METHOD USING ULTRASOUND FOR THE NON-DESTRUCTIVE EXAMINATION OF A TEST BODY

• US 20120036934A1
• Filed: 12/09/2005
• Published: 02/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forsching E.V.
• Original Assignee: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forsching E.V.
• Inventors: Kröning, Michael, Hentschel, Dieter, Bulavinov, Andrey, von Bernus, Ludwig, Reddy, Krishna
• Granted Patent: US 8,365,600 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/628
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/044 Internal reflections (echoes), e.g. on walls or defects
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/106 one or more transducer arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/043 in the interior, e.g. by shear waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/069 Defect imaging, localisation and sizing using, e.g. time of flight diffraction [TOFD], synthetic aperture focusing technique [SAFT], Amplituden-Laufzeit-Ortskurven [ALOK] technique
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/262 by electronic orientation or focusing, e.g. with phased arrays phased arrays per se G10K11/34
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/4463 Signal correction, e.g. distance amplitude correction [DAC], distance gain size [DGS], noise filtering

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for the non-destructive examination of a test body by means of ultrasound, whereby ultrasound waves are injected into the test body by means of one or more ultrasound transducers and ultrasound waves reflected inside the test body are received by a plurality of ultrasound transducers and are converted to ultrasound signals. The ultrasound signals are detected in individual measurement intervals and are stored individually and are accessible to offline evaluation after termination of the measurements. The inventive method allows to subsequently synthesize any acoustic irradiation angle and focusing in the physically possible volume range of the test body from the stored ultrasound signals by using corresponding reconstruction algorithms, thereby eliminating the need for additional ultrasound measurements.

Claims

1-12. -12. (canceled)

11. A method using ultrasound for non-destructive examination of a test body, whereby ultrasonic waves are coupled into the test body with at least one ultrasonic transducer and the ultrasonic waves are reflected inside the test body and are received by ultrasonic transducers and converted into ultrasonic signals, which form a basis for the non-destructive examination, comprising:

a) providing n ultrasonic transducers on a surface of a test body;

b) selecting and activating a first ultrasonic transducer or a first group with i ultrasonic transducers from the n ultrasonic transducers for transmission of ultrasonic waves into the test body, with i<

n;

c) receiving the ultrasonic waves reflected inside the test body using m ultrasonic transducers, with i<

m≦

n, and generating m ultrasonic signals;

d) storing the m ultrasonic signals;

e) selecting and activating another ultrasonic transducer or another group with i ultrasonic transducers, which differ from the first group by at least one ultrasonic transducer, for transmitting ultrasonic waves and carrying out process steps c) and d);

f) repeated conducting of the process step e) with in each case selecting of another ultrasonic transducer or another group of i ultrasonic transducers is such that the other ultrasonic transducer or the other group with i ultrasonic transducers differs from an already selected ultrasonic transducer or from another already selected group with i ultrasonic transducers; and

g) evaluating the stored ultrasonic signals.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein:

the providing of n ultrasonic transducers occurs in one of a one-dimensional, two-dimensional or three-dimensional-array.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein:

activating all i ultrasonic transducers of a group occurs simultaneously, without phase shifting.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

activating of the i ultrasonic transducers of a group is carried out with each single ultrasonic transducer being activated with a different modulation so that the ultrasonic waves coupled into the test body are detected individually.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein:

selecting of the i ultrasonic transducers of a group is conducted so that adjacent ultrasonic transducers are selected according to one of a linear or planar array.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein:

n≧

16.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein:

the ultrasonic transducers operate as one of electromagnetic, optical and piezoelectric transducers.

18. The method according to claim 11, wherein:

evaluating the ultrasonic signals is carried out off-line using a reconstruction algorithm after conducting ultrasonic transmission through the test body; and

the reconstruction algorithm is selected based on at least one of a virtually preset coupling-in angle and a virtual focussing of the ultrasonic waves coupled into the test body and is applied to the stored ultrasonic signals.

19. The method according to claim 11, wherein:

generating and storage of the m ultrasonic signals utilizes analog/digital conversion in which the analog ultrasonic signals of the m ultrasonic transducers are converted into digital signals and stored in serial form.

20. The method according to claim 11, wherein:

receiving of the ultrasonic waves reflected inside the test body is conducted using all ultrasonic transducers provided on a surface of the test body, with m=n.

21. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

activating all i ultrasonic transducers of a group occurs simultaneously, without phase shifting.

22. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

selecting of the i ultrasonic transducers of a group is conducted so that directly adjacent ultrasonic transducers are selected according to one of a linear or planar array.

23. The method according to claim 13, wherein:

selecting of the i ultrasonic transducers of a group is conducted so that directly adjacent ultrasonic transducers are selected according to one of a linear or planar array.

24. The method according to claim 14, wherein:

selecting of the i ultrasonic transducers of a group is conducted so that directly adjacent ultrasonic transducers are selected according to one of a linear or planar array.

25. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

n≧

16.

26. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

ultrasonic transducers operate as one of electromagnetic, optical and piezoelectric transducers.

27. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

evaluating the ultrasonic signals is carried out off-line using a reconstruction algorithm after conducting ultrasonic transmission through the test body; and

the reconstruction algorithm is selected based on at least one of a virtually preset coupling-in angle and a virtual focussing of the ultrasonic waves coupled into the test body and is applied to the stored ultrasonic signals.

28. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

generating and storage of the m ultrasonic signals utilizes analog/digital conversion in which the analog ultrasonic signals of the m ultrasonic transducers are converted into digital signals and stored in serial form.

29. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

receiving of the ultrasonic waves reflected inside the test body is conducted using all ultrasonic transducers provided on a surface of the test body, with m=n.