The Henry Royce Institute at Cranfield
About the Royce Institute at Cranfield University
Cranfield University is an associate partner of the Henry Royce Institute, leading state-of-the-art research in materials and coatings for extreme environments.
Royce at Cranfield is equipped with a range of state-of-the-art facilities and expertise to offer a complete package of expertise on coating systems from conceptual design and manufacture to performance evaluation in extreme environments.
The work we do has a multitude of benefits, including reducing inspection times, increasing component life, better selection of materials/coatings and informing designers for improved design. All of these contribute positively to reducing environmental damage through reduced wastage (increased component life), increasing engine efficiency (burning less fuel) and using more sustainable alloy and coating systems.
Our areas of expertise are divided into two areas:
· Coatings for extreme environments
· Materials performance in extreme environments
Coatings for extreme environments
Our aim is to design and manufacture tailored coating systems (often multiple coating layers) for extreme environments including high temperature oxidation and corrosion, mechanical damage (erosion and wear), hydrogen embrittlement and permeation and specific chemical attack, for example volcanic ash.
We offer a coatings design and manufacture service which includes surface preparation and the interaction between, and evolution of, coating layers. In addition to this we also offer a verification service using our high-end microscopy suite, XRD, and adhesion testing facilities.
Once designed and manufactured, coating systems can be validated using our testing facilities within the Materials Performance for Extreme Environments platform.
For further information on our coatings skills and expertise, please contact:
Dr Luis Isern Arrom
Technology Platform Lead – Coatings for Extreme Environments.
Materials performance in extreme environments
Standard testing is not sufficient to understand how materials operate in real situations. Lack of relevant testing can lead to poor selection of materials systems in engineering environments. This can result in, amongst others, catastrophic failure, increased maintenance, higher material wastage and poor reliability.
Our aim is to develop and execute unique test capabilities to simulate “real-life” extreme engineering scenarios. We are able to:
· perform tensile, fatigue and thermo-mechanical testing at a wide range of temperatures and controlled environments, for example sulphur dioxide and hydrogen.
· offer crack growth monitoring to generate critical lifing data.
· use our bespoke high-temperature c-ring test capability to assess for stress-corrosion cracking and/or hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility.
· assess materials susceptibility to erosion damage at elevated temperatures and wide-ranging velocities.
· assess materials susceptibility to hot corrosion and oxidation in both isothermal and thermal cyclic conditions, in customer specific gaseous environments that simulate “real life” conditions.
For further information on our materials performance in extreme environments skills and expertise, please contact:
Dr Simon Gray
Technology Platform Lead – Materials Performance in Extreme Environments.
How can we help?
Take your idea to the next level using our materials development and testing facilities, plus expert advice, free of charge.
Royce at Cranfield is able to open the door to the UK materials research and innovation community, through the Royce Access Scheme, making the facilities and research expertise of its partners available free of charge to SMEs, academia and students.
If you would like to deposit a new coating, test the performance of a material in demanding environments, or would like to discuss your organisation’s specific requirements, please contact royce@cranfield.ac.uk for more information.
News from the Royce at Cranfield
Over the past month, a number of upgrades have been made to our extensive range of equipment and facilities. These improvements will further extend our testing capabilities and widen what we are able to offer to academia and industry for research projects and Access Schemes.
Exciting new equipment installed that combines both ALD and PVD - first for the UK
The Royce at Cranfield have been able to install an exciting new piece of equipment that uniquely combines atomic layer deposition (ALD) and physical vapour deposition (PVD) – the first in the UK!
An interview with Professor John Nicholls on receiving his lifetime achievement award at Cranfield
An interview with Professor John Nicholls on receiving a lifetime achievement award to celebrate the incredible breadth and impact of his research carried out over his 50 year career so far at Cranfield University.
From Nano to Micro: When ALD meets with PVD to enhance coating performance
A recording of the talk Dr Carlos Guerra, co-founder and CEO of Swiss Cluster gave about combining atomic layer deposition and physical vapour deposition to become an unparalleled materials factory.
Improved testing for thermal cycling of materials in water vapour environments
Cranfield University researchers have used Royce Institute Industrial Collaboration Project funding to upgrade their facilities in order to widen their testing capabilities for hydrogen engine components.
How our coatings and surface engineering capabilities can help the hydrogen economy
How can the Royce at Cranfield help those working with the hydrogen sector?
Find out about our hydrogen short course and Royce Access Scheme.
An interview with Dr Christine Chalk who retires this month from Royce at Cranfield
Christine Chalk retires from her role this month and we spoke to her, and to some of her colleagues, about her career highlights and some of her personal and professional impacts.
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