Inspection of plate weldments through an interposed layer of viscoelastic material using an elastic-electromagnetic...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Non-Destructive Testing
• Microwave Engineering

Background:

• Traditional non-destructive evaluation (NDE) methods for coated steel often require coating removal.
• Developing effective NDE techniques that can penetrate coatings is crucial for industrial applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel elastic-microwave based NDE method for inspecting coated steel plates.
• To demonstrate the capability of detecting weld cracks and coating thinning without damaging the coating.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a 94 GHz microwave interferometer to measure surface displacement driven by an elastic field.
• Employing spatiotemporal data and wavefield processing algorithms for analysis.
• Applying topological energy analysis for flaw detection.

Main Results:

• Successfully detected thickness variations as small as 0.79 mm in coated steel plates.
• Identified and located flaws (cracks) in weldments ranging from 5-10 mm.
• Achieved detection through a 50.8 mm thick viscoelastic coating without disturbance.

Conclusions:

• The elastic-microwave NDE method is a viable and promising technique for inspecting coated steel.
• This approach offers a significant advantage over traditional methods by eliminating the need for coating removal.
• Further development is needed to resolve individual flaws within a grid space.