Non-destructive evaluation of concrete using a capacitive imaging technique : preliminary modelling and experiments

This paper describes the application of capacitive imaging to the inspection of concrete. A two-dimensional finite-element method was employed to model the electric field distribution from capacitive imaging probe, and how it interacts with concrete samples. Physical experiments with prototype capacitive imaging probes were also carried out. The proof-of-concept results indicated that the capacitive imaging technique could be used to detect cracks on the surface of concrete samples, as well as sub-surface air voids and steel reinforcement bars

Assessing the performance of ultrafast vector flow imaging in the neonatal heart via multiphysics modeling and In vitro experiments

Ultrafast vector flow imaging would benefit newborn patients with congenital heart disorders, but still requires thorough validation before translation to clinical practice. This paper investigates 2-D speckle tracking (ST) of intraventricular blood flow in neonates when transmitting diverging waves at ultrafast frame rate. Computational and in vitro studies enabled us to quantify the performance and identify artifacts related to the flow and the imaging sequence. First, synthetic ultrasound images of a neonate's left ventricular flow pattern were obtained with the ultrasound simulator Field II by propagating point scatterers according to 3-D intraventricular flow fields obtained with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Noncompounded diverging waves (opening angle of 60 degrees) were transmitted at a pulse repetition frequency of 9 kHz. ST of the B-mode data provided 2-D flow estimates at 180 Hz, which were compared with the CFD flow field. We demonstrated that the diastolic inflow jet showed a strong bias in the lateral velocity estimates at the edges of the jet, as confirmed by additional in vitro tests on a jet flow phantom. Furthermore, ST performance was highly dependent on the cardiac phase with low flows (< 5 cm/s), high spatial flow gradients, and out-of-plane flow as deteriorating factors. Despite the observed artifacts, a good overall performance of 2-D ST was obtained with a median magnitude underestimation and angular deviation of, respectively, 28% and 13.5 degrees during systole and 16% and 10.5 degrees during diastole

Low energy high angular resolution neutral atom detection by means of micro-shuttering techniques: the BepiColombo SERENA/ELENA sensor

The neutral sensor ELENA (Emitted Low-Energy Neutral Atoms) for the ESA cornerstone BepiColombo mission to Mercury (in the SERENA instrument package) is a new kind of low energetic neutral atoms instrument, mostly devoted to sputtering emission from planetary surfaces, from E ~20 eV up to E~5 keV, within 1-D (2x76 deg). ELENA is a Time-of-Flight (TOF) system, based on oscillating shutter (operated at frequencies up to a 100 kHz) and mechanical gratings: the incoming neutral particles directly impinge upon the entrance with a definite timing (START) and arrive to a STOP detector after a flight path. After a brief dissertation on the achievable scientific objectives, this paper describes the instrument, with the new design techniques approached for the neutral particles identification and the nano-techniques used for designing and manufacturing the nano-structure shuttering core of the ELENA sensor. The expected count-rates, based on the Hermean environment features, are shortly presented and discussed. Such design technologies could be fruitfully exported to different applications for planetary exploration.Comment: 11 page

Review of Non-destructive Testing (NDT) Techniques and their applicability to thick walled composites

A tier 1 automotive supplier has developed a novel and unique kinetic energy recovery storage system for both retro-fitting and OEM application for public transport systems where periodic stop start behaviour is paramount. A major component of the system is a composite flywheel spinning at up to 36,000 rpm (600 Hz). Material soundness is an essential requirement of the flywheel to ensure failure does not occur. The component is particularly thick for a composite being up to 30 mm cross section in some places. The geometry, scale and material make-up pose some challenges for conventional NDT systems. Damage can arise in composite materials during material processing, fabrication of the component or in-service activities among which delamination, cracks and porosity are the most common defects. A number of non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques are effective in testing components for defects without damaging the component. NDT techniques like Ultrasonic Testing, X-Ray, Radiography, Thermography, Eddy current and Acoustic Emission are current techniques for various testing applications. Each of these techniques uses different principles to look into the material for defects. However, the geometry, physical and material properties of the component being tested are important factors in the applicability of a technique. This paper reviews these NDT techniques and compares them in terms of characteristics and applicability to composite parts

An open environment CT-US fusion for tissue segmentation during interventional guidance.

