In joint work with Rolls-Royce (RR), the High Temperature Materials Center is developing Ni-base single crystal superalloys with excellent temperature capabilities for use in the high temperature components (turbine blades) of jet engines for large civil aircrafts. The development target is an alloy with the world's highest temperature capability* of 1150 °C, which will be approximately 100 °C higher than that of the materials currently used. Research is being carried out with the aim of practical application in engines manufactured by Rolls-Royce in 2012. A calculation by Rolls-Royce showed that engine efficiency can be improved by 1 % if the temperature capability is increased by 40 °C. Assuming a Tokyo-New York round trip by the Boeing 787, which will go into service in the near future, this would reduce fuel consumption by approximately 500 liters, and thereby reduce CO2 emissions by 2.5 tons.
Joint Research Center
The research and development to contribute to the next generation by the establishment of the joint research center with another organization
In NIMS, a joint research with another organization is positively done. The especially important research that the scale greatly contributes especially to next generation's society is considered like a project, and to promote the research smoothly, the joint research center is established.
The Rolls-Royce Centre of Excellence for Aerospace Materials
Photograph of research and development scenery
NIMS-TOYOTA Materials Center of Excellence for Sustainable Mobility
Photograph of signing ceremony with TOYOTA.
The collaborative research between NIMS and Toyota aims at elucidating the mechanism of fundamental phenomena and developing generic technology for creating next-generation automotive materials, and breaking through technical barriers in materials development. As development is urgently required from the viewpoint of environmental and energy problems, the research will start with next generation batteries for automobiles, then expand successively to include other materials that might help to protect the environment and conserve energy.
