The present invention relates to method for ultrasonic inspection of a test object, comprising the steps of defining a coordinate system of the test object; selecting, relative to the coordinate system of the test object, at least two positions of a test area; positioning a respective ultrasonic measuring device at the at least two positions within the test area; transmitting, an ultrasonic wave pattern into the test object; receiving an ultrasonic wave pattern signal; acquiring an ultrasonic reference wave pattern signal for a reference area of a reference object, and comparing the received ultrasonic wave pattern signal from the test object with the acquired ultrasonic reference wave pattern signal of the reference object for detecting a defect in the test object.

An ultrasonic inspection device according to an embodiment includes: an ultrasonic transducer which includes at least one oscillator group having a plurality of oscillators in a plurality of regions, each region disposing at least one oscillator; a selector which selects at least one region having one or more of the oscillators to be driven from among the plurality of regions; and a driver which individually drives one or more of the oscillators of the at least one region being selected.

A system and method passively normalize an ultrasonic dry coupled wheel probe as the probe traverses a surface of a structure to inspect the structure, such as a flat structure or a curved pipe. At least a pair of arms are configured to passively maintain normalization of the probe in a detection direction normal to the surface.

Disclosed herein is an apparatus for ultrasonic inspection. The apparatus comprises, in certain examples, a base, a lower coupler block slidably coupled to the base such that the base is translationally movable relative to the lower coupler block, and a pair of wings rotatably coupled to the lower coupler block at a wing pivot point and pivotable between a first angle and a second angle. In certain examples, the apparatus also includes a sensor carriage located within the base and slidably coupled to the base such that the sensor carriage is translationally movable relative to the base.

An adhesive bond test resonance array provides inspection of adhesively bonded composite laminate structures with improved productivity and higher reliability. A holder has multiple slots arranged in a two-dimensional array for holding transducers in respective slots. The holder is adapted to position a probe end of each of the transducers adjacent a component for scanning and has a material hardness adapted for enabling flexing while scanning curved composite parts. A fluid channel is adapted for delivering a couplant to the probe end of the transducers such that the couplant is automatically delivered during scanning of the component to inspect bond integrity.

A scanning apparatus for imaging an object, the scanning apparatus comprising: a transmitter for transmitting ultrasound signals towards an object, a receiver for receiving ultrasound signals from an object, and a support, the transmitter and the receiver being coupled to the support; the scanning apparatus being capable of being operated with the support in a non-planar configuration thereby to scan a non-planar surface of an object.

A scanning system for imaging an object, the scanning system comprising: a scanning apparatus configured to transmit ultrasound signals towards an object and to receive ultrasound signals reflected from an object whereby data pertaining to an internal structure of an object can be obtained; a location sensor for sensing a location of the scanning apparatus; and an instruction unit arranged to provide instructions to a user of the scanning system in dependence on the sensed location.

A scanning system for imaging structural features below the surface of an object, the scanning system comprising a transducer module configured to transmit ultrasound signals towards an object and to receive ultrasound signals reflected from the object whereby data pertaining to an internal structure of the object can be obtained; an analysis module coupled to the transducer module and configured to analyse received ultrasound signals to identify a feature in the received ultrasound signals; and a gating module configured to gate received ultrasound signals in dependence on the identified feature.

Embodiments are disclosed for characterizing and quantifying composite laminate structures. The embodiments take a composite laminate of unknown ply stack composition and sequence and determine various information about the individual plies, such as ply stack, orientation, microstructure, and type. The embodiments distinguish between weave types that exhibit similar planar stiffness behaviors, but produce different failure mechanisms. Individual ply information is then used to derive the laminate bulk properties from externally provided constitutive properties of the fiber and matrix, including extensional stiffness, bending-extension coupling stiffness, bending stiffness, and the like. The laminate bulk properties are then used to generate a probabilistic failure envelope for the composite laminate. In some embodiments, ply stack type and sequence are also determined for a curved composite laminate using the disclosed embodiments by adding a rotational stage.

Embodiments are disclosed for characterizing and quantifying composite laminate structures. The embodiments take a composite laminate of unknown ply stack composition and sequence and determine various information about the individual plies, such as ply stack, orientation, microstructure, and type. The embodiments can distinguish between weave types that may exhibit similar planar stiffness behaviors, but would produce different failure mechanisms. Individual ply information may then be used to derive the laminate bulk properties from externally provided constitutive properties of the fiber and matrix, including extensional stiffness, bending-extension coupling stiffness, bending stiffness, and the like. The laminate bulk properties may then be used to generate a probabilistic failure envelope for the composite laminate. In some embodiments, ply stack type and sequence may also be determined for a curved composite laminate using the disclosed embodiments by adding a rotational stage.