Fulmer Research Institute was founded in 1945 as a UK contract research and development organization specializing in materials technology and related areas of physics and chemistry. It was modelled on American contract research companies such as Battelle Memorial Institute and The Mellon Institute of Industrial Research. In 1965 it was acquired by The Institute of Physics and the Physical Society, a rare case of a contract research company being owned by a Learned Society. Through the 1970s and 80s Fulmer evolved. Its services in testing, consultancy and certification were greatly strengthened while academic research declined. It continued to make important developments and innovations for industry and government until in 1990 it was split up and sold to other R & D and testing organizations.
A few of the landmark achievements during its forty five years were: The extraction of aluminium using sub-halide sublimation Aluminium-tin and aluminium-lead alloys for plain-bearings Chemical Vapour Deposition of metals and ceramics to produce coatings, tubes, crucibles etc. Fundamental research into aluminium copper alloys, leading to high strength formulations for the skin of high performance aircraft YQAF, a subsidiary company authorised to assess and accredit organizations to quality standards. __TOC__
Origins (1945 and 1946) Fulmer Research Institute was founded in 1945 by Col W C (Dev) Devereux and incorporated in 1946. He had been a pioneer in the use of light metal alloys in aero engines and, in the Second World War, he had an important role in the UK Ministry of Aircraft Production, organizing the assembly in Britain of American aircraft and reorganizing the repair of aircraft and aero-engines.
After the war, in 1945, he set up a company called Almin Ltd (Associated Light Metal Industries) which brought together a group of companies mostly concerned with the production and processing of aluminium and magnesium alloys. He wanted Almin to have research facilities but he recognised that Almin's R&D needs alone were not sufficient to justify the investment in staff and capital equipment required for properly equipped laboratories. His answer was to establish a contract research organization along the lines of Battelle Memorial Institute and The Mellon Institute of Industrial Research in the USA.
Thus he founded Fulmer Research Institute as one of the first contract research companies in Britain. Initially it was in temporary accommodation but he soon found a permanent base by purchasing a large Edwardian country house with ten acres of grounds, in the Buckinghamshire village of Stoke Poges. The name 'Fulmer' was the name of the local telephone exchange and that of a nearby village.
Building the team
Devereux recruited Ted Liddiard from The British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association (BNF) to be Fulmer's director of research
Among other senior staff recruited were: Philipp Gross a refugee from Vienna who was an expert in chemical thermodynamics and had been working at International Alloys (another Almin company) on the direct reduction of magnesite to magnesium, appointed principal scientist Ted Calnan, appointed principal physicist Arthur Sully, recruited from Special Metals Wiggin Limited, was an expert on the creep of jet engine turbine blades. He established Fulmer's reputation in physical metallurgy Harold Hardy, another metallurgist, worked on the development of new aluminium alloys Gordon Metcalfe, recruited from the Royal Aircraft Establishment to head the corrosion section Tom Heal, a physicist who had served in the Navy working on counter measures against acoustic and magnetic mines, became head of physics Eric Brandes, a process metallurgist from the Ford Motor Company Leon Levi, a physical chemist
By the end of 1946 Fulmer had about 40 Staff.
Policy
From the start Fulmer was a commercial enterprise aiming to make a surplus for investment in its own development. It received no grant or membership fees. Its income was solely from projects, each with defined objectives and time and cost limits agreed with individual sponsors from Government or Industry. Normally, the project contract would provide that all results would belong in confidence to the sponsor, who would also own any patents arising from the investigation.
Early years (1946 to 1960) Context
Fulmer benefited from the immediate post-war climate which was favourable to Research and Development. The UK Government and its agencies continued to spend heavily on R&D. This was despite the fact that Britain was essentially bankrupt and hugely indebted to the United States and Canada. The technological advances which had been made on both sides of the conflict had been impressive: radar, the jet engine, the V-2 rocket and the atomic bomb are just a few examples. The Cold War soon added urgency to further military development and there was enthusiasm for developing peaceful uses of atomic energy.
Market
In the years up to 1960 the following approximate division of Fulmer's income applied: about 25% of project work was for UK Government defence agencies; 25% for the Atomic Energy Authority and another 10% for other Government agencies. About 10% was for US Government agencies (the US Air Force and the Office of Aerospace Research); 30% was for British Industry.
Growth
Fulmer grew steadily so that by 1960 there were about 100 staff. Individual research investigators were often recruited to work on specific projects as contracts were obtained. Each recruit was also expected to develop proposals for work in his or her areas of expertise, whether or not these fitted into Fulmer's existing pattern of work. This system resulted in a progressive evolution and wide diversification of Fulmer's skills base. This was a strength in that faced with a materials problem Fulmer could usually help the client with new perspectives.
