Unsupervised thickness measurement for non-destructive testing
AssigneeEvident Canada, Inc.
InventorAlain Le Duff
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Various techniques are described for unsupervised thickness measurements and corrosion estimations in materials using an ultrasound inspection system utilizing non-destructive testing (NDT) methods. The system uses cepstral analysis to analyze a spectral power of an acoustic data signal acquired after an ultrasound probe assembly emits ultrasonic wave to identify distinct frequency contents associated with multiple echoes. Cepstral analysis allows the system to distinguish between different types of echoes, such as those from the front-wall and back-wall of the material and from any defects present within the material.
Claims22
An ultrasound inspection system configured for determining a thickness of a material using a non-destructive testing (NDT) technique, the system comprising:
- a probe assembly configured to emit ultrasonic waves;
- and
- a processor configured for:
- acquiring an acoustic output signal of the material using the probe assembly;
- determining a cepstrum of the acoustic output signal;
- determining, based on the cepstrum of the acoustic output signal, a time of flight (TOF) of the ultrasonic waves within the material;
- determining the thickness of the material based on the determined TOF and a known speed of sound in the material;
- and
- outputting the determined thickness to a user interface.
A method for determining a thickness of a material using a probe assembly configured to emit ultrasonic waves and a non-destructive testing (NDT) technique, the method comprising:
- acquiring an acoustic output signal of the material using the probe assembly;
- determining a cepstrum of the acoustic output signal;
- determining, based on the cepstrum of the acoustic output signal, a time of flight (TOF) of the ultrasonic waves within the material;
- determining the thickness of the material based on the determined TOF and a known speed of sound in the material;
- and
- outputting the determined thickness to a user interface.
A machine-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations for:
- acquiring an acoustic output signal of a material using a probe assembly;
- determining a cepstrum of the acoustic output signal;
- determining, based on the cepstrum of the acoustic output signal, a time of flight (TOF) of ultrasonic waves within the material;
- determining a thickness of the material based on the determined TOF and a known speed of sound in the material;
- and
- outputting the determined thickness to a user interface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.