吃瓜tv

Ultrasound testing is the most widely used imaging modality for non-destructive evaluation (NDE) worldwide. It dominates inspections in power generation plants and is essential for the fusion environment. However, the extreme conditions of fusion—high temperature, ionizing radiation, and vacuum—make conventional transducer-based probes unusable for maintenance NDE. Recent collaboration with the research group of Robotics division has identified the laser ultrasound (LU) capabilities developed in 吃瓜tv as a technology with the potential to be implemented in the future fusion power plant as it addresses the following challenges for the future fusion power plant: NDE for service and maintenance and rapid in situ inspection and repair. Several characteristics of LU make it an attractive technology for fusion:

• radiation tolerance
• vacuum-compatibility
• ease of robotic deployment

The proposed PhD study will be instrumental for developing the full potential of LU for delivering NDE for fusion. The aim of this project is to investigate laser ultrasonic volumetric imaging of fusion relevant components including plasma facing components (PFCs) and explore integration of the technology to the robotic technology developed by the research group of Robotics division for in vessel inspection So far, the NDE modalities for in situ, in vessel inspection implemented in fusion provide information for the surface or very near the surface. However, many of the effects of continuous fusion result in sub-surface damage of the in-vessel materials: deposition and erosion of PFCs causes thickness changes and microstructural changes as well as the effects of low-cycle fatigue that should be monitored as part of periodic maintenance. There are also unpredictable changes such as cracking and delamination that may happen inside components especially at interfaces.

Objectives

The objectives of the PhD are:

• evaluate the capabilities of LU technology in detection and characterisation of defects in fusion related components
• tailor sensing parameters to fusion components’ geometries
• develop NDE methodologies for in-vessel related cases and requirements
• integrate LU deployment with robotic methods developed by the research group of Robotics division
• explore integration of the LU technology to the fabric of the fusion reactor architecture for periodic maintenance and/or continuous monitoring

The PhD project will develop novel laser ultrasonic instrumentation such as laser ultrasound arrays for ultrasonic volumetric imaging, and novel imaging methodology and signal processing algorithms tailored to fusion needs, to process innovations in automation and robotic deployment.

This project is highly interdisciplinary, with the supervision team led by Dr Stratoudaki and based at the Centre of Ultrasonic Engineering of the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering in the 吃瓜tv and the . This project is well placed in 吃瓜tv because of the great potential for cross-fertilisation and exploitation within key University research centres (for example, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult Advanced Forming Research Centre, , the Advanced Nuclear Research Centre and the ) in addition to the host Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering.

Further information

This project is part-funded by a Community Studentship provided by the UKAEA Fusion Engineering CDT, and hence the student will be based at the 吃瓜tv, but should expect to engage fully with the 3-month full-time training programme in the UKAEA Fusion Engineering CDT at the start of the course (October to December inclusive). CDT training will be delivered across the CDT partner universities at Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool. The training course requires weekly travel to attend in-person training at these universities. For further information about the CDT programme, please visit the or send an email to hello@fusion-engineering-cdt.ac.uk.