# US 12,111,290 B2 · Method and system of identifying a bond boundary between a sound bond and a weak bond in a multilayer article

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- Number: US 12,111,290 B2
- Document ID: US12111290B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/604,241
- Filed: 2020-04-17
- Published: 2022-06-23
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2019-04-17
- Assignees: DMC Global Inc.
- Applicants: DMC Global Inc.
- Inventors: Brian Payton; Andrew Ruminski; Curtis Erwin Prothe; Steven David Sparkowich
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12111290B2

## CPC

- G01N 29/043: {in the interior, e.g. by shear waves}
- G01N 29/069: {Defect imaging, localisation and sizing using, e.g. time of flight diffraction [TOFD], synthetic aperture focusing technique [SAFT], Amplituden-Laufzeit-Ortskurven [ALOK] technique}
- B23K 20/08: Explosive welding
- B23K 31/125: {Weld quality monitoring}
- G01N 29/048: {Marking the faulty objects}
- G01N 29/07: by measuring propagation velocity or propagation time of acoustic waves
- G01N 29/265: by moving the sensor relative to a stationary material
- G01N 29/4409: {by comparison}
- G01N 29/4436: {with a reference signal (amplitude comparison G01N29/48)}
- G01N 29/46: by spectral analysis, e.g. Fourier analysis {or wavelet analysis (spectral signal processing per se G06F17/14)}
- G01N 2291/0231: Composite or layered materials
- G01N 2291/0289: Internal structure, e.g. defects, grain size, texture
- G01N 2291/044: Internal reflections (echoes), e.g. on walls or defects
- G01N 2291/267: Welds
- G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q)
- B23K: SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM

## Abstract

A method of identifying a bond boundary between a sound bond and weak bond in a multilayer article may include determining a plurality of positions on a surface of the article; for each position of the plurality of positions, obtaining a full-wave, time domain waveform of ultrasonic waves reflected from the article; and, for each pair of adjacent positions among the plurality of positions, determining whether there is a bond boundary between a first position and a second position based on a comparison of a waveform characteristic of a first waveform generated at the first position and the waveform characteristic of a second waveform generated at the second position; and in response to a determination that there is a bond boundary between the first position and the second position, determining a boundary position based on the first position and the second position and memorializing the boundary position.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of identifying a bond boundary between a sound bond and weak bond in an article having a first layer and a second layer, the method comprising:
determining a plurality of positions on a surface of the article;
for each position of the plurality of positions, obtaining a full-wave, time domain waveform of ultrasonic waves reflected from the article;
for each pair of adjacent positions among the plurality of positions:
determining whether there is a bond boundary between a first position of the pair of adjacent positions and a second position of the pair of adjacent positions based on a comparison of a waveform characteristic of a first waveform generated at the first position and the waveform characteristic of a second waveform generated at the second position; and
in response to a determination that there is a bond boundary between the first position and the second position, determining a boundary position based on one or both of the first position and the second position and memorializing the boundary position;
wherein the determining whether there is a bond boundary between the first position and the second position comprises:
counting a first peak number of peaks of the first waveform;
counting a first trough number of troughs of the first waveform;
counting a second peak number of peaks of the second waveform;
counting a second trough number of troughs of the second waveform;
determining, in response to the first peak number being equal to the second peak number and the first trough number being equal to the second trough number, that there is not a bond boundary between the first position and the second position; and
determining, in response to the first peak number being unequal to the second peak number or the first trough number being unequal to the second trough number, that there is a bond boundary between the first position and the second position.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining a full-wave, time domain waveform comprises:
transmitting ultrasonic waves through the article via a transducer;
receiving reflected ultrasonic waves with the transducer; and
generating the full-wave, time domain waveform based on the reflected ultrasonic waves.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining a full-wave, time domain waveform comprises:
acquiring waveform data corresponding to the full-wave, time domain waveform from a storage medium.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein:
the waveform characteristic is evaluated for a predetermined x-axis range for the first waveform and the second waveform; and
the predetermined x-axis range is based on a speed of sound waves through a material of the first layer and a thickness of the first layer.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the memorializing the boundary position comprises marking a surface of the article at a position corresponding to the boundary position.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the memorializing the boundary position comprises storing coordinates of the boundary position in a storage medium.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein:
the article is a cladded article;
the first layer comprises a first metal or a first metal alloy; and
the second layer comprises a second metal or a second metal alloy.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein the first layer is solid-state welded to the second layer.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the first layer is explosively welded to the second layer.

