Non-Destructive Evaluation and Structural Health Monitoring of composites

With the growing interest to use laminar composite materials in aerospace, automotive and wind energy industries, much attention is devoted to the development of rapid, accurate and cost-effective built-in systems for the detection and evaluation of structural defects. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems based on acoustic/ultrasonic wave propagation have been developed to provide an early warning of the damage occurrence, resulting into safer structures and operative costs saving. SHM ultrasonic systems have a common basis with Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) techniques. Indeed, several standard NDE methods can be converted in SHM techniques by integrating a network of ultrasonic transducers on the monitored structure. However, there is still a big gap between a laboratory based set-up for SHM methods and certified industrially used NDE inspection systems.

This project will address the required advances to close this gap and develop in-situ SHM systems for the detection and imaging of structural damage composite materials. Ultrasonic methodologies and newly designed phononic crystal structures will be used to characterise different damage scenarios and identify impact events and their magnitude. The PhD studentship will focus on a topic within this broad scope, according to the skills and interests of the candidate. The student will contribute to the ongoing research at the School of Mechanical Engineering Sciences at the University of Surrey under the supervisor of Dr Francesco Ciampa, and have access to a highly equipped SHM and NDE lab dedicated to research.

Candidates should have (or expect to obtain) a first class honours degree (or equivalent) in aerospace, electrical/electronics, civil/structural engineering, material science or physics. Strong background in acoustic/ultrasonic wave propagation, numerical analysis (Abaqus, ANSYS, LS-Dyna, Comsol, etc.) and excellent mathematical and experimental skills are required. Signal processing and programming experience is an advantage (e.g., MATLAB, Fortran, Python, LabView).

For EU and international candidates (non-native English speaker) there is a mandatory English requirement certified by the IELTS exam with a minimum overall band score of 6.5 and no less than 6.0 in any element.

Centre for Engineering Materials