Analytische Chemie
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In ultrasonic testing, material and structural properties of a specimen can be derived from the time-of-flight (ToF). Using signal features, such as the first peak or envelope maximum, to calculate the ToF is error-prone in multipath arrangements or dispersive and attenuating materials, which is not the case for the signal onset. Borrowing from seismology, researchers used the Akaike information criterion (AIC) picker to automatically determine onset times. The most commonly used formulation, Maeda's AIC picker, is reassessed and found to be based on inappropriate assumptions for signals often used in ultrasonic testing and dependent on arbitrary parameters. Consequently, an onset picker for ultrasonic through-transmission measurements is proposed, based on a spectral entropy criterion (SEC) to model the signal using the AIC framework. This SEC picker takes into account the spectral properties of the ultrasonic signal and is virtually free of arbitrary parameters. Synthetic and experimental data are used to compare the performance of SEC and AIC pickers. It is shown that the accuracy of onset picking is improved for densely sampled data.
The built infrastructure ages and requires regular inspection and, when in doubt, monitoring. To ensure that older concrete bridges showing signs of deterioration can be used safely, several innovative monitoring tools have been introduced, including but not limited to optical, fiber-optic, or acoustic emission techniques. However, there are gaps in the portfolio. A sensing technique that covers a wide range of damage scenarios and larger volumes, while still being sensitive and specific, would be beneficial.
For about 15 years, research has been conducted on ultrasonic monitoring of concrete structures that goes beyond the traditional ultrasonic pulse velocity test (PV test), mostly using a very sensitive data evaluation technique called coda wave interferometry. At BAM we have developed sensors and instrumentation specifically for this method.
We have instrumented a 70-year-old, severely damaged prestressed concrete bridge in Germany in addition to a commercial monitoring system. We have now collected data for almost 3 years. We can show that we can provide information about the stress distribution in the bridge. We have also been able to confirm that there has been no significant additional damage to the bridge since the installation.
The ultrasonic echo technique is frequently used in non-destructive testing (NDT) of concrete structures for thickness measurements, geometry determinations as well as localization of built-in components. To improve ultrasonic imaging of complex structures in concrete, we transferred a geophysical imaging technique, the reverse time migration (RTM), to NDT in civil engineering. In contrast to the conventionally used synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) algorithms, RTM is a wavefield continuation method in time and uses the full wave equation. Thus, RTM can handle complicated wave propagations in any direction without dip limitation. In this paper, we focused on the application and evaluation of a two-dimensional (2D) elastic RTM algorithm considering compressional waves, vertically polarized shear waves, and Rayleigh waves. We tested the elastic RTM routine on synthetic ultrasonic echo data generated with a 2D concrete model consisting of several steps and circular air inclusions. As these complex structures can often be found in real-world NDT use cases, their imaging is especially important. By using elastic RTM, we were able to clearly reproduce vertical reflectors and lower edges of circular air voids inside our numerical concrete model. Such structures cannot be imaged with conventional SAFT algorithms. Furthermore, the used elastic RTM approach also yielded a better reconstruction of a horizontal reflector and upper boundaries of circular air inclusions. Our encouraging results demonstrate that elastic RTM has the potential to significantly improve the imaging of complex concrete structures and, thus, is a step forward for detailed, high-quality ultrasonic NDT in civil engineering.
The corner echo is a well-known effect in ultrasonic testing, which allows detection of surface breaking cracks with predominantly perpendicular orientation to the surface as, for example, corrosion cracks in metal pipes or shafts. This echo is formed by two planes, the surface of the crack and the surface which the crack breaks. It can also be classified as a half-skip method, since a reflection of the pulse occurs on the backwall before the reflection at the defect takes place. In combination with the diffraction from the crack tip, the corner echo also allows crack sizing. As shown in this paper, the corner reflection can be used in civil engineering for nondestructive inspection of concrete. Commercially available low frequency ultrasonic arrays with dry point contact sources generate SH transversal waves with sufficient divergence of the sound field in order to detect corner reflections. Ultrasonic line-scans and area-scans were acquired with a linear array on flat concrete specimens, and the data were reconstructed by the Synthetic aperture focusing technique. If the angles and the area of reconstruction are chosen accordingly, the corner echo reflection can be distinguished from other ultrasonic information. The corner echo can thus be used as a method for deciding whether a crack is a partial-depth crack or a full-depth crack and thus for obtaining a statement about crack depth. This paper presents corresponding experimental results obtained on concrete specimens with artificial test defects and cracks induced under controlled conditions.
