Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/M11684/01
Title:	FAST ULTRASONIC IMAGING SYSTEMS FOR OPTIMISATION OF ADHESIVE BONDING IN-PROCESS
Principal Investigator:	Cawley, Professor P
Other Investigators:	Lowe, Professor M
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	Airbus Operations Limited Alcan Ford Motor Co Jaguar Land Rover Limited Tata Steel Limited
Department:	Mechanical Engineering
Organisation:	Imperial College London
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 June 1998	Ends:	31 May 2001	Value (£):	133,217
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Instrumentation Eng. & Dev.
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Manufacturing
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Adhesive joining offers many advantages in product design, manufacture, and service performance in many industrial sectors including automotive, aerospace and shipbuilding. There are no reliable generic techniques for rapid QA and in-service testing of adhered joints. As a result testing is slow expensive, and often ad hoc, and integration into manufacturing environments can be disruptive and expensive. There is a strong need for a reliable and versatile system, particularly for safety-critical assemblies. This project will deliver an integrated package of ultrasound test techniques with options to combine low frequency through bond resonance, high frequency pulse-echo and Lamb wave methods. They will be based on recently developed advanced programmable instrumentation which supports signal processing, automated decision making, operator cues and feedback (visual, audio, digital), and flexible integration with plant information systems. The programme will include: (I) scientific studies of ultrasonic interactions with complex structures; (ii) development of novel and commercially significant transducer systems.: dry-coupled wheel probes for low (500kHz) and high frequency (20 MHz) use, and for excitation and reception of Lamb waves; (111) development of instrumentation and associated operating techniques to support rapid application to new or existing processes in order to match underlying physics to particular product and process contexts.
Key Findings
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Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.imperial.ac.uk