The invention concerns a method for ultrasounds detection of defects in a material, including the following steps: emission of ultrasounds from an ultrasonic emitting transducer positioned against to the material at an emission position, acquisition, by an ultrasonic receiving transducer placed against the material at the reception position, of at least one time signal, for each measurement position, determination of a normalisation term from the values taken by the time signal during an initial portion of the measurement duration corresponding to the reception of ultrasonic waves propagated at the surface of the material; for each measurement position, normalisation of the time signal over the measurement duration using the normalisation term to obtain a normalised time signal, processing of normalised time signals for different measurement positions to detect defects in the material.

A system and method for sizing defects in solid structures using guided waves. The system includes a magnetostrictive-strip EMAT transducer comprising at least one biasing static magnetic field, at least one RF coil for fixed-wavelength measurements, at least one RF coil for variable-wavelength measurements, and a strip of highly magnetostrictive material that is coupled with the structure. The fixed-wavelength RF coil permits obtaining measurements of amplitude and frequency content of signals reflected and/or attenuated when traveling through the structure which are used to estimate the size and geometry of any defects in this structure. The variable-wavelength RF coil permits recording the frequencies that are cut off or pass through the structure to also estimate the size of any defects in the structure. The fixed-wavelength sizing and geometry assessment is used to determine whether the variable-wavelength estimate is valid. The final assessment is based on the fixed-wavelength estimate, the variable-wavelength estimate, or a combination of both.

A ferromagnetic strip sensor for use in magnetostrictive testing of various structures. In its simplest form, the sensor has a ferromagnetic strip with an electrical coil winding. A permanent magnet is positioned atop the strip, aligned with but offset from, a center axis of the strip. The sensor is operable such that a time varying current in the coil results in a unidirectional guided wave. This guided wave travels within the structure, and is reflected from anomalies in the structure.

A method for monitoring the structural health of a structure that supports guided propagation modes of elastic waves, includes the following steps: a) acquiring an ambient noise propagating through the structure by means of at least one pair of non-collocated elastic-wave sensors; b) estimating a function representative of an impulse response of the structure for elastic propagation between the constituent sensors of said pair; c) extracting at least one dispersion curve of the elastic propagation through the structure by time-frequency analysis of this function representative of an impulse response; and d) estimating at least one parameter indicative of a mechanical property of a constituent material of the structure from the dispersion curve obtained in step c). A system for implementing such a method is also provided.

A method for adjusting array of omnidirectional EMATs includes: uniformly arranging N EMATs in a detection region of a metal plate; calculating positions of scattering points according to amplitudes and travel times of guided wave scattering signals, and forming a first defect profile curve by performing three smooth spline interpolations on coordinate data of positions of scattering points; calculating curvatures of points on the first defect profile curve by solving a first and second derivatives of a function of the first defect profile curve; determining an array adjustment region by comparing the curvature with a preset threshold, adjusting the array and calculating a second defect profile curve; and performing data fusion on the first and second defect profile curves to form a defect profile image of the metal plate.

An apparatus for use in Ultrasonic testing, and a method of inspection or testing using the apparatus. The ultrasonic testing tool includes an elongate connector arranged between a transducer and a tip or contact head for contact with the component to be tested. The elongate connector carries soundwaves produced by the transducer between the transducer and the contact head.

Embodiments include an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) system. The EMAT system includes a plurality of magnets and a conductor set. The plurality of magnets has a like pole arrangement and wherein each magnet is in close proximity to one another. The conductor set includes electrically conductive elements. A portion of the conductor set is positioned proximate to the plurality of magnets. The plurality of magnets and the conductor set are positioned proximate to a test object. The EMAT system is configured to perform at least one of generating and receiving an elastic wave. Embodiments also include a method of elastic wave measurement for nondestructive testing and evaluation. The method includes the steps of positioning an EMAT proximate a test object, generating an elastic wave such that the elastic wave propagates about the test object, detecting the elastic wave propagating about the test object, and analyzing difference in elastic wave character between the elastic wave in the generating step and the elastic wave in the detecting step to evaluate the test object.

A method of battery state monitoring includes: (1) providing a battery cell and at least one ultrasonic actuator and at least one ultrasonic sensor mounted to the battery cell; (2) using the ultrasonic actuator, generating a guided wave that propagates in-plane of the battery cell; (3) using the ultrasonic sensor, receiving an arriving wave corresponding to the guided wave; and (4) determining a state of the battery cell based on the arriving wave.

A guided wave probe for use in guided wave testing of plate structures. The probe comprises a cup having a flat or nearly flat bottom, and a guided wave sensor, such as a magnetostrictive sensor, placed in the bottom of the cup. The sensor and/or cup are coupled to the plate structure, such that ultrasonic energy from the sensor is transmitted to the cup and the plate surface. The sensor is incrementally rotated in the cup, and sensor data is acquired at each incremental position.

A method performed by a processing device, the method comprising: obtaining first waveform data indicative of traversal of a first signal through a structure at a first time; applying a scale transform to the first waveform data and the second waveform data; computing, by the processing device and based on applying the scale transform, a scale-cross correlation function that promotes identification of scaling behavior between the first waveform data and the second waveform data; performing one or more of: computing, by the processing device and based on the scale-cross correlation function, a scale factor for the first waveform data and the second waveform data; and computing, by the processing device and based on the scale-cross correlation function, a scale invariant correlation coefficient between the first waveform data and the second waveform data.