Public Funding for Safran Nacelles Limited

The Flexcelle project will create a flexible strategy for nacelle manufacture, allowing different products to be manufactured using the same equipment. This will be achieved by developing a reconfigurable fixture for the composite panel machining process and a generic assembly cell, capable of assembling any product. The requirement for shimming of parts will be eliminated by creating matched machined surfaces in a cost effective manner. Development and implementation of determinate assembly techniques will remove the need to drill and countersink holes on assembly. The resulting assembly process will consist of simply bolting together pre-drilled and machined parts and equipping. A digital manufacturing environment will link machining centres, generic assembly cells and enabling processes. The objectives of the project are to increase productivity whilst reducing non-recurring investment.

Propound 2 is a UK project based on the technology of out- of-autoclave composite fabrication that intends to tackle recurrent time consuming operations by implementing innovative approaches on preforming, infusion and inspection steps. The objective of the project is to reduce significantly the recurring cost to guarantee a competitive price of nacelle components

IMLET is a collaborative research project aimed at developing integrated disruptive technologies that includes classes of multifunctional graded materials with shape adaptive and self-healing capabilities for the benefit of aerodynamic performance.

The Flexcelle project will create a flexible strategy for nacelle manufacture, allowing different products to be manufactured using the same equipment. This will include a reconfigurable fixture for composite panel machining process and a generic assembly cell. The requirement for shimming of parts will be eliminated by creating matched machined surfaces. Determinate assembly will remove the need to drill and countersink holes on assembly. The resulting assembly process will consist of simply bolting together pre-drilled and machined parts and equipping. A digital manufacturing environment will link cells. The objectives of the project are to increase productivity whilst reducing non-recurring investment.

Propound 2 is a UK project based on the technology of out-of-autoclave composite fabrication that intends to tackle recurrent time consuming operations by implementing innovative approaches on pre-forming, resin infusion and subsequent inspection steps. The objective of the project is to reduce significantly the recurring cost and manufacturing lead time to guarantee a competitive price of nacelle components.

The ANTELOPE project aims to investigate key technologies within a civil nacelle for Long range aircraft designed to reduce the impact of moving to future engine architectures, such as Ultra High Bypass Ratio engines. Through this project, the consortium will examine technologies aiming to reduce Fuel burn from an Integrated Powerplant System through examining topics impacting weight and drag. The project also aims to develop technologies to increase the functionality of the nacelle such that it may support the engine in producing a better optimised solution, leading to improved propulsion efficiency from the Powerplant.