Category: Events

We are delighted to announce that a large team from the Bristol Composites Institute (BCI)  showcased their achievements and research at ECCM 20 (the 20^th European Conference on Composite Materials) in Lausanne, Switzerland from 26th to 30th June 2022. ECCM is the main European forum for knowledge exchange on recent accomplishments and future trends, bringing together people from academia and industry with a mutual interest in composite materials.

This year’s conference was focused on sustainability which is a prominent aspect of composites for BCI with the title “Composites meet Sustainability”. An impressive line up of academics, researchers and PhD students highlighted our commitment toward sustainability across a range of activities spanning academic research, industrial collaborations and education programmes with more than forty presentations. Professor Ivana Partridge started the conference with her invited keynote lecture covering her eminent and ground breaking work with the title “Toughening approaches in composites – a perspective”. Several researchers showcased their accomplishments on the HiPerDiF (high performance discontinuous fibre) technology, invented at the University of Bristol, which produces highly aligned discontinuous fibre composites to address the issues of the composite industry – manufacturing and recycling.

Our Industrial Doctorate Centre (IDC) in Composites Manufacture marked the achievements within two special sessions and a dedicated poster session, organised by Professor Janice Barton that took place on 28^th July. The special sessions featured twelve papers, presented by the IDC EngD students, on a wide range of processes covering braiding, tape and fibre placement, modular infusion, over-moulding, application of sustainable and novel materials; development of modelling procedures; and performance investigations. We are also proud to announce that one IDC student Dave Langston won the conference poster prize – sponsored by OREC.

by Ben Woods.

A group of 5 researchers and academics from the BCI and Bristol Department of Aerospace Engineering recently attended the 2022 Glastonbury Festival. Due to pandemic cancellations, this was the first Glastonbury in 3 years and was also the 50th Glastonbury ever, which lined up nicely with the 75th anniversary of the Department of Aerospace Engineering. But while there were quite a few reasons to celebrate – this festival trip was all about outreach. The group spent their days talking to the members of the public about the exciting Green Aviation research going on at Bristol. They set up a marquee in the brand new Science Futures area of the festival and filled it with hands-on technology demonstrators, laser-cut plywood posters, and smiling faces in brightly coloured t-shirts.

The stall featured a series of posters and demos that reflected the diverse, multi-disciplinary work required to make sustainable air transport a reality. It started with a discussion of the multi-disciplinary nature of modern commercial aircraft design, which requires us to improve all aspects of aircraft design.

After this, the ability of composite materials to reduce fuel burn by reducing mass was shown, highlighting both the incredible progress made to date and a range of promising new concepts under development at BCI. Several new morphing wing technologies were then demonstrated, which take inspiration from the way birds continuously adapt and optimize their wings to reduce fuel burn. The next poster highlighted the importance of also reducing non-CO2 emissions, including contrails, NOx, and noise. The final table included a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Bristol Department of Aerospace Engineering and a wishing tree where the public were invited to share their visions of a more sustainable future for aviation.

The response from the public was fantastic: the stall was busy throughout the duration and hundreds of engaging conversations were had around the challenging topic of how we can make aviation more sustainable. The wide range of people who attend Glastonbury kept things exciting – visitors spanned the gamut from people who hadn’t flown in over a decade because of the climate impact to people who make their living in the aviation industry – with the discussions and messages delivered being adapted accordingly.

The team, led by Dr. Benjamin Woods, camped out behind the stall and had plenty of time to explore the festival and watch acts in the evenings – including electronic music set from a giant fire-breathing, laser-eyed, spider stage, complete with a trapeze artist floating by beneath a giant helium balloon: which is slightly beyond our day-to-day experiences at the Bristol Composites Institute.