Imperial Consultants

Through non-destructive testing, defects and structural problems can be identified without affecting the structure or materials. The need for NDE in industry is well known - inspection is crucial to both diagnosing and preventing problems.

The group’s activities range from the fundamental science and applied mathematics to implementation in industry via consultancy projects, license agreements, spin-out companies and training. They can provide expert advice across all of the NDE disciplines, either from their own specialists, or from extensive contacts in research organisations and industry.

The group’s strong industrial focus means they have many long term collaborations with major companies worldwide. An important element of this is the UK Research Centre in Non Destructive Evaluation - a consortium of 6 universities and more than 15 major industrial partners, based at Imperial. Their team also includes several postgraduates on the engineering doctorate scheme, who study for a doctorate while working in industry. This scheme has further strengthened the group's links with industrial sponsors including Rolls-Royce, BP, E.ON, and RWE nPower.

Guided waves

Guided waves are an area of particular expertise. The group has pioneered the exploitation of these waves for rapid long-range inspection of engineering structures such as pipes or railway lines.

The technologies developed at Imperial are used in many sectors, including the oil, gas and nuclear industries. Guided Ultrasonics Ltd, a spin-out company, is the world leader in the provision of inspection equipment and expertise using guided waves. The group’s bespoke guided wave modelling software package, DISPERSE, is licensed by Imperial Consultants to clients throughout the world.

Improving health

Another active specialist area of research is imaging, with applications in engineering and healthcare. The group are developing wave-based imaging techniques that could lead to earlier detection of breast cancer. Research projects contributing towards this include super resolution subsurface imaging, overcoming the Rayleigh resolution limit.

Also within the area of healthcare, Osstell, another spin-out company from the group, is marketing instrumentation to measure the quality of integration between bone and dental implants.

Services offered

• Testing and analysis
• Computational modelling
• Specialist capability and facilities in all kinds of ultrasonic NDE
• Specialist training in technologies developed
• Advice in solving all kinds of NDE problems, using all NDE methods
• Commercial knowledge and thorough understanding of industry needs
• Well equipped facilities including standard and non-standard conventional C-scan inspections, ultrasonic material characterisation, Lamb wave generation and detection