• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제26권5호
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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.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.277-290
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• 2018

In this paper, wavelet finite element model (WFEM) updating technique is employed to detect sub-element damage in thin plate structures progressively. The procedure of WFEM-based detection method, which can detect sub-element damage gradually, is established. This method involves the optimization of an objective function that combines frequencies and modal assurance criteria (MAC). During the damage detection process, the scales of wavelet elements in the concerned regions are adaptively enhanced or reduced to remain compatible with the gradually identified damage scenarios, while the modal properties from the tests remains the same, i.e., no measurement point replacement or addition are needed. Numerical and experimental examples were conducted to examine the effectiveness of the proposed method. A scanning Doppler laser vibrometer system was employed to measure the plate mode shapes in the experimental study. The results indicate that the proposed method can detect structural damage with satisfactory accuracy by using minimal degrees-of-freedoms (DOFs) in the model and minimal updating parameters in optimization.