Total focusing method-based ultrasonic phased array imaging in thick structures

Ultrasonic nondestructive testing traditionally uses a conventional monolithic transducer. An approach similar to this comprising of independent single transmissions but with reception performed by all the elements in phased array ultrasonics is known as full matrix capture (FMC). The acquired data are processed by total focusing method (TFM). Conventional FMC-TFM has limitations in the inspection at large depth in attenuating materials due to single element transmission. To improve the beam forming process, coherent recombination of the plane wave with specific angles is utilized in transmission and the same aperture is used for the reception in plane wave imaging (PWI). A new methodology called angle beam virtual source FMC-TFM (ABVSFMC-TFM) is proposed to inspect thick attenuating materials such as nickel-base alloys. The ABVSFMC method leads to improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as compared to the conventional FMC due to increased energy with directivity during transmission using a group of elements and improved divergence as compared to the PWI due to a small virtual source near the sample surface. In the present paper, FMC-TFM, PWI-TFM, and ABVSFMC-TFM methods are compared for the inspection of thick nickel-base superalloy (Alloy 617) with slots at various depths in the range of 25–200 mm. Optimization of the incidence angle has been performed by beam computation in CIVA software. Results obtained by CIVA simulations are discussed and also compared for the three methods.