Experimental Validation and Application of a Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing Model on Sound Field Optimization

Journal article, 2021

In safety dominant industries, nondestructive evaluation (NDE) is crucial in quality assurance and assessment. Phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) as one of the NDE methods is more promising compared with conventional ultrasonic testing (UT) method in terms of inspection speed and flexibility. To incorporate PAUT, the techniques should be qualified, which traditionally is performed by extensive physical experiments. However, with the development of numerical models simulating UT method, it is expected to complement or partly replace the experiments with the intention to reduce costs and operational uncertainties. The models should be validated to ensure its consistency to reality. This validation work can be done by comparing the model with other validated models or corresponding experiments. The purpose of current work focuses on the experimental validation of a numerical model, simSUNDT, developed by the Chalmers University of Technology. Validation is conducted by comparing different data presentations (A-, B- and C-scan) from experimental and simulated results with some well-defined artificial defects. Satisfactory correlations can be observed from the comparisons. After the validation, sound field optimization work aiming at retrieving maximized echo amplitude on a certain defect can be started using the model. This also reveals the flexibility of parametric studies using simulation models.