Article
Acoustics
Abhishek Saini, Christopher J. L. Lane, Juan Tu, Honghui Xue, Zheng Fan
Summary: This paper proposes a method for improving the quantitative characterization of surface-breaking cracks (SBCs) using a hybrid imaging method. The implementation of an array with a reduced element length for full matrix capture (FMC) data acquisition is proposed, and it is combined with the Half Skip Total Focusing Method (HSTFM) and the Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT) to improve image resolution through the use of a wide beam and hybrid imaging method.
Article
Materials Science, Characterization & Testing
Lucas Pereira Piedade, Guillaume Painchaud-April, Alain Le Duff, Pierre Belanger
Summary: This paper investigates a sparse array approach to increase TFM productivity and compares it with PWI, finding that the sparse array outperforms PWI when more than 3 firing events are used.
NDT & E INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Jing Xiao, Yue Hu, Shuai Cao, Fangsen Cui
Summary: This study presents an approach to detect and characterize surface-breaking cracks on tubular samples using ultrasonic phased array technology. The interaction between Rayleigh waves and surface-breaking cracks is simulated using finite element analysis, and the crack depths and inclined angles are evaluated from fitted curves. A full matrix capture data acquisition strategy is simulated, and an array imaging algorithm is applied to reconstruct the profile and location of surface cracks.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL METHODS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Mario Emanuele De Simone, Salvatore Boccardi, Gian Piero Malfense Fierro, Michele Meo
Summary: The influence of porosity on the mechanical behavior of composite laminates is complex and involves many variables. Evaluating the type and volume content of porosity in a composite specimen is important for quality control and predicting material behavior. This research proposes two nonlinear ultrasound techniques for imaging the porosity field in composites using backscattered signals acquired by a phased array system. The results show the high accuracy of both methods in comparison to a classic C-scan baseline.
Article
Engineering, Mechanical
Kaipeng Ji, Peng Zhao, Chaojie Zhuo, Jian Chen, Xianghong Wang, Shiquan Gao, Jianzhong Fu
Summary: In this paper, an ultrasonic imaging method based on frequency-domain reverse-time migration (FD-RTM) was developed for defect detection in curved-surface components (CSC). The method showed high-quality imaging and obvious advantages compared to existing methods.
MECHANICAL SYSTEMS AND SIGNAL PROCESSING
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Sai Teja Kuchipudi, Debdutta Ghosh
Summary: This study focuses on imaging deep internal crack planes in concrete medium using ultrasonic shear horizontal (SH) waves, showing the efficiency of total focusing method (TFM) and plane wave imaging (PWI) in mapping planar defects inclined between 0-60 degrees. The study also proposes an imaging framework based on the investigation outcomes for detecting and mapping planar defects like cracks inclined in the range of 0-90 degrees, with statistical quantification of defect inclinations found to be accurate between 94%-99%.
STRUCTURAL CONTROL & HEALTH MONITORING
(2022)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Yu-Xiang Dai, Shou-Guo Yan, Bi-Xing Zhang
Summary: The study focused on the multi-wave focusing and imaging method, where compressional waves and shear waves are focused in both emission and reception processes to improve signal-to-noise ratio. Experiments showed that this method significantly enhances imaging resolution of defects and expands the available scanning range.
Article
Engineering, Mechanical
Xinyu Zhao, Zemin Ma, Jiaying Zhang
Summary: The advantages and limitations of the full matrix focusing method of ultrasonic phased array in Ultrasonic NDT are discussed in this paper. Two simplified matrix focusing methods, the triangular matrix focusing algorithm and the trapezoidal matrix focusing algorithm, are proposed to address the problem of time-consuming data acquisition and processing. Experimental results show that both algorithms significantly improve the imaging quality and efficiency compared to the original full matrix focusing method.
