The Time Is Now For Intelligent Leaders to Embrace Technology

Presenting author(s): Mr Kevin Turpin

Co-Authors: Mr Justin Nickel

Room: Tennessee C | 9:00 AM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

The current process of data collection for many in the Oil & Gas industry has become rather archaic, relative to other industries. The simple spreadsheet process (manual or electronic) does not allow the asset owner the single most important aspect of the data collection process – the timeliness of the data. The power to make decisions with real-time accurate data is the most important benefit that technology provides. Technology also eliminates personality affected results from the data collected. Every separate individual who handles the data decreases the consistency and accuracy of the information. With the severity of the potential risks that inspection data is designed to provide, why would anyone continue to take the risks by letting time pass and not implement a new technology to streamline the process? The most common reason companies are hesitant to embrace new technology is that they don’t understand all the benefits technology can provide. There are many electronic data collection technologies on the market today, but to take full advantage of what technology can provide, you need an intelligent, full-service mobile data collection solution that combines and tracks all the data from the beginning of the inspection to the end user. What today’s intelligent technology can provide is interoperability, mobile data collection, cascading questions, picture referencing, photo annotation, data funneling and cost savings. Implementing new intelligent technology into your facility, you can take many of the “negative” factors out of the inspection process while saving up to 30% of your company time and money.

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Neutron Radiography using a High-Flux Compact Thermal Neutron Generator

Presenting author(s): Mr Michael J Taylor

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 9:00 AM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

A novel neutron imaging system has been designed and constructed by Phoenix Nuclear Labs to investigate specimens when conventional X-ray imaging will not suffice. A first-generation electronic neutron generator is actively being used by the United States Army and is coupled with activation films for neutron radiography to inspect munitions and other critical defense and aerospace components. This method of radiography can also be broadly applied to any specimen where the exterior structure prohibits interrogation by even high energy X-rays. A second-generation system has been designed, constructed and is currently undergoing ion beam transport testing and optimization at PNL. This system has an increased neutron output, utilizing a gaseous deuterium target, which yields up to 3x1011 DD n/s, generating a higher neutron flux at the imaging plane of nearly an order of magnitude over the first-generation system. This will dramatically reduce interrogation time and maintain high spatial resolution and low geometric unsharpness. A description of the neutron generator and imaging system, including the beamline, target and neutron detector, is given in this presentation. Sample images will be discussed using both analog and digital platforms. State of the art neutron moderators, collimators and imaging detector components are also discussed in the context of increasing specimen throughput and optimizing image quality.

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Ultrasonic Advanced Imaging Techniques

Presenting author(s): Mr Philippe Rioux »

Co-Authors: Mr Francios Lachance

Room: Tennessee A | 9:00 AM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

With the miniaturization of the electronic components, the advanced embedded equipment's have multiplied their computing power. This gain in speed has allowed new acquisition algorithm and new post-processing imaging treatment. New techniques like FMC/TFM, are now getting more popular and more accessible than ever. Like the Phased-Array technique at his beginning , these advanced imaging techniques are not yet recognized by standards but surely have benefits. Even if they can’t be used alone for detection or rejection, it can be a big help in the case of defects characterization. In this paper, we will demonstrate that the combination of Phased Array and advanced imaging techniques can improve the defects characterization process for many applications.

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Cloud ...NDT ... A good mix?

Presenting author(s): Mr Eric Dusablon

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee C | 9:30 AM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

NDT has its own specificity. Cloud can truly simplify the file management, but is any cloud solution adapted for the NDT? Example; Dropbox may not work right out of the box for our market? The presentation will highlight different avenues about cloud (IaaS, PaaS and SaaS); and highlights NDT critical requirements (constraints and needs). A list of different levels of Clouds services (component, option, security...) will be define. It is important to remember that private and public server are 2 possible avenues. NDT was an early user of the private server even before it was called a cloud. Overall the main idea is to optimize the operation process to reduce OPEX and to increase availability and accuracy of data.

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A Line-Pair Gauge for Measuring Basic Spatial Resolution for Neutron Imaging Systems

Presenting author(s): Dr Aaron E Craft

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 9:30 AM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Measuring spatial resolution is a fundamental need for radiographic imaging systems. However, there are currently no existing standards for measuring spatial resolution for digital neutron imaging systems. This work summarizes efforts to develop a line-pair gauge for measuring basic spatial resolution for a variety of neutron imaging systems including digital systems. Neutron radiographs have been acquired at multiple facilities using direct method film, transfer method with film and phosphor image plates, and scintillator-camera based imaging systems. Continuing efforts focus on developing this approach into a standard through the American Society for Testing and Materials.

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M2M-NDT Flange Face Corrosion

Presenting author(s): Mr Dillon Curtis Smith

Co-Authors: Dr Guillaume Neau

Room: Tennessee A | 9:30 AM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Flange inspection is a growing application of the NDT market. There are currently numerous inspection techniques for the inspection of the sealing surfaces using regular phased-array UT. M2M has implemented multiple techniques for a full inspection of the flanges. This article describes how the inspection from two surfaces of the flange guarantees 100% inspection with higher resolution and repeatability. A custom scanner has been optimized for the encoding of the inspection, in order to produce repeatable C- and D-Scans in one pass. Traditional phased-array UT is used for screening . TFM is used for defect characterization, with images of the race face sealing area and gasket. During the process, the operator can measure the loss of the material from the TFM B-scan, providing an accurate and real-time evaluation to the customer, without disabling the flange completely.

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Novel Nondestructive Approach in Understanding Defects and Microstructure of Additive Manufacturing Components using Neutron Radiography and Diffraction

Presenting author(s): Dr Hassina Bilheux

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 10:00 AM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Neutron techniques are extensively used for materials science and engineering applications at world-class facilities. These facilities are accessible to both academic and industry researchers through a competitive science program. Successful implementation of such capabilities is available at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). Neutron techniques comprise, but are not limited to, diffraction, imaging, reflectivity, and small angle scattering. Each technique investigates different length and time scales and the combination of two or more techniques, especially when associated with different modalities such as X-rays and modeling, can provide unprecedented insights in complex materials such as additive manufacturing (AM), nuclear materials and high-entropy alloys. This presentation gives an overview of such capabilities at ORNL with an emphasis on AM materials defects and microstructure evolution as a function of heating and/or tensile loading.

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An Adaptive Approach of the Total Focusing Method for the Inspection of Parts with a Complex Shape

Presenting author(s): Dr Dominique Braconnier

Co-Authors: Mr Nans Laroche, Mr Ewen Carcreff, Mr Zhanping Xu

Room: Tennessee A | 10:00 AM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Total focusing methods such as SAFT, TFM and AFM are becoming standard in the nondestructive testing industry, as they generally give better image quality than conventional phased array ultrasound. Since all TFM methods are time-based approaches they provide excellent results, as long as the geometry and the acoustic properties of the material are well known. In reality, there are often cases where the characteristics of the part being tested, such as the geometry, are not well known. In this paper, we propose an adaptive approach of the total focusing method (ATFM) in order to take into account a complex specimen shape. ATFM requires a single data set for a single image and does not need multiple acquisitions to detect the profile. We show examples from the inspection of an immersed steel part containing various flaws, inspected with a 128 element probe. Several TFM acquisitions schemes are compared in terms of image quality (resolution, contrast) and computation time. We show that with ATFM the agreement between the theoretical profile and the estimated profile is good, and moreover the flaw positioning is correct.

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Video-based Crack Detection on Metallic Surfaces Using Convolutional Neural Network with Naïve Bayes and Spatiotemporal Clustering

Presenting author(s): Mr Mohammad Reza Jahanshahi

Co-Authors: Mr Fu-Chen Chen

Room: Tennessee C | 10:30 AM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Regular inspection of the components of nuclear power plants is important to improve their resilience. However, current inspection practices are time consuming, tedious, and subjective: they involve operators manually locating cracks by watching videos. Very few vision-based crack detection algorithms for nuclear power plant components have been developed. Prevalent crack detection algorithms for other applications cannot detect those cracks because they are typically very small and have low contrast. Moreover, the existence of scratches, welds, and grind marks on the surfaces leads to a large number of false positives when prevalent crack detection algorithms are used. This study proposes a deep learning framework based on a convolutional neural network to analyze individual video frames for crack detection while a novel data fusion scheme is proposed to aggregate the information extracted from each video frame to enhance the overall performance and robustness of the system. The proposed data fusion scheme maintains the spatiotemporal coherence of cracks in videos, and the Naive Bayes decision making discards false positives effectively. The proposed framework achieves 98.3% hit rate against 0.1 false positives per frame that is significantly higher compared to state-of-the-art approaches.

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Energy Selective Neutron Imaging for Structural and Functional Materials

Presenting author(s): Mr Dayakar Penumadu

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 10:30 AM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Novel neutron imaging techniques, a majority of them using energy selective neutrons, now offer the possibility to study the microstructure of engineering materials. This work will summarize recent research on neutron imaging based on contrasts resulting from attenuation, phase, dark-field, and diffraction. The major collaborators and user facilities are identified to acknowledge their significant contributions to these studies. 1) Strain mapping exploiting Bragg Edges will be discussed based on experiments performed at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB: N. Kardjlov, A. Hilger, I. Manke; ESS: R. Woracek, M. Strobl) using a tunable mono-chromator device, at ISIS (J. Kelleher) and LANSCE (Bjørn Clausen) using the time-of flight approach in collaboration with A. Tremsin (UC Berkley). 2) Bragg Edge based neutron imaging was used to monitor TRansfomation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) effect and localization effects, which remain undetected by other techniques, have been noticed for the first time using high resolution setup at CONRAD. 3) Three dimensional grain mapping techniques developed at synchrotron sources, such as 3D-XRD and Diffraction Contrast Tomography (DCT), has opened numerous new applications for studying crystalline materials. The extension of the technique to neutrons will be discussed and data taken at HZB and NIST (D. Hussey, D. Jacobson) in close collaboration with ESRF (W. Ludiwg, P. Reischig) will be shown. 4) 3-D simulations of multi-phase flow through porous media and verification using high resolution x-ray and neutron tomography data obtained at HZB (N. Kardjlov, A. Hilger, I. Manke) and NIST (F. Kim, D. Hussey and D. Jacobson). Recent experiments using larger diameter specimens at coarser resolution using PSI (P. Vontobel and E. Lehmann) imaging facility will also be discussed. Combined modality of using X-rays to precisely define solid phase, use of neutrons to identify water phase, and both modalities to identify gas phase spatially and temporally shows much promise for studying transport through porous media type problems. 5) The importance of efficient and gamma insensitive neutron scintillators with rapid decay time will be discussed and promising scintillators will be shown as examples. Including polymeric scintillator films developed by Professor Penumadu’s group and characterized at CG-1 facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (H. Bilheux). Many of these measurement techniques are still in the development stage and the targeted presentation will also define the needs for further improvements, so that existing and future neutron imaging facilities will be beneficial for a diverse and broad user community.

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In-service Bolt Inspection

Presenting author(s): Mr Dillon Curtis Smith

Co-Authors: Dr Guillaume Neau

Room: Tennessee A | 10:30 AM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Inspection of bolts is a widely common and challenging NDT problem. This inspection is traditionally achieved using standard phased-array techniques. However, in order to ease both the inspection procedure and the diagnostic, M2M has optimized scan plans and inspections techniques combining both phased array UT to meet code requirements, as well as TFM (total focusing method). Techniques have been developed for offshore riser bolts and BOP bonnet bolts inspections. Phased-array UT has been used as a screening technique, while TFM was used in order to quantify and size corrosion, cracks and elongations. In this article, the type of focusing is described. The inspection is achieved using encoded multiple groups, enabling the detection of signal changes within the threads. The TFM images are used by the operator to characterize the defects in length, axial extent, and depth, as well as providing the client with a detailed diagnostic of the bolt condition.

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Remote NDT - Field Applications and User Cases

Presenting author(s): Mr Philippe Rioux »

Co-Authors: Mr Francios Lachance

Room: Tennessee C | 1:00 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

The world never have been as connected as nowadays especially with the network infrastructures who are getting faster and more reliable everywhere in the world. NDT manufacturers have started to embed remote control capabilities to ease support, control quality, training... and even develop new NDT applications. Some companies using NDT equipments have started implementing this technology and new solutions to real problems have been solved. This paper focuses on real user’s cases of remote applications in the field, in harsh environments or restricted areas and where it can be difficult to bring together measurement instrument, technical expert(Level III) and the inspector.

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Weld Penetration Monitoring Using Semi-Automated PAUT in Orthotropic Decks and Structural Boxes Welding

Presenting author(s): Mr Mohamed Aly Souissi

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee A | 1:00 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

For partial penetration (PP) joints, several methods have been developed to estimate as accurate as possible the depth of weld penetration. Since it is not directly visible, most of methods were based on indirect measurements using the geometrical parameters of the weld pool, temperature field, oscillation frequency etc. Various techniques were used such as vision, conventional ultrasonic testing (CUT), acoustic emission, thermal examination and macroscopic examination. The macro etch testing is the most accurate method to check the weld penetration however it is a destructive method that involves cutting a sample from the welded joint therefore could not be an alternative for postproduction inspection. This paper present the advanced solution Nucleom has developed to determine PP joints penetration, which consist in a semi automated Phased Array UT (PAUT) technique that was performed on orthotropic decks and structural boxes welding.

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Fellowship Award - Smart Concrete for Enhanced Nondestructive Evaluation

Presenting author(s): Mr Irvin Pinto

Co-Authors: Mr Simon Laflamme, Dr David J Eisenmann, Ms Kejin Wang, Mr Fillipo Ubertini, Mr Akira Demoss

Room: Tennessee B | 1:00 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

The authors recently investigated the use of conductive concrete to enhance nondestructive evaluation (NDE) capabilities. Preliminary results have shown that a conductive concrete can facilitate the utilization of an eddy current technique, where damages in a conductive specimen were easier to detect compared with a non-conductive substrate. While such results demonstrated the promise of using conductive concrete to facilitate and potentially accelerate the NDE process, the fabrication of an homogeneous conductive concrete is technically or economically challenging, depending on the conductive filler used in the process. In this paper, we propose a new cementitious composite to accelerate NDE. The composite uses inexpensive carbon black particles (CB) and a block-copolymer. The purpose of the block co-polymer, a styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS), is to facilitate the creation of conductive chains, therefore reducing the necessary concentration of conductive filler required to achieve electrical percolation. Several cementitious composite specimens of various concentrations of CB are fabricated, and results show that the utilization of SEBS reduces the electrical percolation threshold by approximately 50% with a gain on electrical conductivity relative to a non-conductive specimen mix of approximately 33%. Strain-sensing tests also demonstrate that SEBS-based specimens have good sensing properties, but lag behind those of conductive concrete specimens fabricated with CB only.

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Subregion Finite Element Hybrid Optimization Using Genetics Algorithm and Simulated Annealing for Nondestructive Evaluation Inverse Problems

Presenting author(s): Mr Mohammad Rawashdeh

Co-Authors: Dr Yiming Deng, Mr H Hoole, Mr S Ratnajeevan, Mr Anders Rosell, Dr Lalita Udpa

Room: Tennessee C | 1:30 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

A novel study of using Subregion Finite Element Method (Subregion FEM) is presented. The idea of minimizing processing time and saving memory especially for large-scale problems are two major challenges that researchers and engineers are facing. The importance of developing efficient computational techniques becomes more important when the inverse problem is addressed. In this work, we tackle these challenges by first separating the problem into multiple domains containing an isolated defect region. An adaptive FEM formulation has been developed for each region separately including the defect region, while mathematical inversion techniques are applied to the defect region only. All solutions in different domains are combined thanks to a flexible and elastic mesh generating algorithm, which is derived and improved to change the defect parameterized coefficients within each iteration. The elastic meshing technique adds the specialty of using subregion method in inverse FEM problems by preserving the element numbering inside and outside the defect region. Subregion FEM is used to solve both forward and inverse problems, which is applied to detection and characterization of different types of defects using parametric studies. Both Genetic Algorithm and Simulated Annealing optimization technique are used to get the accurate defect shape and size reconstructed numerically for a 2D geometry and validated experimentally. An excellent minimization of processing time with a 90% computational time reduction with an accuracy of 98% compared to classical FEM was achieved.