Some notable projects and activities 1946 to 1960 Phase diagram determination for the aluminium-copper age-hardening alloy system. This was to lead to further discoveries at Fulmer on the influence of trace elements on nucleation and grain growth. Fulmer used this to formulate and patent alloys with high strength and toughness and good creep resistance for the skins of high-performance aircraft. The sub-halide catalytic distillation method for primary aluminium production. Dr Gross began this work at International Alloys and, when Fulmer was founded, this became Fulmer's first contract. He speculated and then proved that aluminium has a subhalide AlCl. He devised a method by which pure aluminium can be catalytically distilled from any aluminium-containing alloy or mixture or from scrap aluminium using the following reversible reaction: 2Al(solid) + AlCl3(gas) \rightleftharpoons 3AlCl(gas) The forward reaction is favoured at high temperature and low partial pressure of AlCl3. On cooling, the reaction reverses; aluminium condenses and the trichloride can be recirculated. Analogous methods were developed for the extraction of beryllium and titanium. Determination of thermodynamic data by high accuracy calorimetry. Heats of formation and free energies of formation were needed for the assessment of potential rocket fuels. Fulmer established equipment and skills for very accurate measurement of heats of formation and heats of reaction. Reaction conditions could be extreme: burning in fluorine might have to be contained or temperatures up to 2000 °C might be needed. Calorimeter fluid temperatures were measured to 2×10−4 K. Over the many years that this work continued, Fulmer established thermodynamic data for a wide range of metal halides, intermetallics, mixed oxides and other compounds. Aluminium-tin alloys for plain bearing shells. Fulmer's researchers applied to the aluminum-tin alloy system the fundamental work of C S Smith on the relationship of interfacial energy and microstructure. They established a process of cold work and recrystallization which converts the weak as-cast structure, in which aluminium grains are surrounded by tin, to one in which tin is dispersed in a strong aluminium matrix. The aluminium provides the load-bearing required for a plain bearing while the tin gives the required bearing properties. For many years these aluminium-tin bearings were used in most diesel engines and they are still in current use. X-ray diffraction crystallography of metals and alloys for phase diagram determination. Interfacial tension and wetting behaviour of liquid sodium. Vitreous enamelling of aluminium to give high integrity electrically resistant coatings. Measurements of stress corrosion and corrosion fatigue of light alloys. Studies of deformation processes in difficult metals such as beryllium and chromium.
Impalco ownership (1960 to 1964)
In 1960 Almin was bought by Imperial Aluminium Company (Impalco), a company formed between the Aluminium Company of America (Alcoa) and Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) which incorporated the whole of ICI's aluminium facilities. Impalco's primary interest in buying Almin was to acquire the facilities of International Alloys, a member of the Almin group. Thus Fulmer was acquired incidentally and it did not fit easily into the Impalco group. Since Impalco had huge research facilities in-house, it had no need of Fulmer's services. Impalco's rival companies were also reluctant to place large contracts with Fulmer under this ownership.
Context
As a background to this change of ownership, the general climate for science and technology was becoming less favourable. Faith in scientific and technological solutions was diminished by some spectacular failures: the de Havilland Comet suffered catastrophic in-flight failures; thalidomide caused tragic birth defects. Government procurement projects were frequently out of control: the BAC TSR-2 was cancelled after enormous overspend in development and only 24 test flights; the de Havilland Blue Streak missile was also abandoned in 1960 after great expense. With Government budgets under severe pressure, contracts from government agencies were becoming harder to obtain,
Thus most of Fulmer's markets were becoming difficult and Fulmer's long term viability was in doubt.
Some notable projects and activities 1960 to 1964 Measurement of the emissivities of gases at temperatures up to 1000 °C. Emissivity values were required for gaseous aluminium chlorides as part of the development of the sub-halide distillation process mentioned above. A flowing column of the gas to be measured, heated in a refractory tube, was maintained at a fixed length by gas barriers at each end, formed by balanced opposing streams of argon. The radiation emitted by the gas was measured by a thermopile. A diaphragm was set up to shield this sensor from radiation emitted by the furnace and other hot parts of the equipment. The whole apparatus was mounted on a water-cooled optical bench. X-ray diffraction determination of the structures of liquid metals. There was a need for structural studies of liquid sodium and sodium-potassium alloys because these were used as coolants in fast-breeder reactors. Fulmer developed a high temperature x-ray diffractometer for investigating the structures of liquid metals and alloys. In addition to its studies of liquid alkali metals, Fulmer discovered that certain eutectics, such as those in the gold-silicon and gold-germanium systems, have a structure in the liquid phase that has to be disrupted on crystallization. This gives rise to considerable supercooling which results in multiple nucleation, and hence a very fine grain size in the resulting polycrystalline alloy.