An ultrasonic inspection system, method, and software. In one embodiment, the ultrasonic inspection system includes an ultrasonic probe that directs ultrasound waves into a structure from a front wall, and receives reflected waves to generate a response signal. The system further includes a processor that rectifies the response signal to generate a rectified signal, integrates a portion of the rectified signal within a detection time window to determine an energy sum, and generates output based on the energy sum. The detection time window is restricted to a front wall reflection and at least a portion of a near-surface dead zone following the front wall reflection.

A method for determining plane stresses on an in-service steel structure member based on phase spectrum of ultrasonic transverse wave, including: calibrating stress-spectrum parameters k and c of a replica of the in-service steel structure member; determining a first response frequency of a phase difference and a maximum value of a derivative function of the phase difference of an ultrasonic transverse wave echo of the in-service steel structure member, and obtaining a polarization angle of ultrasonic transverse wave components generated by a birefringence effect; solving a plane normal stress difference and a plane shear stress inside the in-service steel structure member; and separating normal stresses by a shear difference method to obtain three independent plane stress components.

A defect detection device 10 is provided with: a laser light source 11 for irradiating laser light to a measurement region R of a surface of an inspection object S; a laser light source control unit 15 for controlling the laser light source so as to cause laser light to be outputted continuously or quasi-continuously for a time longer than a period of vibration generated in the inspection object; an interferometer (speckle shearing interferometer 14) for generating interference light in which reflected light of the laser light reflected in the measurement region and reference laser light emitted from the laser light source 11 interfere; a detector (image sensor 145) for detecting the intensity of the interference light for each point in the measurement region R; a phase shifter 143 for shifting the phase of the reflected laser light or the reference laser light; an integrated intensity pattern determination unit 16 for obtaining an integrated intensity obtained by integrating the intensity for each point over an integration time longer the period of the vibration in three or more phases, the phase being shifted by the phase shifter 143 into three or more different phases; an interference degree distribution generation unit 17 for obtaining the distribution of the degree of interference based on the integrated intensity obtained in each of the three or more phases for each point; and a defect detection unit 18 for detecting a defect in the measurement region R based on the distribution of the degree of interference in the measurement region R.

Described is a method for estimating a material property of an object by means of a laser ultrasonic (LUS) measurement equipment comprising a generation laser, a detection laser and a detector. The method includes providing a laser pulse onto a surface of the object by the generation laser such that an ultrasonic pulse is generated in the object and such that an ultrasonic vibration is immediately generated on the surface, measuring at least a first subsequent ultrasonic echo from the object by use of the detection laser and the detector, which ultrasonic echo is an echo from the ultrasonic pulse generated in the object, measuring the ultrasonic vibration which is immediately generated on the surface, by use of the detection laser and the detector, and estimating the material property by use of an ultrasonic attenuation parameter based on the measured at least first subsequent ultrasonic echo, whereby the material property is estimated by using the measured ultrasonic vibration which is immediately generated on the surface as reference to the measured at least first subsequent ultrasonic echo.

The invention discloses a non-linear Lamb wave mixing method for measuring stress distribution in thin metal plates. The method is suitable for stress distribution detection and stress concentration area positioning in a plate structure and belongs to the field of nondestructive detection. The steps of the present invention is: first determines the excitation frequencies of two fundamental waves according to the measured object and the nonlinear Lamb wave mixing resonance conditions; the left and right ends of the test piece are oppositely excited two rows of A0 mode waves, and the excitation signal receive the sum-frequency S0 signal at a certain position to detect non-linear mixing stress of the plate structure; by changing the excitation time delay of the excitation signal, perform mixing scan on different positions of the test piece to extract the mixing wave amplitude; finally, according to the variation of amplitude of sum frequency difference signal with mixing position to realize the detection of stress distribution of metal plate and the positioning of the stress concentration area.

A method for non-destructive testing of walls of components, at least one ultrasonic transducer (1) which is fixed to a surface of the wall is used to emit horizontally polarized transverse waves (3) in a lateral propagation direction and compression waves or vertically polarized transverse waves (6) in a radial propagation direction. The at least one ultrasonic transducer (1) and/or at least one further ultrasonic transducer arranged at a known distance from the at least one ultrasonic transducer (1) on the respective wall of the component (2) is/are used to detect horizontally polarized transverse waves (4) reflected by defects and compression waves or vertically polarized transverse waves (7) after or while running the non-destructive testing of the wall in order to determine the respective wall thickness.

In an anti-biofouling context, an anti-biofouling system (20) is provided, which is configured to emit anti-biofouling light in an activated state thereof and to be applied to an object (10). Further, the anti-biofouling system (20) comprises a sensor system (30) that is configured to obtain measurement data relating to at least one structural feature of an anti-biofouling arrangement (1) including both the anti-biofouling system (20) and the object (10) in an actual case of the anti-biofouling system (20) being in place on the object (10). By having the sensor system (30) as mentioned in the anti-biofouling system (20), it is achieved that one or more structural aspects of the anti-biofouling arrangement (1) may be checked/monitored without a need for providing separate means for fulfilling such functionality.

A contactless odometer system can include a sensor array. The sensor array can include a plurality of sensing elements adjacent to a target surface and configured to receive signals based on a distance separating the sensing element from the adjacent surface and a defect present below the adjacent surface of the target. The system can also include a controller configured to receive the signals from first and second locations within the target and to generate first and second defect maps corresponding to the first and second locations. The controller can identify overlapping portions of first and second defect maps and can determine a translation distance in at least one direction. Related methods of determining a distance traveled by a contactless odometer system are also provided.

An ultrasonic sensor for guided wave testing is disclosed. The sensor comprises a flexible circuit board (2), an array of piezoelectric elements (10) on the flexible circuit board and an array of permanent magnets (16). Each piezoelectric element is interposed between a respective permanent magnet and the flexible circuit board.

A method for detecting a structural anomaly in a pipeline supply network is disclosed where the pipeline supply network is configured to supply fluid to multiple receiving locations. The method comprises receiving acoustic signal data from a selected location in the pipeline supply network and generating a first time window of acoustic signal data based on the acoustic signal data. The method then includes benchmarking the first time window of acoustic signal data with respect to historical background acoustic signal data characterising the pipeline supply network to generate a corresponding background benchmarked first time window of acoustic signal data and then determining an anomaly measure for the background benchmarked first time window of acoustic signal data where the anomaly measure indicates a presence of the structural anomaly.