Simulating the role of an engineer - using ultrasound to find flaws on the hull of a ship.

Vital Stats

Who: Brandon Reed
Where: Mechanical Engineering, UCT
What: Virtual practical application of ultrasonics testing.
Why: To develop student's ability to make qualitative judgements about the nature of the flaws in materials.

Mechanical engineering focuses on a range of techniques for finding flaws or cracks in materials. However, students are not given sufficient experience in using these techniques to detect flaws because equipment such as an ultrasonic probe is very expensive. Lecturer, Brandon Reed, wanted students to see how an ultrasonics probe works and the kind of information that could be obtained from the probe. He also wanted to provide students with the opportunity of making qualitative judgements about the nature of the flaws detected.