Cranfield University is an associate partner of the Henry Royce Institute, leading state-of-the-art research in materials and coatings for extreme environments.
The Henry Royce Institute
The Institute, a government-funded collaboration led by the University of Manchester alongside 11 world-leading universities and research centres, aims to support UK academia and industry to deliver advanced material research that supports global sustainability challenges.
By being the 'front door' to the UK materials research and innovation community, Royce provides funding and free* access to equipment and facilities, giving those accessing the scheme the capability to make, test and characterise materials, components and systems.
Royce at Cranfield
We have several facilities at Cranfield available under the Royce Access Scheme within our Materials and Coatings for Extreme Environment Technology Platform. Our aim is to offer a complete package of expertise on coating systems from conceptual design and manufacture to performance evaluation in extreme environments.
The work we do has a multitude of benefits, including reducing inspection times, increasing component life, better selection of materials/coatings and informing designers for improved design. All of these contribute positively to reducing environmental damage through reduced wastage (increased component life), increasing engine efficiency (burning less fuel) and using more sustainable alloy and coating systems.
Due to the diversity of work, we specialise in two key areas:
- Coatings for extreme environments
- Materials performance in extreme environments
A full list of facilities available to perform work in the two platforms can be found below.
How to work with us
Through Royce, use of our facilities is free of charge* for UK students, researchers, academics and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). If you would like to deposit a new coating or test the performance of a material in demanding environments, please get in touch with us via royce@cranfield.ac.uk, briefly explaining what you would like to do and a member of the team will come back to you with as soon as we can.
* funding is provided by EPSRC to cover the costs of projects via the access scheme, for SMEs this counts towards their State Aid contribution and is subject to Subsidy Control.
