Ultrasonic imaging of material flaws exploiting multipath information

Xizhong Shen; Yimin D. Zhang; Ramazan Demirli; Moeness G. Amin

doi:10.1117/12.886646

6 June 2011 Ultrasonic imaging of material flaws exploiting multipath information

Xizhong Shen, Yimin D. Zhang, Ramazan Demirli, Moeness G. Amin

Proceedings Volume 8064, Multisensor, Multisource Information Fusion: Architectures, Algorithms, and Applications 2011; 80640N (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.886646
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2011, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

In this paper, we consider ultrasonic imaging for the visualization of flaws in a material. Ultrasonic imaging is a powerful nondestructive testing (NDT) tool which assesses material conditions via the detection, localization, and classification of flaws inside a structure. Multipath exploitations provide extended virtual array apertures and, in turn, enhance imaging capability beyond the limitation of traditional multisensor approaches. We utilize reflections of ultrasonic signals which occur when encountering different media and interior discontinuities. The waveforms observed at the physical as well as virtual sensors yield additional measurements corresponding to different aspect angles. Exploitation of multipath information addresses unique issues observed in ultrasonic imaging. (1) Utilization of physical and virtual sensors significantly extends the array aperture for image enhancement. (2) Multipath signals extend the angle of view of the narrow beamwidth of the ultrasound transducers, allowing improved visibility and array design flexibility. (3) Ultrasonic signals experience difficulty in penetrating a flaw, thus the aspect angle of the observation is limited unless access to other sides is available. The significant extension of the aperture makes it possible to yield flaw observation from multiple aspect angles. We show that data fusion of physical and virtual sensor data significantly improves the detection and localization performance. The effectiveness of the proposed multipath exploitation approach is demonstrated through experimental studies.

Citation Download Citation

Xizhong Shen, Yimin D. Zhang, Ramazan Demirli, and Moeness G. Amin "Ultrasonic imaging of material flaws exploiting multipath information", Proc. SPIE 8064, Multisensor, Multisource Information Fusion: Architectures, Algorithms, and Applications 2011, 80640N (6 June 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.886646

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available