Stress test for structural safety
A new £2.5m project is aimed at developing an advanced neutron diffractometer, or ENGIN-X, which will measure stress distribution in engineering components.
Open University and ISIS at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory are working together with the financial support of the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council. Dr Lyndon Edwards, head of the Department of Engineering at Open University, says: “ENGIN-X will provide the UK's engineering community with the best pulsed-neutron strain-measuring instrument available anywhere in the world."
With a resolution 10 times better than any available technology, the diffractometer will probe a structure by turning its crystal lattice into an atomic strain gauge.
The team is hoping that the insights gained from the research will accelerate the use of advanced materials and designs. In addition, it should reduce the costs of components, increase their durability and improve safety margins.
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