Real-time fusion of ultrasound and eddy current data during non-destructive examination

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10823703-B2
Application number	US-201916242299-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 8, 2019
Priority date	May 26, 2015
Publication date	Nov 3, 2020
Grant date	Nov 3, 2020

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for real-time fusion of data acquired using ultrasonic and eddy current area sensors during nondestructive examination. The ultrasonic data is acquired using an array of ultrasonic transducer elements configured to enable the production and display of a C-scan of a small area. The ultrasonic transducer array may be one- or two-dimensional. The eddy current sensor can be a single pair of induction coils, a multiplicity of coil pairs, or a coil configuration in which the numbers of drive coils and sense coils are not equal. The eddy current sensor is able to provide data about the test material, such as material thickness or conductivity, to complement the ultrasonic data or enable auto-setup of the ultrasonic inspection device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
(a) arranging an eddy current sensor of an eddy current detection system, an array of ultrasonic transducers of an ultrasonic detection system, and a material so that the eddy current sensor is disposed between the array of ultrasonic transducers and the material;
(b) interrogating the material using the eddy current sensor;
(c) acquiring eddy current data from eddy currents induced in the eddy current sensor in response to step (b);
(d) processing the eddy current data to determine a thickness of the material;
(e) calculating transmission focal laws based on the thickness determined in step (d), the transmission focal laws comprising a pattern of time delays for pulsing ultrasonic transducer elements of the array of ultrasonic transducers; and
(f) programming an ultrasonic pulser/receiver unit of the ultrasonic detection system with the pattern of time delays.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
interrogating a first portion of the material using the eddy current sensor;
acquiring first eddy current data from eddy currents induced in the eddy current sensor in response to interrogating the first portion of the material using the eddy current sensor;
interrogating the first portion of material using the array of ultrasonic transducers to transmit ultrasound waves through the eddy current sensor;
acquiring first ultrasonic data from ultrasound waves returned to the array of ultrasonic transducers in response to interrogating the first portion of the material using the array of ultrasonic transducers; and
displaying an image with fused first ultrasonic data and first eddy current data.

3. The method as recited in claim 2 , further comprising:
moving the eddy current sensor and array of ultrasonic transducers so that the eddy current sensor is disposed between the array of ultrasonic transducers and a second portion of a material;
interrogating the second portion of material using the eddy current sensor;
acquiring second eddy current data from eddy currents induced in the eddy current sensor in response to interrogating the second portion of material using the eddy current sensor;
interrogating the second portion of material using the array of ultrasonic transducers to transmit ultrasound waves through the eddy current sensor; and
acquiring second ultrasonic data from ultrasound waves returned to the array of ultrasonic transducers in response to interrogating the second portion of material using the array of ultrasonic transducers.

4. The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein the material comprises a fiber-reinforced plastic laminate containing a layer of conductive material, the method further comprising:
processing the first ultrasonic data to determine whether the fiber-reinforced plastic laminate in the first portion of the material has a delamination; and
processing the first eddy current data to determine whether the layer of conductive material in the first portion of the material has a fault.

5. The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein the material comprises conductive material, the method further comprising:
processing the first ultrasonic data to determine whether the conductive material in the first portion of the material contains corrosion pits; and
processing the first eddy current data to determine whether the conductive material in the first portion of the material has a crack.

6. The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein the material comprises conductive material, the method further comprising:
processing the first ultrasonic data to determine whether the conductive material in the first portion of the material contains erosion grooves; and
processing the first eddy current data to determine whether the conductive material in the first portion of the material has a crack.

7. The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein the material comprises conductive material, the method further comprising:
processing the first ultrasonic data to determine whether the conductive material in the first portion of the material contains disbonding; and
processing the first eddy current data to determine whether the conductive material in the first portion of the material has a crack.

8. The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein the material comprises a substrate made of conductive material having a coating made of non-conductive material, the method further comprising:
processing the first eddy current data to determine a thickness of the coating; and
modifying the first ultrasonic data based on the coating thickness determined.

9. The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein the material comprises a fiber-reinforced plastic laminate containing a layer of resin reinforced by conductive fibers, the method further comprising:
processing the first ultrasonic data to identify changes associated with resin richness or starvation; and
processing the first eddy current data to identify distortions in the conductive fibers.

10. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
(g) interrogating the material by pulsing the array of ultrasonic transducers with the pattern of time delays to transmit ultrasound waves through the eddy current sensor and into the material; and
(h) acquiring ultrasonic data from ultrasound waves returned to the array of ultrasonic transducers in response step (g).

11. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein the eddy current sensor, array of ultrasonic transducers and material are arranged as recited in step (a) during the interrogating recited in steps (b) and (g).

12. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein the time delays accomplish focusing an ultrasound beam at a particular depth.

13. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein the time delays accomplish steering an ultrasound beam to a particular angle.

14. The method as recited in claim 10 , further comprising selecting a frequency of the ultrasound waves to be transmitted in step (g), the selection being dependent on the thickness determined in step (d).

15. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein the material comprises a fiber-reinforced plastic laminate containing a layer of conductive material, the method further comprising processing the ultrasonic data to determine whether the fiber-reinforced plastic laminate has a delamination.

16. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein the material comprises conductive material, the method further comprising processing the ultrasonic data to determine whether the conductive material contains corrosion pits.

17. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein the material comprises conductive material, the method further comprising processing the ultrasonic data to determine whether the conductive material contains erosion grooves.

18. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein the material comprises conductive material, the method further comprising processing the ultrasonic data to determine whether the conductive material contains disbonding.

19. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein the material comprises a substrate made of conductive material having a coating made of non-conductive material, the method further comprising modifying the ultrasonic data based on the coating thickness determined.

20. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein the material comprises a fiber-reinforced plastic laminate containing a layer of resin reinforced by conductive fibers, the method further comprising processing the ultrasonic data to identify changes associated with resin r

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Kollgaard Jeffrey R
• Holmes Tyler M
• Georgeson Gary E

Classifications

• G01N27/9006

  Details, e.g. in the structure or functioning of sensors · CPC title

• G01N29/4436

  with a reference signal (amplitude comparison G01N29/48) · CPC title

• G01N29/0654

  Imaging · CPC title

• G01N27/904 Primary

  with two or more sensors · CPC title

• G01N2291/106

  one or more transducer arrays · CPC title