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Apply for a joint PhD with the Toronto-Melbourne Research Training Group.
Modern industrial structures are increasingly complex in terms of geometry and materials. More specifically, the usage of composite and complex additively manufactured structures implies a greater range of possible structural damage modes for which the structure is required to be frequently and thoroughly inspected.
The massive cost implied by scheduled inspection techniques has led to intense industrial interest towards novel structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies which are by definition ‘automated’ and ‘online’.
A structure having permanently attached sensors however with the required accompanied power units, cables and processing equipment significantly adds to the complexity and cost of the holistic system, sometimes even resulting in technologies focusing on monitoring the SHM equipment. With the intense development and reduced cost of aerial and underwater unmanned vehicle (UV) technologies, a large portion of the SHM research is focusing on structural monitoring without permanently attached equipment. The initial attempts have focused on visual inspection for surface-visible damage, with sensing approaches that can provide more accurate damage information (ie ultrasound and vibration) not having being investigated.
This research and training program will investigate for the first time if UV measurements (both aerial and underwater) can provide accurate damage identification capability, or if the additional measurement uncertainty implied by the nature of removable sensors destroys the valuable information in the data. The developed tools will lead to robust structural damage localization and identification, as well as to effective estimation of major reliability indices such as the Remaining Useful Life (RUL) for a given component having no integrated sensing and actuation equipment.
The goal is to deliver novel fast, robust, and rigorous methodologies for:
The results from this research project will enhance the SHM technologies and boost the renewable energy’s cost efficiency by reducing monitoring costs and increasing availability for offshore wind and marine structures. In particular, this project will address and answer the following novel Research questions:
The University of Melbourne – A/Prof Lihai Zhang
KU Leuven – A/Prof Dimitrios Chronopoulos
Click on the researcher's name above to learn more about their publication and grant successes.
We are seeking a PhD candidate with the following skills:
To apply for this joint PhD opportunity, and to view the entry requirements, visit How to apply.
Apply for a joint PhD with the Toronto-Melbourne Research Training Group.
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