Nano Enabled Integrated Structural Health Monitoring - IET event organised by the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire local network.
| Date | Wednesday 24 Apr 2013 |
| Time | 18:30 for 19:00 |
| Location | Mitchell Hall, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL. (See Map) |
| Speaker | Professor Robert Dorey Chair in Nanomaterials at Cranfield University |
| Abstract | The ability to monitor the health of the environment around us has many advantages including allowing corrective action to be taken only when required thus minimising downtime, maintaining safe structures and environments enabling less materials to be used while maintaining acceptable safety, and facilitating higher efficiency through real-time monitoring. A single sensor is able to gather information on a small area or a specific activity. Multiple sensors are able to gather information about a much larger area or a whole process. However this comes at a cost – not only the cost of individual sensors, which can be very high, but also the cost associated with the additional weight of the sensors and the disruption that the physical presence of the sensors themselves may impart. To overcome such issues sensors can be made smaller thus presenting a lower physical obstruction and reduced weight. In addition, batch scale fabrication can be employed thereby reducing the cost of the individual sensors. This can be realised through the application of manufacturing techniques employing nanotechnology. This talk will review a range of nano-enabled distributed sensor systems and explore what the future of integrated structural health monitoring may look like. |
| Profile | Professor Robert Dorey holds the chair in Nanomaterials at Cranfield University and is Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and Institute of Materials, Mining and Minerals (FIMMM) as well as a Chartered Scientist and Engineer. Robert leads the Energy and Environmental Nanomaterials research group at Cranfield where research is focussed on the synthesis & manipulation of nanomaterials for the manufacture of products for energy & environmental applications. Examples include thermoelectric and piezoelectric energy harvesters, micro solid oxide fuel cells, thermal energy storage and acoustic structural health monitoring sensors as well as sensors for detection of nanomaterials in the environment. The research team has a particular focus on micro-scale processing, materials integration and manufacture to allow the creation of unique 3D micro and nanoscale structures. Robert is Director of Cranfield Nano, a pan university network connecting the diverse range of nanotechnology research from across Cranfield University. Between 2003 and 2008 Robert held a prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering/EPSRC Research Fellowship. He joined Cranfield University in 2000 after completing his PhD at the University of Surrey for work on the sintering of alumina and the effect of porosity on thermal shock behaviour, strength and Young’s modulus of alumina ceramics. Robert has a strong publication record with over 50 peer reviewed journal articles and 30 conference talks. He has generated in excess of £4M in research funding and has successfully led research and collaboration activities with national and international groups. |
