The EPSRC Innovative Manufacturing Centre in Composites will conduct a programme of fundamental manufacturing research comprising two research themes aimed at developing efficient, high rate, low cost and sustainable manufacturing processes coupled to effective and validated design and process modelling tools. These processes will aim to deliver high yield, high performance and high quality components and structures. The themes are as follows:Theme 1: Composites Processing ScienceThe focus for this theme is to develop integrated modelling systems for predicting and minimising process induced defects and defining and optimising process capability. Topics include: Multi-scale process modelling framework for candidate processes (fibre deposition, resin infusion, consolidation and cure); Stochastic simulation of process and resulting material/structure variability, leading to prediction of process induced defects at the macro, meso and micro scales; Analysis of design/ manufacturing/ cost interactions, enabling process capability mapping, design and process optimisationTheme 2: Composites Processing TechnologyThe focus for this theme will be experimental investigation of next-generation, high rate processing technologies as essential elements within a flexible composites manufacturing cell with multi-process capability. Topics include: Development of rapid deposition technologies: automated robotic control for tow/tape placement, development of flexible/ hybrid systems, application to dry fibre and thermoplastic composites manufacture; High speed preforming processes: fibre placement, Discontinuous Carbon Fibre Preforming (DCFP), multiaxial and 3D textiles and their automated integration into multi-architecture, multi-functional composites; High rate & controlled thermal processing: rapid heating/curing and innovative tooling; Process and parts integration with novel joining technologies, tolerance reduction and on-line inspection In addition to the main research themes, the platform element within the Centre will support four generic research projects operating across the Centre to develop common technologies and underpin the main research priorities. These technology areas are: Multi-scale modelling; Cost modelling; Automation/robotics; and, Design and manufacturing quality integration.

The UK composites industry faces an imperative to prioritise sustainability. The urgent need to reduce impact on the environment and ensure the availability of resources for future generations is critical to securing a prosperous and resilient future. Composite materials are crucial for delivering a Net-Zero future but pose several unique technical challenges. Sustainable Composites Engineering defines a holistic means of achieving environmental neutrality for composite products through production, service, and reuse. It incorporates the pursuit of more sustainable composite materials, with a mission of creating inherently sustainable composite solutions, able to perform in diverse environments, and made using new scientific advances, and new energy efficient, waste-free manufacturing procedures. Our proposed CDT in Innovation for Sustainable Composites Engineering will address the challenges by developing a workforce equipped with the skills to become leaders in the future sustainable economy and support UK industry competitiveness. Our CDT is jointly created by the Bristol Composites Institute, the University of Nottingham and the National Composites Centre (NCC). In addition to the EPSRC funding our CDT is also supported by industry and we have received 27 letters of support from companies in the UK Composites sector: Aerospace (Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Dowty, Leonardo, GKN), Defence (QinetiQ, AWE, BAE Systems), Automotive (Gordan Murray, JLR), Wind Energy (Vestas, EDF-Renewables), Marine (Tods), Rail (Network Rail), Oil and Gas (Magma Global), Hydrogen (Luxfer) alongside material suppliers (Hexcel, Solvay, iCOMAT, SHD), and specialist design and manufacturing companies (Pentaxia, Actuation Lab, LMAT, Molydyn), as well as RTOs (NPL, NCC). The total industrial commitment to our CDT is >£10M, with>£4M from NCC. From this it is clear that our CDT fits the Focus Area of Meeting a User Need. The CDT will provide a science-based framework for innovative, curiosity driven research and skills development to facilitate composites as the underpinning technology for a sustainable future. Critically, the CDT will offer an agile doctoral educational environment focused on advanced competencies and skills, tailored to industrial and commercial needs, providing academic excellence and encourage innovation. The ambitious goal of spanning Technology Readiness Levels (TRL 1-4) will be achieved by having a mix of university-based PhDs and industrially-based EngDs . Fundamental industrial sponsored research will be carried out by PhD students based at the Universities. The EngD students will spend 75% of their time in industry conducting a research project that is defined industry. Students will complete their doctoral studies in four years, the doctoral research will run concurrently with the taught component, so students are immersed in the research environment from the outset. The bespoke training programme demands the critical mass of a cohort. A specific role on our Management Board focuses on maximising cohort benefits to students. The cohort continuity across years will be ensured by a peer-to-peer mentoring programme, with all new students assigned a student mentor to support their studies, thereby creating an inclusive environment to provide students with a sense of place and ownership. Methods for developing and maintaining a cohort across multiple sites will be supported by our previous experience with the IDCs strategy and by: -A first year based in Bristol with students co-located to encourage interaction. -In-person workshops in year 2 credit bearing units and professional activities. -Peer-to-peer individual mentoring, as well as in DBT and credit-bearing workshops. -Annual welcome cohort integration event. -Annual conference and student-led networking. -Internal themed research seminars and group meetings -Student-led training and outreach activities.