Therapeutic ultrasound (US) can be noninvasively focused to activate drugs, ablate tumors and deliver drugs beyond the blood brain barrier. However, well-controlled guidance of US therapy requires fusion with a navigational modality, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or X-ray computed tomography (CT). Here, we developed and validated tissue characterization using a fusion between US and CT. The performance of the CT/US fusion was quantified by the calibration error, target registration error and fiducial registration error. Met-1 tumors in the fat pads of 12 female FVB mice provided a model of developing breast cancer with which to evaluate CT-based tissue segmentation. Hounsfield units (HU) within the tumor and surrounding fat pad were quantified, validated with histology and segmented for parametric analysis (fat: -300 to 0 HU, protein-rich: 1 to 300 HU, and bone: HU&gt;300). Our open source CT/US fusion system differentiated soft tissue, bone and fat with a spatial accuracy of ∼1 mm. Region of interest (ROI) analysis of the tumor and surrounding fat pad using a 1 mm(2) ROI resulted in mean HU of 68±44 within the tumor and -97±52 within the fat pad adjacent to the tumor (p&lt;0.005). The tumor area measured by CT and histology was correlated (r(2) = 0.92), while the area designated as fat decreased with increasing tumor size (r(2) = 0.51). Analysis of CT and histology images of the tumor and surrounding fat pad revealed an average percentage of fat of 65.3% vs. 75.2%, 36.5% vs. 48.4%, and 31.6% vs. 38.5% for tumors &lt;75 mm(3), 75-150 mm(3) and &gt;150 mm(3), respectively. Further, CT mapped bone-soft tissue interfaces near the acoustic beam during real-time imaging. Combined CT/US is a feasible method for guiding interventions by tracking the acoustic focus within a pre-acquired CT image volume and characterizing tissues proximal to and surrounding the acoustic focus

Improving elevation resolution in phased-array inspections for NDT

The Phased Array Ultrasonic Technique (PAUT) offers great advantages over the conventional ultrasound technique (UT), particularly because of beam focusing, beam steering and electronic scanning capabilities. However, the 2D images obtained have usually low resolution in the direction perpendicular to the array elements, which limits the inspection quality of large components by mechanical scanning. This paper describes a novel approach to improve image quality in these situations, by combining three ultrasonic techniques: Phased Array with dynamic depth focusing in reception, Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT) and Phase Coherence Imaging (PCI). To be applied with conventional NDT arrays (1D and non-focused in elevation) a special mask to produce a wide beam in the movement direction was designed and analysed by simulation and experimentally. Then, the imaging algorithm is presented and validated by the inspection of test samples. The obtained images quality is comparable to that obtained with an equivalent matrix array, but using conventional NDT arrays and equipments, and implemented in real time.Fil: Brizuela, Jose David. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Camacho, J.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Cosarinsky, Guillermo Gerardo. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Iriarte, Juan Manuel. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Cruza, Jorge F.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Españ

Synthetic vascular ultrasound imaging through coupled fluid-structure interaction and ultrasound simulations

