NOVTUL (2012 – 2014)

The NOVTUL research project (New ultrasonic techniques for non-invasive estimation of physical parameters. Innovative applications in tissues, plants, micro / nano-structured materials and strategic elements), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (Ref. number: DPI2011-22438) for the three years period: 2012-2014.

 The project is mainly carried out at the UMEDIA resarch group (Ultrasound for medical and industrial applications) of the Spanish Research Council (CSIC), with collaborators from:

This project proposes to research and apply new ultrasonic techniques to solve problems where ultrasounds are not seen nowadays as an alternative due to the complexity of applying them to these problems and/or the limitations of conventional ultrasonic techniques. It also provides the necessary implementation of these techniques to be adapted to the requirements of the specific issues to be considered. Examples are media and materials with an inherent difficulty for inspection: high attenuation, noise and / or dispersion, presence of bandgaps and/or many of the cases where air-coupling must be used. Materials and applications within these categories are certain high-strength steels, composite (civil engineering) and/or porous materials, plant tissues, biological organs, smart suspensions and elastomers reinforced by nanoparticles, thin microporous membranes, etc. Other examples, are applications that are intended to measure internal physical quantities such as temperature or humidity, of complex bodies.