UDRI awarded Air Force contract for R&D in nondestructive evaluation for aerospace materials

The University of Dayton Research Institute has been awarded a five-year Air Force contract to perform research in nondestructive characterization, sensing and analytics of advanced aerospace materials and structures for the Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The award ceiling for the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract is $9.9 million. Work will be performed primarily at the base. Sathish Shamachary, group leader for NDE Engineering in UDRI's Structural Integrity division, will serve as principal investigator.

Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) uses any number of techniques, such as ultrasound and X-ray, to measure and describe the properties of a material, component, structure or system without causing damage to the item being inspected. The resulting information is then used to describe the current condition of the material or structure so that its future behavior can be better understood and predicted.

The overall contract provides for research to develop new and investigate existing NDE technologies, processes and analytical methods for a wide variety of advanced aerospace materials and systems.

The contract includes one initial work order for $2.5 million. UDRI researchers located at the base will perform NDE on a variety of metallic and nonmetallic materials, components and structures to better understand their behavior and properties, and how damage develops during normal use.

Each year, sponsored research programs at the University of Dayton provide real-world research opportunities to nearly 300 undergraduate and graduate students working with more than 500 professional and faculty researchers from the Research Institute, the School of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences.

July 18, 2014