Video, 5 mins
At the Cutting Edge of Rolls-Royce Aero-Engines
Professor Matt Marshall’s team built a high-speed blade testing platform, giving new wear insights that saved Rolls-Royce’s 13,000-engine fleet over £100M while improving safety and efficiency.
22 Jun 2026 09:00
For the past 40 years, compressor blade tip abrasion testing for aero-engines has been expensive and lacks insight into dynamic wear. Matt Marshall’s team created a high speed in situ test platform, including stroboscopic imaging to capture blade wear at various incursion rates.
This has provided new insights into engine blade wear mechanics, and the full range of Rolls-Royce’s fleet (c 13,000 engines) has benefitted from greater safety and efficiency, mitigating over £100M in maintenance and service costs
Credits
- Professor Matthew Marshall (Professor at the University of Sheffield)
- Dr. Aaron Baillieu (Former PhD Student and now Research Associate at the University of Sheffield)
- Dr. Eldar Rahimov (Former PhD Student at the University of Sheffield)
- Josh Quince (Current PhD Student at the University of Sheffield)
- Charlotte Currie (Current PhD Student at the University of Sheffield)
- Oliver Cooper (Technician at the University of Sheffield)
- Chris Todd (Electrical Technician at the University of Sheffield)
- Glen Pattinson (Engineering Manager at Rolls-Royce)
