PhD Studentship in Production Technology

Work Integrated Learning (WIL) is University West’s overarching profile and basic principle applied to learning, the exchange of ideas, and educational development. The government has assigned the distinguished task of developing WIL to University West. Work integrated learning in education and research develops new, relevant and advanced knowledge both within the academy and among its partners, which also benefits society in general. University West offers a wide variety of study programs, has a good number of applicants and the students show a high entry rate on the labor market. The main research environments at University West are Production technology, Learning in and for the new working life and Child and youth studies and is conducted in collaboration with the surrounding society. Campus is centrally located in Trollhättan with about 15,000 students and 675 employees.




PhD Studentship in Production Technology – Ultrasonic non-destructive material characterization in anisotropic welds

University West, Department of Engineering Science
Work Integrated Learning (WIL) is University West’s overarching profile and basic principle applied to learning, the exchange of ideas, and educational development.

The government has assigned the distinguished task of developing WIL to University West. Work integrated learning in education and research develops new, relevant and advanced knowledge both within the academy and among its partners, which also benefits society in general. University West offers a wide variety of study programs, has a good number of applicants and the students show a high entry rate on the labour market. The main research environments at University West are Production technology, learning in and for the new working life and Child and youth studies and is conducted in collaboration with the surrounding society. Campus is centrally located in Trollhättan with about 15,000 students and 675 employees.

University West is offering PhD studentship in Production Technology – Full Wave Inversion methodology based on ultrasonic data and applied to reconstruct dendrite orientations in anisotropic welds
For a number of years many industries have struggled with materials that have been difficult to address with in-service inspections with non-destructive testing, NDT. This due to the fact that the components have shown strong anisotropic ultrasonic behaviour (weld in stainless material), i.e. unpredictable ultrasonic wave paths. Experience of modelling and verification against anisotropic material suggests that even extensive studies could not produce a statistical based model that could predict the anisotropic behaviour. A methodology to estimate the crystal orientations in an anisotropic weld was developed in a previous PhD project. The objective for this project is to develop a complete measurement system of dendrite orientation in a weld based on conventional ultrasonic technique applied in a new context.

The scientific work in the project
The basic idea is to use ultrasonic based information to determine the dendrite orientation in a welded geometry. The information of dendrite orientation can then be used in modelling the specific weld for parameter studies in terms of optimal ultrasonic technique and also in order to solve the inverse problem. The project involves the development of a model of wave bending in the welding volume as a function of the orientation of anisotropic (dendrites). In addition, a measurement procedure for the measurement of the sound pathways through a corresponding welding volume is generated. The model, together with the measurement data, are then the basis in an optimization scheme that iterates the dendrite orientation of the real weld. Based on a simplified discretized model of the welding geometry develop a simple model of ultrasonic waves bending throughout the weld. Used inspection methodology shall be used as true values in an inverse scheme with experimental validation of the developed model against data, admitted to well-specified test blocks.

The practical validation of the developed model will be against data, retrieved from inspection of well-specified test blocks. These have previous been analysed in a previous project (ULiAS Task 4) but must be supplemented with the measurement technique developed in the project.

Doctoral degree program: Production Technology

Research centre: Doctoral students in Production Technology become members of the research group PTW (Production Technology West). The group collaborates with the engineering industry in the region at the Production Technology Centre, which houses an advanced research laboratory. For more information about our research centre, go to https://www.hv.se/en/research/research-environments/production-technology


Job description: The research program includes, in addition to participation in third-cycle courses and other activities, implementation of an independent thesis work. Doctoral students shall primarily devote themselves to their own education. A doctoral student may, however, be engaged to a limited extent in education, research and administration, mainly within Production Technology. Such duties, before a doctorate has been conferred, may not occupy more than 20 per cent of full-time working hours. (Higher Education Ordinance (SFS 1993:100) Chapter 5 section 2).



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