REF: AEMRI-204-PMIS - Portable Microwave Inspection System

Tender description

TWI is one of the world’s foremost independent research and technology organisations, with expertise in solving problems in all aspects of manufacturing, fabrication and whole-life integrity management technologies. Established in Cambridge, UK in 1946 and with facilities across the globe, the company has a first class reputation for service through its teams of internationally respected consultants, scientists, engineers and support staff, whose knowledge and expertise is available to its Industrial Members as and when they require. This specification has been produced as part of an initiative known as AEMRI (Advanced Engineering Materials Research Institute), which is funded by the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) using European Regional Development Funds (ERDF). AEMRI seeks to create a unique facility housing a critical mass of equipment, expertise and resources. AEMRI provides an environment to test and prove the limits of performance of advanced materials. Through the use of advanced modelling and simulation methods, full, large-scale mechanical test structures will be designed and built upon finite element analysis (FEA) calculations. Advanced, automated non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques will be developed with the aim of saving the industry time and production costs as well as minimising the risk of catastrophic structural failures. AEMRI will deliver the objectives of the project through the following four technical strands:- - Modelling and Simulation of High Performance Materials and Structures. - Advanced Robotic Inspection of Complex Geometry Structures. - Inspection Systems for Very Large Structures for the Green Energy Sector. - Nuclear Fabrication Research Centre. In order to maintain our position at the cutting edge of research, AEMRI now has a requirement for a portable microwave inspection system, suitable for volumetric inspection of GFRP materials including laminated GFRP up to 30 mm thick and composite GFRP, foam core structures. The system is to be deployed manually by trained operators in the field and at customer’s sites, for the inspection of large GFRP structures and pipes. The system must be self-contained, in as much as it must allow the acquisition, storage and analysis of volumetric inspection data. In order to minimise the time required for data acquisition and to improve the accuracy and repeatability of inspections, it is likely that the system shall have a motorised sensor head, which will scan in one or more axes. The system must be capable of inspecting structures with curved and complex surface shapes, either as supplied or through simple modification. Please ensure all communication is carried out using the In-Tend correspondence facility.