CHINESE JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Masashi Yamagata, Ning Cao, Demis D. D. John, Hossein Hashemi
Summary: This article examines the waveguiding of sub-1-GHz surface acoustic waves (SAWs) on 128 degrees Y-cut lithium niobate (LiNbO3) and demonstrates different types of waveguide structures such as straight waveguides, waveguide bends, and coupled waveguides. It also presents an electroacoustic variable phase shifter based on a SAW waveguide and an all-acoustic bidirectional RF phased array front end. These structures can be implemented in commercial SAW foundries, resulting in low-cost compact realizations of SAW microwave signal processing structures.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Chao Tan, Zhixing Zhang, Hao Liu, Rulong Fu, Guide Yang, Feng Dong
Summary: This article presents a novel modular and scalable ultrasonic phased array tomography (UPAT) system for multiphase flow online monitoring. The system includes a master control board and multiple ultrasound transceiver boards, capable of expanding to 128-channel ultrasound transceivers. The system performs well in static imaging experiments, accurately reconstructing the size and location of complex inclusion distribution at a high spatial resolution.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INSTRUMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT
(2023)
Article
Acoustics
Xiaowen Ma, Yingchun Liu, Jiaji Ruan, Chenyang Tao, Jianren Yuan, Yunfei Chang, Wenwu Cao
Summary: Substantial progress has been made in lead-free piezoelectric materials, but creating a medical imaging ultrasonic array transducer with a center frequency <3 MHz remains challenging. This study addressed the difficulties in fabricating large uniform lead-free materials and the electrical impedance mismatch by utilizing texture engineering and stacking piezoelectric-layer design. The resulting phased array transducer demonstrated comparable imaging quality to a commercial PZT-5H ceramic-based transducer, highlighting the practicality of using lead-free materials in medical imaging applications.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ULTRASONICS FERROELECTRICS AND FREQUENCY CONTROL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
WenFa Zhu, YanXun Xiang, HaiYan Zhang, Yao Cheng, GuoPeng Fan, Hui Zhang
Summary: Rail damage is a major factor affecting the safe operation of trains, and it is important to accurately detect this damage. In this study, the phased array total focus method (TFM) imaging was applied to rail-damage detection, and a new method called directivity correction-based sparse TFM imaging method (DC-TFM) was proposed to improve the accuracy and computing time of the existing methods. Experimental results showed that the proposed method significantly improved the accuracy and speed of rail-damage detection.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Jorge Franklin Mansur Rodrigues Filho, Pierre Belanger
Summary: This study introduced a probe standoff optimization method, demonstrating through experiments that this method can significantly improve the imaging performance of ultrasonic phased array total focusing method for parts with curved geometries.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Seongin Moon, To Kang, Soonwoo Han, Kyung-Mo Kim, Hyung-Ha Jin, Sung-Woo Kim, Munsung Kim, Hyunil Seo
Summary: Traditional ultrasonic imaging methods have low accuracy in defect localization in austenitic welds due to anisotropy and inhomogeneity, but the proposed finite element analysis-based approach can overcome this issue by synthetically focusing inter-element signals using a wave propagation database. The methodology was validated through simulation results showing its potential for defect localization in austenitic welds.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2021)
Article
Acoustics
Nathan Molinier, Guillaume Painchaud-April, Alain Le Duff, Matthew Toews, Pierre Belanger
Summary: This study proposes the replacement of conventional Full Matrix Capture (FMC) acquisition and Total Focusing Method (TFM) processing with a single zero-degree plane wave (PW) insonification and a conditional Generative Adversarial Network (cGAN) trained to produce TFM-like images. The proposed cGANs were able to recreate TFM-like images with improved contrast in more than 94% of the reconstructions, while reducing computation time and file size significantly.
Article
Physics, Applied
Yoshikazu Ohara, Taisei Umezaki, Ewen Carcreff, Sylvain Haupert, Toshihiro Tsuji, Tsuyoshi Mihara
Summary: This study introduces a novel imaging technique combining fixed-voltage fundamental wave amplitude difference (FAD) with radarlike display, demonstrating its imaging capability for closed fatigue cracks in aluminum-alloy specimens. The results show that nonlinear ultrasonic scattering is more sensitive to incident angles compared to linear scattering, providing physical insights and optimizing inspection conditions.
