• Journal of Radiation Industry
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.137-141
• /
• 2015

A single-shot dual-energy x-ray imaging technique has been developed using a sandwich detector by stacking two detectors, in which the front and rear detectors respectively produce relatively lower and higher x-ray energy images. Each detector layer is composed of a phosphor screen coupled with a photodiode array. The front detector layer employs a thinner phosphor screen, whereas the rear detector layer employs a thicker phosphor screen considering the quantum efficiency for x-ray photons with higher energies. We have applied the proposed method into the inspection of printed circuit boards, and obtained dual-energy images with background clutter suppressed. In addition, the single-shot dual-energy method provides sharper-edge images than the conventional radiography because of the unsharp masking effect resulting from the use of different thickness phosphors between the two detector layers. It is promising to use the single-shot dual-energy x-ray imaging for high-resolution nondestructive testing. For the reliable use of the developed method, however, more quantitative analysis is further required in comparisons with the conventional method for various types of printed circuit boards.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
• /
• v.30 no.6
• /
• pp.569-577
• /
• 2010

Nonplanar surface geometries of components are frequently encountered in real ultrasonic inspection situations. Use of rigid array transducers can lead to beam defocusing and reduction of defect image quality due to the mismatch between the planar array and the changing surface. When a flexible array is used to fit the complex surface profile, the locations of array elements should be known to compute the delay time necessary for adaptive heam focusing. An alternative method is to employ the time reversal focusing technique that does not require a prior knowledge about the properties and structures of the specimen and the transducer. In this paper, a time reversal method is applied to simulate beam focusing of flexible arrays and imaging of point-like defects contained in specimens with nonplanar surface geometry. Quantitative comparisons are made for the performance of a number of array techniques in terms of the ability to focus and image three point-like reflectors positioned at regular intervals. The sinusoidal profile array studied here exhibits almost the same image quality as the flat, reference case.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.193-199
• /
• 2015

Active thermography techniques have the capability of inspecting a broad range simultaneously. By evaluating the phase difference between the defected area and the healthy area, the technique indicates the qualitative location and size of the defect. Previously, the development of the defect detection method used a variety of materials and the test specimen was done. In this study, the proposed technique of lock-in is verified with artificial specimens that have different size and depth of subsurface defects. Finally, the defect detection capability was evaluated using comparisons of the phase image and the amplitude image according to the size and depth of defects.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.106-114
• /
• 2017

This paper presents an automated subsurface micro void detection technique based on pulsed infrared thermography for inspecting epoxy molding compounds (EMC) used in electronic device packaging. Subsurface micro voids are first detected and visualized by extracting a lock-in amplitude image from raw thermal images. Binary imaging follows to achieve better visualization of subsurface micro voids. A median filter is then applied for removing sparse noise components. The performance of the proposed technique is tested using 36 EMC samples, which have subsurface (below $150{\mu}m{\sim}300{\mu}m$ from the inspection surface) micro voids ($150{\mu}m{\sim}300{\mu}m$ in diameter). The experimental results show that the subsurface micro voids can be successfully detected without causing any damage to the EMC samples, making it suitable for automated online inspection.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.4 no.4
• /
• pp.391-406
• /
• 2008

This study attempts to develop a real-time debonding monitoring system for carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) strengthened structures by continuously inspecting the bonding condition between the CFRP layer and the host structure. The uniqueness of this study is in developing a new concept and theoretical framework of nondestructive testing (NDT), in which debonding is detected without relying on previously-obtained baseline data. The proposed reference-free damage diagnosis is achieved based on the concept of time reversal acoustics (TRA). In TRA, an input signal at an excitation point can be reconstructed if the response signal measured at another point is reemitted to the original excitation point after being reversed in the time domain. Examining the deviation of the reconstructed signal from the known initial input signal allows instantaneous identification of damage without requiring a baseline signal representing the undamaged state for comparison. The concept of TRA has been extended to guided wave propagations within the CFRP-strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) beams to improve the detectibility of local debonding. Monotonic and fatigue load tests of large-scale CFRP-strengthened RC beams are conducted to demonstrate the potential of the proposed reference-free debonding monitoring system. Comparisons with an electro-mechanical impedance method and an inferred imaging technique are provided as well.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.56 no.1
• /
• pp.71-74
• /
• 2014

