Abstract: A sensing system for a continuum arm robot, the sensing system comprising at least one camera ring system mounted to the continuum robot, the camera ring system having at least two forward-facing cameras that face along the axis of the robot towards the tip.

Abstract: A nickel-cobalt based superalloy composition consisting of by weight (wt.): 33.5 to 54 percent Ni; 19.5 to 36 percent Co; 9 to 12 percent Cr; 3.9 to 5.5 percent Al; 4.5 to 9.5 percent W; up to 5.5 percent Fe; 2 to 3.5 percent Mo; 0.6 to 5 percent Ta; 0.15 to 2.2 percent Ti; up to 1.75 percent Nb; up to 0.1 percent Hf; 0.005 to 0.03 percent C; 0.001 to 0.02 percent B; 0.005 to 0.06 percent Zr; up to 0.3 percent Si; up to 0.6 percent Mn; and the balance being impurities.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention are shown in the figures, where a method for manufacturing a gearbox, the method comprising: providing a predefined interval around an integer; providing a gearbox setup; determining a speed ratio of at least two components of the gearbox setup; comparing the speed ratio with the predefined interval around the integer; and manufacturing a gearbox in accordance with the gearbox setup in dependence on the comparison.

Abstract: A gas turbine engine for an aircraft. The engine including: an engine core with a turbine, a compressor, a fan located upstream of the compressor and including a plurality of fan blades, and a core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor; a gearbox which receives an input from the core shaft and outputs drive, via a driveshaft, to the fan so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the turbine, the drive shaft and core shaft forming a shaft system.

Abstract: A gas turbine engine for an aircraft comprises an engine core comprising a turbine, a compressor, and a core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor, wherein a compressor exit temperature is defined as an average temperature of airflow at the exit from the compressor; and a fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades extending from a hub, each fan blade having a leading edge and a trailing edge, wherein a fan rotor entry temperature is defined as an average temperature of airflow across the leading edge of each fan blade at cruise conditions and a fan tip rotor exit temperature is defined as an average temperature of airflow across a radially outer portion of each fan blade at the trailing edge at cruise conditions. A core to fan tip temperature rise ratio is in the range from 2.845 to 3.8.

Abstract: A universal actuator for driving a continuum arm robot having a plurality of tendons includes; a housing; a power supply pack with a power source; a control pack with an industrial programmable logic controller, a screen, a rotary encoder linked to an analogue input device, a digital output device, a plurality of electronic control cards that connect the programmable logic controller to a user input device, the rotary encoder and an actuator pack for controlling the motion of the continuum arm robot, the programmable logic controller or the screen having a computer program to allow for set up and control of the continuum arm robot.

Abstract: An aircraft hybrid propulsion system (5) comprises an internal combustion engine (10) comprising a main drive shaft (24), an electric machine (28) comprising an electric machine rotor (78), a propulsor (12) mounted to a propulsor shaft (62), and a clutch arrangement configured to selectively couple each of the gas turbine engine main drive shaft (24) and electric machine rotor (78) to the propulsor drive shaft (62). The electric machine rotor (78) is mounted coaxially with the main drive shaft (24) and the clutch arrangement comprises a first overrunning clutch (52) configured to couple the main drive shaft (24) to the propulsor drive shaft (62), and a second overrunning clutch (54) configured to couple the electric machine rotor (78) to the propulsor drive shaft (62).

Abstract: A fuel control system for a gas turbine engine includes a fuel metering valve, a pressure raising and shut-off valve (PRSOV), and a shutoff effector including a first stage unit that is electrically powered and a second stage unit that is controlled by the first stage unit. The second stage unit actuates a valve member of the PRSOV between an open position that allows supply of a fuel to burners of the gas turbine engine and a closed position that prevents supply of the fuel to the burners. Upon loss of electrical power to the first stage unit during operation of the gas turbine engine, the first stage unit is configured to: control the second stage unit to actuate the valve member of the PRSOV to the closed position after a predetermined time duration; or retain the valve member of the PRSOV in the open position.

Abstract: A method of repairing a composite blade. The composite blade includes a metal work bonded to a composite part through an adhesive layer. The method includes determining a locally damaged portion of the metal work, and removing a bullet portion corresponding to the locally damaged portion. The method further includes detaching, debonding, and removing a first wing portion from the composite part to obtain a first exposed surface portion. The method further includes detaching, debonding, and removing a second wing portion from the composite part to obtain a second exposed surface portion. The method further includes reconditioning the first and second exposed surface portions to obtain first and second reconditioned surface portions, respectively, and applying first and second adhesive layers to the first and second reconditioned surface portions respectively. The method further includes bonding a metal work patch to the first and second adhesive layers.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a composite component, including: weaving a multi-layer woven preform from warp and weft tows of fibre-reinforcement material, the woven preform includes: multi-layer weave including: plurality of weft tow layers; plurality of laterally-adjacent stacks extending along the longitudinal direction, primary portion having longitudinal extent along woven preform, the primary portion having one or more edge regions each defining respective lateral side of primary portion; wherein for the or each edge region: the multi-layer weave defines at least the edge region; plurality of stacks in the edge region are binding stacks in which one or more warp tows are interlaced to bind a respective plurality of weft tow layers; weave property differs between binding stacks in the edge region to reduce a thickness of the edge region towards respective lateral side. Also disclosed herein is a woven structure, formed by warp and weft tows of fibre reinforcement material.

