Mon, 03 January, 2022
Begin your postgraduate research journey on the NSIRC PhD programme with funding and industrial support from Lloyd's Register Foundation (LRF).
The National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC), TWI Ltd, the University of Huddersfield and LRF have launched a brand new research project, open to UK, EU and international students.
PhD Project: Coded Excitation Methodologies for Ultrasonic Testing Techniques Exhibiting Poor Signal to Noise Performance
- Funding: Available for this PhD Project to students worldwide
- Location: University of Huddersfield, England, and TWI technology Centre, Port Talbot, Wales
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Research Proposal for this Industrial PhD
Ultrasonic Testing (UT) is one of the most commonly used inspection techniques that ensures the safe operation of a huge number of industrial assets, along with the safety of the personnel operating them and in some cases living close to them.
Highly attenuative materials pose an increased challenge when UT on them is attempted.
Moreover, early stage defect identification relies on high frequency HFUT to achieve high resolution imaging and again suffers from the fast attenuation of HFUT.
In addition to that, high temperature inspection suffers from poor transducer response that in turn is an attenuation issue.
A technique that could improve the depth penetration of acoustic waves alongside increases in the Signal-to-Noise-Ratio (SNR) can significantly expand the types of assets that can be inspected along with the achieved resolution.
This can lead to better inspections and increased safety.
Watch a PhD presentation by NSIRC student Faris Nafiah, who's research has been published in the peer reviewed IEEE Sensors Journal. Quantitative data analysis of Pulsed Eddy Current responses for pipeline profiling
PhD Research Topic Outcomes and Impact
This research is expected to be the first step in paving the way to increase adoption of coded excitation ultrasonic techniques in the industry.
It will seek to prove that the acoustic wave generation and interaction with defects does not alter the UT technique if longer pulse trains are utilised and the interaction signal is artificially synthesized through signal processing.
At least 2 peer reviewed papers (targeting IEEE journals) are expected, containing a mix of simulation and experimental results.
Coded excitation is expected to be one of the next radical capability enhancements to be included in the next generation(s) of ultrasonic testing equipment.
This research work will address the hardware requirements for it since a variety of electronics will be used and compared.
Also we expect that the papers and thesis to become references when the standards describing the ultrasonic equipment requirements will be updated.
Ultrasonic inspection of thick composite sections, graphite rods (nuclear), stage I creep alongside elevated temperature and ATEX Zone 0 monitoring are few examples of applications that we expect to be enabled by this type of pulsing and signal processing.
Got a question...? Send us an email, or give us call. We are happy to answer any questions that you may have about our PhD Studentship opportunities. Photo: Unsplash
Entry Requirements and Funding for PhD Students
- Candidates should have a relevant degree at 2.1 minimum or an equivalent overseas degree in relevant subjects.
- Applicants interested in this, or similar, PhD opportunities should include include those with experience in vibration monitoring of complex electro-mechanical systems, advanced non-stationary signal processing, pattern recognition and/or multi-sensor fusion.
- Relevant industries to this research project include power generation, automotive, aerospace and oil and gas.
- Overseas applicants should also submit IELTS results if applicable.
- This project is funded by Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LRF), TWI and University of Huddersfield.
- The studentship will provide successful students with a tax-free bursary stipend of £16k/year for 3 years and will cover the cost of tuition fees. PhD registration is at the University of Huddersfield.
About the Sponsor: Lloyd's Register Foundation...
The Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LRF) is a charity that supports postgraduate education for the purposes of engineering and scientific research that can make the world a safer place to work.
LRF is funded in part by the Lloyd’s Register Group Limited, and has supported over NSIRC 70 PhD students and counting, with a 100% completion rate.
The organisation has been a founding partner of NSIRC since 2012, and has published Foresight Reviews on topics such as Structural Integrity, Design for Safety, Big-Data, Cyber Security and many more.
Get to Know the University of Huddersfield...
The University of Huddersfield carved an avenue as a centre renowned for academia with industrial impact, particularly through it's Centre for Efficiency and Performance Engineering (CEPE).
In 2017, Huddersfield was awarded Gold for Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF).
Academic staff at the university are rated as providing high-quality teaching in an exciting and stimulating environment.
The University is joint first in England for professionally qualified teaching staff in 2021.