The rails of modern railways face an enormous wear and tear from ever increasing train speeds and loads. This necessitates diligent non-destructive testing for defects of the entire railway system.
Non-destructive testing of rail tracks is carried out by rail inspection trains equipped with ultrasonic and eddy current test devices. However, the evaluation of the gathered data is mainly done manually with a strong focus on ultrasonic data, and defects are checked on-site using hand-held testing equipment. Maintenance measures are derived based on these on-site findings.
The aim of the AIFRI project (Artificial Intelligence For Rail Inspection) is to
- increase the degree of automation of the inspection process, from the evaluation of the data to the planning of maintenance measures,
- increase the accuracy of defect detection,
- automatically classify detected indications into risk classes.
These aims will be achieved by training a neural network for defect detection and classification. Since the current testing data is unbalanced, insufficiently labeled and largely unverified we will supplement fused, simulated eddy current and ultrasonic testing data in form of a configurable digital twin.
This dataset contains raw data acquired in ultrasound measurements on a reference specimen made of concrete at Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Berlin (Germany). The internal specimen identifier is “Pk050”. The measurements were conducted using the pulse-echo method. The upper surface of the specimen was defined as measuring area. The aim of the measurements is to determine the geometrical dimensions (thickness) of the specimen “Pk050”. In addition to this, a dataset of a second specimen with identifier “Pk266” has been acquired. Pk266 has the same geometrical dimensions and concrete recipe as Pk050, but contains tendons [Reference: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/NUU0WZ].
This dataset contains raw data acquired in ultrasound measurements on a reference specimen made of concrete at Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Berlin (Germany). The internal specimen identifier is “Pk266”. The measurements were conducted using the pulse-echo method. The upper surface of the specimen was defined as measuring area. The aim of the measurements is to determine both the geometrical dimensions (thickness) and the position of tendons to the measuring area. In addition to this, a second dataset of a second specimen with identifier is existing named “Pk050” has been acquired. Pk050 has the same geometrical dimensions and concrete recipe as Pk266 recipe but does not contain tendons [Reference: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/9EID5D].
Temperature compensation strategies play a key role in the implementation of guided wave based structural health monitoring approaches. The varying temperature influences the performance of the inspection system inducing false alarms or missed detection, with a consequent reduction of reliability. This paper quantitatively assesses two temperature compensation methods, namely the optimal baseline selection (OBS) and the baseline signal stretch (BSS), with the aim to extend their use to the case of distributed sensor networks (DSN). The effect of temperature separation between baseline time-traces in OBS and BSS are investigated considering multiple couples of sensors employed in the DSN. A decision strategy that uses frequent value warning to define the optimal baseline or stretching parameter is found to be effective analyzing data from two several experiments, which use different frequency analysis with either predominantly A0 mode or S0 mode data or both. The focus is given on the fact that different paths are available in a sensor network and several possible combinations of results are available. Nonetheless, introducing a frequent value warning it is possible to increase the efficiency of the OBS and BSS approach making use of fewer signal processing algorithms. In addition, the effectiveness of those approach is quantified using damage indicators as metric, which confirms that the performance of OBS and BSS quantitatively agree with predictions and also demonstrate that the use of compensation strategies improve detectability of damage with a higher reliability of the system.
What is meant by ‘Micro Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation’? This was the central subject of debate in this Special Issue.
At present, sub-millimeter-size components or even assemblies are pervading the industrial and scientific world. Classic examples are electronic devices and watches (as well as parts thereof), but recent examples encompass additively manufactured lattice structures, stents, or other microparts. Moreover, most assemblies contain micro-components. Testing such components or their miniaturized parts would fit well within the topic of micro non-destructive testing and evaluation.