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PSA Vessels Welding Inspection using TECA Technique

Presenting author(s): Mr Mathieu Leclerc

Co-Authors: Mr Mohamed Aly Souissi

Room: Tennessee A | 1:30 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

In refining industry, one of most critical components to inspect are Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) vessels. Unlike other pressure vessels that are periodically inspected, opened and tested hydrostatically, PSA vessels are externally inspected only due to practical and cost reasons. The external inspection is often an important part of fitness-for-service (FFS) assessment and commonly involves the inspection of large and thick welding using ultrasonic testing and magnetic particles testing (MT). Such inspections were improved by performing Phased Array UT (PAUT) in lieu of conventional UT (CUT) which guarantees an optimized welding volume inspection; however, the welding surface inspection still being performed using magnetic testing or in some cases using penetrant testing (PT). Although these latest techniques are effective, they present some practical issues and does not provide recordable results. Recently, a new alternative to MT and PT was developed by Eddyfi consisting in a Tangential Eddy Current Array (TECA) technique using a flexible dedicated probe that contains improved coils designs and multiplexing patterns dedicated to the assessment and characterization of surface breaking cracks in carbon steel welds and structures. This paper summarizes the concept of tangential eddy current array and describes an in-service PSA vessels welding inspection using the Sharck probe. Examples of resulting data are presented and benefits of TECA are discussed the context of large carbon steel welding.

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Applications of Nondestructive Testing Used in Optical Metrology for the US Army

Presenting author(s): Mr Stephan C Zuber

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 1:30 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Within the Army’s Armament Research Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC), located at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ a vast array of optical imaging systems specific to fire control are constantly under performance reviews, entering various stages of development, or undergoing extreme scrutiny to assure their accuracy and reliability. The Weapons Software Engineering Center (WSEC) is responsible for design, acceptance testing and examination of optical systems including direct view optics like sniper scopes, binoculars, periscopes and spotting scopes, digital imaging systems such as night vision and thermal detection devices, as well as other specialties like laser range finders, non-ionizing photon filtration and ballistic compensators. To assure the integrity, performance and functioning of these systems various methods of nondestructive testing are required. This presentation/paper will present an overview on how NDT applies to the uncommon application of military optics and the importance they play on ensuring their design, reliability, robustness and overall capabilities meet the current and future needs of the US Army. Some of the NDT methods that will be discussed include visual, leak testing, laser and thermography. Additional destructive tests of shock and immersion will be provided that coincide with their complementary noninvasive inspection.

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Customization of User Interfaces for UT and ET Instruments

Presenting author(s): Mr David Jankowski

Co-Authors: Mr Matt Skinner, Mr Dan Groninger

Room: Tennessee C | 2:00 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Over the past twenty years, advancements in the capabilities of commercially available electronic components and software modules have enabled the development of powerful ultrasonic and eddy current NDT tools for a wide range of inspection applications. The next step in further enhancing the inspection process is to optimize the instrument’s user interface for the inspector. This presentation will review a software tool which allows the rapid, real time development of custom interfaces including easy positioning on controls and signal displays, the use of guided workflows, and inclusion of embedded documents & videos.

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Nondestructive Examination (NDE) Of Used Fuel Containers for Increased Probability of Detection

Presenting author(s): Mr Jean-Francois Martel

Co-Authors: Mr Thilan Liyanage, Mr Olivier Marcotte, Mr Dave Doyle

Room: Tennessee A | 2:00 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Used Fuel Containers (UFC) are a major engineered component of the proposed concept of a deep geological repository for storage of Canada’s spent nuclear fuel, put forward by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). The NWMO designed UFC is a steel/copper vessel, in which the used fuel is packaged before final underground emplacement for several thousand years. As part of the design and development program in collaboration with NWMO, Nucleom Inc. has evaluated different NDE techniques for the examination of the critical characteristics of the UFC such as the partial penetration carbon steel weld joints and the copper coating applied on the exterior. To optimize the probability of detection (PoD), a combination of ultrasonic and eddy current methods have been investigated for the detection and sizing of volumetric, surface and dis-bond defects, verification of coating thickness, as well as for examination of the partial penetration weld. The results from inspection trials and NDE simulations are presented herein.

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Inspection of Automotive Bonded Parts

Presenting author(s): Mr Jeff Wells

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 2:00 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

In recent years, the automotive industry has begun moving from mechanically welding car parts to bonding them with adhesive. This change has left a need in the industry for a nondestructive method to test this new manufacturing process. It was quickly discovered that, conventional and phased array ultrasound can be used to detect adhesive or lack of adhesive in most parts. The challenge arises when trying to utilize a probe to quickly and reliable inspect the variety of parts with varying shapes, curvatures, and sizes. Testing bond seams with a miniature phased array wheel probe and portable battery operated instrument provides unique advantages for this type of inspection. The cost effective solution can couple to a variety of geometries, effectively image adhesive bonding, and conform to changing probe length requirements. Equipment like this will become an integral tool to validating adhesive bonded parts. This paper presents the miniature wheel probe and portable phased array instrument for inspection of bonded automotive components. It will investigate the challenges of testing and display the easy to interpret C-Scan data of phased array imaging.

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Nondestructive Investigation of Jute/Hemp Hybrid Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composite

Presenting author(s): Dr Xavier P V Maldague

Co-Authors: Mr Hai Zhang, Mr Stefano Sfarra, Mr Ahman Osman, Mr Thoman Waschkies, Mr Klaus Szielasko, Mr Christopher Stumm, Mr Carlo Santulli

Room: Tennessee C | 2:30 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) is an interdisciplinary field of study which is concerned with the development of analysis techniques and measurement technologies for the qualitative/quantitative characterization of materials, tissues and structures by non-invasive means. Integrated approaches minimize the percentage of error in the detection of anomalous signals that usually require a double check [1]. In this work, the authors compared the results based on different NDE techniques with the aim to detecting the damages caused by an impact loading on a jute/hemp fiber-reinforced polymer laminate. Specifically, infrared thermography (IRT), air-coupled ultrasound (ACU) and terahertz time domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) methods were applied. X-ray computed tomography was used for validation purposes. Fast Fourier transform (FFT) was selected to process both the thermographic and THz-TDS data. Interestingly, principal component thermography (PCT) and pulsed phase thermography (PPT) technique were applied to the THz-TDS data. The explanation and analysis of the post-processing images will be in depth described in the final text. Finally, an analytical and comparative study centred on the above-mentioned techniques will be conducted. For a sake of brevity, Fig. 1 shows the sample (a) and its NDE results (b-d).

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Continuous Measurement of Residual Stress on Weld of Power Transmission Tower Using Linearly Integrated GMR Sensor Arrays

Presenting author(s): Mr Heejun Seo

Co-Authors: Mr Gye-Jo Jung, Mr Sang-Ki Park, Dr Minhhuy Le, Mr Heeju Cheon, Dr Jinyi Lee

Room: Tennessee A | 2:30 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

A scan type magnetic camera is developed to measure the residual stress generated in the welded part of a tubular-type power transmission tower. The change in strain of the ferromagnetic structure changes the magnetic domain distribution and therefore induces spontaneous magnetization. Thus, the magnetic field intensity distribution measured along the welds correlates with the change in stress generated in the structure. Residual stresses in welds occur more frequently in defects, and consequently, anomalies in the magnetic field strength distribution indirectly indicate the presence of weld failures. Conversely, the scanner is fabricated to be in a chevron shape with an angle of 150 degrees considering the cross section of the twelve-squared shape. Two cylinder-type wheels are arranged on each side of the chevron to prevent slipping. Linearly arrayed giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensors are arranged on the weld line, and the magnetic field distribution can be measured along the weld. The correlation between the magnetic field intensity and defects is verified by comparing the magnetic field intensity distribution and the ultrasonic signal at the weld.

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Real-time Imaging of Time-varying Magnetic Field Intensity and Phase Shift Using Cylinder-type Magnetic Camera

Presenting author(s): Mr Jungmin Kim

Co-Authors: Mr Sejin Kim, Dr Jinyi Lee

Room: Tennessee B | 2:30 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

A magnetic camera is developed that can measure the phase shift distribution and time-varying magnetic field intensity distribution in real time. When an induction current is applied to the specimen, the time-varying magnetic field distribution around the defect is distorted depending on the presence and size of the defect. The distortion is measured by the arrangement of magnetic sensors. The output of each magnetic sensor is amplified and then branched into two signals. The first signal is integrated with the alternating current to apply the induced current to the specimen and then integrated. The second signal is phase shifted by 90 degrees with an alternating current and then integrated. In this structure, the first and second signal represent a real and imaginary part, respectively. Therefore, the time-varying magnetic field intensity distribution can be represented by the sum of squares of the first and second signal, and the phase shift distribution can be expressed by the ratio between the first and second signal. The developed system was verified using a titanium small-bore piping system that is used in turbine condensers.

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LED UV-A Lamps: What to Look for, How to Use Them, and Complying with Nadcap

Presenting author(s): Mr David Geis

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee C | 4:00 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Now that standards covering LED UV-A lamps have been established, there are three main questions for suppliers and users: (1) What do I look for when shopping for an LED lamp? (2) What do I have to do differently when using an LED lamp? (3) How do I comply with the latest Nadcap checklists? This presentation will provide guidance for answering these questions. LED UV-A lamps have many advantages over mercury-vapor lamps. LED lamps provide greater flexibility in design and application, allowing you to use the best tools available for the job. LED lamps are at full intensity immediately after power-on and do not require a warm-up time before use. And LED lamps are significantly safer to use, reducing inspector hazards and eliminating hazardous mercury waste. There are many considerations to choosing the right LED UV-A lamp for use in fluorescent inspection. The correct emission spectrum is critical, but there are trade-offs between usable beam area and working distance, as well as power supply and portability. For the Aerospace industry, certification to ASTM E3022 and/or RRES 90061 are a requirement. All of these factors should be considered when choosing the right lamp for the application. While the use of an LED UV-A lamp is similar to older mercury-vapor lamps, integrity checks are more involved. The lamp should be checked on a regular basis to make sure that all components are functioning, and a white paper check is useful as a quick verification of the lamp performance. For Aerospace suppliers who have Nadcap accreditation, the latest checklists now include specific questions regarding LED UV-A lamps. To comply, the lamps must be certified by the manufacturer and several additional details must be added to the written procedures regarding their use. With flexible configurations, increased safety, and elimination of hazardous waste, LED UV-A lamps promise to make fluorescent penetrant and magnetic particle inspections faster and more efficient. Knowing what to look for and how to comply with spec requirements means you can realize those benefits in your inspection line.

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Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Inspection Identification of Material State and Temperature in Amorphous and Semi-Crystalline Materials

Presenting author(s): Mr Elliott Jost

Co-Authors: Dr David Jack, Mr David G Moore

Room: Tennessee A | 4:00 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

At present, there are many methods of identifying temperature and phase of a material, many of which require physical contact or visual line-of-sight. This work presents a method of nondestructive inspection using ultrasonic wave technology that circumvents these disadvantages in order to identify phase changes from both solid to liquid and liquid to solid as well as produce the ability to infer the temperature of a material of interest. Through an experiment of monitoring wax during a heating and cooling process using ultrasound, multiple analysis techniques utilizing captured ultrasonic waves in a through-transmission configuration have been developed to identify phase changes. These methods have applications in identifying degree of cure of materials such as thermoplastics and epoxy resins in-situ, whereas current methods often require Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), which uses rates of heat flow of a small, representative volume of material to identify phase transition temperature ranges. In addition, material speed of sound monitoring can be used to infer internal temperature distributions in materials. Tomographic reconstruction techniques using data captured from the ultrasonic signal have been used to characterize the internal temperature distribution on a plane throughout the heating and cooling process of the material of interest. The ability to identify phase changes and infer temperature has broad potential for applications in process controls and monitoring in a variety of industries.

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Detection of Flat-Bottom Holes in Carbon Fiber Composites using Active Microwave Thermography

Presenting author(s): Mr Ali Mirala

Co-Authors: Mr Ali Foudazi, Dr Mohammad Tayeb Ghasr, Dr Kristen Donnell

Room: Tennessee B | 4:00 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are becoming commonplace in many industries including aerospace, automotive, infrastructure, etc. Many nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E) techniques have been developed for inspection of these materials including microwave, ultrasound, X-ray, and thermography. Active microwave thermography (AMT) is a relatively new and efficient method that has recently shown promise for detection of defects in such materials. AMT is an integrated technique that utilizes a microwave heat excitation and subsequent thermal monitoring via thermal camera. AMT has many advantages including short inspection times for relatively large areas, non-contact interrogation and inspection, and easy to interpret results. The purpose of this study is to show AMT’s efficacy for detection of defects in CFRP materials by (specifically, detection of flat-bottom holes (FBH)). As such, the potential of AMT for inspection of carbon fiber structures with FBH defects will be shown through simulation and measurement of an omnidirectional CFRP sheet with a number of FBHs of different dimensions. As a result, the minimum dimensions of detectable defects will be determined. Additionally, it will be shown that an AMT inspection with a heating time of a few minutes is successful in detecting FBHs with radius-to-depth ratios as small as 1. Finally, a signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio analysis on the measured thermal data will be provided showing that AMT inspections yield a sufficient SNR after a few minute of heating, thereby ensuring a low level of error (due to noise).

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The History of MPI Amperage Determination

Presenting author(s): Mr George M Hopman

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee C | 4:30 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Since its inception in 1929, the Magnetic Particle inspection method has progressed from an art form to a science. Part of that progression has been the advancement of our understanding of how we determine our amperage to achieve adequate magnetic flux density to detect all discontinuities in magnetic components. This paper will document that progression of amperage determination from the very first MPI textbook to current industry practice as documented in our ASTM, AWS and ASME standards.

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Mixed Light Inspection: The Extraction of Low-Level Fluorescent Signals Under Conditions of Strong Background Levels of Ambient Light

Presenting author(s): Mr Graham Diamond

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee C | 5:00 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

This paper describes and presents novel apparatus that can detect and extract fluorescence signals with intensity levels less than 20 lux, from background daylight of 100,000 lux. Such an advance represents a truly disruptive technology that introduces a step-change in reducing processing times and improving higher standards and consistency in quality audits and routine maintenance inspections for those industries that currently use Magnetic Particle Inspection (MPI) and Penetrant Inspection (PI) techniques. Mixed light inspection is the term given when trying to detect the very small levels of light emitted from fluorescence against a background of strong daylight or other brightly-lit environment. However, the effectiveness of these checks currently requires that the ambient lighting conditions are acceptably low (as specified in ASTM E709, for example) which often limits its deployment to being used indoors or under specially constructed covered awnings and tents whilst working outdoors in daylight conditions or direct sunlight. This limits certain inspection operations and makes others impossible altogether. Furthermore, the extra time and resources made necessary in operating under low light conditions places serious production bottlenecks, is expensive in terms of manpower involved and can add greatly to downtime. Results are presented below taken with the novel mixed light inspection system, which are taken from field deployments in strong daylight which would otherwise be impossible to detect and describes how the system will be beta-tested in-situ at a global car component manufacturer.

