Advanced Structural Integrity Innovation Centre
The Advanced Structural Integrity Innovation Centre (ASIIC) was formed by Coventry University and TWI Ltd as a new venture, building on the two partners’ long-standing relationship to provide a further platform through which to combine their expertise in delivering industry-led research and development (R&D) in the area of structural integrity.
The mission of the Advanced Structural Integrity Innovation Centre is 'To be the leading global centre for innovation in the development of advanced technologies and methods for enhancing structural integrity in safety critical applications.’ At the core of this is undertaking joint research programmes to develop new, disruptive and enabling technologies at Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 1-6, with the aim of deepening the application of structural integrity methods and systems across industry. This includes working collaboratively with SMEs in the UK and Europe to access public funding to support R&D. Above photo shows the CrackFirst system - fatigue sensor for welded steel structures
Objectives
- Ensure the safe, reliable operation of critical plant, equipment and standing infrastructure via the application of structural integrity solutions
- Research key current issues relating to structural integrity in safety-critical applications where new materials, designs and processes are being deployed
- Develop new technologies at TRLs 1-6 for enhanced structural integrity across major industry including oil and gas[NT1] , power, marine, construction, rail and aerospace
- Exploit cutting-edge technologies for condition monitoring in areas such as sensing, artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT) and machine learning
- Undertake joint research programmes and secure a portfolio of research funding from external sponsors
Core areas
- Residual stress analysis for improved structural integrity life prediction and life enhancement
- Novel condition monitoring techniques including novel sensing technologies
- Digital twin for real-time monitoring of in-service assets and provision of operational and planning data
- Research and guidance development on the effect of simulated service environments, e.g. hydrogen gas, for structural integrity applications
- Integrity of components from advanced materials such as complex geometries for additive manufacturing
- Development of novel designs methods for the improvement of structural performance and the mitigation of damage
- Application of AI, machine learning and IoT to increase the potential of asset integrity management to mitigate downtime
- Development of advanced non-destructive (NDT) testing and inspection techniques for industrial application
Supporting future engineers
ASIIC is also helping to nurture and grow the next generation of engineering technologies engineers by supporting a number of National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC) students, under the umbrella of the Innovation Centre, who are undertaking their postgraduate research at TWI for their PhDs which will be awarded by Coventry University. Topics the students are focusing on include smart self-monitoring coating systems, prediction of fatigue limit in additive manufacturing, mechanistic understanding of life extension in ageing offshore structures, and use of neutron diffraction imaging for the detection of hydrogen in steels generated from exposure to sour environments. Each student benefits from an Industrial Supervisor from TWI and an Academic Supervisor from the university.