news 11
Motorsport teams up with Brookes
A world-leading motorsport supplier is the latest company to team up with Oxford Brookes for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). Engineers from the university are supporting Willans in a two-year, government-funded project to design new equipment and enhance the company’s capacity to develop innovative products.
Willans is the world’s number one manufacturer of safety harnesses for motorsport, providing essential equipment for all forms from club racing and rallying to Formula One and NASCAR. More recently it has introduced specialist fire extinguishers into its range, and the KTP project with Oxford Brookes will develop new designs. This will include collaboration with the FIA (motorsport’s governing
body) to investigate novel fire suppression systems for the future.
The partnership has recruited a young graduate engineer to lead the project as the KTP associate, employed by the university but based in the company. Specialists from the university’s department of mechanical engineering will advise the associate on how to solve the many design challenges, such as modelling the flow of gases and incorporating new lightweight materials.
Working with Willans will give the university an insight into some of the company’s other world-class projects, such as the driver safety systems for the Bloodhound SSC that will attempt to achieve 1,000mph on land. In the past Willans has also worked with the Thrust SSC,
Willans is the world’s number one manufacturer of safety harnesses for motorsport
which broke the land speed record in 1997, and helped the MIR Space Station with research into osteoporosis. Willans supplied harnesses to the Virgin Atlantic Challenger attempts, when Sir Richard Branson in a 72 foot powerboat broke the world record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic.
KTP funding from the
Technology Strategy Board is covering 67% of the cost of the new project, which includes the role of the full-time associate and substantial input from the university engineers.
Details: John Corlett 01865-484204
ktp@brookes.ac.uk
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