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Extremely Broadband Ultrasound Devices for Contact-Free NDT

Presenting author(s): Dr Balthasar Fischer

Co-Authors: Mr Ryan Sommerhuber

Room: Tennessee A | 5:00 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Conventional air-coupled ultrasonic transducers are in most cases based on the piezoelectric effect, in which a crystal is mechanically deformed at its particular resonant frequency by applying electrical voltage (and vice versa). This deformation exerts a sound pressure wave in accordance with the movement of the emitter’s surface. The inertia of the moving mass causes prolonged rise-times as well as ringing. Short sequences of pressure impulses, which may occur in a single-sided NDT setup, can often not be temporally separated. A new-to-the-market approach to air-coupled ultrasound testing is presented. Both sensor and emitter transduce completely free of moving or deformable parts. The membrane-free ultrasound sensor consists of a rigid, miniaturized Fabry-Pérot interferometer in which a laser beam propagates between two fixed mirrors. Pressure waves change the refractive index of air between the mirrors and the light transmission changes correspondingly. An active sensing area of smaller than 1 sq mm is achieved. This non-resonant, all-optical transducing method allows for linear acoustic frequency response from 10 Hz up to 1 MHz in air with one single transducer, a novel technology that was recognized by several important international start-up competition awards. The ultrasound emitter on the other hand works on a thermoacoustic principle. A metallized glass substrate is rapidly heated by a 500 ns high-voltage impulse to produce a Dirac-shaped pressure burst of 1 MHz bandwidth. High-pressure, highly focused (< 1 mm) sound fields are utilized to characterize samples at high spatial resolution, without the usage of coupling fluid such as immersion gel. C-scans generated by this pair of broadband ultrasound devices are presented. Transmission mode setups and single-sided configurations are discussed.

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Determination of Thermal Protection for Railroad Tank Cars by Infrared Testing

Presenting author(s): Mr James Gerry Churchwell

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 5:00 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

A presentation utilizing both power point and practical demonstration on a reduced sized Tank car, displaying the absence of Thermal insulation on the interior of the demo car by shifting locations of the insulation and Infrared detection showing areas of concern and inadequate thermal protection.

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Using Water Contact Angle Measurements to Predict Surface Preparedness for Dye Penetrant Application

Presenting author(s): Ms Brooke CampbellMs Elizabeth Kidd

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee C | 5:30 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Reliably predicting dye penetrant wettability for fluorescent crack inspections hinges on understanding surface cleanliness prior to penetrant application. Validating the efficacy of a parts washer using water contact angle measurements is a non-destructive method for quantifying surface cleanliness and can ensure complete wetting of the penetrant across a substrate. For this study, surface energies of washed and un-washed aluminum parts were characterized via water contact angle measurements and subsequently correlated with dye penetrant wettability. Penetrant was applied to the surface via cotton swab and allowed to wet the surface for 15 minutes before obtaining a visual inspection of wetting pattern; a smooth, uniform distribution of penetrant indicated sufficient wettability while a blotchy, non-uniform distribution indicated insufficient wettability. Freshly washed samples displayed low contact angles and yielded acceptable penetrant wettability while unwashed parts displayed high contact angles and displayed unacceptable penetrant wettability. Water contact angle can be used to determine surface readiness prior to penetrant application.

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New Approaches of Signal Analysis in Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Testing – Contactless Inspection of High-Performance Ceramic Materials

Presenting author(s): Mr Ralf Steinhausen

Co-Authors: Mr Manuel Lucas, Mr Mario Kiel, Ms Krystian Rostkowski

Room: Tennessee A | 5:30 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

The main advantage of contact-free and nondestructive air-coupled ultrasonic testing is the absence of any liquid coupling media. Even samples which cannot get wet can be tested. Cost and time intensive irrigation or drying processes are not necessary. The most prominent examples are wood based materials. However, we are presenting through-transmission air-coupled ultrasonic testing results of porous high-performance ceramics such as refractories used for instance in high temperature metal production processes. Due to its internal structure and geometry the investigation of such porous samples by air-coupled ultrasonic testing requires an extremely sophisticated technology. In most cases the aspect ratio of thickness, width and length is approximately 1:1:1. Due to geometry artifacts the data interpretation becomes a lot more complicated. The common observations are interference effects of the transmitted signal and internal reflections, e.g. from grain boundaries but especially from the object edges. Due to the cube like dimensions almost the whole scanning area is influenced by artifacts making a common intensity analysis nearly impossible. We are presenting new analysis algorithms which can suppress these artifacts caused by geometry and internal material structure. The defect structure of the samples is well shown in the measurements making a successful and reliable contact-free inspection of this material class possible for the first time.

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High Performance meets Low Cost in Infrared Thermography Hardware

Presenting author(s): Mr L Terry Clausing

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 5:30 PM Tuesday, October 31, 2017

This session will introduce the latest technology in high performance infrared thermography. Topics will include miniaturized high performance infrared cameras and related applications such as UAV mounted applications. This session will include a live demonstration of the newest technology.

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Integration of Ground Penetrating Radar and Infrared Thermography into Bridge Condition Assessments by the RIDOT

Presenting author(s): Dr Nicole Martino

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee C | 9:00 AM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Infrared Thermography (IR) have the ability to collect subsurface data from bare and overlaid reinforced concrete bridge decks, and do so at posted speeds without impeding traffic.  Incorporating subsurface information into bridge deck condition assessments provides a substantially more complete and thorough diagnosis in comparison to visual inspection, as visual inspection looks for damage only on visible surfaces. Additionally, this will result in better repair scheduling and more accurate repair cost estimates.
The RIDOT partnered with Roger Williams University to assess twenty reinforced concrete bridge decks, with the aforementioned nondestructive evaluation tools, and to validate the results with ground truth information.  This paper presents the results from evaluating two of the bare concrete decks and two of the asphalt overlaid decks.  Each of the decks are unique case studies which will be placed in a portfolio, and will be invaluable resources to future deck assessments.  For example, one bare concrete deck was surrounded by trees which provided significant shade on the deck.  This forced the evaluation to exclude IR data collection, and instead used data collected with a half-cell potential system to confirm the GPR findings.  Substantial rebar level attention was obvious in GPR data collected from an overlaid deck in an area without any surface cracking.  In this case, coring was used to confirm the GPR findings.
Complementary to the portfolio of case studies, a manual is being developed which demonstrates, in detail, how to evaluate a reinforced concrete bridge deck with these nondestructive evaluation tools.  This includes required weather conditions, physical system setup, computer settings, post-processing, and data visualization.  This will allow for an in-house inspector, who may have never used this equipment, to collect and visualize meaningful subsurface information which can be incorporated into routine inspection reports.

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Quantitative Short Range Scanning  

Presenting author(s): Dr David Alleyne

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 9:00 AM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Guided wave methods that employ axially traveling waves over many tens of feet have been used in industry for about two decades and are now a recognized method for the rapid screening of pipes and pipelines from a single accessible position. However, there are alternative ways to send and receive guided waves in order to test a few meters of piping either axially or circumferentially. A new and innovative tool that operates in this way for the quantitative measurement of wall loss particularly but not restricted to areas of piping that are not directly accessible is introduced. The recently launched QSR1 (Quantitative Short Range) scanning system quantitatively measure corrosion. The device automatically measures the size of corrosion to the depths of up to half of the pipe wall thickness.  QSR1 also automatically measures pipe diameter and pipe wall thickness around the pipe circumference from a single location in a fraction of a second. The device employs patented algorithms and technology with multimodal circumferential guided waves to measure the minimum pipe wall thickness. In order to achieve high portability, the QSR1 scanner generates and receives guided wave by means of EMAT transducers, which do not require any physical contact with the object under test. Numerical modeling simulations will be used to describe details of the methodology and practical testing procedures. Results from verification experiments and tests on a range of pipe thickness and diameters are presented to demonstrate the step improvement in the capability of this technology for industrial applications such as measurement of remaining wall thickness at corrosion under supports (CUPS) and under corrosion scabs. This is an advanced guided wave NDT approach that is designed to require expertise that is complementary to inspectors that perform the accompanying guided wave screening. This is envisaged and designed to be an independent verification and prove up tool. Finally, examples for the future application of this technology and approach will be discussed.

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Design of A Compact, Low-Cost and Rapid Microwave and Millimeter Wave Imaging System

Presenting author(s): Mr Matthew Horst

Co-Authors: Dr Mohammad Tayeb Ghasr, Dr Reza Zoughi

Room: Tennessee A | 9:00 AM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Microwave and millimeter wave nondestructive imaging systems based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) are capable of producing high-resolution 3D images of dielectric structures for many critical NDE applications. Recent developments in microwave frequency hardware and measurement methods have made it possible to create imaging systems that render full 3D volumetric images at video frame-rate. These systems are portable and allow for rapid inspection in the field. Current imaging systems electronically raster scan across a 2D array of antennas, which place specific design guidelines on the imaging system hardware. The primary design guidelines fall on the antenna topology and size, since it forms the building block of the imaging system. Additionally, there are design guidelines for the wideband microwave multiplexing networks between the transmitters, receivers, and antennas to achieve rapid electronic raster scanning. However, for select NDE applications, high sensitivity and dynamic range in an imaging system using the current method are not required, so the design guidelines can be relaxed allowing for new alternative measurement methods. This presentation will introduce a novel microwave and millimeter wave imaging methodology that removes many of the guidelines placed by the current method. This novel methodology allows for systems that are more compact, lower cost and produce images at higher image frame-rate. The design of an imaging system based on this methodology will be presented in addition to several examples of images demonstrating its applicability for NDE applications.

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Multiaxial Fatigue Life Assessment of a Roller Coaster Support Bracket Using Measured Strains

Presenting author(s): Mr Masoud Sanayei

Co-Authors: Ms Erin S Bell, Mr Michael Neuzil

Room: Tennessee C | 9:30 AM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

A new method for high cycle fatigue life prognosis and multiaxial fatigue life prediction for roller coasters is presented. The applicability of a previously proposed method for the prediction of remaining fatigue life in steel bridges is demonstrated with measured strains of a roller coaster support bracket. Procedures for the estimation of a quantitative life index for ultimate service life prediction are applied to a roller coaster connection. Strains were measured while loading the rollercoaster train with four different water dummy arrangements representing roller coaster riders. This data was used for the estimation of the number of multiaxial stress reversals induced by live loads and the number of associated cycles using the rain-flow method. Nonparametric statistical methods and hypothesis testing using response-only measured strains are used to construct a regression model to determine the service life index and the life function. The service life is predicted using a proposed service life function. This methodology is anticipated to be used for real-time fatigue prognosis aiming to address critical needs in maintenance and evaluation of infrastructure.

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HTHA Detection, Characterization, and Verification

Presenting author(s): Mr Timothy J Armitt

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 9:30 AM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Reliable detection and accurate characterization of high-temperature hydrogen attack (HTHA) have historically been problematic. Joint industry [projects have found poor reliability to detect and size HTHA and major defects have been missed. This presentation details inroads that have been made toward more reliable detection, characterization, and sizing of HTHA damage within pressure retaining equipment.

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Development of Surface Crack Sensors using Fractal Geometries of Complementary Split Ring Resonators

Presenting author(s): Mr Salem Ali Al Otaibi

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee A | 9:30 AM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Salem A Al-Otaibi 1 , Manos M Tentzeris 2 1,2 School of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA ABSTRACT: For decades, Magnetic Particles and Liquid Penetrant Testings have been utilized as the prime methods for detection of surface imperfections in oil and gas industry. Despite the fact that these two methods are time consuming and involve safety precautions due to the use of chemical materials, their low cost, ease of implementation and reliability have been solid justification for being the preferred methods over other advanced methods with the same inspection purposes. The development of novel, robust and practical advanced NDT methods for surface indications detection is highly recommended. This paper introduces novel microwaves-based wireless designs of surface crack sensor topologies with high sensitivity. The proposed sensor is developed based on fractal geometries of complementary split ring resonators (CSRR). The proposed design has attractive features for practical implementation including design simplicity, flexible design parameters and a wide dynamic range of the sensing-related frequency. These features allow the user to easily customize the sensor design to meet specific inspection procedure requirements (i.e. to precisely detect relevant indications and bypass irrelevant ones). The sensor performance has been verified using the full-wave numerical simulation package ANSYS HFSS. A proof-of- concept resonance frequency shift of 500 MHz was obtained for a surface crack having 100-um width and 2mm depth.

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Innovative Methods in Nondestructive Tunnel Evaluation

Presenting author(s): Mr Anthony J Alongi

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee C | 10:00 AM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

A. Rationale: The evaluation of tunnel condition presents a challenging problem. Roadway and rail tunnels, by their very design are subject to a constant presence of moisture, even in relatively dry climates. This can lead to a number of problems such as corrosion of embedded reinforcement, voids between the liner and base material, and water flow through and behind the liner, which sometimes appears in locations remote to the water source. B. Objective: Manually intensive and destructive methods exist, however, because tunnels tend to be in high use and generally experience high traffic density, closures are undesirable, costly and in many cases impractical. The objective is to further the development of nondestructive methods for tunnel evaluation. C. Methodology: Ground penetrating radar, with the appropriate improvements in technology and equipment, is particularly suitable as it has the following characteristics. Tunnel evaluation requires the GPR antenna to be in close proximity to the wall. Subsequently, longitudinal scans can be made in all clock positions along the length of the tunnel to gather the necessary wave form data. This results in being able to produce an “unfolded” mapping to identify areas of significant problems. D. Results: These methods are useful for ascertaining: liner thickness & depth of reinforcement, delamination of the concrete liner, voids between the liner and base, water flow through and behind the liner, and the detection of cracks. E. Major Conclusions: In contrast to other applications, tunnel evaluation requires its own unique methodology, equipment, and technology to be effective. There is a strong correspondence between ground truthing methods and NDT of tunnels using the appropriate methodology.

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Full Volumetric Inspection of Small Bore Pipe to Fitting Welds Using Limbo TOFD Arrangement

Presenting author(s): Mr Timothy J Armitt

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 10:00 AM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Volumetric inspection of 2-inch pipe to fitting welds has historically been restricted mainly to RT. This presentation shows how new low-profile integral ‘Limbo’™ TOFD probes can be used to solve the issue of using an ultrasonic technique. The presentation will address beam modelling, special probe arrangement and typical data expected from the novel approach.

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Non-destructive Gas Phase Materials Characterization for the Purposes of Pharmaceutical Life Cycle Health Monitoring

Presenting author(s): Mr G S Grubbs

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee A | 10:00 AM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Non-destructive gas phase materials characterization using microwave and millimeter wave techniques has been an important chemical and physical descriptor for over 80 years. This type of testing is commonly referred to as microwave rotational spectroscopy. Recent technological advancements such as high-speed A-to-D and D-to-A converters and fast (<1 µs), high-powered switchable amplifiers have provided a way to generate resonant broadband spectroscopic techniques referred to as chirped pulse Fourier transform microwave (CP-FTMW) spectrometers. These tools have notably changed physical chemistry and chemical physics studies. Recently, it has been shown that these techniques can be used for precise enantiomeric excess (ee) chirality determination previously unrealized. This measurement utilizes the phase-coherent free induction decay (FID) detected by the experiment. Doing the experiment in this way, however, requires superb phase stability and excruciating calibration methods to ensure accuracy and precision making it not as reliable for insertion into chemical synthetic pathways that would need quick, cheap, and reliable knowledge of the EE for pharmaceutical processes. Instead, the experiments presented here will show that, instead of relying on the averaged FID stability, using another known chiral molecule purity and recently developed, quick and superior computational methodologies, we can weakly bind the unknown creating structurally different diastereomers. We can then back out the purity of the unknown to 1% accuracy and precision, making life cycle health monitoring of pharmaceuticals a real possibility with no need for the separations techniques now utilized. This would mean much less chemical and time waste in these processes.