Although ultrasonic imaging is commonly applied in cardiovascular research and clinical practice, current blood flow and vessel wall imaging methods are still hampered by several limitations. We developed a simulation environment integrating ultrasound (US) and fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations, allowing construction of synthetic US-images based on physiologically realistic behavior of an artery. An in-house code was developed to strongly couple the flow solver Fluent and structural solver Abaqus using an Interface Quasi-Newton technique. A distensible tube, representing the common carotid artery (length 5cm, inner diameter 6 mm, thickness 1 mm), was simulated. A mass flow inlet boundary condition, based on flow measured in a healthy subject, was applied. A downstream pressure condition, based on a non-invasively measured pressure waveform, was used. US-simulations were performed with Field II, allowing to model realistic transducers and scan sequences as used in clinical vascular imaging. To this end, scatterers were "seeded" in the fluid and structural domain and propagated during the simulated scan procedure based on flow and structural displacement fields from FSI. Simulations yielded raw ultrasound (RF) data, which were processed for arterial wall distension and shear rate imaging. Our simulations demonstrated that (i) the wall distension application is sensitive to measurement location (highest distension found when tracking the intima-lumen transition); (ii) strong reflections between tissue transitions can potentially cloud a correct measurement; (iii) maximum shear rate was underestimated during the complete cardiac cycle, with largest discrepancy during peak systole; (iv) due to difficulties measuring near-wall velocities with US, shear rate reached its maximal value at a distance from the wall (0.812 mm for anterior and 0.689 mm for posterior side). We conclude that our FSI-US simulation environment provides realistic RF-signals which can be processed into ultrasound-derived medical images and measurements

The use of acoustics in space exploration

In recent years increased attention has been paid to the potential uses of acoustics forextraterrestrial exploration. The extent to which acoustics per se is used in these studiesvaries greatly. First, there are the cases in which acoustics is simply the medium throughwhich some other time-varying non-acoustic signal (such as the output of a cosmic raydetector) is communicated to humans. Second, perturbations in a non-acoustic signal (e.g.EM) are interpreted through mechanisms relating to acoustic perturbations in the sourcematerial itself. Third, some probes have made direct measurements of acoustic signalswhich have been generated by the probe itself, as is done for example to infer the localatmospheric sound speed from the time-of-flight of an acoustic pulses over a shortdistance (O(10 cm)). Fourth, some studies have discussed ways of interpreting thenatural acoustic signals generated by the extraterrestrial environment itself. The reportdiscusses these cases and the limitations, implications and opportunities forextraterrestrial exploration using acoustics

High speed synchrotron X-ray imaging studies of the ultrasound shockwave and enhanced flow during metal solidification processes

The highly dynamic behaviour of ultrasonic bubble implosion in liquid metal, the multiphase liquid metal flow containing bubbles and particles, and the interaction between ultrasonic waves and semisolid phases during solidification of metal were studied in situ using the complementary ultrafast and high speed synchrotron X-ray imaging facilities housed respectively at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, US, and Diamond Light Source, UK. Real-time ultrafast X-ray imaging of 135,780 frames per second (fps) revealed that ultrasonic bubble implosion in a liquid Bi-8 wt. %Zn alloy can occur in a single wave period (30 kHz), and the effective region affected by the shockwave at implosion was 3.5 times the original bubble diameter. Furthermore, ultrasound bubbles in liquid metal move faster than the primary particles, and the velocity of bubbles is 70 ~ 100% higher than that of the primary particles present in the same locations close to the sonotrode. Ultrasound waves can very effectively create a strong swirling flow in a semisolid melt in less than one second. The energetic flow can detach solid particles from the liquid-solid interface and redistribute them back into the bulk liquid very effectively

Total focussing method for volumetric imaging in immersion non destructive evaluation

This paper describes the use of a 550 (25x22) element 2MHz 2D piezoelectric composite array in immersion mode to image an aluminum test block containing a collection of artificial defects. The defects included a 1mm diameter side-drilled hole, a collection of 1mm slot defects with varying degrees of skew to the normal and a flat bottomed hole. The data collection was carried out using the full matrix capture; a scanning procedure was developed to allow the operation of the large element count array through a conventional 64-channel phased array controller. A 3D TFM algorithm capable of imaging in a dual media environment was implemented in MATLAB for the offline processing the raw scan data. This algorithm facilitates the creation of 3D images of defects while accounting for refraction effects at material boundaries. In each of the test samples interrogated the defects, and their spatial position, are readily identified using TFM. Defect directional information has been characterized using VTFM for defect exhibiting angles up to and including 45o of skew