An ultrasound transmitting and receiving device that can determine whether a contact state between a probe and a bolt is normal without relying on the skill of an operator is provided. The ultrasound transmitting and receiving device includes a probe control unit, an auxiliary storage device, and a contact state determination unit. The probe control unit causes a probe to transmit ultrasound to a bolt, and causes the probe to receive an echo of the transmitted ultrasound. The auxiliary storage device stores one or more pieces of comparison data to be compared with echo data indicating the echo received by the probe. The contact state determination unit compares the echo data with the comparison data, and determines a contact state between the probe and the bolt based on a comparison result.

Operating parameters are selected for inspecting a structure. Selecting the operating parameters includes exciting broadband ultrasonic guided waves in a multilayered structure, acquiring data corresponding to the sensed broadband ultrasonic guided waves in the multilayered structure, selecting one or more narrow frequency bands based on the acquired data, and inspecting the multilayered structure using ultrasonic guided waves in the one or more narrow frequency bands. In some examples, the data is acquired by an inspection tool capable of sensing the broadband ultrasonic guided waves in the multilayered structure.

Aspects of the disclosure include systems, methods, and program products for evaluating the condition of a component using an acoustic sensor embedded within a lighting device. A system according to the present disclosure can include a first lighting device configured to illuminate an area of an industrial plant; a first acoustic sensor embedded within the first lighting device and configured to detect an acoustic signature of a component in the industrial plant; a computing device communicatively connected to the first acoustic sensor and configured to evaluate a condition of the component in the industrial plant based on the acoustic signature.

Quality control of a periodic structure is performed using the damping rate of acoustic waves generated in the periodic structure. In this technique, an excitation light beam illuminates the first layer in the periodic structure to excite an acoustic wave. Possible irregularities in the periodic structure can scatter the acoustic wave, thereby increasing the damping rate of the acoustic wave. A sequence of probe light beams illuminates the periodic structure to measure the acoustic wave as a function of time to generated a temporal signal representing the damping rate of the acoustic signal. The acquired damping rate is employed to evaluate the quality of the periodic structure.

A “periodic signal parameter” (PSP) indicates periodic patterns in an autocorrelated vibration waveform and potential faults in a monitored machine. The PSP is calculated based on statistical measures derived from an autocorrelation waveform and characteristics of an associated vibration waveform. The PSP provides an indication of periodicity and a generalization of potential fault, whereas characteristics of the associated waveform indicate severity. A “periodic information plot” (PIP) is derived from a vibration signal processed using two analysis techniques to produce two X-Y graphs of the signal data that share a common X-axis. The PIP is created by correlating the Y-values on the two graphs based on the corresponding X-value. The amplitudes of Y-values in the PIP is derived from the two source graphs by multiplication, taking a ratio, averaging, or keeping the maximum value.

A “periodic signal parameter” (PSP) indicates periodic patterns in an autocorrelated vibration waveform and potential faults in a monitored machine. The PSP is calculated based on statistical measures derived from an autocorrelation waveform and characteristics of an associated vibration waveform. The PSP provides an indication of periodicity and a generalization of potential fault, whereas characteristics of the associated waveform indicate severity. A “periodic information plot” (PIP) is derived from a vibration signal processed using two analysis techniques to produce two X-Y graphs of the signal data that share a common X-axis. The PIP is created by correlating the Y-values on the two graphs based on the corresponding X-value. The amplitudes of Y-values in the PIP is derived from the two source graphs by multiplication, taking a ratio, averaging, or keeping the maximum value.

Methods and devices are provided for analyzing a tubular structure including at least two electromagnetic-acoustic transducers (EMAT) and, called sensors, attachable or attached in, on or in the vicinity of the tubular structure; and computation and/or memory resources, that are accessed locally and/or remotely and that are configured to determine, for the pair of sensors, a function representing the impulse response of the tubular structure on the basis of the diffuse acousto-elastic noise present in the structure. Developments describe the use of rings supporting the sensors; translation and/or rotation movements; permanent or temporary installations; hinged rings; various computation modes, e.g., intercorrelation, a passive inverse filter, or correlation of the coda of the correlation; the use of artificial noise sources, imaging (e.g., tomography) for determining the existence of one or more defects in the structure. Software aspects are described.

Systems and methods are disclosed for conducting an ultrasonic-based inspection. The systems and methods perform operations comprising: receiving a plurality of scan plan parameters associated with generating an image of at least one flaw within a specimen based on acoustic echo data obtained using full matrix capture (FMC); applying the plurality of scan plan parameters to an acoustic model, the acoustic model configured to determine a two-way pressure response of a plurality of inspection modes based on specular reflection and diffraction phenomena; generating, by the acoustic model based on the plurality of scan plan parameters, an acoustic region of influence (AROI) comprising an acoustic amplitude sensitivity map for a first inspection mode amongst the plurality of inspection modes; and generating, for display, a first image comprising the AROI associated with the first inspection mode for capturing or inspecting the image of the at least one flaw.

Systems and methods are disclosed for conducting an ultrasonic-based inspection. The systems and methods perform operations comprising: receiving a plurality of scan plan parameters associated with generating an image of at least one flaw within a specimen based on acoustic echo data obtained using full matrix capture (FMC); applying the plurality of scan plan parameters to an acoustic model, the acoustic model configured to determine a two-way pressure response of a plurality of inspection modes based on specular reflection and diffraction phenomena; generating, by the acoustic model based on the plurality of scan plan parameters, an acoustic region of influence (AROI) comprising an acoustic amplitude sensitivity map for a first inspection mode amongst the plurality of inspection modes; and generating, for display, a first image comprising the AROI associated with the first inspection mode for capturing or inspecting the image of the at least one flaw.

The present disclosure proposes a non-baseline on-line stress monitoring system and monitoring method based on multi-mode Lamb wave data fusion. A Lamb wave dispersion curve is established according to geometric dimensions and material parameters of a measured object, a cut-off frequency of a first-order Lamb wave mode is obtained, an excitation frequency of a Lamb wave signal is determined, and then pure Lamb waves in S0 and A0 modes obtained inside the measured object are obtained; an acoustoelastic equation is established, an elastodynamic equation of the measured object under a prestress condition is solved, and linear relationships between a group velocity and a stress of the Lamb waves in the S0 and A0 modes under the excitation frequency are obtained; data is processed through the on-line monitoring system; a stress gradient in a depth direction is calculated, and finally, a stress state of the measured object is represented. The present disclosure does not require data under a zero stress state as baseline data, does not require designing a wedge block capable of generating a critical refraction longitudinal wave, and combines acoustoelastic effects of Lamb waves in different modes to realize online stress monitoring without the baseline data.