PhD in X-ray Imaging for High-Volume Manufacturing

Project Overview

X-ray imaging (X-ray computed tomography, XCT) is used across manufacturing such as aerospace and automotive to identify defects in industrial components and measurement. The technique can provide rich information on internal geometries that are otherwise inaccessible which is its greatest allure, particularly with additive manufacture. But the scanning process can take 30 minutes to a number of hours depending on the part meaning it is only suitable for high-value low-volume applications.

The only way to increase acquisition speed is to acquire less data – does this necessarily mean lower accuracy and repeatability of dimensional measurement? If so, the result could be catastrophic such as missing a critical flaw in a battery cell! This could be overcome with careful use of novel image reconstruction that can exploit low quality x-ray projections. Quantifying these impacts will be crucial to driving a step change in the use of XCT, for use in high-volume manufacturing.

The studentship is based in the CiMAT group at WMG, University of Warwick. The team is interdisciplinary with a focus on measurement applied to a number of fields; from aerospace and energy, to forensics and museums. During your studies you will also be supervised by global imaging company Zeiss Microscopy to help accelerate adoption of techniques developed in the PhD.

This PhD will be a blend of experimental and computational. Largely you will work with established software packages and toolkits which you will receive training, but candidates are expected to demonstrate an interest in coding and experience in MATLAB, Python or similar.

Essential and desirable criteria

Prospective candidates are expected to have a minimum 2.1 undergraduate (BEng, MEng, BSc, MSci) and/or postgraduate masters’ qualification (MSc) with 65% or above.

The project is suitable for physics, computer science, engineering, or mathematics graduates with strong computational skills.