Exploitable results Quality Data Base containing ultrasonic information and technical characteristics of stone materials The setting up of a Quality Data Base is strictly connected to the development of the innovative inspection system and of the innovative classification method. The Quality Data Base will be composed of all technical measurements carried out on the stone material and will contain information related to the selection and classification of stone products. The development of a Quality Data Base will be of help to stone industries because it will help them acquire a competitive advantage and to maintain/consolidate the leadership that EC countries currently own with respect to non-European competitors. In order to increase the economic and technical competitiveness of stone industries, in fact, it is important to develop new technologies and methods that assure product quality and that respect specific quality regulations and standards used for selecting and classifying stone material and products. Finally, the Quality Data Base developed in the project will also be of great help to stone industries during the negotiation and sales of finished products (slabs, tiles, etc.). The Data Base, in fact, will allow stone manufacturers to give their customers sure, reliable and qualified information on the products they are selling. Innovative non-destructive inspection system for detecting structural anomalies and inner defects of raw material blocks The project intends developing an innovative inspection system for detecting structural anomalies and inner defects in raw material blocks (marble, granite, limestone) before being cut into slabs. Today, the methods employed by stone manufacturers for assessing the quality of marble or granite blocks and slabs are based mainly on human observation, the workers' practical knowledge and experience. The development of an inspection system, based on ultrasonic detection, will enable to accurately determine stone quality in a non-destructive way. Ultrasonic systems allow to detect not only the presence of defects but also to produce accurate on-line images related to the material characterisation of the inner structure. Various ultrasonic methods have been tested by the project partners (AIDICO and ISE) and the method that has given most successful results, and which is currently being used on the developed prototype, is the MIHM (Multichannel Impact Hammer Method). Individuation of cutting criteria on the basis of structural quality characteristics The project individuates criteria and information on the area of the marble or granite block containing defects. This will be achieved by implementing and validating relevant working procedures, capable of producing mapping images in terms of general location of defects and by setting up a data base containing ultrasonic information to be correlated with the technical characteristics of stone materials. The cutting criteria information is based upon the structural anomalies and inner defects acquired and elaborated by the project system. This result will help stone industries have a valid interpretation method and know exactly which area of a stone block contains defects. Stone manufacturers will be able to optimise the stone cutting phase and save production time, costs and waste production. Software implementation for ultrasound data acquisition, parameters elaboration and production of cutting criteria The project has implemented a specific UDS software that is capable of acquiring ultrasound data and elaborating related parameters referring to the size, location and direction of defects within stone material. On the basis of this technical information the software produces criteria and information on the area where the defect is located to be used during the actual stone cutting phase. The UDS SW is a user friendly software that can be easily used by stone manufacturers. Searching for OpenAIRE data... There was an error trying to search data from OpenAIRE No results available