In all cases, performance and integrity testing, quality control, and dimensional tolerances need to be measured at the sub-millimeter level (ideally with a spatial resolution of about a micron); most of the time, such features and components are embedded in much larger assemblies, which also need to be taken into account. The solution to this dilemma (i.e. measuring large parts with high resolution) depends on the part and on the problem under consideration.
Another possible definition of micro non-destructive testing and evaluation can relate to the characterization of micro-features (e.g., the microstructure) in much larger specimens, such as damage in concrete cores or porosity in additively manufactured components. A further aspect is the use of microscopic probes to evaluate macroscopic properties. This is the case, for instance but not at all exclusively, in the use of diffraction techniques to determine macroscopic stress.
The splits between testing and characterization at the micro-level (or of micro parts) from one side and handling of macroscopic assemblies on the other represent a great challenge for many fields of materials characterization. On top of that, including the use of microscopic methods to test integrity would add a further level of complexity.
Imaging, mechanical testing, non-destructive testing, measurement of properties, structural health monitoring, and dimensional metrology all need to be re-defined if we want to cope with the multi-faceted topic of micro non-destructive testing and evaluation.
The challenge has already been accepted by the scientific and engineering communities for a while but is still far from being universally tackled. This Special Issue yields an interesting answer to the questions posed above. It presents the progress made and the different aspects of the challenge as well as at indicates the paths for the future of NDT&E.
Validation of novel ultrasonic phased array borehole probe by using simulation and measurement
(2022)
Low-frequency ultrasonic testing is a well-established non-destructive testing (NDT) method in civil engineering for material characterization and the localization of cracks, reinforcing bars and delamination. A novel ultrasonic borehole probe is developed for in situ quality assurance of sealing structures in radioactive waste repositories using existing research boreholes. The aim is to examine the sealing structures made of salt concrete for any possible cracks and delamination and to localize built-in components. A prototype has been developed using 12 individual horizontal dry point contact (DPC) shear wave transducers separated by equidistant transmitter/receiver arrays. The probe is equipped with a commercially available portable ultrasonic flaw detector used in the NDT civil engineering industry. To increase the sound pressure generated, the number of transducers in the novel probe is increased to 32 transducers. In addition, the timed excitation of each transducer directs a focused beam of sound to a specific angle and distance based on the previously calculated delay time. This narrows the sensitivity of test volume and improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the received signals. In this paper, the newly designed phased array borehole probe is validated by beam computation in the CIVA software and experimental investigations on a half-cylindrical test specimen to investigate the directional characteristics. In combination with geophysical reconstruction methods, it is expected that an optimised radiation pattern of the probe will improve the signal quality and thus increase the reliability of the imaging results. This is an important consideration for the construction of safe sealing structures for the safe disposal of radioactive or toxic waste.
Attenuation of ultrasonic signals in concrete has the potential to carry much information about the microstructure of the material. In this work a series of concrete specimens of varying porosities and pore size distributions were internally imaged with x-ray computed tomography (CT), and then subsequently examined with throughtransmission ultrasound. The CT images were used to quantify both capillary porosity of cement paste as well as internal interfaces that are likely to produce elastic wave scattering. Ultrasound signals were represented as a diffusion process such that absorption and scattering attenuation could be isolated. As implemented, the diffusion model was a poor predictor of capillary porosity, while diffusivity was a reasonable predictor of scattering interfaces. Diffusivity was found to scale extremely well with small scale porosity, which made it a good predictor of compressive strength.