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Autonomous Navigation and Geotagging for Nondestructive Evaluation of Concrete Bridge Deck Using Robotic Platforms

Presenting author(s): Dr Ali Asmari

Co-Authors: Mr Andrew Marrero, Mr Ebi Maher

Room: Tennessee C | 10:30 AM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

utomating and accelerating the data collection process for bridge decks is a necessity for the safe, cost-effective, and timely monitoring of the health of large populations of bridges. In this paper, we describe the deployment of localization and navigation techniques onto an automated robotic system designed for rapid nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of concrete bridge decks. The system, named RABIT-CE (Robot Assisted Bridge Inspection Tool - Commercial Edition), features holonomic driving and carries several sensor arrays encapsulating a range of different NDE technologies. Paired with a Real Time Kinematic (RTK) base station, RABIT's position is localized through GNSS calculations down to a resolution of only one inch. This is augmented with onboard navigation sensors such as inertial measurement units (IMU), encoders, and a laser scanner to allow for automated path following, collision avoidance, and accurate geotagging of each sensor's data. The efficacy of these methods are demonstrated through extensive experiments and field deployments of RABIT-CE.

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Inspection of Composite Wind Turbine Blades with Advanced Ultrasonic Phased Array Technology

Presenting author(s): Mr Andre Lamarre

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 10:30 AM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

In-service wind turbines blades are subjected to high levels of stress. Consequently, the bonding between the blade’s structural beams and shell must be characterized during manufacturing to help ensure blade integrity. The blades should also be clear of defects, like delamination and wrinkles. The material used to construct wind blades, such as fiberglass and carbon reinforced plastics (CRP), pose particular challenges to ultrasonic inspection, and the industry has been searching for a simple and reliable solution. Olympus manufactures a variety of tools that make it easier to detect and size flaws in different areas of the blades. These tools include low-frequency linear phased array probes and probe holders combined with off-the-shelf ultrasonic phased array instruments and software bundled in a convenient, easy-to-use package. The advantages of using phased array include the fast inspection speed, small resolution, and full coverage of the inspected area. This paper illustrates how advanced ultrasonic phased array technology contributes to the improved integrity of composite wind turbine blades during manufacturing.

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HDPE Electro-fusion Coupler Inspection utilizing a Volumetric Microwave Technique

Presenting author(s): Mr Ryan Goitia

Co-Authors: Mr Robert J Woodward

Room: Tennessee A | 10:30 AM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

This presentation will address the field implementation of a microwave technique used to detect a many of the critical manufacturing based defects associated with HDPE elecro-fusion pipe coupler fabrication. This presentation will also include the destructive Testing associated with many of the inspection findings.

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Nondestructive Examination of Sheave Trunnions for Vertical Lift Bridges

Presenting author(s): Mr Robert D Gessel

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee C | 1:30 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Cracks may develop in sheave trunnions of vertical lift bridges where distributions of stress inherently vary with rotation during operations of the movable span. Early detection of potential crack initiations will allow possible mitigation for extension of trunnion life, or an opportunity to plan for replacement while minimizing disruptions of service. Nondestructive examinations using magnetic particle and ultrasonic methods have been useful in evaluation and monitoring of sheave trunnion integrity. Selection and implementation of appropriate nondestructive techniques, when considered in conjunction with engineering analysis, may contribute to confidence in continued service or decisions to replace trunnions.

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Development and Deployment of Cellular-Based Ultrasonic Corrosion Measurement System for Refining and Petro-Chemical Plant Applications

Presenting author(s): Mr Bruce A Pellegrino

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 1:30 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Recent technological advances in precision, fully-digital ultrasonic wall-thickness measurement systems coupled with cellular back-haul data communication protocols are enabling very accurate, easily deployable and more cost-effective corrosion monitoring systems that can compete with more traditional manual NDT methods. Some comparisons with improved data accuracy of installed sensors in lieu of larger quantities of manual spot data is presented. This paper will include the design principles used in the creation of this next-generation platform, end-user input used to refine the design and recent installation and operational experiences.

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Fellowship Award - Active Microwave Thermography (AMT) for Nondestructive Evaluation of FRP-Strengthened Structures

Presenting author(s): Mr Ali Foudazi

Co-Authors: Mr Cody Edwards, Lesley H Sneed, Dr Kristen Donnell

Room: Tennessee A | 1:30 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

For inspection of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP)-strengthened structures, different nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E) techniques have been performed with various degree of success, including microwave NDT and thermography. For microwave NDT, it was observed that the probe sensing will significantly degrade if inspecting bi-directional or uni-directional CFRP when the probe polarization and fiber direction are parallel with respect to each other. This is due to the properties of the CFRP with the orientation of the incident field. Also, thermography has limitations including localized heating. In this project, Active Microwave Thermography (AMT) has been proposed as an integrated NDT&E technique that incorporates aspects of microwave NDT and thermography. AMT uses microwave excitation to generate heat, and then subsequently the thermal profile is measured using a thermal camera. There are two heating mechanisms that may take place in AMT; dielectric heating (due to dielectric losses) and induction heating (due to induced surface currents). In this work, the electromagnetic properties of uni-directional CFRP for both polarizations were studied. Then, the application of AMT for inspection of CFRP-based strengthened structures was investigated. It was observed that AMT inspections are independent of fiber direction for defect detection. It was also seen that the heating mechanism for a parallel polarized illuminating signal is based on induction heating, while a perpendicularly polarized signal causes dielectric heating. To this end, in order to quantitatively study the effect of defects on the surface thermal profile, parameters including frequency, polarization (parallel vs. perpendicular), and the distance between the sample under test and microwave source were studied. Finally, the results of thermal contrast (TC) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for different cases were compared representing the minimum required and maximum effective heating time for each case.

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Damage Mechanisms Classification in Cement Paste under Compression using Acoustic Emission

Presenting author(s): Mr Rafal Anay

Co-Authors: Dr Paul H Ziehl

Room: Tennessee C | 2:00 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Cement-based composites have been used as reliable materials in building and civil engineering infrastructure industries for years. Although there are many advantages attributed to them, some drawbacks, such as microcracks and cracks occurring during service life, can be problematic especially in sensitive structures like nuclear power plants. Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring was employed in an experimental study to identify damage mechanisms and observe microcracks formation of cement paste prisms having 1.5 inch × 1.5 inch × 6 inch dimensions tested under compression. To establish a correlation between mechanical damage and acoustic emission activity, the acoustic emission parameters were used to categorize acoustic events into three different subsets. Microcrack initiation and formation, formation and extension of microcracks, and unstable crack extension were assigned to the divided subsets. In addition, signal processing was utilized to derive appropriate features for determining signal signatures. Unsupervised pattern recognition was employed to categorize the data into classes.

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Improve NDE Effectiveness of Wet Hydrogen Sulfide Damage using Phased Array Ultrasonic Imaging Techniques

Presenting author(s): Dr Linxiao Yu

Co-Authors: Dr Margarit G Lozev, Mr Steve Orwig

Room: Tennessee B | 2:00 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Wet hydrogen sulfide (H2S) environmentally-assisted damage is a common issue in the oil and gas industry and can occur when fixed equipment with susceptible metallurgy is exposed to a wet H2S environment. This damage can be observed in forms of hydrogen blistering, hydrogen induced cracking (HIC), stress oriented hydrogen induced cracking (SOHIC) and sulfide stress cracking (SSC).  A proper fitness-for-service (FFS) assessment of the equipment requires reliable damage characterization, orientation, distribution and accurate sizing. This study presents examples of improved damage characterization and sizing using advanced phased array ultrasonic imaging techniques.  The imaging techniques involve beamforming optimization, Full Matrix Capture (FMC), Total Focusing Method (TFM), Adaptive Total Focusing Method (ATFM), custom transducer and fixture design, and offline data processing and visualization. A discussion on the advantages of imaging-based inspection is provided.

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Comparison Between Millimeter Wave and Ultrasonic Imaging NDE Techniques to Inspect the NASA Orion Heatshield Test Specimens

Presenting author(s): Dr Joseph T Case

Co-Authors: Dr Shant Kenderian, Yong M Kim

Room: Tennessee A | 2:00 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Recently, there has been a concerted effort to inspect the bondline condition between the thermal heatshield and composite substrate for the NASA Orion heatshield, for which epoxy is used as the adhesive. Since the heatshield is used for manned space flight, it must be fully inspected and qualified before use. There is considerable attention being given to the bondline since debonds of critical size or concentration could cause the heatshield to fail when re-entering the atmosphere. A plethora of inspection techniques were utilized in the industry and the thermal heatshield proved troublesome for all those attempted. For example, the heatshield was too opaque for thermal imaging, too low density for x-ray, too absorbing for ultrasound, and too low dielectric contrast for millimeter wave. Moreover, not one technique could be used to inspect all bond criteria: porosity, unbonds, and kissing unbonds. This presentation compares the performance of two techniques. The first technique is SAR-based millimeter wave imaging using an open-ended waveguide probe in conjunction with a vector network analyzer operating from 26.5 to 40 GHz. The second technique is ultrasonic imaging with freehand scanning using a highly damped contact transducer resonant at 0.5 MHz in conjunction with a pulse generator. Each technique is sensitive to different physical phenomena. This paper presents a full description of the two techniques, their strengths and weaknesses, and demonstrates that the best inspection technique should be a combination of two.

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Automatic Data Collection Tool for Nondestructive Evaluation of Concrete Bridge Decks

Presenting author(s): Dr Ali Asmari

Co-Authors: Mr Max Meng, Mr Siyuan Li, Mr Andrew Marrero, Mr Ahmed Saber, Mr Ebi Maher

Room: Tennessee C | 2:30 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

One of the major drawbacks of non destructive evaluation (NDE) data collection and analysis is the time consuming nature of the process and effects of human error in accuracy and quality of the collected data or the result of processing. Using automation, new levels of accuracy and data collection speed can be achieved to optimize long-term monitoring of a large population of bridges. RABIT-CE (Robot Assisted Bridge Inspection Tool - Commercial Edition) provides a fully autonomous solution for data collection and processing by implementing multiple NDE technologies: Electrical Resistivity (ER), Impact Echo (IE), Ultrasonic Surface Wave (USW), Ground Penetration Radar (GPR), Robotic Vision to replace traditional visual inspection in one platform. In this article, RABIT-CE’s components, operation and field validation are described. The results are also compared with traditional manual data collection and analysis.

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Using Pulsed Eddy Current on Small-Diameter Pipes

Presenting author(s): Mr Marco Michele Sisto

Co-Authors: Dr Vincent Demers-Carpentier, Dr Maxime Rochette, Mr Joel Crepeau, Mr Florian Hardy, Mr Marc Grenier, Charles Tremblay, Mr Martin Turgeon

Room: Tennessee B | 2:30 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Pulsed Eddy Current (PEC) has been successfully deployed over the last decades for a variety of corrosion-related applications, most notably for Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI) inspections, Corrosion Under Fireproofing (CUF) and Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC). This technology has proven to be an efficient screening tool, allowing for detection of corrosion without having to remove coating or insulating material over typical pipes, tanks and vessels. However, small diameter pipes are somewhat of a challenge for PEC because these pipes have highly curved surfaces and the probe footprints tends to be somewhat large for such pipes. This paper discusses the challenge of working with small diameter pipes. Solutions for high quality PEC inspection of such components are presented, along with laboratory results that demonstrate that PEC can be used on pipes as small as NPS1. We provide rules for calculation of PEC probe footprint, smallest detectable defect characteristic dimensions and liftoff tolerance. With sufficient liftoff on small diameter pipes, PEC enters an operation regime referred to as the “small pipe regime”, where it’s possible to inspect the full tube circumference with only one or two opposed scans, depending on the required defect sizing accuracy. The notion of circumferential footprint is introduced. On large tubes and pipes, circumferential gridding based on this new footprint definition enhances the system inspection speed up to 50% (compared to conventional gridding) by reducing the number of scan lines along the tube or pipe axis. The effect of the wrapping in PEC measurements applied to a small pipe application is also discussed.

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Multi-View Millimeter Wave Inspection of Narrow Filled Vertical Gaps in Composite Structures

Presenting author(s): Dr Mohammad Tayeb Ghasr

Co-Authors: Mr Trevor Bishop, Dr Reza Zoughi

Room: Tennessee A | 2:30 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Many complex composite structures are made of small sections that are adhered together using adhesive bonding agents, similar to mortar joints in brick walls. These joints are generally narrow and do not present a large plane view to an interrogating nondestructive testing (NDT) probe for inspecting its integrity for voids, presence of inhomogeneties, lack of bond, etc. Thus, for inspection purposes they are considered to be a narrow vertical joints and when made of low-permittivity dielectric (non-conducting) materials (i.e., glue, resin, etc.) they present a major challenge to most NDT modalities. Microwave NDT methods are well-suited for inspection of dielectric materials. However, for this type of vertical joint inspection a potential defect does not provide a significant reflecting interface to the propagating electromagnetic wave. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR)-based imaging techniques have demonstrated great potential for imaging a variety of composite structures including vertical cracks in plastic structures. This is mostly due to the fact that SAR imaging technique relies on constructively combining data from many measurement points within the synthetic aperture (i.e., a multi-view technique) which in turn allows for oblique incident views of a potential defect. However, conventional SAR imaging is limited in imaging defects in vertical joints and gaps, particularly when the defect is deep inside the joint. For such a deep target, the angle of incident becomes steep and as such the scattering from the vertical defect becomes insignificant, significantly reducing the level of reflected wave back to the probe. Furthermore, in a non-homogenous structure (e.g., complex composite structure), the scattering from the larger discontinuities within the structure can overwhelm the relatively weak scattering from such defects. This presentation will introduce a novel method for detecting defects in vertical joints and gaps. This method relies on an array of transmitters and receivers which provide a multi-view transmission and reflection measurement from several different oblique incident angles. Subsequently, a wave propagation model is used to account for reflections/transmissions across interfaces at these oblique incident angles. Using an array of transmitters and receivers allows for performing all possible combinations of transmitter and receivers (and many oblique incident angles) in real-time. This presentation provides the foundations of this method, several electromagnetic-simulated and measurements results.

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Novel Impact Device For Inducing Compression Waves In Side-Access Pile Foundations To Determine Embedment Length Using Sonic Echo, Impact Response, And Ultraseismic Test Methods

Presenting author(s): Mr Jeffrey Cohen

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee C | 3:00 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

While a variety of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods have been developed to determine the embedment length of a foundation, these methods traditionally tend to be cost and labor intensive as in the case of Parallel Seismic Testing or require access to the top of the foundation for inducing compression waves in the foundation such as with the Sonic Echo or Impact Response methods. This need for top access can be challenging when seeking to evaluate power utility piles or embedded pile telecommunication towers where the pile tops are significantly above grade, and impossible when dealing with bridges where the tops of the supporting piles are completely inaccessible. Generating downward-propagating compression waves from the side of these piles using typical hammer impacts isn’t generally possible, and though flexural waves can be induced from side hammer impacts, the dispersive nature of these waves makes their interpretation highly subjective and complex. To address this need for a cost-effective way to determine pile embedment length, a novel impact device for inducing compression waves in piles with only side access has been developed. This paper presents an overview of the impact device’s theory of operation, construction, and design considerations, focusing on the method and necessity for providing a stiff mechanical connection between the device and the pile under evaluation as this coupling allows the device’s weighted impact to transfer its impact energy longitudinally down the pile. Generation of compression waves in this way allows for the use of the established Sonic Echo (SE), Impact Response (IR), and Ultraseismic (US) methods for collecting and analyzing the resulting vibrational response of the pile and calculating the pile embedment. This paper also presents several field tests of this device on embedded wood pile telecommunication towers and bridge pile foundations as well. Comparative results from the SE, IR, and US methods used in these studies are presented and discussed to illustrate how the impact device enables these methods while also highlighting the novelty of using compression waves for SE and IR methods in side-access only foundations.

