Results of Competition: UKART: Collaborative R&D Round 1 Full Stage

Competition Code: 1809_CRD_UKART_R1

Total available funding is £8,000,000

Note: These proposals have succeeded in the assessment stage of this competition. All are subject to grant offer and conditions being met.

Participant organisation names Project title Proposed project costs Proposed project grant

SIGMA PRECISION COMPONENTS LIMITED High Volume Manufacture and Inspection £935,293 £448,941
Processes for Composite Pipes

LASER OPTICAL ENGINEERING LIMITED £176,216 £82,822

PULTREX LIMITED £254,887 £122,346

The University of Manchester £55,430 £55,430

Note: you can see all Innovate UK-funded projects here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/innovate-uk-funded-projects
Use the Competition Code given above to search for this competition’s results

Funders Panel Date: 01/04/2019 1

Project description - provided by applicants
Thermoplastic composites are gaining favour in place of traditional thermoset versions for their toughness, ease of recycling and ability to be manufactured in
high volume without autoclaves. The _High Volume Manufacture and Inspection Processes for Composite Pipes_ project aims to develop novel
manufacturing and inspection processes for production of cost-effective thermoplastic composite tube, and to fully qualify the material.

The consortium comprises Sigma Precision Components (lead), Pultrex, Laser Optical Engineering and University of Manchester. The project will develop a
pultrusion process to make high-quality thermoplastic composite tube and a semi-automatic laser shearography inspection system to check for flaws. The
carbon /thermoplastic material will also be one of the first to be fully characterised for aerospace use. The partners will need to ensure the processes are
capable of achieving cost and productivity targets while maintaining product quality.

Sigma is a manufacturer of metallic aerospace pipe assemblies and has developed thermoplastic composite tube technology that can be used for lightweight
pipe assemblies and torque shafts. To fully capitalise on market opportunities, Sigma will perform a work package to fully qualify the thermoplastic composite
material (overseen and published by NCAMP) through a series of coupon tests. Currently there are very few thermoplastic composites published in the
industry's Composite Materials Handbook 17\. In addition, the manufacturing costs for the tube need to be reduced, addressed by the two other work
packages

Although pultrusion is an established technology for making various thermoset composite sections, Pultrex (a UK based manufacturer of pultrusion
equipment) will develop innovative solutions to adapt the process for thermoplastic tubes, in particular the heating and cooling systems and consolidation die
design. University of Manchester will assist by transferring knowledge from their laboratory pilot process, and maintain close academic interest for teaching
purposes. Pultrex also anticipates potential sales of this equipment in other sectors such as automotive.

For the third work package, Laser Optical Engineering will adapt one of their existing laser shearography systems to inspect composite tubes for flaws such
as inclusions, porosity and delamination. The system will use special lasers, cameras and semi automatic image analysis to inspect the tube more quickly
than traditional C scanning techniques. Their innovation will focus on miniaturising a rugged system for both industrial use and for inspecting composite
structures on aircraft during maintenance, or even wind turbine blades.

Note: you can see all Innovate UK-funded projects here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/innovate-uk-funded-projects
Use the Competition Code given above to search for this competition’s results

Funders Panel Date: 01/04/2019 2

Results of Competition: UKART: Collaborative R&D Round 1 Full Stage

Competition Code: 1809_CRD_UKART_R1

Total available funding is £8,000,000

Note: These proposals have succeeded in the assessment stage of this competition. All are subject to grant offer and conditions being met.

Participant organisation names Project title Proposed project costs Proposed project grant

BAE SYSTEMS (OPERATIONS) LIMITED Pilot Auto Runway Taxi System (PARTS) £425,777 £212,888

Coventry University £244,505 £244,505

HORIBA MIRA LIMITED £421,369 £210,684

Note: you can see all Innovate UK-funded projects here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/innovate-uk-funded-projects
Use the Competition Code given above to search for this competition’s results

Funders Panel Date: 01/04/2019 3

Project description - provided by applicants
Taxiing of aircraft to and from runways is an important operational function necessary for the safe and efficient functioning of any airport. However, errors in
routing may occur, for example where there is low visibility or the pilot is unfamiliar with the destination airport; these can have significant impacts in terms of
both operational efficiency and added environment impacts.

Assisted or fully autonomous taxiing will lead to fuel savings as a result of better power management and time-based taxiing targets, simplify operational
procedures and enhance safety. It will also enhance airlines' ability to use secondary airports in all conditions (important for low cost operators).

