unit in Indianapolis, which is known as LibertyWorks.
Author: Jean L. Broge
Source: SAE Aerospace Engineering Magazine