Engineering consultancy Frazer-Nash
has been recognised for its part in trials to protect vital ship
equipment from jets passing above catwalks on the Queen Elizabeth
Class (QEC) carriers.
The aerothermal protection measures
consist of a protective shielding for the ship's life rafts which
could be subject to damage by the blast from F35 jets whilst hover
transitioning to landing.
The protective shielding has been
designed to withstand the jet blasts but not restrict the normal
operation of the life rafts should the ship require evacuation,
something that has never been done before. The successful trials
were carried out in the non-tidal basin at Rosyth Dockyard
following 18 months of rigorous design, evaluation and testing.
A team of engineers from Frazer-Nash
(Richard Lawrence, Lara Tulloch and James Speedy), who were
involved in the concept development, modelling, material testing
and prototype development of the shields, has received special
thanks from the QEC programme and Aircraft Carrier Alliance.
Eddie Trott, STOVL Reversion
Lead,said: "The alternative to the catwalk shields was a very
costly and time consuming redesign of the ship's structure and
evacuation system, so to be able to deliver a more cost-effective
solution in half the time is fantastic.
"Richard, Lara and James have been
pivotal in providing this solution, providing well documented
evidence, working closely with other industrial partners to deliver
the programme on time and on budget. It's great to see all the hard
work and creative thinking pay off."
Richard Lawrence, Group Leader, Marine
Technology at Frazer-Nash, said: "When QEC reverted back to the
STOVL variant aircraft (F35B) in 2012, it was recognised that
equipment fitted in the catwalks could potentially be damaged by
the jets passing over them.
"The decision to develop shielding for
the catwalks and the subsequent testing of the equipment marks a
significant milestone in the design and acceptance of alternative
protection measures, not only because the trials were 100 per cent
successful, but because this was a high profile issue for a safety
critical piece of equipment."
The trials took place at Rosyth
Dockyard in Fife, Scotland where QEC ship equipment was craned into
the dock before a 100-man life raft erupted out of the water and
successfully floated.
The Queen Elizabeth Class programme is
one of the largest engineering projects currently being undertaken
in the UK. It is being curated by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance
(ACA), an innovative alliance formed between industry and the
Ministry of Defence.
The system will now be installed onto
HMS Queen Elizabeth ahead of its sea trials.