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Deployment of a Practical CUI/CUF Assessment Tool for Pressure Vessels and Piping Systems

Presenting author(s): Mr Brian E Shannon

Co-Authors: Mr David E Russell, Dr Reyaz Sabet-Sharghi

Room: Tennessee B | 3:00 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI) and Corrosion Under Fireproofing (CUF) continue to represent significant challenges to asset owners when it comes to deployment of a robust and reliable approach by which these damage mechanisms can be identified and categorized in a timely and cost effective fashion.
While existing methods such as Guided Wave Testing (GWT) have of late provided a solution for detection of CUI on straight run piping, the approach has proven less attractive when applied to short-run piping found in most processing facilities. On the other hand, most asset operators have to rely on the more rudimentary approach of stripping insulation from tanks and vessels to detect and mitigate CUI/CUF or relying on certain indicators to identify locations that should be stripped. Both these approaches are becoming more and more cost prohibitive while proving to lack any consistent reliability on which to base a systematic program.
It is in such an environment that the more recently developed Russell NDE Systems (Bracelet Probe) / HSI E-CAT™ (Electromagnetic Condition Assessment Tool) is being deployed. The system allows for active scanning on insulated surfaces ranging from small-bore piping to flat plates (large diameter tank and vessel application), while maintaining a viable level of sensitivity to relevant CUI/CUF damage.

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Microwave Volumetric Inspection of Fiberglass Piping Socket Joints

Presenting author(s): Mr Robert J Woodward

Co-Authors: Mr Donald McNicol

Room: Tennessee A | 3:00 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

This presentation will address a Microwave inspection technique that is able to evaluate the bond strength of fiberglass socket joints. The presentation will include both lab validation and successful field implementation of the the technique.

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Image Stitching and Crack Mapping on Concrete Bridge Decks using Shape Analysis and Feature Points Detection and Matching Techniques

Presenting author(s): Dr Ali Asmari

Co-Authors: Mr Ahmed Saber, Mr Ebi Maher

Room: Tennessee C | 4:00 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Mapping cracks on the surface of concrete bridge decks is an important task for proper bridge maintenance and health monitoring. Cracks in concrete bridge deck, allow harmful and corrosive chemicals to reach the embedded steel rebar and need to be repaired immediately. The current crack detection methods are mainly dependent on the experience of human inspector and his/her cognitive abilities in detecting cracks manually. Due to necessity of human involvement in the process, manual crack detection is a time-consuming process and its results are inconsistent from one test to the other. This paper provides an automatic technique for crack mapping in images captured from concrete bridge decks. In this technique a full map of the bridge deck is created by stitching multiple images, captured from the bridge deck surface, using pattern matching techniques and GPS information. Then a crack mapping technique, finds all the visible cracks wider than 1mm and categorize them based on their width. This technique has been tested in the field in different environments, under different lighting and weather conditions and the results are demonstrated in this paper. The Robot Assisted Bridge Inspection Tool (RABIT) was used for collecting the raw images. This platform is equipped with two high resolution cameras as well as a navigation system with global positioning accuracy of less than 1in.

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ACFMT on the Ropes – How a New, Highly Portable Instrument is Enabling Advanced Crack Detection and Depth Sizing in the Rope Access Section

Presenting author(s): Dr Michael C Smith

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 4:00 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Alternating Current Field Measurement Testing (ACFMT) has a 30 year proven track record and is routinely used for specific applications, particularly subsea oil and gas. However, until now many topside applications have remained out of reach due to the size and cabling required for the traditional ACFMT systems.

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Algorithms in NDT: Past, Future and Best Practices for Operator Interaction and Certification

Presenting author(s): Dr John C Aldrin

Co-Authors: Mr David S Forsyth

Room: Tennessee A | 4:00 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Recently, algorithms are playing a greater role in evaluating NDT data for the detection and characterization of material discontinuities and properties.  Three classes of NDT algorithms will be summarized in this presentation. First, the development and use of heuristic algorithms, based on NDT expert knowledge and empirical studies will be discussed.  Second, the emerging use of NDT models as part of inverse method classifiers will be presented.  Initial successes of heuristic and model-based inversion algorithms will be presented.  As well, with the rapid emergence of deep learning neural network (DLNN) algorithms for solving a number of challenging classification problems (for example, Google Translate), a summary of statistical classifiers and machine learning algorithms will be presented.  Both the opportunities and challenges of developing DLNN algorithms for NDT applications will be discussed.  
While automated systems are becoming more pervasive in many aspects of society the 21st century, reliability requirements are considered much higher for NDT techniques.  Experience with implementing NDT algorithms focused solely on simple ‘PASS’ and ‘FAIL’ call criteria has also shown that such approaches are lacking.  Algorithms must be reliable while also supplying quantitative feedback on ‘why a call was made’.  To date, the best practices for implementing algorithms in NDT have focused on reducing the burden of tedious data review and providing automation of reporting the most significant indications.  Software should be designed to work seamlessly with NDT operators, to ensure that quality data is first acquired, and that the most significant indications in the NDT data are clearly presented to the operator for their review.  As well, the design of NDT software has the potential to address some problematic issues with human factors in NDT reliability.  
Lastly, the challenge of certification of NDT procedures incorporating algorithms will be discussed.  General approaches do exist for the evaluation of the reliability of such techniques, using best practices for probability of detection and characterization error evaluation.  Several examples of the certification of automated data analysis algorithms will be summarized and key lessons learned will be presented.

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Basic Principles and Practical Application of Ultrasonic Tomography of Concrete Structures

Presenting author(s): Mr Andrey Bulavinov

Co-Authors: Mr Roman Pinchuk, Mr Andrey Samokrutov

Room: Tennessee C | 4:30 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Aging civil infrastructure made of concrete and reinforced concrete puts new requirements to the quality assurance concepts allowing integral assessment of infrastructural objects. Ultrasonic testing with its unique deep penetrating capability offers substantial opportunities for visualization and evaluation of the internal structure of large constructions. Digital Focus Array (DFA) technology with its real-time processing of ultrasonic data implemented in the easy-to-use manual testing instruments based on Dry Point Contact (DPC) transducer arrays introduces a new quality standards in the modern ultrasonic testing of concrete infrastructure. From the simple wall thickness measurement, up to the advanced three-dimensional tomographic volume reconstruction and imaging of the cladding tubes and reinforcement along with detection of material flaws allows taking advantage of improved evaluation of the inspection results. In the current contribution, the basic principles of ultrasonic tomography of concrete are exemplified by practical application cases in the field. Advantages and limitations of ultrasonic concrete testing are discussed in a pragmatic and nonfiction way.

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Infrared Inspection Program for Fired Heater Mechanical Integrity

Presenting author(s): Mr Tim Hill

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 4:30 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

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Concurrent Engineering: Nondestructive Evaluation Probability of Detection (POD) Simulation’s Impact on Component Reliability

Presenting author(s): Mr Irving J Gray

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee A | 4:30 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Structural reliability assessments may involve many factors such as variability in the initial damage state, predicted evolution of the damage state and variability in damage that can reliably be found via non-destructive testing (NDT).  A new framework will be discussed and demonstrated linking physics-based simulations of non-destructive evaluation (NDE) methods with probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) analysis to support rapid qualification of advanced materials processes such as additive manufacturing (AM).
In particular, physics-based x-ray simulation software XRSIM is linked with the PFM software DARWIN© to create an integrated virtual reliability environment (VRE) within the broader concurrent engineering design cycle.  XRSIM is used to determine full-field, location-specific probability of detection (POD) curves for significant manufacturing defects that are incorporated into DARWIN predictions of fracture risk for a component in service.  
POD data for anomalies as a function of their size for specific inspections are critical input for reliability assessments, but empirical studies done on fabricated samples with constructed flaws are costly, time-consuming and sometimes just not possible.  Validated NDE simulation software offers a solution to these problems and captures the impact of random variables affecting NDT signal flaw responses.  The XRSIM ability to efficiently generate location-specific POD curves at hundreds of thousands of nodal locations within a component finite element mesh may significantly improve the accuracy of DARWIN component fracture risk assessments.
On the other hand, DARWIN fracture mechanics analyses identify the smallest initial crack sizes at each location that would grow to failure during a prescribed service lifetime, and this data tells the NDT side what initial defects must be found.  When matched to the limits of NDT detection, it enables the analyst to assess the adequacy of a proposed inspection protocol.
An example problem is presented that illustrates the coupling of XRSIM location-specific POD curves with DARWIN for improved accuracy of structural reliability assessments.

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Assessment of Fire Affected Concrete Structure by NDT- A Case Study

Presenting author(s): Mr Nikhil Gopalkrishnan

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee C | 5:00 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

The present paper is an attempt to perform various Non-Destructive Tests on concrete structure as NDT is gaining a wide importance in the branch of civil engineering these days. Various tests that are performed under NDT not only enable us to determine the strength of concrete structure, but also provide us in-hand information regarding the durability, in-situ properties of the concrete structure. Keeping these points in our mind, we have focused our views on performing a case study to show the comparison between the NDT test results performed on a particular concrete structure and another structure at the same site which is subjected to a continuous fire of say 48-72 hours. The mix design and concrete grade of both the structures were same before the one was affected by fire. The variations in the compressive strength, concrete quality and in-situ properties of the two structures have been discussed in this paper. NDT tests namely Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Test, Rebound Hammer Test, Core-Cutter Test was performed at both the sites. The main objective of this research is to analyze the variations in the strength and quality of the concrete structure which is subjected to a high temperature fire and the one which isn’t exposed to it.

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Maximizing the Coverage and POD for Corrosion Monitoring

Presenting author(s): Dr David Alleyne

Co-Authors: Mr Thomas Vogt

Room: Tennessee B | 5:00 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Guided wave testing offers an enormous magnitude increase in pipe surface coverage in addition to access to restricted areas compared to other more local or spot NDT measurement methods. An oil major currently uses guided waves to test a combined surface area of over 2 million ft2 of piping per year at a single facility. However, significant improvements and in reliability cost savings can be gained when using permanently installed guided wave sensors for monitoring instead of performing repeat measurements using conventional guided wave equipment. The same facility currently monitors over 1 million ft2 of piping per year to achieve this goal. A local area point measurement capability has also been added to recently to gPIMS sensors for thickness monitoring. Recent studies using these sensors have shown that the frequent collection of data has major advantages in terms of lowering false call rates and increasing sensitivity. In order to harness the huge potential of guided wave monitoring the development of infrastructure is required that seamlessly integrates various processes that turn data collected by the sensors into useful information delivered to desk. There are challenges in moving, storing, processing and reporting the large amount of data created. Secure cloud based services are a key component in addressing most of these challenges. Analysing and interpreting the large volume of frequently collected data however proves a significant challenge. Guided Ultrasonics Ltd have developed advanced processing algorithms based on component analysis as a way to automate the analysis and interpretation processes. This concept and application with results from recent trials will be presented. Minimal human intervention is then required to confirm the results and create web-based reports for an authorised audience. Combined with the ability to feed the results into desired integrity management software the loop from data collection to decision making can be closed.      

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Developments of Cost Effective X-ray POD Curve Simulations for Complex Parts

Presenting author(s): Mr Joe Gray

Co-Authors: Mr Alex Gray, Mr Irving J Gray

Room: Tennessee A | 5:00 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

We present recent developments in using a new module in the x-ray simulation program, XRSIM, to generate POD curves for complex parts, especially additive manufacturing and casting components. Calibration, verification and validation of this tool was also performed. The use of simulation tools greatly reduces both the time and cost of developing POD curves for inspections, with typical times of a few hours from planning the optimal inspection to a completed POD assessment, and this for hundreds of thousands of locations in the part. Several methods for generating POD curves for an inspection arise from the use of POD simulations. XRSIM can generate data sets with flaws at random locations and with a range of defect morphology, for use by inspectors just as experimental data is, to generate the hit/miss results. POD curve calculations can be done on this data in the same manner used in experimental POD curve calculations. Further, applications emerge in the POD simulation tool in XRSIM with the model the human eye response to defects. Using an experimentally measured probability distribution function(pdf) for the human eye detection coupled with noise sources in the imaging chain, for example detector noise, hit/miss data can be generated directly from the simulation with a full part evaluation in a few minutes. Effects of texture such as surface roughness, diffraction mottling and manufacturing effects can also be modeled. We will show recent results of the POD curve calculation along with XRSIM model validation results. This tool offers a rich extension of POD curve assessment meeting needs in industry in a very cost-effective manner. Funding for this work was provided by the USAF AFRL under an SBIR project.

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Investigating the Feasibility of Ultrasonic Shear Actuation for Evaluation of Adhesive Joints in Multilayered Structures: FE Simulation

Presenting author(s): Mr Hussain Altammar

Co-Authors: Mr Nathan Salowitz, Mr Anoop Dhingra

Room: Tennessee C | 5:30 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

A major limitation on wide use of adhesively bonded structures is that they are susceptible to various kinds of hard to detect damage such as voids, cracks, disbond, delamination, and kissing bonds. Therefore, a nondestructive evaluation technique that can accurately monitor and assess the integrity of adhesive joints is of interest in order to boost their use in critical applications involving multilayered laminate structures. In the existing literature, shear waves generated using conventional ultrasonic methods are found sensitive to adhesive joint defects. Therefore, this paper investigates the feasibility of ultrasonic shear actuation for damage detection in adhesive joints of a multilayered structure. FE method is used herein to simulate shear-mode piezoelectric transducers embedded in the bondline of a double-layer aluminum structure. Piezoelectric transducers are excited to generate anti-symmetric guided waves (lamb waves) in a pitch-catch configuration. To evaluate the proposed approach, several damage cases including notch, disbond, and crack are investigated to evaluate its potential effectiveness. The waveform signals produced by numerical simulations were inspected to detect the presence of damage using signal processing methods based on time-frequency approach. The simulation results indicate the proposed approach is capable of detecting damage and could be a promising approach for structural health monitoring of adhesively bonded joints.

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Critical Element Alloy Material Testing/PMI Using Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence

Presenting author(s): Mr Alex Thurston

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 5:30 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Handheld X-ray fluorescence (HHXRF) has developed into an accurate and rapid method for compositional analysis for numerous industries. HHXRF provides information regarding a variety of maintenance needs, including corrosion-prone element identification and in situ silicon, phosphorus, and sulfur level determination for alloys. For plant piping system maintenance and safety, using HHXRF for positive material identification (PMI) is essential. Recent advances in HHXRF have led to greater sensitivity for these critical elements.

Accurate, repeatable readings coupled with Wi-Fi, cloud connectivity and GPS facilitate remote operation and instantaneous results transfer when using an HHXRF analyzer. In addition to excellent alloy analysis capabilities, many other material classes (ceramics, coatings, and slags) benefit from HHXRF analysis.  HHXRF is now able to produce reliable compositional results in a range rivaling aspects of laboratory-grade XRF analysis while maintaining portability.

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Probability of Detection Studies for Advanced Eddy Current Scanning Systems

Presenting author(s): Mr Ryan Mooers

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee A | 5:30 PM Wednesday, November 1, 2017

The United States Air Force relies on Probability of Detection (POD) studies to determine the detection capability of nondestructive inspection processes and set the inspection intervals for various inspections.Over the past 3 years, the Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Materials State Awareness Branch has contracted multiple efforts to develop a new advanced eddy current instrument and two advanced eddy current scanners. The first system, the Advanced Bolt Hole Eddy Current (ABHEC) scanner (ECS-5), is an automated bolt hole scanner that enables multi-frequency operation and provides improved visualization through a two dimensions representation of the bolt hole inspection data.The second system, the Advanced Surface Eddy Current Scanner system (ECS-3S), is a surface scanner that utilizes a rotating absolute probe and position encoded registered wheels to produce a two-dimensional image of the inspected area.These two new scanning systems were designed to provide enhanced inspection capability and information to reduce human variability associated with these classes of inspections.This presentation describes the efforts taken to perform a POD study and determine the detection limit for these two scanning systems.This will include details regarding the specimens, the test set up, data collection, and data analysis.Comparisons of the detection capabilities and inspections times relative to the current inspection capabilities that these systems could replace will be given.Additional information about these two new scanning systems is included to describe enhanced capabilities of the systems.

