RESEARCH NEWS
£ 1.5m funding boost for laser welding
The University of Nottingham , Manufacturing Technology Centre and ITP Aero in the UK are celebrating after being awarded £ 1.5m in government funding to support a three-year laser welding research and development project .
The three-year project , known as LADDER ( Laser Automation and Design Development for future Engine Requirements ), will see a total investment of £ 2.59m , both from ITP Aero itself and the UK Government ’ s Innovation Funding Service . This significant milestone reflects a shared commitment to investing in technology across the East Midlands .
A research partner on the project is the Manufacturing and Technology Centre ( MTC ) in Coventry , UK . Together with the university and ITP , it will bring expertise to the project with the aim of developing and implementing an innovative laser beam welding ( LBW ) solution , as a robust joining technology for complex sheet metal aeroengine fabrications .
“ The use of laser beam welding produces narrow welds with a small heat-affected zone , at high production rates . The highly repeatable process offering low distortion will be used in the short term to reduce the costs associated with non-conformance . In the longer term , it is recognised that stringent new emissions targets will necessitate further increases in engine temperatures , meaning higher performance and more complex products will be needed .
Design specifically for LBW will enable increased functional capability to be achieved on a range of commodities , while at the same time increasing integrity and cost competitiveness ,” said the university .
Rob Mitchell , head of engineering for ITP Aero UK , commented : “ This is a real milestone for us in ITP Aero UK . We are a young company in the UK , but a site with a huge amount of aerospace heritage . This is our first stand-alone project where we have sought and secured Government funding and underlines our commitment to invest in the UK in line with our research priorities . I am delighted we are able to work closely with
our partners in the MTC and University of Nottingham to develop this industry-leading capability in the UK .”
“ This project builds on existing strengths and a history at Nottingham in welding modelling , while being at the cutting edge of aerospace manufacture and allowing us to consider some of the challenges associated with the production of real components ,” concluded Professor Chris Bennett , Director of the Institute for Aerospace Technology at UoN . n
www . nottingham . ac . uk
Transformative innovations with AI research
Newcastle University in the UK has been announced as the lead of a new national artificial intelligence ( AI ) hub that will deliver next-generation innovations and technologies via edge computing .
Nine new research hubs throughout the UK are set to unveil groundbreaking AI technologies as part of a co-ordinated investment by UKRI and Government . These hubs , with investments totalling £ 80 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ( EPSRC ), a component of UK Research and Innovation ( UKRI ), will be responsible for driving the evolution of AI in the UK to address intricate challenges across various domains .
This substantial investment is poised to propel the UK to the forefront of advanced AI research with Newcastle initially focusing on the healthcare , transport and energy security sectors .
Professor Rajiv Ranjan , Chair Professor in
Computing Science and Internet of Things , will lead the National Edge AI Hub for Real Data : Edge Intelligence for Cyber-Disturbances and Data Quality . The hub is supported by expertise from the universities of Durham ; Hull ; Imperial College ; Southampton ; Swansea ; Cardiff ; Warwick ; Lancaster ; UWS ( University of West Scotland ); St Andrews and Queens , Belfast .
The hub focuses on the effect of cyber disturbances and the effectiveness and resilience of Edge AI , with a particular focus on cyber threats and how to make it more secure and robust . ’ Edge AI ’ research is the study of how to apply artificial intelligence techniques near the source of the data instead of sending it to the cloud or a central server .
Cyber disturbances are caused by a variety of factors : system and software faults , human error , injection noise due to environment and cyber-attacks . The hub will focus on cyberattacks as a key area in which to build on the significant strength of the partners .
Professor Ranjan said : “ The vison of our hub is to deliver world-class fundamental research , co-created with stakeholders from other disciplines and regions , to protect the quality of data and quality of learning associated with AI algorithms when they are subjected to cyber-disturbances in the Edge Computing environments .”
Three of the new hubs will address the mathematics and computational research which is foundational to AI , playing a pivotal role in increasing the understanding of new , efficient AI systems . Six of the hubs will explore AI for science , engineering and realworld data which will provide the tools needed to accelerate future AI innovations and advance its application in key areas such as healthcare .
The investment follows an announcement during Autumn 2023 in the UK for 12 UKRI AI Centres for Doctoral Training ( CDTs ). n
www . ncl . ac . uk
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