Eddy-current based non-destructive testing for harsh environments and complex materials

About the project

About the Project Eddy-currents form the basis of electromagnetic non-destructive testing, via studying how they interact with defects at the surface of a sample, or as part of the operational mechanism of electromagnetic acoustic transducers. This is an area in which the Warwick Research Group is world leading. Together with leading UK scientists in the area of eddy-current testing, Dixon has just been awarded an EPSRC Programme Grant Frontiers in Electromagnetic Non Destructive Evaluation Research (FENDER)). The PhD will form part of this project, where the student will be part of a team and a wider cohort, but will have their own self-contained experimental programme, and they will also work closely with an experienced Warwick postdoctoral researcher on the same project. The project has 21 industrial collaborators providing a total of approximately £1.2M in-kind support to the project involving 5 UK universities. The PhD student will get regular exposure to other leading UK academics in this area and with prominent industrial researchers. One of the leading investigators of FENDER based at another University is actually a former PhD student from our group in Physics. This PhD project will focus on two of the FENDER work packages: 1) EM sensor operation that has the potential to work in Extreme Environments (e.g. high temperature and radiation) and will target demonstrator devices for use in extreme metal production and nuclear environments. 2) Challenging Geometries and Materials (e.g. detection of small defects near corners in complex materials and components) to determine the resolution achievable. Our group has the track record and expertise that will allow the development of in-house built systems to enable the student to tackle research and industrial measurement challenges. The PhD student will focus on developing sensor technologies for the nuclear industry – power, reprocessing and storage, using both electromagnetic and ultrasonic methods. Collaborators (former Warwick PDRAs) based in EDF, Rolls Royce and the National Nuclear labs will work closely with the student and supervisor on developing new sensor technologies that will detect surface and bulk defects in challenging hot and radio-active environments. The PhD student will of course not be exposed to any dangerous environments and will do all the experiments in our labs in completely safe set-ups that duplicate the challenging bits of doing these measurements in situ. The work on this PhD should not only generate new scientific outputs, but is also expected to create new sensors and devices that helps to ensure the safety and effectiveness of a range of important structural assets. It’s a great opportunity to apply Physics to tackling real-world challenges whilst generating high quality scientific outputs. The successful candidate will be expected to give presentations at leading UK and international research conferences in the field Eligibility You must have or expect at least an upper second class BSc honours, MSci or MPhys or equivalent in Physics or related subject How To Apply For further information on how to apply please see our postgraduate webpage Postgraduate - Department of Physics(warwick.ac.uk) Funding Notes The project will provide a full UK-standard annual tax-free stipend of £ 21,805 rising with inflation, plus allocations for conference travel and consumables.

Research areas