• Composites Research
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.288-292
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• 2016

In this paper, a novel ultrasonic propagation imaging system, called a full-field pulse-echo ultrasonic propagation imaging (FF PE UPI) system is introduced. The system nondestructively inspected targets with two-axis translation stage. The coincident laser beams for ultrasonic sensing and generation are scanned and pulse-echo mode laser ultrasounds are captured. This procedure makes it possible to generate full-field ultrasound in through-the-thickness direction as large as the scan area. Structural inspection results in the form of full-field ultrasonic wave propagation videos are introduced, which are painted sandwich control surfaces. In addition, the inspection results of FF PE UPI system are compared with conventional ultrasonic testing methods such as waterjet and portable C-scan.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.223-230
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• 2018

This study examines a non-contact laser scanning-based ultrasound system, called an angular scan pulse-echo ultrasonic propagation imager (A-PE-UPI), that uses coincided laser beams for ultrasonic sensing and generation. A laser Doppler vibrometer is used for sensing, while a diode pumped solid state (DPSS) Q-switched laser is used for generation of thermoelastic waves. A high-speed raster scanning of up to 10-kHz is achieved using a galvano-motorized mirror scanner that allows for coincided sensing and for the generation beam to perform two-dimensional scanning without causing any harm to the surface under inspection. This process allows for the visualization of longitudinal wave propagation through-the-thickness. A pulse-echo ultrasonic wave propagation imaging algorithm (PE-UWPI) is used for on-the-fly damage visualization of the structure. The presented system is very effective for high-speed, localized, non-contact, and non-destructive inspection of aerospace structures. The system is tested on an aluminum honeycomb sandwich with disbonds and a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) honeycomb sandwich with a layer overlap. Inspection is performed at a 10-kHz scanning speed that takes 16 seconds to scan a $100{\times}100mm^2$ area with a scan interval of 0.25 mm. Finally, a comparison is presented between angular-scanning and a linear-scanning-based pulse-echo UPI system. The results show that the proposed system can successfully visualize defects in the inspected specimens.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.301-309
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• 2022

Protective coatings are most widely used anticorrosive structures for steel structures. The corrosion under the coating damages the host material, but this damage is completely hidden. Therefore, a field-applicable under-coating-corrosion visualization method has been desired for a long time. Laser ultrasonic technology has been studied in various fields as an in situ nondestructive inspection method. In this study, a comparative analysis was carried out between a guided-wave ultrasonic propagation imager (UPI) and pulse-echo UPI, which have the potential to be used in the field of under-coating-corrosion management. Both guided-wave UPI and pulse-echo UPI were able to successfully visualize the corrosion. Regarding the field application, the guided-wave UPI performing Q-switch laser scanning and piezoelectric sensing by magnetic attachment exhibited advantages owing to the larger distance and incident angle in the laser measurement than those of the pulse-echo UPI. Regarding the corrosion visualization methods, the combination of adjacent wave subtraction and variable time window amplitude mapping (VTWAM) provided acceptable results for the guided-wave UPI, while VTWAM was sufficient for the pule-echo UPI. In addition, the capability of multiple sensing in a single channel of the guided-wave UPI could improve the field applicability as well as the relatively smaller size of the system. Thus, we propose a guided-wave UPI as a tool for under-coating-corrosion management.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.657-666
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• 2020

A rotational pulse-echo ultrasonic propagation imager that can inspect cylindrical specimens for material nondestructive evaluations is proposed herein. In this system, a laser-generated ultrasonic bulk wave is used for inspection, which enables a clear visualization of subsurface defects with a precise reproduction of the damage shape and size. The ultrasonic waves are generated by a Q-switched laser that impinges on the outer surface of the specimen walls. The generated waves travel through the walls and their echo is detected by a Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV) at the same point. To obtain the optimal Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the measured signal, the LDV requires the sensed surface to be at a right angle to the laser beam and at a predefined constant standoff distance from the laser head. For flat specimens, these constraints can be easily satisfied by performing a raster scan using a dual-axis linear stage. However, this arrangement cannot be used for cylindrical specimens owing to their curved nature. To inspect the cylindrical specimens, a circular scan technology is newly proposed for pulse-echo laser ultrasound. A rotational stage is coupled with a single-axis linear stage to inspect the desired area of the specimen. This system arrangement ensures that the standoff distance and beam incidence angle are maintained while the cylindrical specimen is being inspected. This enables the inspection of a curved specimen while maintaining the optimal SNR. The measurement result is displayed in parallel with the on-going inspection. The inspection data used in scanning are mapped from rotational coordinates to linear coordinates for visualization and post-processing of results. A graphical user interface software is implemented in C++ using a QT framework and controls all the individual blocks of the system and implements the necessary image processing, scan calculations, data acquisition, signal processing and result visualization.

• Composites Research
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.356-364
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• 2017

Composite lattice structures are tried to be used in various fields because of its benefit in physical properties. With increase of demand of the composite lattice structure, nondestructive testing technology is also required to certificate the quality of the manufactured structures. Recently, research on the development of the composite lattice structure in Republic of Korea was started and accordingly, fast and accurate non-destructive evaluation technology was needed to finalize the manufacturing process. This paper studied non-destructive testing methods for composite lattice structure using laser ultrasonic propagation imaging systems. Pulse-echo ultrasonic propagation imaging system was able to inspect a rib structure wrapped with a skin structure. To reduce the time of inspection, a band divider, which can get signal in different frequency bands at once, was developed. Its performance was proved in an aluminum sandwich panel. In addition, to increase a quality of results, curvature compensating algorithm was developed. On the other hand, guided wave ultrasonic propagation imaging system was applied to inspect delamination in a rib structure. To increase an area of inspection, multi-source ultrasonic wave propagation image was applied, and defects were successfully highlighted with variable time window amplitude mapping algorithm. These imply that ultrasonic propagation imaging systems provides fast and accurate non-destructive testing results for composite lattice structure in a stage of the manufacturing process.