According to a statement, FLITES (Fibre-Laser Imaging of Gas Turbine Exhaust Species) aims to establish a world-leading capability to map several exhaust species from aircraft using tomographic imaging.
Together with academic and commercial partners, including the universities of Southampton and Strathclyde, Rolls-Royce, Shell, Covesion, Fianium and OptoSci, Manchester academics will lead the four-year study focusing on CO2 emissions and how they can be lowered.
The Manchester researchers, based in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, aim to produce the first-ever images of the distribution of chemical species in aero-engine exhaust plumes.
They will use fibre lasers developed at Southampton University and electronic architectures for spectroscopic measurement from Strathclyde University.
The FLITES team has been awarded £1.8m by the EPSRC, with the companies providing more than £500,000 in support.
It is expected that the research project will enhance turbine-related research and development capacity in both academia and industry by opening up access to exhaust plume chemistry.
Project lead Prof Hugh McCann said: ‘There has never been any research using turbine emissions data to determine the condition and behaviour of internal engine components, especially the combustor.
‘FLITES will open a new door to penetrate the complex phenomena that dictate the performance and limitations of advanced aero engines and will help to really pin down the performance benefits of novel biofuels.’
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I'd like to know where these are operating in the UK. The report is notably light on this. I wonder why?