Principal contact:
Dr Alistair Cree
Modern engineering requires a good understanding of structural integrity to ensure that all structures and components are fit for purpose when used under normal operational conditions. They must also be safe when those operational conditions exceed the original design specification. At the University of Plymouth, structural integrity research focuses mainly on the areas of fatigue and fracture of materials.
Current research emphasis includes:
- fatigue crack growth in ferrous and non-ferrous alloys.
- fatigue and fracture in coated engineering materials, particularly in relation to crack initiation and growth.
- multi-parameter fracture mechanics modelling of stresses and strains around fatigue cracks.
- the evaluation of damage in composite materials using the piezo-resistive properties of carbon nano-tubes.
- he importance of engineering design to the prevention of failure.
- finite element numerical modelling (FEA).
Much of this work is cross-disciplinary and collaborative with international partners.
