Michigan State University - Research Groups

Welcome to the web page of Nondestructive Evaluation Laboratory at Michigan State University. The NDE research group, one of the largest and most active in the country, has a long and sustained record of being at the forefront in developing novel electromagnetic and acoustic NDE technologies for both the defense and civilian sectors.Nondestructive Evaluation involves the examination of an object in any manner, which will not impair the future usefulness of the object. The purpose of the examination may be to detect internal or external flaws, to measure thickness, to determine material structure or composition, or to measure or detect any of the test specimen's properties. The test method may be a simple visual one, or it may involve more sophisticated methods employing either electromagnetic, acoustic, thermal or radiography techniques.The Nondestructive Evaluation Laboratory (formerly the Materials Assessment Research Group) has been actively engaged in the development of forward and inverse solutions, new sensors and instrumentation. Major contributions include:

• Innovations in traditional NDE methods including electromagnetic (magnetostatic, eddy-current and microwave) and ultrasonic methods.
• Development of new methods including remote field eddy current method for plate geometries, motion induced remote field eddy current method and rotating magnetic field methods for pipeline inspection.
• Development and application of forward methods to stimulate physical processes associated with NDE methods
• Building new signal processing and neural network tools for automatic interpretation of NDE signals.
• Development of tools for estimating the probability of detection, optimal sensor design, and determining ideal test conditions.
• Development of single frequency and multi-frequency eddy current instruments, high frequency acoustic microscopes.

Issues and ApplicationsOur work supports the aerospace, automotive, beverage, biomedical, defense, natural gas and nuclear power industries, among others. The laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation to conduct research across a broad spectrum of electromagnetic and ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation techniques ranging from DC to microwave frequencies The group has received funding from a number of federal agencies including the National Science Foundation, Air Force Research Laboratory, Federal Aviation Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Navy, as well as companies/trade groups such as the Electric Power Research Institute, Gas Technology Institute, Boeing, Bowling-Pfizer, Ford Motors and Microline.The group's ability to attract funding from a diverse set of sources, both federal and industrial, is testimony to its ability to develop innovative solutions to problems confronting a wide variety of industries. The laboratory supports over 20 graduate students. The group hosts a number of international visitors each year, the visits lasting from a few months to a full year. In addition, a number of undergraduate students work in the laboratory side-by-side with faculty and graduate students. The research group is also involved in the development of high-end instrumentation and has successfully transferred technology for manufacturing eddy current instruments and acoustic microscopes to industry. I hope you enjoy browsing through our Web site.Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or if we can be of any assistance.Satish Udpa University Distinguished Professor College of Engineering Michigan State University