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Fellowship Award - A Multi-modal SHM System using Three NDT Methods

Presenting author(s): Mr Amir Nasrollahi

Co-Authors: Dr Piervincenzo Rizzo

Room: Tennessee C | 9:00 AM Thursday, November 2, 2017

We propose a structural health monitoring (SHM) paradigm based on the simultaneous use of guided ultrasonic waves (GUWs), electromechanical impedance (EMI), and acoustic emission (AE) technique. Methods based on the propagation of guided ultrasonic waves (GUWs) are increasingly used in all those SHM applications that benefit from built-in transduction, moderately large inspection ranges, and high sensitivity to small flaws. Meantime, impedance-based SHM enables the local assessment of the structural integrity of simple waveguides and complex structures. The AE method is a very popular NDT technique that relies on the propagation of sounds or ultrasounds triggered by changes in the material being monitored. The proposed SHM paradigm is driven by the same sensing/hardware/software unit. We assess the feasibility of this unified system by monitoring an aluminum plate using an array of six transducers. Damage is simulated by adding small masses to the plate. The waveforms and the EMI data are analyzed using some statistical analysis or some imaging algorithms promising results demonstrate that the system can be developed further to address the challenges associated with the SHM of complex structures.

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Fellowship Award - High-density Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Networks for NDE of Composite Materials

Presenting author(s): Mr William Stewart

Co-Authors: Mr Guodong Guo, Kara Peters

Room: Tennessee B | 9:00 AM Thursday, November 2, 2017

VCSEL (vertical cavity surface emitting laser) light sources are cheap, lightweight lasers that have applications in fiber Bragg grating (FBG) systems. These advantages make VCSEL sources ideal for aerospace NDE applications. The drawback to VCSEL sources is the narrow bandwidth of the light that they produce. Currently, this narrow bandwidth limits the number of FBGs that can be multiplexed onto a single fiber. A new signal- processing algorithm has been developed that combines spectral profile and wavelength division multiplexing. The algorithm rapidly identifies individual sensors based on their unique spectral profiles using a cross-correlation between the known original spectrums with spectrums. Previous work has demonstrated the algorithm applied to a 2mW VCSEL- based system with two gratings present. This work expands that envelope by demonstrating multiplexing of four FBG sensors using a single 0.5mW VCSEL with modulated current to sweep a 4nm bandwidth of light. The algorithm is modified using prior knowledge such as past FBG states, spectral interaction between sensors, and estimated strain states.

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Introduction to Digital Radiography (DR) Systems, Its Operating Principles and Efficient Installation Process

Presenting author(s): Mr Lennart Schulenburg

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee A | 9:00 AM Thursday, November 2, 2017

X-ray inspection is a widely adapted technology for quality control of industrial products in many sectors. Especially safety relevant parts in the aerospace, automotive and oil and gas sector are subject to exhaustive tests. A broad and sometimes confusing palette of international, national and company specific quality standards and requirements has to be closely followed to pass the demanding audits. Additional uncertainty is evolving from the constant technology shift to Digital Radiography (DR). The quality and variety of digital Flat Panel Detectors (FPD) is increasing on a faster pace than ever, allowing the usage in more and more applications. At the same time as quality requirements increase, companies have to maintain a high cost-efficiency to remain competitive in a globalized world. In many cases the only solution to this dilemma is digitizing and streamlining the inspection process through modern DR technology. Therefore, companies and NDT managers all around the world are analyzing available solutions, which often pose a long-term capital investment. This presentation shall give a brief understanding about the applications, capabilities, certification and efficiency of complex X-ray systems and applications to inform NDT engineers and managers about the decision process in establishment of new equipment and processes. The presentation will basically go from fundamentals to me methods, procedures and standards. Additionally, it will provide a basic template for the procurement process of a DR system. The rough structure will be as follows: 1. Introduction, technology and performance metrics 2. Conception, system design and investment justification 3. Industry characteristics, summary and practical examples This presentation is based on the articles published inside the ASNT NDT Technician throughout 2017 and explains the underlying principles of implementing Digital Radiography (DR) systems. It will summarize the articles and provides additional explanation of the topic.

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Fellowship Award - Frequency Selective Surfaces as Embedded Sensors for Structural Health Monitoring

Presenting author(s): Mr Dustin Pieper

Co-Authors: Dr Kristen Donnell

Room: Tennessee C | 9:30 AM Thursday, November 2, 2017

A frequency selective surface (FSS) is a periodic array of conductive elements or patches that has a specific frequency response to incident electromagnetic radiation. This response can be transmissive or reflective in nature, and is dependent on the FSS geometry and properties of materials near the FSS. As such, FSSs have strong potential to serve as embedded sensors for structural health monitoring applications. To this end, if a structure that contains an embedded (or surface mounted) FSS sensor undergoes physical deformation, the sensor response will change. A similar effect on the sensor response will occur in the case of layered structures if a delamination or disbond occurs in the near vicinity of an FSS sensor due to the change in material properties introduced by the presence of the delamination/disbond. Therefore, by remotely interrogating the sensor with electromagnetic energy, the sensor response can be monitored and the state of the structure can be subsequently determined. In this work, FSS sensors have been designed to detect and characterize normal strain, shear strain, and the presence of disbonds in layered structures. As it relates to strain sensing, a number of FSS sensor designs were considered and their sensitivity to normal and shear strain will be presented. Further, measurement results will be presented for a grounded loaded tripole FSS used as a normal strain sensor. Additionally, results from an in-situ test of a steel-tube reinforced concrete column with an embedded FSS sensor will also be presented. As it relates to delamination detection, measurement and simulation results will be presented demonstrating the response of FSS to delaminations. Lastly, the use of multiple FSS sensors within in layered structure for delamination location determination and increased coverage area in thicker structures will also be discussed.

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Development and Validation of NDE Standards for NASA’s Advanced Composites Project

Presenting author(s): Mr Elliott K Cramer

Co-Authors: Mr Daniel Perey

Room: Tennessee B | 9:30 AM Thursday, November 2, 2017

The adoption of composite materials in aircraft manufacturing for use in structural applications continues to increase but is still relatively new to the industry and has large development and certification costs in comparison to metallic structures. Traditional methods of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) used for isotropic materials such as metals many not be adequate for composite applications and is a contributing factor to the cost and complexity of developing new structural composites. Additionally, the defects of interest in composite materials are significantly different that in metals. Therefore, good quality composite reference standards are essential to obtaining reliable and quantifiable NDE results. Ideally, reference standards contain flaws or damage whose NDE indications most closely represent the indications created by actual flaws/damage. They should also be easy to duplicate and inexpensive to manufacture. NASA’s Advanced Composites Project developed a set of composite standards that contain a range of validated defects representing those typically found in aerospace composite materials. This paper will provide an overview of the standards fabricated, the manufacturing plans used to fabricate them, the types of defects included, and validation performed. Also discussed will be the round-robin testing being performed on these standards and the guidance document being compiled that will outline relevant inspection procedures for challenging and critical defects unique to composites where conventional techniques may not be appropriate.

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Solid State CZT Detection & Photon Counting Technology for NDT Imaging Applications

Presenting author(s): Dr Toby Astill

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee A | 9:30 AM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) solid state radiation sensors are integral parts of the latest Nuclear Cardiology, Mammography, CT Scanning, Baggage Scanning and Dirty Bomb Detection technology platforms. Unlike traditional indirect conversion scintillator based technology, CZT leverages a direct-conversion process that provides superior energy resolution, conversion efficiency, fine intrinsic resolution (sub 100um) and unique spectral energy information. Because of these attributes, and others, CZT is positioned uniquely to support next generation industrial inspection imaging systems and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) applications that require the highest quality control and levels of safety. New CZT semiconductor production Technology is revolutionizing the performance, cost and availability of CZT radiation detection and imaging sensors – enabling the widespread adoption of this technology for the medical, security markets and NDT markets. Specific to the NDT applications, CZT offers improved room temperature resolution and image quality for in-line quality checks like identification of broken components, checking fill levels & seal integrity, void detection, and checking for damaged components. In additional, instead of integrating the x-ray current over an exposure time (like in a scintillator detector), high-throughput Photon Counting is used to measure and count each x-ray individually over a similar period. Photon Counting leads to material compositional analysis through spectroscopic x-ray imaging and potentially significant improvement in overall image quality. Examples of the current CZT sensor & Photon Counting module technology, application data, and system integration partnership opportunities for industry, academia, government and research organizations will be discussed herein. Solutions that meet the performance and reliability requirements of the most stringent real world X-ray systems are also discussed.

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Structural Damage Detection Using Differences in Deformation Time History and Artificial Neural Networks

Presenting author(s): Ms Yasha Zeinali

Co-Authors: Mr Brett A Story

Room: Tennessee C | 10:00 AM Thursday, November 2, 2017

To address the challenge of aging bridges, it is significant to detect the location and severity of potential damages. This paper presents a damage index based on the differences between deflection time histories at a specific location on an intact and damaged structure. Differences between time histories for intact and damaged structures results in a new time history which has multiple local minima and maxima. A relationship exists between the flexural rigidity profile i.e., , of the vibrating structure and the amplitude and instance of these local minima and maxima. This paper employs a deep back-propagation artificial neural network (ANN) to estimate the flexural rigidity profile. Multiple damage scenarios are considered and the time histories of the deflection of a beam subject to these scenarios are calculated. The difference of time histories of the intact and damaged system under the same loading pattern is calculated. The corresponding time and magnitude of dominant local minima or maxima in the time history difference are used as features of input vectors to the ANN; the output of the ANN is the damage scenario.  The input components are unique features that correlate to the assumed damage scenario. Noise is added to the FEM results to increase the robustness of the ANN system to noise that might occur in a field implementation of the method.  Even in the presence of measurement noise, the method presented in this paper is able to correctly identify several damage scenarios on a vibrating beam.

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Advanced Techniques for Robot-based Ultrasonic Testing of Complex-Shape CFRP Components

Presenting author(s): Mr Andrey Bulavinov

Co-Authors: Mr Roman Pinchuk, Mr Andrey Samokrutov

Room: Tennessee B | 10:00 AM Thursday, November 2, 2017

CFRP components from the point of view of the in-process quality assurance and ultrasonic material testing pose quite a challenging task due to its specific acoustic properties and complex shape. Constructional and productionall optimization of CFRP parts show a tendency to more and more integrated and geometrically complex design with numerous three-dimensional curved surfaces and versatile material mixtures. These aspects make CFRP components to rather “complicated” objects for the ultrasonic testing. However, UT remains the most applied method in the industrial praxis. Modern signal processing and image reconstruction techniques for phased array generated data such as ‘Digital Focus Array’ and ‘Sampling Phased Array’ allow tomographic representation of the inspection volume and thus accurate flaw evaluation. The geometric complexity of the considered CFRP parts significantly complicates tomographic imaging approach and requires more advanced technological solutions in inspection systems as well as the image processing methodology. In the current contribution, an inspection technique and system solution for CFRP component testing will be presented that combines fast optical profile measurement, automated data acquisition by a robotic inspection manipulator with real-time tomographic reconstruction of inspection volume alone with a novel 3D image analysis approach for complex-shape parts.

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Digital Detector Array Image Quality for Various GOS Scintillators

Presenting author(s): Mr Brian S White

Co-Authors: Mr Mark Shafer

Room: Tennessee A | 10:00 AM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Digital detector arrays (DDA’s) are becoming more prevalent for industrial radiographic inspection. The type of scintillator used with the DDA determines the overall achievable image quality. The DRZ-HIGH, DRZ-PLUS, DRZ-STANDARD, and DRZ-FINE Gadolinium Oxysulfide Terbium (GOS: Tb) activated scintillators were investigated in combination with the Carestream DRX-PLUS digital detector array panel. Three beam conditions were utilized for exposure as follows; RQA-5 (70 kVp, 21 mm Aluminum), RQA-9 (120 kVp, 1 mm Copper and 4 mm Aluminum), and NDT (220 kVp, 8 mm Copper). The Detective Quantum Efficiency (DQE), Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), sensitivity, and interpolated basic spatial resolution (iSRb) were determined for each scintillator and beam condition. The results of this investigation are presented in this paper.

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Structural Monitoring of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Bridge Emergency Repairs

Presenting author(s): Mr Andrew Foden

Co-Authors: Mr Chris Gentz

Room: Tennessee C | 10:30 AM Thursday, November 2, 2017

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Bridge provides the link between the New Jersey Turnpike and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and was opened to traffic on May 25, 1956. The structure is the largest single bridge installation on either Turnpike and is jointly owned and maintained by both the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. A fracture of the top chord of the 4-span north deck truss, adjacent to Pier 15 on the Pennsylvania side of the bridge was discovered on January 20, 2017. As a result of this fracture, a stress redistribution occurred, substantially altering the forces carried by the adjacent top chord members, stringers, and sway bracing. Additionally, there was a significant transfer of load to the south truss members in the area of the fracture. Structural monitoring was used throughout the repair process in order to evaluate the restoration of the loads in the structure and ultimately its ability to safely carry traffic loads. Initially a load test was performed on the as-built sister truss on the New Jersey approach (Spans 21-24) to calibrate the finite element models being used to evaluate the jacking and post-tensioning forces and design the repairs to the compromised truss on the Pennsylvania side. As part of the repair process, the structure was jacked vertically from temporary falsework within Spans 15 and 16 in an effort to restore the truss geometry and member forces to the pre-fractured condition. Then the fractured chord was post-tensioned to restore the dead load force in the chord and a splice plate was installed restoring continuity across the fracture. Before opening the structure to traffic, a load test was performed on the repaired Pennsylvania 4-span truss (Spans 14-17) to measure force distribution from live load on the repaired truss. Results from this load test were used to verify that the repaired span is functioning as intended, and for the bridge owners and their representatives to assess whether the structure was again able to safely carry traffic loads. This paper will discuss the structural monitoring that was performed during each of these operations and the overall impact of the monitoring on the repair process.

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Unveiling Faults in Composite Materials by Suppressing Axial and Lateral Coherent Noise with Modulated and Time Coded Excitation

Presenting author(s): Dr Chris Leskiw

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 10:30 AM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Layered, porous, and fiber reinforced materials, such as concrete and carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer contain a heterogeneous microstructure that produces coherent noise which mask faults in the material when excited acoustically. Therefore, methods that can address the scattering of the incident excitation and the resulting coherent noise are undergoing much research. Frequency selective filtering has been partially successful in suppressing noise from some scatterers by attenuating frequencies that are introduced by off-axial reflections. Here frequency selective modulation was combined with time coding to generate an excitation signal that had properties for suppressing noise in both axial and lateral directions. The objective was to locate faults normally veiled by scattered excitation noise when using conventional ultrasonic equipment. Both a computer simulation model and a physical target were used to test the possibility of improving the signal-to-noise ratio of faults with conventional transducers. Simulation and physical testing both revealed that the coded, modulated signal reflected by faults could be raised above the coherent noise floor and spatially located in situations where conventional excitation was insufficient.

