| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/N38398/01 |
| Title: |
SENSORS FOR CONTROL & AUTOMATION OF WELDING PROCESSES (SCAWP) |
| Principal Investigator: |
Hand, Professor D |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Sch of Engineering and Physical Science |
| Organisation: |
Heriot-Watt University |
| Scheme: |
LINK |
| Starts: |
16 September 2001 |
Ends: |
31 March 2003 |
Value (£): |
202,691
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Instrumentation Eng. & Dev. |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Aerospace, Defence and Marine |
Manufacturing |
| Transport Systems and Vehicles |
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| Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The overall objective of the SCAWP project is to develop process monitoring and control systems for welding processes in airframe manufacture. The project is driven by the exemplary ongoing requirement of BAe Systems to reduce costs in their manufacturing processes. Significant advantages can potentially be gained, in terms of reduced manufacturing cost and weight savings, if current joining techniques were to be replaced with welding. At present, welding is not used as a joining technique in structural airframe components, due to weld stability problems and the non-availability of a suitable process control system. The control system proposed is based on optical sensors, deriving from previous research at Heriot-Watt. These sensors will be developed for both Nd:YAG laser welding and other welding processes, such as diode laser and arc welding, and integrated into welding systems at BAe Systems. Evaluation sensor subsystems will be developed by Heriot-Watt with assistance from OptoSci , with integration and control issues dealt with by the University of Liverpool. System verification will be undertaken at BAe Systems to evaluate the system performance whilst undertaking welds on a variety of materials and joints. OptoSci Ltd will then develop a prototype integrated sensor system which will undergo further testing.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.hw.ac.uk |