### Claim 10

A system for identifying a bond boundary between a sound bond and weak bond in an article having a first layer and a second layer, the system comprising:
a tool head;
an ultrasonic transducer mounted on the tool head in a fixed position relative to the tool head;
a motor system operably coupled to the tool head and structured to move the tool head along a two-dimensional plane parallel to a surface of the article;
a position sensor configured to output a position signal indicative of a position of the tool head;
a controller operably coupled to the ultrasonic transducer, the motor system, and the position sensor, wherein the controller is configured to perform:
controlling the motor system to move the transducer to a plurality of positions along a surface of the article;
for each position of the plurality of positions:
identifying coordinates of the position based on the position signal;
controlling the transducer to transmit ultrasonic waves through the article; and
generating a full-wave, time domain waveform based on reflected ultrasonic waves received by the transducer;
for each pair of adjacent positions among the plurality of positions:
determining whether there is a bond boundary between a first position of the pair of adjacent positions and a second position of the pair of adjacent positions based on a comparison of a waveform characteristic of the first waveform generated at the first position and the waveform characteristic of the second waveform generated at the second position; and
in response to a determination that there is a bond boundary, determining boundary coordinates based on one or both of the first position and the second position;
wherein the controller is configured such that the determining whether there is a bond boundary between the first position and the second position comprises:
counting a first peak number of peaks of the first waveform;
counting a first trough number of troughs of the first waveform;
counting a second peak number of peaks of the second waveform;
counting a second trough number of troughs of the second waveform;
determining, in response to the first peak number being equal to the second peak number and the first trough number being equal to the second trough number, that there is not a bond boundary between the first position and the second position; and
determining, in response to the first peak number being unequal to the second peak number or the first trough number being unequal to the second trough number, that there is a bond boundary between the first position and the second position.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The system of claim 10, further comprising a storage medium operably coupled to the controller;
wherein the controller is configured to, in response to the determination that there is a bond boundary, memorialize the boundary coordinates by storing the boundary coordinates in the storage medium.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The system of claim 10, further comprising a marking tool mounted on the tool head and operably coupled to the controller;
wherein the controller is configured to, in response to the determination that there is a bond boundary, memorialize the boundary coordinates by controlling the marking tool to mark the surface of the article at the boundary coordinates.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The system of claim 10, wherein:
the controller is configured such that the waveform characteristic is evaluated for a predetermined x-axis range for the first waveform and the second waveform; and
the predetermined x-axis range is based on a speed of sound waves through a material of the first layer and a thickness of the first layer.

### Claim 14

A method of identifying a bond boundary between a sound bond and weak bond in an article having a first layer and a second layer, the method comprising:
determining a plurality of positions on a surface of the article;
for each position of the plurality of positions, obtaining a full-wave, time domain waveform of ultrasonic waves reflected from the article;
for each pair of adjacent positions among the plurality of positions:
determining whether there is a bond boundary between a first position of the pair of adjacent positions and a second position of the pair of adjacent positions based on a comparison of a waveform characteristic of a first waveform generated at the first position and the waveform characteristic of a second waveform generated at the second position; and
in response to a determination that there is a bond boundary between the first position and the second position, determining a boundary position based on one or both of the first position and the second position and memorializing the boundary position;
wherein the determining whether there is a bond boundary between the first position and the second position comprises:
counting a first peak number of peaks of the first waveform;
counting a first trough number of troughs of the first waveform;
counting a second peak number of peaks of the second waveform;
counting a second trough number of troughs of the second waveform;
determining, in response to a first sum of the first peak number and the first trough number being equal to a second sum of the second peak number and the second trough number, that there is not a bond boundary between the first position and the second position; and
determining, in response to the first sum being non-equal to the second sum, that there is a bond boundary between the first position and the second position.

### Claim 15

A system for identifying a bond boundary between a sound bond and weak bond in an article having a first layer and a second layer, the system comprising:
a tool head;
an ultrasonic transducer mounted on the tool head in a fixed position relative to the tool head;
a motor system operably coupled to the tool head and structured to move the tool head along a two-dimensional plane parallel to a surface of the article;
a position sensor configured to output a position signal indicative of a position of the tool head;
a controller operably coupled to the ultrasonic transducer, the motor system, and the position sensor, wherein the controller is configured to perform:
controlling the motor system to move the transducer to a plurality of positions along a surface of the article;
for each position of the plurality of positions:
identifying coordinates of the position based on the position signal;
controlling the transducer to transmit ultrasonic waves through the article; and
generating a full-wave, time domain waveform based on reflected ultrasonic waves received by the transducer;
for each pair of adjacent positions among the plurality of positions:
determining whether there is a bond boundary between a first position of the pair of adjacent positions and a second position of the pair of adjacent positions based on a comparison of a waveform characteristic of the first waveform generated at the first position and the waveform characteristic of the second waveform generated at the second position; and
response to a determination that there is a bond boundary, determining boundary coordinates based on one or both of the first position and the second position;
wherein the wherein the controller is configured such that the determining whether there is a bond boundary between the first position and the second position comprises:
counting a first peak number of peaks of the first waveform;
counting a first trough number of troughs of the first waveform;
counting a second peak number of peaks of the second waveform;
counting a second trough number of troughs of the second waveform;
determining, in response to a first sum of the first peak number and the first trough number being equal to a second sum of the second peak number and the second trough number, that there is not a bond boundary between the first position and the second position; and
determining, in response to the first sum being non-equal to the second sum, that there is a bond boundary between the first position and the second position.