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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number EP/I019731/1
Title NEW METHODS FOR ULTRASONIC NDE OF DIFFICULT MATERIALS
Status Completed
Energy Categories Nuclear Fission and Fusion(Nuclear Fission, Other nuclear fission) 5%;
Not Energy Related 90%;
Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electric power conversion) 5%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) 100%
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator Dr A Gachagan
No email address given
Electronic and Electrical Engineering
University of Strathclyde
Award Type Standard
Funding Source EPSRC
Start Date 01 August 2011
End Date 31 July 2014
Duration 36 months
Total Grant Value £263,701
Industrial Sectors Aerospace; Defence and Marine; Energy
Region Scotland
Programme NC : Engineering
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Dr A Gachagan , Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde (99.998%)
  Other Investigator Dr RL O'Leary , Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde (0.001%)
Dr AJ Mulholland , Mathematics, University of Strathclyde (0.001%)
  Industrial Collaborator Project Contact , Serco Group plc (0.000%)
Project Contact , Shell International Ltd (0.000%)
Project Contact , National Nuclear Laboratory (0.000%)
Project Contact , Weidlinger Associates, Inc., USA (0.000%)
Project Contact , Rolls-Royce PLC (0.000%)
Web Site
Objectives Linked to grant EP/I021027/1
Abstract In many engineering applications, materials that exhibit heterogeneous or otherwise acoustically scattering microstructure are employed, examples include austenitic steels and alloys, concrete and fibre reinforced composites. In ultrasonic non destructive evaluation (NDE) of such highly scattering media, the defect target signal is frequently obscured by clutter echoes, caused by numerous, relatively small (relative to the ultrasonic wavelengths), stationary reflectors, which form part of the internal microstructure of the material. The extent of this clutter can be significant and even defects that are larger than these randomly scattering regions can be difficult to detect. This type of time-invariant clutter noise cannot be reduced by the standard time averaging or correlation techniques that are used to reduce time varying random electrical noise. Accordingly, defect identification invariably involves a compromise between achievable resolution, which is determined partly by wavelength in the material, and the noise arising from scattering in the propagation medium. This project will investigate a range of methods for improved ultrasonic NDE of difficult materials. The approach will involve a combination of ultrasonic beam modelling, novel transducer design and array signal processing methods
Publications (none)
Final Report (none)
Added to Database 07/12/10