The retroreflective corner echo is used, for example, in ultrasonic non-destructive testing of metals to find fatigue cracks in tubes or shafts. If the much weaker crack tip signal is additionally detected, the crack length can also be determined. A corner reflection occurs in cases of surface breaking cracks with predominantly perpendicular orientation to the surface. The intensity of the corner reflection depends on the angle of incidence and on the ultrasonic wave mode used. For the reliable detection of vertical surface breaking cracks in metals, transversal waves are commonly used, which propagate at an angle of 37° to 53° to the inspection surface. As shown in this contribution, the wide spread low frequency ultrasonic arrays with dry point contact sources available for ultrasonic testing of concrete also allow to receive corner echoes. These devices generate transversal waves in concrete structures with a large divergence of the sound field. A series of experiments was carried out with such dry point contact arrays on concrete specimens with artificial test defects and controlled induced cracks of different depths. The ultrasonic time-of-flight signals were recorded, exported and reconstructed utilising the SAFT (Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique) algorithm. The SAFT reconstruction parameters were adjusted to visualize the corner echo indication. As will be shown, with this targeted processing, the reproducible detection of surface breaking cracks in concrete is possible. The retroreflective corner echo can thus be exploited in civil engineering for non-destructive inspection of concrete.
During their life span, concrete structures interact with many kinds of external mechanical loads. Most of these loads are considered in advance and result in reversible deformations. Nevertheless, some of the loads cause irreversible, sometimes unnoticed changes below the macroscopic scale depending on the type and dimension of the impact. As the functionality of concrete structures is often relevant to safety and society, their condition must be known and, therefore, assessed on a regular basis. Out of the spectrum of non-destructive monitoring methods, Coda Wave Interferometry using embedded ultrasonic sensors is one particularly sensitive technique to evaluate changes to heterogeneous media. However, there are various influences on Coda waves in concrete, and the interpretation of their superimposed effect is ambiguous. In this study, we quantify the relations of uniaxial compression and uniaxial tension on Coda waves propagating in normal concrete. We found that both the signal correlation of ultrasonic signals as well as their velocity variation directly reflect the stress change in concrete structures in a laboratory environment. For the linear elastic range up to 30% of the strength, we calculated a velocity variation of −0.97‰/MPa for compression and 0.33%/MPa for tension using linear regression. In addition, these parameters revealed even weak irreversible changes after removal of the load. Furthermore, we show the time-dependent effects of shrinkage and creep on Coda waves by providing the development of the signal parameters over time during half a year together with creep recovery. Our observations showed that time-dependent material changes must be taken into account for any comparison of ultrasonic signals that are far apart in time. The study’s results demonstrate how Coda Wave Interferometry is capable of monitoring stress changes and detecting even small-size microstructural changes. By indicating the stated relations and their separation from further impacts, e.g., temperature and moisture, we anticipate our study to contribute to the qualification of Coda Wave Interferometry for its application as an early-warning system for concrete structures.
What is meant by ‘Micro Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation’? This was the central subject of debate in this Special Issue.
At present, sub-millimeter-size components or even assemblies are pervading the industrial and scientific world. Classic examples are electronic devices and watches (as well as parts thereof), but recent examples encompass additively manufactured lattice structures, stents, or other microparts. Moreover, most assemblies contain micro-components. Testing such components or their miniaturized parts would fit well within the topic of micro non-destructive testing and evaluation.
In all cases, performance and integrity testing, quality control, and dimensional tolerances need to be measured at the sub-millimeter level (ideally with a spatial resolution of about a micron); most of the time, such features and components are embedded in much larger assemblies, which also need to be taken into account. The solution to this dilemma (i.e. measuring large parts with high resolution) depends on the part and on the problem under consideration.
Another possible definition of micro non-destructive testing and evaluation can relate to the characterization of micro-features (e.g., the microstructure) in much larger specimens, such as damage in concrete cores or porosity in additively manufactured components. A further aspect is the use of microscopic probes to evaluate macroscopic properties. This is the case, for instance but not at all exclusively, in the use of diffraction techniques to determine macroscopic stress.
The splits between testing and characterization at the micro-level (or of micro parts) from one side and handling of macroscopic assemblies on the other represent a great challenge for many fields of materials characterization. On top of that, including the use of microscopic methods to test integrity would add a further level of complexity.
Imaging, mechanical testing, non-destructive testing, measurement of properties, structural health monitoring, and dimensional metrology all need to be re-defined if we want to cope with the multi-faceted topic of micro non-destructive testing and evaluation.
The challenge has already been accepted by the scientific and engineering communities for a while but is still far from being universally tackled. This Special Issue yields an interesting answer to the questions posed above. It presents the progress made and the different aspects of the challenge as well as at indicates the paths for the future of NDT&E.
