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Renewed research funding of $3.8 million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Chrysler Canada Inc., and the University of Windsor, gives a UWindsor researcher an additional five years to develop advanced quality control technology for the automotive industry.
Dr. Roman Maev, Industrial Research Chair in Applied Solid State Physics and Material Characterization, will build on the success of high-frequency acoustic imaging technology developed for Chrysler Canada Inc. to test the quality of spot welds in car bodies and frames.
Acoustic imaging transmits sound waves through solid materials and converts them to digital pictures. Chrysler uses the technology to test welds without vehicle damage, thereby reducing costs and improving efficiency and competitiveness.
As new types of super-strength steels, magnesium titanium and aluminum alloys are used in manufacturing, Maev says industry must meet the challenge of ensuring these diverse materials can adhere to each other. His next round of research will focus on developing quality control equipment and procedures to address these concerns.
"Dissimilar materials don’t like to be joined together," Maev said. "It's a very serious problem for applied solid state physics. But this renewal provides unique educational opportunity for students to become highly skilled specialists for the auto industry, as well as high-tech industries such as microelectronics, aerospace, security, transportation and even biomedicine."
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Automotive quality control research gets funding extension
