Rolls-Royce has signed onto a partnership with the Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC) to develop advanced component repair techniques for military engines.
The jointly-funded agreement was signed at the Avalon Air Show by Mark Hodge, chief executive of the DMTC, and Nick Durham, Rolls-Royce president – customer business with minister for defence materiel Jason Clare also in attendance.
The DMTC is Australia’s first and only Defence Future Capability Technology Centre (DFCTC), combining expertise and resources from defence industries and research providers to develop and deliver superior technologies to Australia’s defence industry.
RMIT University and the Defence Science and Technology Organisation are also partners in the program which will specifically address the development of technologies that enable repair of numerous components in gas turbine engines, including engine blisks.
Blisks are one piece bladed discs which reduce engine weight while maintaining high engine performance and are used in several of today’s most modern military engines, including the F136 engine for the F-35 Joint strike Fighter.
The studies will focus on the investigation and development of new surface treatment methods which will save manufacturing time and cost while enhancing component reliability.