This UK based consortium brings together a team from BAE Systems, HORIBA-MIRA and Coventry University, with the objective of demonstrating proof of
concept for an autonomous taxiing system for commercial aircraft, based upon the transfer of technology from autonomous road vehicles. Using a pilot-
centric design approach the intention is to develop a technology-demonstrator based upon the HORIBA-MIRA autonomous test vehicle to establish the
viability of an autonomous taxiing system.

A series of trials will be undertaken in simulators and using a ground vehicle to demonstrate performance and safety benefits of such a system. This will
inform discussions with appropriate authorities on the route to regulatory approval.

Note: you can see all Innovate UK-funded projects here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/innovate-uk-funded-projects
Use the Competition Code given above to search for this competition’s results

Funders Panel Date: 01/04/2019 4

Results of Competition: UKART: Collaborative R&D Round 1 Full Stage

Competition Code: 1809_CRD_UKART_R1

Total available funding is £8,000,000

Note: These proposals have succeeded in the assessment stage of this competition. All are subject to grant offer and conditions being met.

Participant organisation names Project title Proposed project costs Proposed project grant

AIRBUS OPERATIONS LIMITED High Aspect Ratio Tools (HART) £298,000 £149,000

University of Bristol £127,478 £127,478

Note: you can see all Innovate UK-funded projects here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/innovate-uk-funded-projects
Use the Competition Code given above to search for this competition’s results

Funders Panel Date: 01/04/2019 5

Project description - provided by applicants
There is a continuing need to improve cash operating costs to remain competitive. Improving aircraft fuel-efficiency and reducing environmental impact is
key. One way of achieving these goals is to use higher aspect ratio wing designs that lead to reductions in aerodynamic drag. Such a design approach does
however tend to produce more flexible wings, where the internal structural sizing and design is dominated by complex nonlinear aero-elastic (fluid-structure
interaction) effects. Airport gate sizes do however constrain the maximum allowable wing span of commercial aircraft. This can be mitigated with the use of
Folding Wing-tips so that aircraft with longer wings can fit within the airport gate limits. It is therefore becoming essential to be able to model nonlinear effects
and new devices such as Folding Wing-tips at an earlier stage in the design process to inform design decisions.

Airbus and the University of Bristol (UoB) will establish a two-year Collaborative Research and Development project that will develop a range of aerodynamic
and aeroelastic technologies that were identified (for further development) during the recently completed Innovate UK funded Agile Wing Integration (AWI)
project. These developments will be applied in conjunction with existing Airbus processes for wing sizing and performance purposes, to enable industrial
level preliminary design and trade-off studies to be made for any flight vehicle with high aspect ratio wings. This could be commercial aircraft or other
vehicles such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

Significant innovation is required in this area to allow design teams access to a new design space beyond what has been classically used in the last 40
years. In particular, the proposed toolset will enable nonlinear dynamic assessment of novel aircraft wing designs with very high span, taking into account the
shape of the wings in flight, the response to turbulence and gusts, and any inherent aeroelastic instabilities such as flutter. Based upon this improved
modelling capability it will be possible to evaluate the benefits of different technology enablers, including composite wings, Strut-braced wings and Folding
Wing-tips to exploit the inherent advantages of higher aspect ratio wings.

Close interaction between the industrial and academic partners will be key to the success of the project and the academic researchers will spend a
significant amount of time based at Airbus UK. The application of these technologies at Airbus will enhance future collaboration and knowledge exchange
across the Airbus business groups for unconventional aircraft wing designs.

Note: you can see all Innovate UK-funded projects here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/innovate-uk-funded-projects
Use the Competition Code given above to search for this competition’s results

Funders Panel Date: 01/04/2019 6

Results of Competition: UKART: Collaborative R&D Round 1 Full Stage

Competition Code: 1809_CRD_UKART_R1

Total available funding is £8,000,000

Note: These proposals have succeeded in the assessment stage of this competition. All are subject to grant offer and conditions being met.

Participant organisation names Project title Proposed project costs Proposed project grant

SAFRAN NACELLES LIMITED IMLET £434,350 £217,175

ICHROME LTD £190,062 £95,031

QINETIQ LIMITED £285,689 £142,844

STELLAR ADVANCED CONCEPTS LTD £85,000 £42,500

University of Bristol £249,017 £249,017

Note: you can see all Innovate UK-funded projects here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/innovate-uk-funded-projects
Use the Competition Code given above to search for this competition’s results

Funders Panel Date: 01/04/2019 7

Project description - provided by applicants
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.

Note: you can see all Innovate UK-funded projects here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/innovate-uk-funded-projects
Use the Competition Code given above to search for this competition’s results

Funders Panel Date: 01/04/2019 8