Patent classifications
G01N29/06
ULTRASONIC INSPECTION METHOD, ULTRASONIC INSPECTION APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM
To further reduce the computational load in an inspection process of ultrasonic inspection of an inspection target. An ultrasonic inspection method includes the steps of: collecting data as a result of scanning an inspection target in such a manner that a plurality of probes transmit ultrasonic signals to the inspection target and the probes receive reflected ultrasonic signals from the inspection target; rendering a primary image including a contour and an internal side of the inspection target based on the data as the result of scanning by using a sonic speed of the ultrasonic signals transmitted and received by the probes, the sonic speed being set to a predetermined value regardless of a region through which the ultrasonic signals have passed; and evaluating whether an internal flaw is present in the inspection target in the primary image.
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR INSPECTING ELECTROSTATIC CHUCK FOR SUBSTRATE PROCESSING
The apparatus for inspecting the electrostatic chuck for substrate processing includes the electrostatic chuck including a ceramic layer and an electrode layer coupled to an inside of the ceramic layer, an ultrasonic sensor unit disposed on the electrostatic chuck, allowing an ultrasonic wave to be incident into the electrostatic chuck, and converting a reflected signal reflected through the electrostatic chuck into an ultrasonic voltage signal, and an ultrasonic inspection unit to divide the ceramic layer and the electrode layer, based on a size value of the ultrasonic voltage signal.
Systems and methods of ultrasonic data evaluation of composite aircraft components
A computer system is provided for processing ultrasonic data of an ultrasonic probe applied to an area of an aircraft component that includes carbon fiber reinforced polymer. C-scan data is obtained and a preliminary mesh is defined over the C-scan data by taking into account the underlying structural or mechanical characteristics of the analyzed component. The mesh is further refined and data gathered for each mesh cell. A heat map is generated based on the mesh.
Ultrasonic scanning device and an application and method thereof
An ultrasonic scanning device includes at least one pair of cylindrical rollers. The axes of each pair of cylindrical rollers are parallel to each other. A liquid for transmitting the ultrasound is stored in each cylindrical roller. In use, a pair of cylindrical rollers rotate around their respective axes in reverse directions, the test subject passes between the pair of cylindrical rollers and is tested by ultrasound. The ultrasonic scanning device can be applied in the field of lithium-ion battery testing. The internal flaws and health status of the lithium-ion battery can be determined by acquiring an ultrasonic image in the test subject. The device of the present invention has a simple structure and an ingenious conception, and is ready-to-use and less expensive, which is successfully applied in the field of lithium-ion battery testing.
Quantitative ultrasound imaging based on seismic full waveform inversion
This disclosure provides a system and method for producing ultrasound images based on Full Waveform Inversion (FWI). The system captures acoustic/(an)elastic waves transmitted through and reflected and/or diffracted from a medium. The system performs an FWI process in a time domain in conjunction with an accurate wave propagation solver. The system produces 3D maps of physical parameters that control wave propagation, such as shear and compressional wavespeeds, mass density, attenuation, Poisson's ratio, bulk and shear moduli, impedance, and even the fourth-order elastic tensor containing up to 21 independent parameters, which are of significant diagnostic value, e.g., for medical imaging and non-destructive testing.
Time-corrected gain method implemented in an ultrasonic scanner
An ultrasonic scanner acquires a gain profile including gain values for corresponding travel times in ultrasonic echoes reflected by a reference object. An ultrasonic probe signal is sent toward a test object. In response, an ultrasonic echo reflected by the test object is received at the scanner. A time of arrival of the echo is estimated. The gain profile is aligned with the echo according to the estimated time of arrival of the echo. The echo is amplified using the aligned gain profile and the amplified echo is digitized before being attenuated using the aligned gain profile. An actual time of arrival of the echo is calculated based on the attenuated digitized echo. The gain profile is re-aligned with the attenuated digitized echo according to the actual time of arrival of the echo. The attenuated digitized echo is re-amplified using the re-aligned gain profile to obtain a gain-corrected echo.
COMPRESSION USING PEAK DETECTION FOR ACOUSTIC FULL MATRIX CAPTURE (FMC)
A compression technique can be used for processing or storage of acquired acoustic inspection data. For example, data indicative of peak values of an A-scan time-series can be stored to provide a compressed representation of such time-series data. A representation of the original A-scan data can be reconstructed, such as using the data indicative of the peak values, and a digital filter. Such an approach can dramatically reduce a volume of data associated an acoustic acquisition, such as a Full Matrix Capture (FMC) acquisition to be used for Total Focusing Method (TFM) beamforming and related imaging.
CYLINDRICAL ULTRASONIC SCANNING APPARATUS
An apparatus for scanning a cylindrical part is provided. The apparatus includes an ultrasonic transducer operable to emit ultrasonic waves into and receive ultrasonic waves from the part, with the ultrasonic transducer connected to a translation stage to move it up and down the part and around the circumference of the part. The apparatus does not mechanically contact the cylindrical or maintains contact only with soft elements, such that the apparatus does not damage sensitive parts. The apparatus also contains no magnetic parts, nor any elements that rely on magnetic detection, such that the apparatus is capable of being used in the vicinity of a part exhibiting a strong magnetic field.
Scatterometer and method of scatterometry using acoustic radiation
An acoustic scatterometer has an acoustic source operable to project acoustic radiation onto a periodic structure and formed on a substrate. An acoustic detector is operable to detect the −1st acoustic diffraction order diffracted by the periodic structure and while discriminating from specular reflection (0th order). Another acoustic detector is operable to detect the +1st acoustic diffraction order diffracted by the periodic structure, again while discriminating from the specular reflection (0th order). The acoustic source and acoustic detector may be piezo transducers. The angle of incidence of the projected acoustic radiation and location of the detectors and are arranged with respect to the periodic structure and such that the detection of the −1st and +1st acoustic diffraction orders and discriminates from the 0th order specular reflection.
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DE-NOSING AN ULTRASONIC SCAN IMAGE USING A CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK
A system and method apply an input noisy ultrasonic test (UT) scan image to an input layer of a convolutional neural network, generate a feature map using a convolutional layer, pool the feature map using a pooling layer, apply the pooled feature map to a fully connected layer, generate a de-noised UT scan image, and output the de-noised UT scan image from an output layer.