• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.380-389
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• 2006

A new laser-based ultrasonic receiver that is based on multi-channel interferometry is shown to be well suited for robust and sensitive detection of ultrasound in industrial environment. The proposed architecture combines random-quadrature detection with detector arrays and parallel multi-speckle processing. The high sensitivity is reached, thanks to the random phase distribution of laser speckle caused by surface roughness. High-density parallel signal processing is achieved by using a simple demodulation technique based on signal rectification. This simple detection scheme is also demonstrated for rejection of the laser intensity noise, making possible the use of lower cost laser without reduction in performances. Results demonstrating this new principle of operation and its performances are presented.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.599-608
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• 2002

The mechanical properties of mullite $(3Al_2O_3\;2SiO_2)$ environmental barrier coatings are determined using a laser-based ultrasonic system. The waveforms generated by a laser source in mullite coatings in the $1-20{\mu}m$ thickness range are evaluated theoretically using the integral transform technique. It is shown that the laser source generated the two lowest order SAW modes in these systems. Experimental waveforms are generated using a 600ps pulsed Nd:YAG microchip laser and detected using a stabilized Michelson interferometer. The dispersion curves for the generated modes are extracted from the experimental data and the mechanical properties of the coatings are obtained by minimizing the error between the measured and calculated velocity values. The waveforms generated in mullite coatings agree well with theory and laser-based ultrasonics is shown to provide an effective tool for the nondestructive evaluation of ceramic coatings.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.152-162
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• 2001

Laser-generated ultrasonic technique which is one of the reliable nondestructive evaluation techniques has been applied to evaluate the integrity of structures by analyzing the characteristics of signal obtained from surface crack. Therefore, the signal analysis of the laser-generated ultrasonics is absolutely necessary for the accurate and quantitative estimation of the surface defects. In this study, one-sided measurement by laser-generated ultrasonic has been applied to evaluate the depth of the surface-breaking crack in the materials. However, since the ultrasonic waveform excited by pulse laser is very difficult to distinguish the defect signals, it is necessary to consider the signal analyses of the transient waveform. Wavelet Transform(WT) is a powerful tool for processing transient signals with temporally varying spectra that helps to resolve high and low frequency transient components effectively. In this paper, the analyses of the surface-breaking crack of the ultrasonic signal excited by pulse laser are presented by employing the WT analyses.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.459-466
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• 2005

The scanning laser source (SLS) technique has been proposed recently as an effective way to investigate small surface-breaking defects, By monitoring the amplitude and frequency changes of the ultrasound generated as the SLS scans over a defect, the SLS technique has provided enhanced signal-to-noise performance compared to the traditional pitch-catch or pulse-echo ultrasonic methods, An extension of the SLS approach to map defects in microdevices is proposed by bringing both the generator and the receiver to the near-field scattering region of the defects, To facilitate near-field ultrasound measurement, silicon microcantilever probes are fabricated using microfabrication technique and their acoustical characteristics are investigated, Then, both the laser-generated ultrasonic source and the microcantilever probe are used to monitor near-field scattering by a surface-breaking defect.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.226-232
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• 2014

In the present study, the characteristics of laser ultrasound in the ablation regime are investigated using simulations and experiments. The laser ultrasonic technique has been recognized as a noncontact method in the field of nondestructive tests (NDTs). In hostile environments (such as hot temperatures), this method has various advantages over the conventional contact ultrasonic method. In particular, in the ablation regime, the laser ultrasonic technique is suitable for inspecting internal defects because of the high amplitude and directivity of the longitudinal wave. In this paper, a simulation model for laser ultrasound in the ablation regime was developed. This model was subsequently applied to a defective specimen using the B-scan method to locate defects. Finally, we performed an experimental test to verify the simulation results. Consequently, the simulation demonstrated good agreement with the experimental test.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.13-18
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• 2016