Abstract: Engine has core compressor, combustor and turbine, fan located upstream of core and supersonic intake for slowing down incoming air at inlet formed by intake, bypass duct surrounding engine core, fan generates airflow to engine core and bypass airflow through bypass duct. Engine has mixer for exhaust gas flow exiting engine core, bypass airflow exiting bypass duct, thrust nozzle for discharging mixed flows, and controller for thrust produced by engine. To change level of engine thrust between transonic push operation and supersonic cruise operation, controller adjusts one or more components which vary relative areas available for hot exhaust gas flow and cold bypass airflow at mixer while holding fan inlet non-dimensional mass flow w ?{square root over (?)} T/P substantially constant, where w is mass flow of incoming air at fan inlet, T is stagnation temperature of incoming air at fan inlet and P is stagnation pressure of incoming air at fan inlet.

Abstract: An apparatus for the detection of either or both of water and ice within a system, more specifically, but not exclusively, the detection of either or both of water or ice crystal ingestion, or ice accretion on an aerofoil, within a gas turbine engine. The apparatus and method compares the measured temperature of the first region with a second temperature value, measured at a distinct second region of the aerofoil, wherein the second radial position of the second sensor is radially offset from the first radial position of the first sensor.

Abstract: A method of machining a surface of a component. The method comprises scanning the surface of the component to obtain scanned electronic 3D data representing the scanned surface of the component locating a surface defect of the scanned surface and identifying a defect region that surrounds and includes the surface defect, and providing electronic 3D data representing a patch having the desired shape of the defect region. The method also comprises transforming the patch to generate a tooling path for repairing the surface defect. The transformation comprising translating a plurality of nodes of the patch. The translation distance of each node based on the distance of that node from an origin node of the patch. The method further comprises machining the surface of the component according to the generated tooling path.

Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus for the additive manufacture of a component comprising: a bed for supporting the component; a powder depositor; an energy beam source for emitting a beam of energy towards a beam target location; and control means for adjusting the beam target location; wherein the apparatus is configured to provide rotation of the beam target location and/or the powder depositor relative to the bed, the relative rotation being about a rotational axis. Also disclosed are an additive manufacture apparatus comprising a substantially annular bed, a method for additive manufacture, a gas turbine engine, and an aircraft.

Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus for the additive manufacture of a component comprising a substantially annular bed for supporting the component, a powder depositor, an energy beam source for emitting a beam of energy towards a beam target location, and control means for adjusting the beam target location. The apparatus is configured to provide rotation of the beam target location and/or the powder depositor relative to the bed, the relative rotation being about a rotational axis. Also disclosed are a method for additive manufacture, a gas turbine engine, and an aircraft.

Abstract: A woven composite component for an aerospace structure or machine, comprising: a compound member extending from a junction with a feeder member, a noodle element extending in a weft direction through the junction. The feeder member comprises first and second feeder portions either side of the junction, each feeder portion comprising warp tows extending towards the junction. There is a compound set of warp tows extending from the first and second feeder portions, each turning at the junction to define warp tows for the compound member. There is a crossing set of warp tows belonging to the compound set, the crossing set comprising warp tows from the first feeder portion and warp tows from the second portion which cross each other at the junction to pass around the noodle element. There is also disclosed a method of manufacturing a preform for a woven composite component.

Abstract: A turbine blade includes an aerofoil including a leading edge, a trailing edge, a first sidewall, a second sidewall, and an internal cooling circuit disposed within the aerofoil and configured to direct a cooling fluid within the aerofoil. The turbine blade includes at least one first recessed portion formed on the first sidewall proximal to a tip of the turbine blade. The first recessed portion is disposed proximal to and spaced apart from the trailing edge of the aerofoil. The first recessed portion includes a base surface, a first surface, and a second surface. The first recessed portion further includes at least one slot extending from the first surface to the internal cooling circuit. The slot is configured to allow a flow of the cooling fluid from the internal cooling circuit to the first recessed portion.

Abstract: A gas passage for a gas turbine engine, which allows for quicker and easier determination of the condition of a liner within the gas passage without the need for dismantling the entire gas passage, or irreparably damaging large sections of the liner. The gas passage comprises a casing with one or more plugs which are at least partly coated in a material matching the material composition of the lining, which can be removed from the gas passage in order to analyse the condition of the lining material.

Abstract: A method of controlling a permanent magnet synchronous electric machine (PMSM) drive using a Deadbeat Predictive Current Control (DBPCC) scheme is provided. The method comprises: determining d-axis and q-axis stator current values (id, iq) representative of a measured PMSM current; determining d-axis and q-axis reference current values (id*, iq*); based on the stator current values (id, iq) and the reference current values (id*, iq*), determining d-axis and q-axis current correction values (Cd, Cq); determining corrected reference current values (id**, iq**) as a sum of the reference current values (id*, iq*) and the current correction values (Cd, Cq); and controlling the PMSM drive using the corrected reference current values (id**, iq**) as reference current inputs of the DBPCC scheme. A controller for performing the method; a system comprising the controller, a PMSM and associated power electronics; and a computer program for performing the method are also provided.

Abstract: An aircraft gas turbine engine includes a heat exchanger module, and a core engine. The core engine includes an intermediate-pressure compressor, high-pressure compressor, and high and low-pressure turbines. The high-pressure compressor rotationally connects to the high-pressure turbine by a first shaft, and the intermediate-pressure compressor rotationally connects to the low-pressure turbine by a second shaft. The heat exchanger module fluidly communicates with the core engine by an inlet duct. The heat exchanger module includes a central hub and multiple heat transfer elements extending radially from the hub and spaced in a circumferential array, for heat energy transfer from a first fluid within the elements to an inlet airflow passing over a surface of the elements prior to airflow entry into an inlet to the core engine. The gas turbine engine further includes a first electric machine rotationally connected to the first shaft, and positioned downstream of the heat exchanger module.