PhD Studentship: New Array Systems for Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Evaluation of Difficult Materials, University of Strathclyde, UK

July 12, 2010

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Job Description : A PhD studentship is available in the Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering (CUE), Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering (EEE), at the University of Strathclyde, to work in the area of ultrasonic transducer array systems.

The project aims to develop novel ultrasound phased array systems and advanced inspect–ion techniques, to perform reliable imaging in industrial non-destructive evaluation (NDE)applications.The work will combine array transducer design with innovative signal processing techniques to improve NDE of “difficult” materials, e.g. concrete, welds and a variety of composites, where their heterogeneous nature limits the applicability of traditional methods of ultrasound imaging. A range of approaches will be investigated involving a combination of modelling, transducer array design, beam forming and signal processing .

Key Research Areas:

• Signal processing is a major component of this project, which concerns adaptive signal processing, beam forming, noise suppression, target detection, imaging processing, etc.
• Modeling with finite element methods and software packages such as PZFlex and MATLAB to establish a virtual prototyping environment.
• Optimal transducer array system design that best supports the signal processing algorithms.

Application Areas:

The set of techniques investigated in this project will be applied to an interesting but challenging application defect detection in difficult materials. This application will be supported by some top UK companies, such as Rolls Royce, Shell, Airbus, Sellafield, and National Nuclear Laboratory, which will provide the student links with these companies. In addition, the technique could be easily extended to other relevant areas including biomedical imaging (such as ultrasonography of fetus, heart, blood flow, etc), mobile communications, radar, sonar, and many others. All these will help to maximize the student‘s future career opportunities.

Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering (CUE):

As part of the UK Research Centre for Non Destructive Evaluation (RCNDE), CUE is an interdisciplinary research centre with international reputation on the modelling and designing of transducer and array systems for sonar, non destructive evaluation (NDE), biomedical & industrial processing applications, which was recently awarded two large strategic grants from EPSRC both of which will support this research programme. A widerange of modeling facilities, equipments, & expertise areavailable in CUE to support this project, which represents a globally unique position.TheUniversity of Strathclyde is one of the leading internationally renowned research universities in the UK and the EEE Department was awarded a 5-Star in the last RAE.

Requirements:

This studentship will suit a dynamic researcher capable of working on a challenging multidisciplinary project. All applicants must meet the eligibility criteria, possess or expect to obtain a First Class or Upper Second Class Honours degree in a relevant discipline, or have an appropriate MSc qualification. The award covers University fees plus a tax- free stipend for 3.5 years (stipend level of c. £13,569 in 2010/11), and additional funds for fieldwork and travel. Deadline will be 30th September 2010. It is advisable to apply as early as possible, and early application will be considered immediately.

For informal enquiries or to apply for the studentship please contact Dr. David Li (david.li@eee.strath.ac.uk). To apply, please send your CV and a covering letter highlighting your interests and suitability for the project.

Contact Address:

University of Strathclyde
Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering
Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering
University of Strathclyde
204 George Street
GLASGOW G1 1XW
United Kingdom

For Eligibility:

For further information:

Scholarship Tags: array, imaging, PhD, Processing, Signal, Strathclyde, Studentship, transducer, UK, Ultrasound, University