Toshiba has developed a laser peening system for PWRs(pressurized water reactors) as well after the one for BWRs(boiling water reactors), and applied it for BMI(bottom-mounted instrumentation) nozzles, core deluge line nozzles and primary water inlet nozzles of Ikata Unit 1 and 2 of Shikoku Electric Power Company since 2004, which are Japanese operating PWR power plants. Laser pulses were delivered through twin optical fibers and irradiated on two portions in parallel to reduce operation time. For BMI nozzles, we developed a tiny irradiation head for small tubes and we peened the inner surface around J-groove welds after laser ultrasonic testing (LUT) as the remote inspection, and we peened the outer surface and the weld for Ikata Unit 2 supplementary. For core deluge line nozzles and primary water inlet nozzles, we peened the inner surface of the dissimilar metal welding, which is of nickel base alloy, joining a safe end and a low alloy metal nozzle. In this paper, the development and the actual application of the laser peening system for PWR power plants will be described.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.268-271
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• 2004

Non-contact technique should be developed for receiving ultrasonic wave for on-line monitoring of processing defects of fiber reinforced composites, since couplant must be applied on composite materials when conventional ultrasonic testing technique was used. Restriction of conventional ultrasonic testing technique was proven by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic wave on CFRP in various direction of wave propagation with various incident angle of ultrasonic beam. Air-coupled transducer and laser interferometer were applied for non-contacting reception of ultrasonic wave in fiber reinforced composite materials. Air-coupled transducer has optimal sensitivity and frequency band of 300kHz has homogeneous characteristics on direction of wave propagation.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.84-89
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• 2006

A laser ultrasonic inspection system is a non-contact inspection device which generates and measures ultrasounds by using laser beams. A laser ultrasonic inspection system provides a high measurement resolution because the ultrasonic signal generated by a pulse laser beam has a wide-band spectrum and the ultrasonic signal is measured from a small focused spot of a measuring laser beam. In this paper, we have investigated the detection techniques of a surface-breaking crack by using the laser ultrasonic surface waves. A crack acts as a low pass filter whose cut-off frequency is lowered in proportion to the depth of a crack. And, the center frequency value of a spectrum is decreased in proportion to the depth of a crack. In this paper, we extracted the crack information by using the frequency attenuation from the normalized transfer function spectrum of a surface-breaking crack. Also, we effectively measured the crack depth by using the decreasing value of the center frequency from a crack passed ultrasonic signal. The proposed measuring techniques of crack depths provided more precise information than the amplitude measuring technique.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.111-117
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• 2011

Vibration monitoring is required for reliable thermosonic testing to decide whether sufficient vibration is achieved in each test for the detection of cracks. From a practical point of view, a cheaper and convenient monitoring method is better for the application to real tests. Therefore, the performance of different sensors for vibration monitoring was investigated and compared in this study to find a convenient and acceptable measurement method for thermosonics. Velocity measured by a laser vibrometer and strain provide an equivalent HI when measured at the same position. The microphone can provide a cheaper vibration monitoring device than the laser and the heating index calculated by a microphone signal shows similar characteristics to that calculated from velocity measured by the laser vibrometer. The microphone frequency response shows that it underestimates high frequency components but it is applicable to practical tests because it gives a conservative value of HI.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2017

A nonlinear ultrasonic parameter is defined by the ratio of displacement amplitude of the fundamental frequency component to that of the second-order harmonic frequency component. In this study, the ultrasonic displacement amplitude of an SUS316 specimen was measured via a piezo-electric-based method to identify the validity of piezo-electric detection method. For comparison, the ultrasonic displacement was also determined via a laser-based Fabry-Pérot interferometer. The experimental results for both measurements were in good agreement. Additionally, the stability of the repeated test results from the piezo-electric method exceeded that of the laser-interferometric method. This result indicated that the piezo-electric detection method can be utilized to measure a nonlinear ultrasonic parameter due to its excellent stability although it involves a complicated process.