Advanced composite materials consist of reinforcement fibres, usually carbon or glass, embedded within a matrix, usually a polymer, providing a structural material. They are very attractive to a number of user sectors, in particular transportation due to their combination of low weight and excellent material properties which can be tailored to specific applications. Components are typically manufactured either by depositing fibres into a mould and then infusing with resin (liquid moulding) or by forming and consolidation of pre-impregnated fibres (prepreg processing). The current UK composites sector has a value of £1.5 billion and is projected to grow to over £4 billion by 2020, and to between £6 billion and £12 billion by 2030. This range depends on the ability of the industry to deliver structures at required volumes and quality levels demanded by its target applications. Much of this potential growth is associated with next generation single-aisle aircraft, light-weighting of vehicles to reduce fuel consumption, and large, lightweight and durable structures for renewable energy and civil infrastructure. The benefits of lightweight composites are clear, and growth in their use would have a significant impact on both the UK's climate change and infrastructure targets, in addition to a direct impact on the economy through jobs and exports. However the challenges that must be overcome to achieve this growth are significant. For example, BMW currently manufacture around 20,000 i3 vehicles per year with significant composites content. To replace mass produced vehicles this production volume would need to increase by up to 100-times. Airbus and Boeing each produce around 10 aircraft per month (A350 and 787 respectively) with high proportions of composite materials. The next generation single aisle aircraft are likely to require volumes of 60 per month. Production costs are high relative to those associated with other materials, and will need to reduce by an order of magnitude to enable such growth levels. The Future Composites Manufacturing Hub will enable a step change in manufacturing with advanced polymer composite materials. The Hub will be led by the University of Nottingham and University of Bristol; with initial research Spokes at Cranfield, Imperial College, Manchester and Southampton; Innovation Spokes at the National Composites Centre (NCC), Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG); and backed by 18 leading companies from the composites sector. Between the Hub, Spokes and industrial partners we will offer a minimum of £12.7 million in additional support to deliver our objectives. Building on the success of the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Composites (CIMComp), the Hub will drive the development of automated manufacturing technologies that deliver components and structures for demanding applications, particularly in the aerospace, transportation, construction and energy sectors. Over a seven year period, the Hub will underpin the growth potential of the sector, by developing the underlying processing science and technology to enable Moore's law for composites: a doubling in production capability every two years. To achieve our vision we will address a number of research priorities, identified in collaboration with industry partners and the broader community, including: high rate deposition and rapid processing technologies; design for manufacture via validated simulation; manufacturing for multifunctional composites and integrated structures; inspection and in-process evaluation; recycling and re-use. Matching these priorities with UK capability, we have identified the following Grand Challenges, around which we will conduct a series of Feasibility Studies and Core Projects: -Enhance process robustness via understanding of process science -Develop high rate processing technologies for high quality structures

Forming components from light alloys (aluminium, titanium and magnesium) is extremely important to sustainable transport because they can save over 40% weight, compared to steel, and are far cheaper and more recyclable than composites. This has led to rapid market growth, where light alloys are set to dominate the automotive sector. Remaining globally competitive in light metals technologies is also critical to the UK's, aerospace and defence industries, which are major exporters. For example, Jaguar Land Rover already produces fully aluminium car bodies and titanium is extensively used in aerospace products by Airbus and Rolls Royce. 85% of the market in light alloys is in wrought products, formed by pressing, or forging, to make components. Traditional manufacturing creates a conflict between increasing a material's properties, (to increase performance), and manufacturability; i.e. the stronger a material is, the more difficult and costly it is to form into a part. This is because the development of new materials by suppliers occurs largely independently of manufacturers, and ever more alloy compositions are developed to achieve higher performance, which creates problems with scrap separation preventing closed loop recycling. Thus, often manufacturability restricts performance. For example, in car bodies only medium strength aluminium grades are currently used because it is no good having a very strong alloy that can't be made into the required shape. In cases when high strength levels are needed, such as in aerospace, specialised forming processes are used which add huge cost. To solve this conundrum, LightForm will develop the science and modelling