Cobham is an international company engaged in the development, delivery and support of leading edge aerospace and defence technology and systems.
Cobham's products and services have been at the heart of sophisticated military and civil systems for more than 75 years, keeping people safe, improving communications, and enhancing the capability of land, sea, air and space platforms.
About the Project
As a ‘receiver' aircraft makes contact with a trailed drogue, waves are generated in the refuelling hose. Customers are specifying faster closing speeds, but the faster the closing speed and subsequent contact, the bigger the waves.
In this KTP, Flight Refuelling Ltd worked with the University of Southampton's Institute of Sound and Vibration Research to develop analytical and numerical models of aerial refuelling hose characteristics and algorithms for control of winding mechanism to improve in-flight refuelling system performance.
Benefits
- Strengthened the company's competitive position in the global air-to-air refuelling market
- Demonstrated improved system performance
- Changed strategy to increase the amount and quality of modelling and simulation undertaken, improving the efficiency of the business
- Reduced the amount of flight tests required to be undertaken, resulting in considerable cost savings
- Provided the University with increased awareness of industrial issues and concerns, not only in regard to engineering and technical issues and constraints, but also regarding financial, managerial and organisational issues
- Links established leading to further, and wider, collaborations across the University.
Links to external websites
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