Principal Investigator: Professor Robert Smith 

Funder's reference: EPSRC (EP/K037315/1)

Summary

Non-destructive testing (NDT) underpins much of the UK's manufacturing industry, particularly the high-value and specialist composite-manufacturing industry in which the UK is aiming to significantly expand its market share. Academic composites experts, manufacturers and end-users of composite components all agree that a step change in NDT of composites is required to maximise the weight-saving benefits of high-performance composites and ensure the UK can compete aggressively in future composites manufacturing. The UK's high academic ranking and industrial base in the areas of composites and NDT offer a compelling opportunity for the establishment of a UK-based academic research group specialising in the NDT of composites and aimed at assurance of manufacturing quality and process optimisation.

The research challenges are significant in this field, due primarily to the way that the anisotropic, inhomogeneous, layered composite structures respond to, and modify, any interrogating field. For this reason the work programme includes underpinning tasks to develop models and novel inversion algorithms, as well as tasks to apply these to complex structures being produced by the UK composites manufacturers. Other particular features of the programme are the work packages on NDT for in-process and pre-process composites, and combining NDT information with materials models and structural integrity philosophies - a holistic approach to using advanced non-destructive 3D-characterisation methods to benefit the composites manufacturing industry. The result will be optimised lighter-weight structures, reduced scrap and fewer repairs at the manufacturing stage, and greater use of out-of-autoclave and lower-cost manufacturing methods.

This fellowship will meet real manufacturing needs and benefit, primarily, the aerospace composites and wind-turbine manufacturing industries. 3D characterisation of defects will reduce scrap and repair rates whilst in-process NDT will detect problems prior to the expensive cure stage.he benefit that this fellowship will provide is as follows:

• Improved quality control and reduced weight through 3D fibre-orientation mapping for complex and large structures.
• Less scrap, fewer repairs and lighter structures.
• Greater use of lower-cost composite manufacturing methods facilitated by in-process NDT and NDT-based process control.
• Either reduced-weight designs or the use of lower-cost manufacturing methods (depending on the industry drivers) as a result of a reduced 'BVID' threshold, through either NDT-assisted impact dent detection, or permanently installed sensing technology for reporting impacts.

Also, the travelling public will benefit from improved, faster, cheaper air travel and renewable power, and a greener environment.