罗罗和普渡大学合作进行了一个飞机发动机的研发项目，共斥资3300万美元，旨在研制新一代的飞机助推系统。

“我们致力于打造燃油经济性更好、性能更优的发动机，因此飞机发动机的研发是罗罗的重要使命。” 罗罗北美国防航天部门总裁Phil Burkholder表示，“我很有信心，我们（与普渡大学）的协作研究将带来飞机发动机领域的长期、稳定进展。”

罗罗指定普渡大学为大学技术合作伙伴（UTP），合作关系将初步涵盖两个研究中心，即先进的热管理系统和先进的压缩系统研究，拓展了目前大学技术中心（UTC）的研究领域。2003年，在普渡大学建立了第一个在欧洲以外地区成立的罗罗UTC，致力于研究高马赫数推进系统，目前这个项目的研究重点已转向先进的热管理系统。普渡大学也因此获得了罗罗在美国的首个UTP指定合作机会。

“普渡大学新设立了一项联合倡议，旨在提升压缩机的气动热特性。普渡大学也将因此成为首个在欧洲以外地区拥有两所该领域研究中心的机构，”大学的首席企业和全球合作关系官Dan Hirleman表示，“罗罗的投资将进一步促进普渡大学Maurice J. Zucrow实验室的发展，这是全美最大规模的，依托于大学建立的推进系统实验室。”

2015年初，普渡大学宣布，礼来基金会（Lilly Endowment）向其捐赠了500万美元，用于扩建Zucrow实验室。这是大学获赠的4000万美元的一部分，旨在支持工程与技术学院的五个革新型项目发展，以及普渡大学图书馆的建设。这笔捐款是普渡大学收到的有史以来最大额的现金捐赠。

与罗罗建立的新型合作关系表明，借助礼来基金会的捐赠款项，普渡大学致力于促进工程技术领域的研究与教育工作，尤其是热管理系统的研发，可用于先进的助推系统、压缩系统和涡轮技术发展，以及分析方法的研究。

 “这项工作将对行业发展产生重大影响，” 机械工程副教授Nicole Key表示，“我们知道，我们的工作对未来的发动机设计有重大影响，不仅如此，我们还有能力同时研究许多助推技术与工程领域的基础问题。”

Zucrow图书馆、普渡大学机场、以及普渡大学航空航天学院（原名Lafayette航空航天学院）坐落于普渡研究园航天区，占地面积980英亩。2015年，罗罗宣布其研究项目团队搬迁到航空区第一大楼的研究技术实验室，占地面积4万平方英尺。普渡研究园航天区的所有权和管理权归普渡研究基金会所有。

在谈及与罗罗的新型合作关系时，普渡大学校长Mitch Daniels表示，“罗罗公司享有极高的声誉，对于大学的航天区而言是非常合适的合作伙伴，我们之间的合作一定会有力促进航天区的发展，我们认为这对于普渡大学的未来发展也非常重要。”

罗罗公司的员工中有近600名普渡大学校友，该公司也在印第安纳波利斯运营着一个先进航天技术的研究与设计中心，命名为“自由工厂”（LibertyWorks）。

作者：Jean L. Broge
来源：SAE《航空工程杂志》
翻译：SAE上海办公室

Rolls-Royce, Purdue partner on jet engine design

Rolls-Royce and Purdue University have formed a $33 million jet-engine research and development program to create next-generation aircraft propulsion systems.

“Research and development in jet engines is an important objective for Rolls-Royce as we strive to create jet engines that are more energy-efficient and can perform more effectively,” said Phil Burkholder, President of Rolls-Royce Defense Aerospace, North America. “I am confident that our collaborative research [with Purdue] will result in strong long-term advances in jet engine development.”

Rolls-Royce is designating Purdue as a University Technology Partnership (UTP), which will initially encompass two research centers in the areas of advanced thermal management systems and advanced compressor systems, expanding beyond the current University Technology Center (UTC) designation. The first Rolls-Royce UTC established outside of Europe was launched at Purdue in 2003 to study high-Mach propulsion, and that program is transitioning into a focus on systems for advanced thermal management. Purdue has thus received the first UTP designation in the U.S.

“The added signature initiative to advance aerothermal processes in compressors will make Purdue the first university outside of Europe to have two such research centers,” said Dan Hirleman, Purdue’s Chief Corporate and Global Partnerships Officer. “The investment by Rolls-Royce will further support Purdue’s Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories, the nation's largest university-based propulsion laboratory.”

In early 2015 Purdue announced that Lilly Endowment had provided $5 million to expand Zucrow as part of a $40 million grant to the university to support five transformational projects in the colleges of engineering and technology, as well as Purdue Libraries. The grant was the largest cash donation given in Purdue's history.

The new partnership with Rolls-Royce is a reflection of Purdue’s commitment to leveraging the Lilly Endowment grant to bolster research and education in engineering and technology, in particular research and development in thermal management for advanced propulsion systems, compressor and turbine technology, and analytical methods.

“This work will have an important impact on the industry,” said Nicole Key, an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering. “We know we are impacting future engine designs and yet we are able to simultaneously investigate many fundamental questions into the science and engineering of propulsion.”

The Zucrow Laboratories, Purdue University Airport, and Purdue Aviation (formerly Lafayette Aviation) are located within the 980-acre Purdue Research Park Aerospace District. In 2015, Rolls-Royce announced its move into a research and technology lab in the district’s first building, a 40,000-ft² facility. The Purdue Research Park Aerospace District is owned and managed by the Purdue Research Foundation.

In speaking about the new partnership with Rolls-Royce, “There is no more fitting or prestigious first step for the university’s Aerospace District, which we imagine is a big piece of Purdue’s future,” said Purdue President Mitch Daniels.

Rolls-Royce, which employs nearly 600 Purdue alumni, also operates an advanced aerospace technology research and design unit in Indianapolis, which is known as LibertyWorks.

Author: Jean L. Broge
Source: SAE Aerospace Engineering Magazine