JAPANESE JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Physics, Applied
Yoshikazu Ohara, Sylvain Haupert, Sinan Li
Summary: A novel closed-crack imaging technique combining ultrafast phased-array with pump excitation has been proposed and successfully proven in a closed fatigue crack specimen. The technique effectively induces crack opening/closing behaviors and stroboscopically captures high-speed crack dynamics induced by pump excitation.
APPLIED PHYSICS EXPRESS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Yoshikazu Ohara, Kosuke Kikuchi, Toshihiro Tsuji, Tsuyoshi Mihara
Summary: The study focuses on the ultrasonic phased array imaging of crack-type defects using a low-frequency array transducer with a center frequency of hundreds of kHz. By optimizing the geometry of elements and using soft PZT material, the visualization of crack-type defects in concrete structures was successfully achieved, demonstrating the potential of the LF array transducer for crack-type defect inspection.
Article
Acoustics
Yoshikazu Ohara, Taro Oshiumi, Xiaoyang Wu, Tetsuya Uchimoto, Toshiyuki Takagi, Toshihiro Tsuji, Tsuyoshi Mihara
Summary: The study found that environmental factors such as high temperature can cause fatigue crack closure, affecting the results of ultrasonic or eddy current testing; By using surface-acoustic wave phased array (SAW PA) in combination with other methods, closed fatigue cracks can be effectively imaged.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Lucas Ollivier-Lamarque, Sebastien Livi, Tetsuya Uchimoto, Nicolas Mary
Summary: Epoxy thermosets are widely used as protective coatings due to their high surface coverage and excellent corrosion resistance. This study compares the water uptake of epoxy-amine networks with an aliphatic amine curing agent and epoxy networks initiated with a phosphonium ionic liquid. The results show that epoxy-ionic liquid systems are less sensitive to water uptake and have lower water diffusion coefficients compared to epoxy-amine samples.
Article
Physics, Applied
Yoshikazu Ohara, Marcel C. Remillieux, T. J. Ulrich, Serina Ozawa, Kosuke Tsunoda, Toshihiro Tsuji, Tsuyoshi Mihara
Summary: This paper presents the effectiveness of a novel imaging system called PLUS for high-resolution three-dimensional imaging of fatigue cracks. PLUS combines a piezoelectric transmitter and mechanical scanning of a laser Doppler vibrometer to enable an ultra-multiple number of receiving points for three-dimensional phased array imaging. The experimental results demonstrate that the PLUS system with 4275 receiving points achieves high-resolution imaging of fatigue cracks, revealing their geometry while effectively suppressing grating lobes and random noise.
JAPANESE JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Physics, Applied
Yota Oyabu, Yoshikazu Ohara, Toshihiro Tsuji, Tsuyoshi Mihara
Summary: We propose a dark-field evanescent imaging method that can visualize surface/subsurface micro defects with a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This method utilizes the mode-converted longitudinal evanescent field (MCLEF) generated at defects by the incidence of a shear (S) wave. The proposed method has been proven in experiments and finite element (FE) simulations to have super-resolution imaging capability for holes of different sizes and higher SNR than conventional methods for various defect geometries.
JAPANESE JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yoshikazu Ohara, Marcel C. Remillieux, Timothy James Ulrich, Serina Ozawa, Kosuke Tsunoda, Toshihiro Tsuji, Tsuyoshi Mihara
Summary: This study proposes a method for exploring 3D elastic-wave scattering based on a high-resolution 3D phased-array system. By decomposing cracks into scattering sources and extracting 3D elastic-wave scattering near each response, valuable information about the internal responses of fatigue cracks can be obtained.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Sho Takeda, Yoshikazu Ohara, Tetsuya Uchimoto, Hirotoshi Enoki, Takashi Iijima, Eri Tokuda, Takumi Yamada, Yuzo Nagatomo
Summary: This study investigated the feasibility of fusion sensing of eddy current testing (ECT) and ultrasonic testing (UT) as effective tools to clarify the hydrogen-embrittlement mechanism of austenitic stainless steels. Fatigue testing was conducted on hydrogen-charged and uncharged AISI 304 specimens. The effects of hydrogen exposure on martensitic transformation, crack closure, and crack face morphology were examined using ECT and UT.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Characterization & Testing
Shejuan Xie, Guohang Lu, Lei Zhang, Zhenmao Chen, Qiang Wan, Tetsuya Uchimoto, Toshiyuki Takagi
Summary: Deep-shallow compound defects (DSCD) can occur in both single-layer and multi-layer structures, causing significant loss of mechanical strength. This paper proposes a frequency-band-selecting pulsed eddy current testing (FSPECT) method to identify the defect parameters of DSCD and introduces a strategy of component separation. Finite element analysis (FEA) and validation experiments are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method in quantifying and characterizing shallow and deep defects in DSCD.