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DR and CT Technology Advancements That improve Image Quality and Cycle Times

Presenting author(s): Mr Brett A Muehlhauser

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee A | 10:30 AM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Recent hardware and software developments have proven successful in improving Digital Radiography (DR) and Computed Tomography (CT) image quality while also reducing cycle times. These innovations along with advanced techniques provide the ability to expand DR and CT into new applications. A reduction in cycle times along with automated software processing provides the opportunity to further reduce the cost of DR and CT evaluations in both Lab and Production Environments.

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Environment-Assisted Corrosion Cracking in Carbon Steels

Presenting author(s): Mr Mohammed A AbuFour

Co-Authors: Mr Yousef A Al-Munif

Room: Tennessee B | 12:30 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Integrity inspection and reliability prediction of critical oil and gas steel assets are a high priority for oil and gas operators. Among the most catastrophic and challenging defects are environment corrosion cracking such as Chloride Stress Corrosion Cracking (Cl-SCC), Hydrogen Induced Cracking (HIC)/ hydrogen blistering, the associated Stepwise Cracking (SwC) and the various forms of Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC). As a result of the severity of these inspection challenges and the major failures they can cause, there has long been motivation to develop advanced NDT techniques for related defect and crack detection. Phased Array and Advanced Ultrasonic techniques have shown to be effective in detecting and quantifying HIC, hydrogen blistering and subsequent step-wise cracking. It provide reliable defect detection; characterization and precise defect measurement. This presentation will highlight in detail Advanced Ultrasonic and Phased Array technologies, followed by descriptions of advanced NDT testing techniques used to detect/characterize four potentially serious deterioration mechanisms of environment corrosion cracking in plant equipment and Pipe in order to avoid serious leaks or ruptures and to ensure the reliability of plant equipment. The result shows Advanced NDE technologies can provide valuable information on the location of cracks, geometric features of cracks, and the status. Furthermore, ANDT Ultrasonic data is helpful for monitoring defects; supporting fitness for service studies and permits operational personnel to forecast and plan plant equipment repairs and replacement.

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Characterization of Interlayer Adhesion in Polymer Based Additive Manufactured (AM) Components Using Nonlinear Ultrasound

Presenting author(s): Dr Ehsan Dehghan Niri

Co-Authors: Mr Helem Al-Beer, Dr Ahmed Arabi Hassen

Room: Tennessee C | 12:30 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Polymer based additive manufacturing (AM) process has recently gained attention in several industrial applications for building complex components and parts in automotive, oil and gas, aviation and aerospace. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is the most common technique for AM process of polymer and polymer composites. Among different process related defects, poor interlayer adhesion of the printed components is the most common and critical type of defects in the parts made by this process. These weak interfaces result in poor mechanical properties in the out of plane direction (i.e. perpendicular to the print plane) of the printed structure. Traditional nondestructive testing methods including conventional ultrasound techniques are incapable of detecting and quantifying such anomaly. In traditional ultrasound testing, the poor interlayer adhesion transmits most of the sound energy so that it cannot be detected using either pulse echo or through transmission inspection modes. In contrast, nonlinear ultrasound techniques showed promising results in detecting similar defects such as fatigue cracks that suffer from the same limiting detection condition. In this research, a nonlinear ultrasound technique based on harmonic generation due to contact acoustic nonlinearity (CAN) in the poor interlayer adhesion of printed layers is proposed. The initial experimental results on samples developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) showed that this technique potentially can be used for the characterization of the interlayer adhesion in the parts built by the polymer based AM process.

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PolyCT – Upgrade for Industrial CT-Scanners

Presenting author(s): Mr Johannes Leisner

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee A | 12:30 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Industrial X-ray computed tomography (CT) as standardized method of non-destructive testing is a widely developed technology and used for a wide range of applications. Nevertheless, the primary invest of CT systems is comparably high and users have to rely for a variety of tasks to a single existing CT system. The developed PolyCT helps to enhance the throughput of the CT-scanner for smaller samples thus enables the user to optimize the overall system usage. The PolyCT is an intuitively usable instrument extension that improves the measuring throughput of the CT system directly by a factor of three. It consists of three mechanically coupled rotation axis working without an own drive. By using individual rotation centers, the usage of the active area of the X-ray detector is optimized for small samples. The Fraunhofer reconstruction software automates the processing of the measured data and requires no intervention in the existing system architecture. The software application of the PolyCT requires no user interaction and is completely automated via a folder monitoring function or can be used by manual selection of the PolyCT scans. This new extension fits to any regular CT system on the market. We will present the CT measurement results using the PolyCT method compared to standard CT results. In detail we will compare a single object and multi object condition in terms of measurement time and resulting image quality. Especially in the multi object condition the simultaneously measurement of three individual object directly increases the throughput of the system. Furthermore, the main requirements for the usage of the extensions and quality influencing features will be discussed.

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Detection of Internal H2S Attack in Ductile Iron Pipelines using Advanced Electromagnetic Technique

Presenting author(s): Mr Ankit Vajpayee

Co-Authors: Mr David E Russell

Room: Tennessee B | 1:00 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Municipal pipelines made of cast iron, ductile iron or steel are susceptible to internal and / or external corrosion soon after they are built. Even though the pipe may be internally lined and coated externally, corrosion can occur if the lining, coating is damaged by the construction process or service conditions. One particular type of corrosion in force mains (FM) is hydrogen sulfide (H2S) attack. H2S that exists in the form of gas pockets can accumulate in high spots in the FM when is not completely full. When the H2S gas pockets stay at these locations for extended period without being released into the air, pipe corrosion can start. Even through air release valves are often in place to release H2S, the practice of releasing H2S is often not implemented due to the rotten egg smell that residents can complain about. The gas pocket may remain at some location along the FM line for an extended period. H2S attack starts with the gas attacking the internal lining (if there is any). Then actual pipe material is attacked by the H2S. Early detection of H2S damage can help asset owners make informed decisions on maintaining the FM lines. A variety of non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques are available for FM line inspection, including Broad Band Electromagnetic (BBEM) and Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL). A new NDT technique, with improved coverage and sensitivity for FM line inspection, is introduced here. The new NDT Technique is based on Electromagnetic through transmission (TT) phenomenon and the probe is called Bracelet probe (BP). A second-generation BP can scan along a 30-inch FM. This probe is an external inspection tool and can inspect pipes with the diameter range of 6-inch and up due to its flexibility. The pipe materials that can be inspected by the BP include cast iron, ductile iron and steel pipes. The probe can detect both internal and external wall loss, including pits, local and general wall loss.

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Computed Tomography Inspection and Analysis for Additive Manufacturing Components

Presenting author(s): Dr Ronald D Beshears

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee C | 1:00 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Computed tomography (CT) inspection was performed on test articles additively manufactured from metallic materials.  Metallic AM and machined wrought alloy test articles with programmed flaws and geometric features were inspected using a 2MeV linear accelerator based CT system.  Performance of CT inspection on identically configured wrought and AM components and programmed flaws was assessed to determine the impact of additive manufacturing on inspectability of objects with complex geometries.

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Performance Testing of Computed Radiography System and Imaging Plates

Presenting author(s): Mr Muzibur Khan

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee A | 1:00 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Industrial radiography is a very mature non-destructive testing (NDT) technique for volumetric investigation. It provides high throughput in inspection particularly for aircraft structural components and therefore an important NDT tool for aircraft structural maintenance. Film-based radiography requires consumables (films, toxic chemicals and proper disposal of chemical waste), darkroom facility and manual processing which is not only time consuming, but also requires more radiation exposure than digital systems. Use of film for NDT applications is therefore gradually diminishing because of time and increased cost and the lack of digital advantages. Industrial radiography community is making an intense effort to replace the conventional film technique with digital technologies (Digital Radiography or Computed Radiography or CR). The CR technology uses a reusable phosphor imaging plate instead of a film and therefore, allows faster/easier image acquisition digitally. Despite numerous benefits when compared to conventional film-based radiography, its widespread application still poses significant challenges. Before replacing film-based radiography with CR, performance assessment of the new technology is required to determine if the current CR technology can effectively provide equal or better performance than the existing film-based technology. This presentation and associated paper will highlight the existing CR qualification practices, challenges with existing CR classification requirements, lessons learned and key issues faced while performing experimental validation for qualification of a computed radiography system. The major CR system quality parameters such as spatial resolution, contrast sensitivity, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), as well as other system hardware integrity parameters were being measured as part of qualification process and assessment of suitability of CR for aerospace applications.

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Advanced Analysis and Geospatial Imaging Tools for Installed Sensors

Presenting author(s): Mr David Jankowski

Co-Authors: Ms Tara Merry

Room: Tennessee B | 1:30 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Permanently mounted ultrasonic thickness sensors for monitoring erosion and general corrosion in critical assets is gaining a foothold in the Oil & Gas and Nuclear industries. This presentation will review a tool for geospatial imaging of sensor location, optimization of the A-scan analysis, and discuss the value of multiple variable data for predicting component life.

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Fellowship Award - Thermoelastic Finite Element Modeling of Laser Generated Ultrasound in Additive Manufacturing Materials

Presenting author(s): Mr Hossein Taheri »

Co-Authors: Mr Lucas Koester, Mr Timothy Bigelow, Dr Leonard J Bond

Room: Tennessee C | 1:30 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

The need for noncontact, nondestructive evaluation make laser-based ultrasound a promising method for quality control of complex manufacturing processes such as additive manufacturing (AM). Industrial applications of additive manufacturing components are increasing rapidly. Consequently, quality control of the parts become important for safe use of these materials. In order to identify the defects and determine material properties of AM by laser-based ultrasound, the generated ultrasonic signal must be well understood and take into consideration thermal transients caused by rapid heating and cooling of the printed parts. Numerical modelling can allow the interplay of the various factors to be studied leading to improved experimental design. This paper presents finite element modelling (FEM) simulation results of laser generated ultrasonic waves in SS17 4 PH additive manufacturing materials during the cooling process following laser sintering. The propagation of the laser generated ultrasound waves is modelled including the thermal history of sintering process. The FEM models for the AM parts were generated by importing X-ray CT scans of additive samples into COMSOL (COMSOL Inc.) to include as-built porosity data. In addition, artificial pores of varying sizes and depths were introduced and the backscattered signal strength from the pores was investigated as a function of time after the passage of the sintering laser.

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Automatic Vision System for Wheel Surface Inspection and Monitoring

Presenting author(s): Mr Karim Tout

Co-Authors: Mr Retraint Florent, Mr Remi Cogranne

Room: Tennessee A | 1:30 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

In order to stand out from the competition, the only alternative for automotive industries, including wheels manufacturing industries, is to grant lot of importance to their products quality. In recent years, most of the customer returns of defective products are due to appearance defects, which are associated with the wheel aesthetics. These defects are located on the outside of the wheel and are mainly related to the quality of the painting. In general, the defect detection process is a manual process conducted by operators, which is subjective and difficult due to the complicated wheels surface. This paper proposes to design a fully automatic computer vision system to inspect the whole surface of the wheel. It is proposed to use four cameras placed over the production line. A diffused lighting system is considered in order to illuminate homogeneously the whole surface of the wheel. Each wheel is designed with specific parameters that define its form and geometry. For defect detection, an original adaptive linear parametric model is proposed. This model is sufficiently general to describe any type of wheels. The adaptivity of the proposed model makes it sufficiently accurate to describe the inspected wheel surface while detecting small defects by using an optimal statistical hypothesis test. In addition, the computer vision system monitors in real time the wheel coating intensity. Using a parametric sequential method, this monitoring allows the detection of any abrupt changes, i.e. small decreasing amount of paint, that would reveal a sudden problem in the painting process.

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Corrosion Under Pipe Supports: a Novel Approach Based on Pulsed Eddy Current Testing

Presenting author(s): Ms Andreanne Potvin

Co-Authors: Dr Vincent Demers-Carpentier, Dr Maxime Rochette, Mr Marco Michele Sisto

Room: Tennessee B | 2:00 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

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Nondestructive Testing (NDT) of Additive Manufactured (AM) Metal Alloys

Presenting author(s): Dr Andrew Ngo

Co-Authors: Mr Henry Goh, Ms Karen Ke

Room: Tennessee C | 2:00 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Additive manufactured (AM) metal alloys has enabled the fabrication of lightweight and high complexity components for the aerospace and automotive industry. As with traditional processing methods (e.g. casting, welding), porosity is a common concern in AM metal alloys. In particular, pores that are buried 100-200µm below the surface are highly undesirable because they can absorb fluids and lead to corrosion, thus rendering the part unacceptable for its intended purpose. The ability to detect sub-mm pores that are buried 100-200µm below the surface is therefore very important. Computed tomography (CT) scanning is commonly used for porosity measurement in metal alloys. However, the resolution of conventional CT scanning is in the mm-range. Such resolution is insufficient to detect pore sizes in the sub-mm range. There is therefore a need to develop NDT technique for sub-surface, sub-mm porosity measurement of AM metal alloys. Infrared thermography (IRT) is a potential candidate for the detection of sub-surface pores embedded in a material matrix. Most importantly, IRT provides a two-dimensional (2D) images of the sample under test. Therefore, the inspection rate is potentially faster and the results are relatively easy to interpret. Laser ultrasonic technique (LUT) is also a potential technique for sub-surface porosity measurement since it makes use of the surface propagating ultrasonic wave. As such, anomalies along the propagating paths will be detected. In this work, we report the use of IRT and LUT for improved interpretation of the results.

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Assisted/Automated Defect Recognition for Aerospace Radiography Applications

Presenting author(s): Mr William D Meade

Co-Authors: Mr Thomas Maeder, Mr Morteza Safai, Mr Jyani Vaddi

Room: Tennessee A | 2:00 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Assisted/automated defect recognition (ADR) for radiographic inspection has been successfully applied to automotive, security, pharmaceutical and food applications. The benefits of ADR include reduced cycle time, improved inspection reliability, and lower inspection costs. Despite these advantages ADR has seen only limited application for aerospace inspections. This presentation will discuss the differences between “assisted” and “automatic” defect recognition and will highlight the advantages/disadvantages for each of these approaches. Methodologies for qualifying an ADR system will be discussed. Challenges unique to the aerospace sector, and strategies to overcome these obstacles, will be offered.

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X-Ray Computed Tomography of Complex Additive Manufactured Components

Presenting author(s): Mr Roger L Spencer

Co-Authors: Dr Evgueni I Todorov, Ms Ruth Sunderman

Room: Tennessee C | 2:45 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Additive manufacturing (AM) has many advantages when compared to traditional subtractive manufacturing processes for high-value, complex shaped parts. However, nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques are needed to validate the AM process performance. Flaws and cavities containing unfused powder are unique to the AM processes and can present challenges for flaw detection. During this project current capabilities of x-ray computed tomography (CT) were evaluated using a matrix of flaws and conditions that were selected for implantation into AM coupons and representative components during the AM build process. Computer modeling and simulation of x-ray CT was performed to determine the effectiveness of x-ray CT simulation software and to optimize the experimental flaw matrix. Two AM processes were used to fabricate components that were manufactured from titanium 6Al-4V and Inconel 718. The flaw matrix, containing flaws of the desired size, shape, and orientations, were introduced into components during the AM build process. X-ray CT was performed on components in the as-built condition and, in some instances, after a hot isostatic press (HIP) operation. X-ray CT results obtained during the project were compared to sectioned and metallographic characterization of coupons and components as a means of evaluating x-ray CT capabilities and limitations.

