Rolls-Royce Plc: Mechanical Methods Developer - Robust Design (September 2003 – Present)

Secondment to APSD (Advanced Propulsion Systems Design):
ENTERPRISE Project – Automated engine preliminary design system process integration and software component development in JAVA for the iSIGHT-FD / FIPER Global Integrating Framework using Cooper-Reiman principles of Interaction Design for GUI development. Adapted an automated disc design program from FORTRAN to JAVA, developed a MySQL material properties database wrapper and Master Data Set datatype to enable efficient data transfer via memory rather than text files.

Evolutionary Computing and Artificial Intelligence:
Compositional Evolution and Intelligent Agent research using various heuristic and evolutionary algorithms to determine suitability for inclusion in optimisation applications.

Distributed Computing and Parallel Processing:
Unigraphics NX2 software component development in JAVA for iSIGHT-FD / FIPER for the VIVACE European demonstrator program on international automated design.

Transfer to Mechanical Methods Group:
Tasked with introduction of state of the art Robust Design methods involving the developing or screening of suitable methods and the subsequent implementation of these methods into the Rolls-Royce design process. Position requires knowledge of various programming languages and experience in web based application development for the adaptation of Rolls-Royce codes onto the iSIGHT-FIPER global platform.

TRENT 1000 53-70,000lb Thrust Aero Engine for BOEING 787 “Dreamliner”
Developed an Object-Oriented PERL application to couple Air System and Thermal analysis codes enabling comprehensive Monte-Carlo Simulations to be performed, a company first. Adopted as pilot project for the “Design for Process Excellence” scheme. Winner of Managing Director’s Quality Award with potential to save £100m per engine project. Subsequently developed an auto-coupling, auto-checking and automatic thermal model generation application based on coupling software that can check or create thermal models automatically from Air System models.

TRENT 900 80,000lb Thrust Aero Engine for AIRBUS A380 “Super Jumbo”
Constructed first ever spintest rig thermal model, requiring new methodologies to be developed to cope with partial vacuums, radiative heating, water cooled cooling coils, heat reservoirs and slip-ring digital noise reduction.

TRENT 500 56-60,000lb Thrust Aero Engine for AIRBUS A340 –500 –600
Pioneered use of Monte-Carlo Simulation in turbine rotor rim sensitivity studies for temperature variability prediction. Pioneered the validation of compressor casing thermal models using heuristic optimisation techniques. Pioneered time-constant thermal model optimisation using specially developed algorithms.

BR715 15,000lb Thrust Aero Engine for Boeing 717 (previously McDonnell-Douglas MD90 Regional Jet)
Pinpointed cause of HP spool vibration and bearing failure using Design of Experiments techniques.

Rolls-Royce Plc: Thermo-mechanical Modeller (September 1990 – September 2002)

TRENT 900 80,000lb Thrust Aero Engine for AIRBUS A380 “Super Jumbo”
Developed an innovative impingement cooling scheme for a turbine casing to maximise it’s performance with respect to rotor tip clearance and low cycle fatigue life for a given mass flow rate.

WR21 30,000HP Marine Engine for US Navy DD-21 and Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyers
Correctly identified the mechanisms responsible for reducing the thermal efficiency of an intercooled and recuperated engine by developing a complex 3D thermo-mechanical model of the combustor assembly. The predicted effect of improvements amounted to a potential saving of more than £1m in performance penalties.
Conducted a campaign to find the cause of combustor burner failures. Two innovative solutions and one redesign of the film cooling holes were put to trials resulting in the successful elimination of the problem and a potential saving of more than £1m in maintenance penalties on the intended production run of the engine.

TRENT 500 56-60K lb Thrust Aero Engine for AIRBUS A340 –500 –600
Educated a new project team on engine seizure modes, specification of running-in procedures, instrumentation location and test experiment specification, thermo-mechanical model generation and checking, model validation with test data, plus; causes of hot gas ingestion and counter measures.

BR715 15,000lb Thrust Aero Engine for McDonnell-Douglas MD90 Regional Jet
Pioneered a new approach to modelling hot gas ingestion leakage in turbine casings, improving the model’s ability to replicate the temperature response of engine test data.

TRENT 5060 50MW 60Hz Industrial Engine for Base/Peak Electricity Generation
Successfully managed the creation of a new thermal analysis department and associated systems in a new subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Industrial and Marine Gas Turbine engines.
Correctly deduced and demonstrated that radiative heat load from diesel fuel on the Duel-Fuel Low NOx Combustor would be too great. Proved during testing, it forced a policy change in the marketing of the engine.