The invention relates to an acoustic sensor system (1) for detecting a defect (2) of a pipeline wall (3), having: at least one transmitter unit (4) which is configured to emit ultrasound in the direction of a pipeline wall (3) and detect an ultrasound echo reflected by the pipeline wall (3); and a control unit (5) which is connected to the at least one transmitter unit (4) for signaling purposes and which is configured to detect a defect (2) of the pipeline wall (3) using a present change in he ultrasound echo. The invention additionally relates to an in-line inspection device comprising the sensor system (1), to a method for detecting a defect (2) in a pipeline wall (3), to a computer program, to a data carrier signal, and to a data storage unit.

According to one embodiment, an ultrasonic probe includes a first vibrating element and a second vibrating element. The first vibrating element is configured to vibrate at a first peak frequency. An intensity of a vibration of the first vibrating element is highest at the first peak frequency. The second vibrating element is configured to vibrate at a second peak frequency lower than the first peak frequency. An intensity of a vibration of the second vibrating element is highest at the second peak frequency.

A reflection-mode multispectral photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) system and related method is disclosed, based on an optical-acoustic objective in communication with an ultrasonic transducer. In some embodiments of the disclosed technology, when aligned and positioned in a predetermined manner, little to no chromatic aberration is provided, and with convenient confocal alignment of the optical excitation and acoustic detection.

The present invention is related to techniques for the inspection of joints and repairs in pipelines. In this scenario, the present invention provides a method for the inspection of joints in composite pipes and of composite repairs in metal pipelines, comprising the steps of (i) emitting a series of acoustic wave pulses, at different frequencies, from a collar of acoustic transducers (4) positioned at a predetermined distance from the joint (5) or repair (1) to be inspected, (ii) recording, during a time interval subsequent to the emission, the echoes of the wave displacements up to the repair or joint in each of the transducers of the collar of acoustic transducers (4) in the form of A-Scan, and (iii) generating a planarized C-Scan image, by means of the CSM method, for each pulse emission frequency from the collar of acoustic transducers (4). The invention further provides a system for the inspection of joints in composite pipes and of composite repairs in metal pipelines associated with the method described above.

An ultrasound probe includes a casing, a first transmitting unit, a second transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The first transmitting unit is used for transmitting a first push beam and the first push beam has a first transmitting frequency. The second transmitting unit is used for transmitting a second push beam and the second push beam has a second transmitting frequency. The receiving unit has a receiving frequency and is used for selectively receiving a reflective wave of the first push beam and the second push beam, wherein the receiving frequency is covered with the first transmitting frequency and the second transmitting frequency. The receiving unit, the first transmitting unit and the second transmitting unit are disposed in the casing side by side.

Systems and methods for testing steam traps or other similar devices in a hot water or steam system are described. A tester includes a wand that is handheld that can communicate with a handheld electronic device which in turn can communicate with a central monitor for storing and compiling readings as historical profile data. The wand includes a probe to physically contact the device to acoustically sense the performance of the device. The probe includes a probe tip and a stack of acoustic elements, an electrode, a stack mass, and a head to covert the acoustic signal into an electrical signal. The handheld device includes circuitry to process the information, interact with the user, and transmit information to and from the handheld electronic device and/or the central monitor.

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.

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.

Disclosed herein is a system and method for inspecting a bonded structure in a component. The system includes an integrated probe and a processor coupled to the integrated probe. The integrated probe includes an ultrasonic component and a laser component. The ultrasonic component is configured to transmit pulsed sound waves into the bonded structure and receive reflected pulsed sound waves from the bonded structure. The laser component is configured to generate laser pulses and direct the laser pulses to the bonded structure to generate tension waves across the bonded structure. The processor is configured to test a bonded structure in the component. Further, the processor includes a pre-test module configured to operate the ultrasonic component in a pre-test mode, a test module configured to operate the laser component in a test mode, and a post-test module configured to operate the ultrasonic component in a post-test mode.

Systems and methods for testing steam traps or other similar devices in a hot water or steam system are described. A tester includes a wand that is handheld that can communicate with a handheld electronic device which in turn can communicate with a central monitor for storing and compiling readings as historical profile data. The wand includes a probe to physically contact the device to acoustically sense the performance of the device. The probe includes a probe tip and a stack of acoustic elements, an electrode, a stack mass, and a head to covert the acoustic signal into an electrical signal. The handheld device includes circuitry to process the information, interact with the user, and transmit information to and from the handheld electronic device and/or the central monitor.