Temperature Compensation Strategies for Lamb Wave Inspection using Distributed Sensor Networks
(2022)
The application of temperature compensation strategies is crucial in structural health monitoring approaches based on guided waves. Actually, the varying temperature influences the performance of the inspection system inducing false alarms or missed detection, with a consequent reduction of reliability. This paper quantitatively describes a method to compensate the temperature effect, namely the optimal baseline selection (OBS), extending its application to the case of distributed sensor networks (DSN). The effect of temperature separation between baseline time-traces in OBS are investigated considering multiple couples of sensors employed in the DSN. A combined strategy that uses both OBS and frequent value warning is considered. Theoretical results are compared, using data from two several experiments, which use different frequency analysis with either predominantly A0 mode or S0 mode data or both. The focus is given on the fact that different paths are available in a sensor network and several possible combination of results are available. Nonetheless, introducing a frequent value warning it is possible to increase the efficiency of the OBS approach making use of fewer signal processing algorithms. These confirm that the performance of OBS quantitatively agrees with predictions and also demonstrate that the use of compensation strategies improve detectability of damage.
The dataset presented contains ultrasonic data recorded in pulse echo mode. The investigated specimen is made of the isotropic homogeneous material polyamide and has a drill hole of constant diameter running parallel to the surface, which was scanned in a point grid using an automatic scanner system. At each measuring position, a pitch-catch measurement was performed using a sampling rate of 2 MHz. The probes used are arrays consisting of a spatially separated receiving and in-phase transmitting unit. The transmitting and receiving sides each consist of 12 point-shaped single probes. These dry-point contact (DPC) probes operate according to the piezoelectric principle at nominal frequencies of 55 kHz (shear waves) and 100 kHz (longitudinal waves), respectively, and do not require a coupling medium. The measurements are performed with longitudinal (100 kHz) and transverse (55 kHz) waves with different geometric orientations of the probe on the measurement surface. The data presented in the article provide a valid source for evaluating reconstruction algorithms for imaging in the low-frequency ultrasound range.
This paper describes a new ultrasonic measuring device called “W-Box”. It was developed based on the requirements of the DFG Forschergruppe (research unit) CoDA for a portable device for monitoring of concrete specimens, models and actual structures using embedded ultrasonic transducers as well as temperature and humidity sensors. The W-Box can send ultrasonic pulses with a variable frequency of 50–100 kHz to one selectable transducer and records signals from up to 75 multiplexed channels with a sample rate of 1 MHz and a resolution of 14 bits. In addition, it measures temperature and humidity with high accuracy, adjustable amplification, restarts automatically after a power failure and can be fully controlled remotely. The measured data are automatically stored locally on-site data quality checks and transferred to remote servers. The comparison of the W-Box with a laboratory setup using commercial devices proves that it is equally reliable and precise, at much lower cost. The W-Box also shows that their measurement capacities, with the used embedded ultrasonic transducers, can reach above 6 m in concrete.
Damage detection of reinforced concrete (RC) structures is becoming a more attractive domain due to the safety issues arising in the last few decades. The damage in concrete can be caused by excessive exploitation of the structure or environmental effects. The cracks in concrete can be detected by different nondestructive testing methods. However, the available methods used for this purpose have numerous limitations. The technologies available in the market nowadays have difficulties detecting slowly progressive, locally limited damage. In addition, some of These methods cannot be applied, especially in hard-to-reach areas in the superstructures. In order to avoid these deficiencies, an embedded ultrasonic methodology can be used to detect cracks in RC structures. In this study, the methodology of crack detection supported with the advanced Signal processing algorithm was proposed and verified on RC structures of various types, and cracks occurring between embedded sensors can be detected. Moreover, different pairs of ultrasonic sensors located in the considered structures are used for the analysis of the sensitivity of distance between them. It is shown that the ultrasonic sensors placed in the range of 1.5–2 m can detect cracks, even when the other methods failed to detect changes in the structure. The obtained results confirmed that diffuse ultrasonic sensor methodology is able to monitor real structures more effectively than traditional techniques.