NDT & E INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Characterization & Testing
S. Zhang, B. Ducharne, G. Sebald, S. Takeda, T. Uchimoto
Summary: Electric steel is commonly used in electrical energy conversion applications and is subject to plastic strain during manufacturing processes, which can degrade its magnetic performance. This study proposes non-destructive testing based on magnetization mechanisms to measure local plastic strains and indirectly assess local magnetic losses. Experimental results show that magnetization processes related to domain wall kinetics are more correlated with plastic strain. The magnetic incremental permeability hysteresis area and maximal value, as well as the coercivity associated with Barkhausen noise, are identified as effective plastic strain indicators. Additional tests confirm the correlations and applicability of these indicators and their capability to predict static hysteresis loss.
NDT & E INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
G. Diguet, B. Ducharne, S. El Hog, F. Kato, H. Koibuchi, T. Uchimoto, H. T. Diep
Summary: Geometric confinement plays a crucial role in stabilizing skyrmions by reducing the magnetic field requirement for their formation, and is influenced by applied mechanical stresses. In this study, we numerically investigate the effect of geometric confinement on skyrmion stabilization and find that zero Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) coupling constants on the boundary surfaces of thin plates contribute to the confinement effects. Additionally, the tensile strains parallel to the plate further stabilize the confined skyrmions, extending the skyrmion phase to low temperatures. Our simulation data qualitatively match the experimental findings on skyrmion stabilization induced by tensile strains in the chiral magnet Cu2OSeO3 thin films.
JOURNAL OF MAGNETISM AND MAGNETIC MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Benjamin Ducharne, Yves Armand Tene Deffo, Gael Sebald, Tetsuya Uchimoto, Christophe Gallais, Olivier Ghibaudo
Summary: Precise evaluation of deep carburization treatments is crucial for preventing degradation of high-performance mechanical components. The low-frequency incremental permeability testing method is suitable for determining carburization depth and provides a model for analyzing the indirect relationship between magnetic properties and carburization treatment properties. This method accurately reconstructs experimental data and offers optimal conditions for nondestructive testing observation.
JOURNAL OF MAGNETISM AND MAGNETIC MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Patrick Fagan, Shurui Zhang, Gael Sebald, Tetsuya Uchimoto, Benjamin Ducharne
Summary: Magnetic Barkhausen Noise (MBN) is a technique used to study the motion of magnetic domains during the magnetization of a ferromagnetic material. Industrial specimens often exhibit complex and stochastic MBN signals, which can be resolved using time-average variables like MBNenergy. Plotting MBNenergy as a function of magnetic excitation results in a hysteresis cycle that reveals important information about the material's magnetic properties. This paper presents a theoretical development and experimental confirmation of the relationship between magnetization variations and the envelope of the MBN signal, contributing to a better understanding of MBNenergy.
JOURNAL OF MAGNETISM AND MAGNETIC MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Characterization & Testing
Benjamin Ducharne, Yves Armand Tene Deffo, Shurui Zhang, Gael Sebald, Mickael Lallart, Tetsuya Uchimoto, Christophe Gallais, Olivier Ghibaudo
Summary: This study investigates magnetic methods as an indirect way to estimate carburization depth and suggests a new experimental condition using low-frequency MIP as an effective magnetic nondestructive technique for thick carburization evaluation.
NDT & E INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
