• Composites Research
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• 제29권5호
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• pp.288-292
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• 2016

본 연구에서는 전영역 초음파전파영상화 시스템이라 불리는 새로운 초음파전파영상화 장치를 소개한다. 본 시스템은 비파괴적으로 구조를 2 축 선형 이동 스테이지 기반으로 검사한다. 일치된 초음파 센싱과 가진 레이저 빔이 구조를 스캔하며 동시에 펄스-에코 모드 레이저 초음파를 수집한다. 이 과정은 스캔영역만큼 큰 두께 방향의 전영역 초음파를 생성하는 것을 가능하도록 한다. 본 시스템을 사용하여 실제로 운용 중인 알루미늄 허니콤 구조 기반의 CN-235의 도색된 샌드위치 조종면를 검사 및 평가하고 구조 검사 결과로써 전영역 초음파전파 영상을 소개하였으며 기존 초음파 탐상 기법의 결과와 비교하여 성능 및 민감도를 검증하였다.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.223-230
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• 2018

This study examines a non-contact laser scanning-based ultrasound system, called an angular scan pulse-echo ultrasonic propagation imager (A-PE-UPI), that uses coincided laser beams for ultrasonic sensing and generation. A laser Doppler vibrometer is used for sensing, while a diode pumped solid state (DPSS) Q-switched laser is used for generation of thermoelastic waves. A high-speed raster scanning of up to 10-kHz is achieved using a galvano-motorized mirror scanner that allows for coincided sensing and for the generation beam to perform two-dimensional scanning without causing any harm to the surface under inspection. This process allows for the visualization of longitudinal wave propagation through-the-thickness. A pulse-echo ultrasonic wave propagation imaging algorithm (PE-UWPI) is used for on-the-fly damage visualization of the structure. The presented system is very effective for high-speed, localized, non-contact, and non-destructive inspection of aerospace structures. The system is tested on an aluminum honeycomb sandwich with disbonds and a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) honeycomb sandwich with a layer overlap. Inspection is performed at a 10-kHz scanning speed that takes 16 seconds to scan a $100{\times}100mm^2$ area with a scan interval of 0.25 mm. Finally, a comparison is presented between angular-scanning and a linear-scanning-based pulse-echo UPI system. The results show that the proposed system can successfully visualize defects in the inspected specimens.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제29권2호
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• pp.301-309
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• 2022

Protective coatings are most widely used anticorrosive structures for steel structures. The corrosion under the coating damages the host material, but this damage is completely hidden. Therefore, a field-applicable under-coating-corrosion visualization method has been desired for a long time. Laser ultrasonic technology has been studied in various fields as an in situ nondestructive inspection method. In this study, a comparative analysis was carried out between a guided-wave ultrasonic propagation imager (UPI) and pulse-echo UPI, which have the potential to be used in the field of under-coating-corrosion management. Both guided-wave UPI and pulse-echo UPI were able to successfully visualize the corrosion. Regarding the field application, the guided-wave UPI performing Q-switch laser scanning and piezoelectric sensing by magnetic attachment exhibited advantages owing to the larger distance and incident angle in the laser measurement than those of the pulse-echo UPI. Regarding the corrosion visualization methods, the combination of adjacent wave subtraction and variable time window amplitude mapping (VTWAM) provided acceptable results for the guided-wave UPI, while VTWAM was sufficient for the pule-echo UPI. In addition, the capability of multiple sensing in a single channel of the guided-wave UPI could improve the field applicability as well as the relatively smaller size of the system. Thus, we propose a guided-wave UPI as a tool for under-coating-corrosion management.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제26권5호
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• pp.657-666
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• 2020

A rotational pulse-echo ultrasonic propagation imager that can inspect cylindrical specimens for material nondestructive evaluations is proposed herein. In this system, a laser-generated ultrasonic bulk wave is used for inspection, which enables a clear visualization of subsurface defects with a precise reproduction of the damage shape and size. The ultrasonic waves are generated by a Q-switched laser that impinges on the outer surface of the specimen walls. The generated waves travel through the walls and their echo is detected by a Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV) at the same point. To obtain the optimal Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the measured signal, the LDV requires the sensed surface to be at a right angle to the laser beam and at a predefined constant standoff distance from the laser head. For flat specimens, these constraints can be easily satisfied by performing a raster scan using a dual-axis linear stage. However, this arrangement cannot be used for cylindrical specimens owing to their curved nature. To inspect the cylindrical specimens, a circular scan technology is newly proposed for pulse-echo laser ultrasound. A rotational stage is coupled with a single-axis linear stage to inspect the desired area of the specimen. This system arrangement ensures that the standoff distance and beam incidence angle are maintained while the cylindrical specimen is being inspected. This enables the inspection of a curved specimen while maintaining the optimal SNR. The measurement result is displayed in parallel with the on-going inspection. The inspection data used in scanning are mapped from rotational coordinates to linear coordinates for visualization and post-processing of results. A graphical user interface software is implemented in C++ using a QT framework and controls all the individual blocks of the system and implements the necessary image processing, scan calculations, data acquisition, signal processing and result visualization.

• Composites Research
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• 제30권6호
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• pp.356-364
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• 2017

복합재 격자 구조는 동일한 무게를 갖는 다른 구조에 비해 더 큰 하중을 견딜 수 있다는 장점으로 인해 다양한 분야에 적용이 시도되고 있다. 최근, 국내에서도 복합재 격자 구조 제작을 위한 기술 개발이 이루어지고 있으며 이에 복합재 격자 구조를 빠르고 정밀하게 검사할 수 있는 비파괴검사 기술의 개발 역시 필요하게 되었다. 본 논문에서는 초음파전파 영상화 시스템들을 활용하여 복합재 격자 구조에 빠르고 정밀한 비파괴검사를 하기 위한 연구를 수행하였다. 레이저 펄스에코 초음파전파 영상화 시스템을 통해 스킨에 쌓여 있는 복합재 격자 구조의 내부 리브 구조를 관찰할 수 있었고 접착분리를 검출할 수 있는 가능성을 확인하였다. 또한 검사시간을 줄이기 위해 주파수 영역을 최적화 하기 위한 밴드 디바이더를 개발 적용하였으며, 검사 결과의 질을 향상시키기 위해 곡률 보상 알고리즘을 개발하였다. 유도파 초음파전파 영상화 시스템으로는 리브 구조에 있는 층간분리 결함을 확인할 수 있었으며, 다중 소스 초음파전파영상을 통해 검사 영역을 확대시켰고 가변시간창 진폭 이미지 알고리즘을 통해 결함을 강조시킬 수 있도록 했다. 이와 같은 결과들을 통해 격자구조에 최적화 된 초음파전파 영상화 시스템의 지속적인 개발이 이뤄지면 복합재 격자 구조의 대량생산에 이은 고속 정밀 비파괴검사가 이뤄질 수 있을 것으로 판단된다.