capability needed for a new holistic approach, whereby performance AND manufacturability can both be increased, through developing a step change in our ability to intelligently and precisely engineer the properties of a material during the forming of advanced components. This will be achieved by understanding how the manufacturing process itself can be used to manipulate the material structure at the microscopic scale, so we can start with a soft, formable, material and simultaneously improve and tailor its properties while we shape it into the final product. For example, alloys are already designed to 'bake harden' after being formed when the paint on a car is cured in an oven. However, we want to push this idea much further, both in terms of performance and property prediction. For example, we already have evidence we can double the strength of aluminium alloys currently used in car bodies by new synergistic hybrid deformation and heat treatment processing methods. To do this, we need to better understand how materials act as dynamic systems and design them to feed back to different forming conditions. We also aim to exploit exciting developments in powerful new techniques that will allow us to see how materials behave in industrial processes in real time, using facilities like the Diamond x-ray synchrotron, and modern modelling methods. By capturing these effects in physical models, and integrating them into engineering codes, we will be able to embed microstructure engineering in new flexible forming technologies, that don't use fixed tooling, and enable accurate prediction of properties at the design stage - thus accelerating time to market and the customisation of products. Our approach also offers the possibility to tailor a wide range of properties with one alloy - allowing us to make products that can be more easily closed-loop recycled. We will also use embedded microstructure engineering to extend the formability of high-performance aerospace materials to increase precision and decrease energy requirements in forming, reducing the current high cost to industry.

To maintain continuity with MATCH Phase 1, it has been requested that MATCH Phase 2 follows the current programme breakdown in terms of Projects A-F from 2008-2013 / a vision that is described below. We note that MATCH changed dramatically in creating the projects A-F and that further changes in the themes are inevitable. An overview of these themes is given below.Projects A, B and C address economic evaluation and its impact in decision-making by companies, governments and procurement agencies. We have identified a major demand for such research, but note that there is some convergence between these themes (for instance, A and C may well coalesce under the Bayesian banner). In particular, a 'methodologies' theme is likely to emerge in this. Under the former theme, a truly integrated Bayesian framework for medical devices would represent a strategically important achievement.On the other hand, the business of delivering these developments to industry, and the organisations or franchises that might ultimately provide the best vehicle for doing so, still requires further exploration and negotiation, and at this point there is considerable uncertainty about how this will best be done. However the critical element has been established, namely that MATCH can provide useful tools for, and attract significant levels of funding from industry. To this extent, the applied side of Project A-F and Project 5 might well evolve into a series of programmes designed to spin out tools, training and best practice into industry. Project 5 remains for the present because we have set it up with a framework within which company IP can be protected, and within which we can expedite projects to company goals and time scales.A similar pattern is likely to emerge from the single User project (D), where there is considerable scope for capability, and methodological development / and the size of this team needs to increase. The aim is to develop a suite of methods, guidelines and examples, describing when a given method is useful and when user needs assessment must be cost-effective. We will gain and share experience on what approach works best where. Our taxonomy will recognise circumstances where the novelty of a proposed device may undermine the validity of user needs assessment conducted before the 'technological push' has had a fair opportunity to impact on the human imagination.Moreover, new research is needed to 'glue' some of these themes together. Some of this is already included (for instance, in Projects C and D below) to link the user-facing social science with the economics, or the pathway-changing experiences (F) with formal economic evaluation, will require new, cross-disciplinary research. This type of research is essential to developing the shared view of value, which MATCH is pursuing. Similarly, integrating supply-chain decision-making and procurement elements of theme (E) with economic evaluation would represent an important element of unification.To achieve this, we will need to bring in some news skills. For instance, we are already freeing up some funding to bring in an economics researcher at Ulster; more statistical mathematical support may be needed to further develop the Bayesian theme; and we need to bolster the sociological element within the team.Finally, this vision cannot be funded entirely within a research framework, and we expect critical elements to be achieved under other funding (for instance, Theme E by the NHS, in due course).