Ultrasonic imaging algorithms with limited transmission cycles for rapid nondestructive evaluation

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Ultrasonic nondestructive testing (NDT) imaging algorithms are vital for defect characterization.
• Full matrix data acquisition in NDT can be time-consuming due to sound velocity limitations.
• Sparse transmit apertures offer a solution to reduce data capture duration in NDT.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the common source method and the effective aperture technique for NDT imaging with restricted data.
• To investigate the performance of the effective aperture technique in near-field conditions, relevant for most NDT applications.
• To provide an efficiency map to guide the selection of appropriate NDT imaging algorithms.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of imaging algorithms: common source method, effective aperture technique, and Total Focusing Method (TFM).
• Analysis of point spread functions for each method.
• Evaluation of algorithm efficiency in near-field conditions using a generated map.
• Experimental validation of the proposed algorithms.

Main Results:

• The effective aperture technique is investigated for its applicability in near-field NDT.
• A map of algorithm efficiency in near-field conditions is presented.
• The study validates the performance of different algorithms using experimental data.

Conclusions:

• Sparse aperture techniques, particularly the effective aperture method, are viable for NDT imaging in near-field scenarios.
• The developed efficiency map aids in selecting the optimal NDT imaging algorithm for specific applications.
• Experimental validation confirms the practical utility of the compared NDT imaging approaches.