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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/K81294/01
Title: LASER ENG. FOR MFG. APPLICATIONS,LEMA:FIBRE OPTICS-HIGH BRIGHTNESS BEAM DELIVERY
Principal Investigator: Jones, Professor JDC
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Lumonics Ltd
Department: Physics
Organisation: Heriot-Watt University
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 31 January 1996 Ends: 30 July 2000 Value (£): 325,975
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Lasers & Optics
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Manufacturing
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
The overall objective of the project is to develop optical fibre beam delivery systems capable of exploiting improvements in beam brightness of commercial Nd: YAG lasers, and thus to extend their range of applications beyond welding and to three-dimensional workpieces, particularly forpercussions drilling. The project involves: a design study of laser resonators (in collaboration with Lumonics Ltd); the characterisation of the performance of new practical designs; a detailed study of phase-space properties of optical fibres capable of exploiting the properties of the lasers, leading to a design model for practical delivery systems; the construction and evaluation of delivery systems; and the exploitation of the systems in practical applications. The principal application is in percussion drilling (in collaboration with Rolls-Royce plc), and will involve parallel research on the mathematical modelling of percussion drilling, in order to define operating maps for practical operation. The process knowledge will be used to exploit the new delivery systems in industrial trials. Information gained from earlier work in the LEMA project will be used to equip the delivery system with process monitoring sensors with the objective of closed-loop control.
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Organisation Website: http://www.hw.ac.uk