The Ultrasonic Imaging Laboratory at UC

Francesco Simonetti Ultrasonic Imaging Laboratory School of Aerospace Systems University of Cincinnati http://www.ase.uc.edu/USIL Email: [email protected], Tel.: (513) 556-3532

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Sep. 1994 - Oct. 1999

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Feb. 2000 – Jan. 2001

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Apr. 2001 – Jan. 2004

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Jan. 2004 – July 2005

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Aug. 2005 – July 2010

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June 2006 – Current

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Feb. 2007 – Mar. 2011

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April 2011 – Current

Francesco Simonetti

MEng in Aeronautical Engineering

Univ. of Palermo, Italy

Military service

Italian Navy

PhD Mechanical Engineering

Imperial College London

Research Associate

Imperial College London

Research Fellow

Royal Academy of Engineering

Faculty Affiliate

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Assistant Professor

Imperial College London

Associate Professor

University of Cincinnati

The Laboratory

Over 1200 Sqft, the Ultrasonic Imaging Laboratory (USIL) was established in 2011 under the Ohio Research Scholar Program. USIL is at the forefront of modern imaging technology with the mission to develop the next-generation sensing technology for applications in industry and medicine. Key focus areas include:  Integrated sensing technology for life-cycle operation and management  High-sensitivity and specificity damage detection methods  Earlier diagnosis of diseases

Core facilities

In addition to standard equipment for basic and applied research over the entire ultrasonic regime, the Lab has state-of-the-art instrumentation including: • Ultrasonic Microscope for testing up to 300MHz • 128-channel programmable controller to drive array probes up to 20MHz • Microwave Vector Network Analyser up to 64GHz • High resolution Infrared Camera • Laser Doppler Interferometer 24MHz bandwidth • Computer workstation with 32 cores and 256GB RAM

Research areas covered

 Ultrasonic imaging • Conventional beamforming • Tomography • Super-resolution imaging • Augmented reality  Guided waves • Ultrasonic • Microwave  Material Characterization • Mechanical properties • Electromagnetic properties

Application areas covered

 NDE (Aerospace, Nuclear, Power, Oil & Gas) • CMC materials • Austenitic steel castings • Steel manufacturing  Structural Health Monitoring (Aerospace, Oil & Gas) • • Fuselage skin Corrosion in pipelines  Medical diagnostics • • Breast cancer detection Needle biopsy  Geophysics (Los Alamos National Lab) • CO2 sequestration monitoring • Oil reservoir imaging

People

Over the past two years the Lab has supported

five graduate

students,

two undergraduates

and one research associate

The current team members

Industrial support

Total industrial support is $1.2 M over three years, with the main sponsors being  GE Aviation • NDE methods for CMC materials • Vibration analysis of damping coatings  Electric Power Research Institute • Ultrasonic inspection of austenitic steel

Research focuses on solving real problems

The research activity ranges from the underpinning mathematical and physical aspects of advanced sensing technology to the design and testing of prototype systems. Theoretical modeling, numerical simulations, and experiments are central to our work.

Commercialization

An example: Corrosion depth monitoring

It is estimated that the direct cost of corrosion to industrialized countries represents a significant proportion of the gross domestic product (GDP), with some analysts suggesting that the cost of corrosion to the US alone is as high as 3.1% of its GDP • Depth monitoring is currently done with hand-held probes • Hand-held probes require direct access to the corroded area • Often access is limited due to physical obstacles or remote location • Guided ultrasonic waves enable remote inspections • Our solution is to combine guided wave technology with advanced tomography algorithms

Pipe testing configuration

Transmit and receive ring arrays of guided ultrasonic wave transucers are used to inspect the full section of pipe between the two rings. The transducers use a novel design for superior thermal stability. First prototype Current prototype

Advanced imaging algorithms

We have translated our experience in breast ultrasound tomography to corrosion monitoring.

Advanced Ultrasonics 20mm

m/s 1560 1540

X-ray CT 20mm Conventional Ultrasound 20mm

1520 1500 1480 1460 Simonetti et al. App. Phys. Lett. 95 (2009) Simonetti et al.

Med Phys

.

36

(2009)

Advanced modelling algorithms

Developed new physical models to describe the interaction of ultrasonic guided signals with complex shape defects in complex structures. These forward models are integral parts of our imaging algorithms

Reconstructed wall thickness loss map

With tomography we provide point-by-point maps of wall thickness loss. The measurement accuracy that we obtain is better than 1% of the wall thickness 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -30 Maximum Depth 0.76 mm -20 -10 0 X-axis [cm] 10 20 30 1 0 5 4 3 2 8 7 6 10 9

Innovation

We are introducing a shift of paradigm in the field of NDE technology by integrating advanced computing with ultrasonic hardware for the first time.

1. Transducers:

New non-contact transducer design with higher sensitivity and stability

2. Control System:

Custom made electronics for the new transducer design

3. Software

: Imaging algorithm more advanced than those used in x-ray CT.

Transducer System Control System Pre-processing System Inversion System Operator Terminal

Cincinnati NDE, Ltd.

A start-up form the University of Cincinnati that is targeting commercial applications in the oil and gas, nuclear, and aerospace industries.

Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC)

CMC materials promise to improve the efficiency and reduce the emission of jet engines. Enabling aspects of CMC technology are • Allows higher turbine temperature • Improves efficiency of thermodynamic cycle • Significantly lighter than superalloys • Reduces or eliminates the need for coolant

NDE of CMC at UC

CMC materials are very different from other aerospace materials and therefore require new NDE methods. At UC we work closely with GE Aviation to develop the next generation NDE technology for CMCs and the different aspects of the life cycle of CMC components  Quality Control   CMC Substrate Coatings for CMC  Damage progression monitoring  Room temperature   In-service Inspections  High Temperature Module level  Piece part level

Conclusions

• The research scholar award has been instrumental to the creation of USIL • USIL is helping local aerospace industries developing innovative materials for jet engines • Cincinnati NDE, ltd. has been established as the first spin off from the research at USIL • USIL is training the next generation of NDE engineers