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A Novel Approach for Guided Wave Pipe Inspection beyond Elbows

Presenting author(s): Mr Luke Breon

Co-Authors: Mr Michael J Quarry

Room: Tennessee B | 2:45 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

A novel theoretical construct for understanding guided wave propagation has been developed along with a practical methodology to improve the reliability of guided wave inspections of piping systems that contain elbows. The methodology enables fast and practical signal processing of data that can be done in the field. This methodology uses the geometry of the waveguide to determine the propagation pathway guided wave energy will take through the piping system that can include elbows. Previous research has typically focused on investigating modal analysis, finite element method modeling, and elbow dispersion curves to understand wave propagation around an elbow, with limited success. Traditional guided wave inspections of piping suffer from signal distortion and reduced inspection sensitivity after the wave energy crosses an elbow. Also, 45-degree elbows tend to be more harmful to traditional guided wave methods than 90-degree elbows, an observation that has remained counter intuitive to conventional approaches to discussing guided waves. This work advances the understanding of guided wave propagation in complex waveguides, and provides insight into signal distortion caused by waveguide geometries such as the elbow. The new insight allows the design of guided wave techniques that reduce the limitations of conventional guided wave testing in and beyond elbows. Additionally, the new understanding renders a simple and satisfying explanation of why a 45-degree elbow is more disruptive to conventional guided wave techniques than a 90-degree elbow. The theory discussed here does not rely on modal analysis, and does not require the calculation of dispersion curves for an elbow to design guided wave inspection parameters for piping systems with elbows. The calculation of guided wave inspection parameters based on the new method does not depend on finite element method techniques or time reversal mirror techniques. Furthermore, computations needed for practical inspections can be made on the fly during testing with resources typical of modern data collection devices.

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Migrating from traditional to Digital Radiography in Aerospace

Presenting author(s): Mr Lennart Schulenburg

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee A | 2:45 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

The aerospace sector with its high and demanding quality standards is a heavy user of non-destructive testing (NDT) and especially X-ray inspection. Increasing production volume and higher quality standards require efficient and reproducible inspection processes. Digital Radiography (DR) allows to achieve both targets but poses many new challenges. A main focus will be the different quality metrics of the X-ray setup like spatial resolution (SR), Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), Contrast Sensitivity (CS), focal spot analysis and long term stability evaluation of Digital Detector Arrays (DDA). Additionally, a the spotlight will be on the industry standards like ASTM 2737 and ASTM 2597, DICONDE, process requirements like NADCAP and specific company standards like the Boeing BSS7044 or Airbus AITM. During the introduction, the most relevant use cases of DR in Aerospace and its specific challenges will be presented and analyzed. A special focus will be on weld inspection and honeycomb structures with very unique requirements. Another spotlight will be on efficient system design and automation using modern robot handling or manipulation systems. A side note will evaluate the changes of Computed Radiography (CR) as a transfer technology to a completely digitized process. This includes the need for traceability and inclusion to MES or production management systems (Industry 4.0).

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How to STEM – Demonstrating NDT to Students in 30 Minutes or Less

Presenting author(s): Mr Phillip William Trach

Co-Authors: Mr Richard S Goodwin

Room: Tennessee C | 3:15 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

The acronym STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) has become very popular in educational settings. NDT (Nondestructive Testing) contains all four elements and can fit very well in a STEM curriculum or event. However, most NDT methods take considerable time to set up or perform. Demonstrating even a single NDT method in venues such as classrooms and career fairs, where the amount of time available with any particular guest or student is very limited, presents special challenges. In a classroom, a single class period of 45 minutes or so is often all that’s available. In a career fair setting, a single visitor may only remain for a few minutes, while an organized group might stay for ten or fifteen minutes. A comprehensive explanation and demonstration simply doesn’t fit in such a short time. The authors will present a simplified approach to demonstrating an NDT method, along with techniques to keep an NDT demonstration short but still very informative and, most importantly, interesting.

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Robotic In-Line Crawler Inspects Difficult Small Diameter Natural Gas Pipeline in High Consequence Area

Presenting author(s): Mr Aaron Huber

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee B | 3:15 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Diakont Advanced Technologies was commissioned to assess the integrity of a natural gas pipeline that was partially buried under an urban area on a major North American pipeline. The company used a reduced size robotic crawler to successfully navigate a 10 in. pipe. The size of this pipe has previously been a limitation, making it ‘unpiggable’ using other ILI methods. Designated as a high consequence area (HCA) due to being located in a densely populated area, this section of pipeline had never been inspected. Low flow, its narrow 10 in. internal diameter (ID), and its characteristics (tight bends, plug valves etc.) made the pipe unsuitable for traditional smart pigging. However, the United States’ federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) regulations require specific integrity management programs in HCAs. The pipeline’s inspection challenges could have forced its operator to replace an entire quarter of a mile length of pipe if they could not inspect the line effectively and on schedule. The technology gap between the inspection requirements and the available tooling forced the industry work with pipeline service vendors to develop a suitable solution. New Technology: Reduced Size and Self Propelled The new robotic crawler tooling traverses challenging pipeline geometries using a ruggedized multiple track system, which allows for navigation across horizontal surfaces. Moreover, the tool can extend the tracks to the pipe wall for stabilization. This arrangement provides the traction that is necessary to hold the tool rigidly in place while inspecting difficult-to access pipeline applications (such as inclines and vertical sections), where conventional ILI tools may not be feasible. This Sprinter system moves at a deliberate pace to provide accurate mapping of anomaly locations within the pipeline. Being self-propelled and bidirectional, the Sprinter can also be deployed and retrieved from a single access point, which was another key feature in its selection for this inspection program. This presentation will provide details on the NDT tooling along with a case study for inspecting the unpiggable natural gas pipeline.

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Low Powered Inspection of Early-Stage Fatigue

Presenting author(s): Dr Matthew Webster

Co-Authors: Dr Gheorghe Bunget, Mr Kevin Farinholt, Mr Fritz Friedersdorf, Mr Anindya Ghoshal, Mr Marc Pepi, Mr Siddhant Datta, Mr Aditi Chattopadhyay

Room: Tennessee A | 3:15 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Hot section components in turbine engines are subjected to extremely harsh thermal and mechanical conditions which cause thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) damage to occur over time. The ability to identify TMF damage is critical to the safe operation of aircraft, yet field inspections rely on macroscopic crack formation and can therefore only identify damage at 80-90% of a component’s fatigue life. Nonlinear ultrasonic (NLU) methods have a proven ability to identify precursors to macro-scale damage at as early as 10% of a component’s fatigue life, but are often not used in field applications due to the large, powerful instrumentation required for conventional NLU inspections. This work focuses on methods for reducing the size and power requirements for NLU inspections. A novel wavelet cross-correlation algorithm has been developed to enable the extraction of higher harmonic content from the broad-band ultrasonic pulses delivered by commercial pulser receivers. This development has yielded significant size and cost reductions in comparison to conventional NLU inspection systems. The application of the low powered NLU system to nickel superalloys representative of hot section turbine components has been explored through contact and non-contact measurements. Samples were mechanically and thermomechanically fatigued and inspected under varying stages of fatigue damage. The results show sensitivity to damage at less than 25% of the specimen fatigue life and linearity comparable to conventional NLU systems. This promising work could lead to field inspection NLU systems and low-powered installed systems for structural health monitoring.

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Testing of Dragline Ropes Using Magnetostrictive Probes and Longitudinal Guided Waves

Presenting author(s): Dr Sergey A Vinogradov

Co-Authors: Mr Jason Shumka, Mr Tom Shumka

Room: Tennessee C | 3:45 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Dragline excavators are the largest mobile land machines ever built, with the weight of up to 13 000 tons, and a cost of up to 100 million dollars. They are commonly used in strip-mining operations to remove overburden above coal and more recently in the mining of oil sands. Steel ropes up to 4‘’ in diameter are extensively used in draglines for boom support. The length of the booms range from 45 to 100 meters (148 to 328 ft). In a single cycle, the dragline excavator can move up to 450 tons of material providing a significant static and dynamic load on the steel ropes supporting the boom (up to 16 ropes can be involved). This eventually causes wire strands to break. The breakage most commonly occurs near socket penetrations. The most common NDE conducted on dragline ropes has been X-ray imaging. Even though the technology is well developed, the cost of this sort of inspection is rather high and reported results of destructive testing indicated that the method has limitations due to limited resolution of X-rays in the rope material (typically, only first few layers can be covered). Low frequency guided waves is another candidate for rope inspection because the entire cross-section of the rope can be examined. Magnetostrictive transduction method was found to be very efficient in introducing a longitudinal guided wave in the ropes. The method allowed full coverage of the length of the rope and very high productivity. Up to 16 ropes could be inspected per day using two probe positions near each end of the rope. In the time frame of 2013 – 2016, multiple draglines were tested in Canada and the USA using a magnetostrictive transduction technique. The testing procedure and tests results will be discussed.

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New Instrumentation with Enhanced Capabilities for EMAT Guided Wave In-service Applications

Presenting author(s): Mr Frank Weinmeister

Co-Authors: Mr Borja Lopez

Room: Tennessee B | 3:45 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

A few years ago, the first commercial guided wave systems using medium range UT (MRUT) EMAT techniques were introduced. Now, a new generation of instrumentation and software will greatly enhance the capabilities of both medium and long range EMAT in-service applications. These enhancements include the ability to generate multiple UT waves (surface, lamb, shear horizontal), as well as new scanning options. Application specific software with learning algorithms will allow for improvements in defect sizing and interpretation of results. All of these enhancements will lead to more accurate and efficient inspections, and cost savings for the service providers and asset owners.

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Turbine Engine Inspection Without Disassembly – A Conceptual Approach

Presenting author(s): Mr Siamack Mazdiyasni

Co-Authors:

Room: Tennessee A | 3:45 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Turbine engine maintenance is broken down into two categories, Field and Depot. During Field Maintenance, inspections for damage or cracking is largely limited to visual borescope inspection to the most accessible parts of the engine. These inspections are of relative low reliability and cost, and limited to detecting relatively large flaws or damage. During Depot Maintenance, inspections are presently conducted at regular intervals driven by the need to ensure damage tolerance as mandated by the Propulsion System Integrity Program (PSIP) where the engines are disassembled to individual piece parts. These inspections are much more extensive, evaluating nearly every static and rotating component using the full range of available inspection modalities at the Depot. Depot inspections can locate flaws as small as 0.005 inch with high probability of detection. However, these inspections are also much more costly and time consuming. Another downside is disassembling the engine to perform these inspections often results in collateral damage which requires repair and subsequent additional inspections adding to the cost and time. It is highly desirable to reduce the requirement for periodic teardowns, but at the same time it is unacceptable to compromise safety. A long-term conceptual approach will be presented in which miniature, high reliable, semi-autonomous mobile sensors, i.e “swarming bots”, can be deployed to enable the inspection of jet engines, thus replacing some of the current processes required in the maintenance cycle today.

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Small Controlled Area Radiography – Fundamentals and Technology Advancements

Presenting author(s): Dr Joe Lapinskas

Co-Authors: Mr Robert L Kelly

Room: Tennessee C | 4:15 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

Radiographic testing (RT) is one of the most efficient and economic NDT methods for volumetric inspection; ensuring safe, reliable construction and ongoing use of critical infrastructure around the world. The penetrating radiation from isotope based gamma ray and accelerator based x-ray sources provide a unique mechanism for creating an image based on the differential absorption of photons in a sample. Unfortunately, the mechanisms of photon radiation interactions with matter that allow for weld quality inspection, measurement of corrosion/erosion in pipe wall, etc. create negative externalities in many environments where RT is often performed. • Gamma radiation interferes with critical safety and process control systems. Examples include visual flame detectors (VFDs) and nuclear level gauges, switches, density gauges, etc. These systems cannot differentiate the gamma rays from a radiography source and the UV/IR photons from a fire or gamma rays from Cs-137 sources used in many nuclear gauges. • ALARA – The ever-increasing emphasis on reducing occupational exposure and exposure to members of the general public often requires RT to be performed in shooting windows or during off-shifts reducing overall inspection efficiency. SCAR or Small Controlled Area Radiography is the concept of controlling the radiation utilized for RT allowing for radiographic inspection without restrictive shooting windows (24/7 radiography concept), in close proximity to other trades, and without impacting critical sensor systems. This paper describes the fundamental principles for achieving Small Controlled Area Radiography with an emphasis on the use of Se-75 and innovations in SCAR equipment enabling advanced SCAR techniques. Practical SCAR applications covered include: • Near nuclear gauges and visual flame detectors – typically <0.5 mR/hr • Close proximity to members of the general public – <2 mR/hr exclusion zone at 6 feet • Flash dose • Rope access

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Nondestructive Inspection of Welds on Pipe Using Scan-type Magnetic Camera

Presenting author(s): Mr Eunho Choe

Co-Authors: Dr Minhhuy Le, Mr Gye-Jo Jung, Mr Sunghyeok Na, Dr Jinyi Lee

Room: Tennessee B | 4:15 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

An NDT system for inspecting weld defects in pipes is developed. The sensor component consists of a magnetic sensor array and magnetizer. The magnetic sensors are linearly arranged in three parallel rows. A long shaped magnetizer is installed in the middle row on both sides of the magnetic sensor array. The welding and sensor array directions are arranged at an angle of 45 degrees. In such a structure, magnetization is performed in an oblique direction in relation to the welded line. While scanning along the weld, the three magnetic sensor array rows measure the initial magnetic flux density, the magnetic flux leakage density, and the residual magnetic flux density, respectively. The initial magnetic flux density measures the spontaneous magnetization caused by residual stress. The magnetic flux leakage density measures defects that occur on and directly under the surface. Because a magnetic field is applied at an angle of 45 degrees in relation to the welding direction, it is easy to detect cracking defects. The sensor component can be mounted on the scanner and rotated 90 degrees in parallel with the piping surface. Thus, magnetization can be performed in the direction of 135 degrees also. In this state, it is possible to distinguish between the initial magnetic flux density and the residual magnetic flux density when the same weld is repeatedly measured. The usefulness of the developed system for testing defects introduced into pipe welds of carbon steel with 323.85 mm outer diameters and 10 mm in thickness is verified.

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Single Pass Aircraft Structure Inspection – Challenges and Solutions

Presenting author(s): Dr Eric A Lindgren

Co-Authors: Mr John C Brausch, Mr Charles F Buynak, Mr David R Campbell, Mr Ward A Fong, Mr Roy T Mullis, Mr Mike Paulk

Room: Tennessee A | 4:15 PM Thursday, November 2, 2017

A desired capability expressed by management in the aircraft sustainment community has been and continues to be the single pass inspection of aircraft. In this embodiment, colloquially referred to as the “Nondestructive Inspection (NDI) Car Wash,” an aircraft would be processed through a gantry or other representative envelopment system to enable full inspection of the entire aircraft structure to meet all inspection needs, including those addressing ASIP requirements, without burdensome aircraft preparation/disassembly. This approach is intended to address the perception that there is significant time and cost to perform an assessment of an aircraft using current NDI technology. Various approaches have been suggested to address this desired capability, including several that cite the neutron radiography system that was located at the Sacramento Air Logistics Center. This presentation presents a review of previous efforts to address single pass aircraft inspection, including the expected capabilities, successes/shortfalls of these efforts, and the outcomes from attempts to implement these systems. In addition, the presentation reviews the physics of each NDI-based sensing method, the challenges that need to be addressed for each method, and the anticipated performance/capability that could be realized based on each technique. Representative simulations for some inspection scenarios will be included to illustrate the requirements of the excitation and detection systems needed to obtain typical ASIP-based required sensitivity for fatigue cracks in metallic structures. While comprehensive “return-on-investment” scenarios will not be addressed, the economics of possible single pass systems will be covered. In addition, the possibility of using embedded sensors to shape the desired outcome will be discussed, together with an analysis of multiple requirements that would need to be satisfied before such an approach could be used. The presentation concludes with several possible scenarios that could begin to address the need for single pass inspection as a function of sensing modality, material type, and detection requirements. Pros and cons for each approach will be touched upon together with perspectives on which approach has the highest degree of realism for integrating all parameters that must be addressed to realize this capability.

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