The Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering (CUE) has many areas of research expertise including both analytical and numerical modelling, signal and image processing, advanced sensor manufacture and calibration, wireless ultrasonic systems, miniature robotic vehicles, materials characterisation and processing, underwater acoustic systems and condition monitoring. Over the past 20 years, CUE has achieved an international reputation, founded primarily on the modelling and design of transducer and array systems for sonar, non-destructive evaluation (NDE) and robotics, biomedical and industrial processing applications, air coupled ultrasound, bioacoustics and novel transducer design. CUE has extensive collaborative work with major UK, European, and US academic and industrial organisations which helps it to maintain a significant research presence, a key component of which lies in the fusion of capability from Engineering, Mathematics, Chemistry and more recently Biology, backgrounds. It is this approach that has enabled CUE’s unique portfolio of analytical and finite element modelling (of both ultrasonic propagation and transducer structures), combined with highly innovative materials development, to produce novel prototype devices especially those based around 1-3 connectivity piezoelectric-composite transducer technology. Such prototyping is enabled by an extensive transducer fabrication and testing facility built up over many years, which is a unique facility available to CUE.
From 2008 to 2012 CUE has undertaken a large body of research through an EPSRC Platform Grant - 'Generation, Detection & Analysis of Optimally Coded Ultrasonic Waveforms'. This research programme has expanded CUE's research capabilities within the thematic areas of Ultrasonic Transduction, Biologically Inspired Acoustic Systems, Industrial Process Control and Non-Destructive Evaluation. It has also led to a great expansion in CUE's sustainable long term international and national research and industrial relationships.
To view further details, click on the appropriate research theme below:
Generation, Detection & Analysis of Optimally Coded Ultrasonic Waveforms
Materials for Ultrasonic Applications
Modelling and Advanced Software