Cancer-related facial pain refractory to pharmacologic management or nondestructive means is a major indication for destructive pain surgery. Stereotactic mesencephalotomy can be a valuable procedure in the management of cancer pain involving the upper extremities or the face, with the assistance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electrophysiologic mapping. A 72-year-old man presented with a 3-year history of intractable left-sided facial pain. When pharmacologic and nondestructive measures failed to provide pain alleviation, he was reexamined and diagnosed with inoperable hard palate cancer with intracranial extension. During the concurrent chemoradiation treatment, his cancer-related facial pain was aggravated and became medically intractable. After careful consideration, MRI-based stereotactic mesencephalotomy was performed at a point 5 mm behind the posterior commissure, 6 mm lateral to and 5 mm below the intercommissural plane using a 2-mm electrode, with the temperature of the electrode raised to $80^{\circ}C$ for 60 seconds. Up until now, the pain has been relatively well-controlled by intermittent intraventricular morphine injection and oral opioids, with the pain level remaining at visual analogue scale 4 or 5. Stereotactic mesencephalotomy with the use of high-resolution MRI and electrophysiologic localization is a valuable procedure in patients with cancer-related facial pain.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.115-121
• /
• 2006

Geometries, boundary renditions, loading renditions and mechanical properties are essential for finite element analysis. However it is a very difficult task to obtain In-vivo geometry and mechanical properties of human body. In this study totally 38 kinds of inner organs are segmented using MRI of young male with Korean standard body shape to make a finite element model. And RUS has been used to acquire anisotropic elasticity matrix of the femoral head.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.105-114
• /
• 2007

Two-dimensional imaging of $V_s$ profile becomes more important in Korea because of the large horizontal variation of soil stiffness. To obtain a shear-wave velocity profile in geotechnical practice, various seismic nondestructive investigation methods are being frequently used. In this study, harmonic wavelet analysis of wave (HWAW) method is applied to the determination of $V_s$ profile to overcome some of weaknesses in the existing surface wave methods. HWAW method which is based on time-frequency analysis using harmonic wavelet transform has been developed to determine phase and group velocities of waves. Field testing of this method is relatively simple and fast because one experimental setup which consists of one pair of receivers is needed to determine $V_s$ profile of site. The proposed method uses the signal portion of the maximum local signal/noise ratio to evaluate the phase velocity to minimize the effects of noise, and uses single array inversion which considers receiver locations. Field tests were performed in 2 sites in order to evaluate accuracy of test method and estimate the applicability of 2-D imaging by HWAW method. Through field applications and comparison with other test results, the good accuracy and applicability of the proposed method were verified.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.174-180
• /
• 2011

Nondestructive surface imaging of elastic characteristic and mechanical property has been studied on nanoscale surface with ultrasonic AFM. Resonance frequency variation of cantilever is theoretically analyzed with respect to contact mechanics as well as experimentally measured. The contact resonance frequency is calculated theoretically using the spring-mass and Herzian model in accordance with the resonance frequency of UAFM cantilever measured experimentally. Consequently, the topography and amplitude images could be obtained successfully and the elastic characteristic at the nanoscale surface was evaluated qualitatively by amplitude signals.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.98-104
• /
• 2003

Various nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques have been studied to locate steel rebars of dowel, and to detect invisible damage such as voids and cracks inside concrete and debonding between rebars and concrete caused by corrosions and earthquakes. In this study, the aurhors developed 3-dimensional (3D) electromagnetic (EM) imaging technology to detect such damage and to identify exact location of steel rebars of dowel. The authors have developed sub-surface two-dimensional (2D) imaging technique using tomographic antenna array in previous works. In this study, extending the earlier analytical and experimental works on 2D image reconstruction, a 3D microwave imaging system using tomographic antenna array was developed, and multi-frequency technique was applied to improve quality of the reconstructed image and to reduce background noises. This paper presents the analytical expressions of numerical focusing procedures for 3D image reconstruction and numerical simulation to study the resolution of the system and the effectiveness of multi-frequency technique. Also, the design of 4?4 antenna array with switching devices is introduced as a preliminary study for the final design of whole array.