The Ultrasonic Imaging Laboratory at UC

Francesco Simonetti

Ultrasonic Imaging Laboratory School of Aerospace Systems

University of Cincinnatihttp://www.ase.uc.edu/USIL

Email: f.simonetti@uc.edu, Tel.: (513) 556-3532

Sep. 1994 - Oct. 1999

Feb. 2000 – Jan. 2001

Apr. 2001 – Jan. 2004

Jan. 2004 – July 2005

Aug. 2005 – July 2010

June 2006 – Current

Feb. 2007 – Mar. 2011

April 2011 – Current

MEng in Aeronautical Engineering Univ. of Palermo, ItalyMilitary service Italian Navy

PhD Mechanical Engineering Imperial College LondonResearch Associate Imperial College LondonResearch Fellow Royal Academy of Engineering Faculty Affiliate Los Alamos National LaboratoryAssistant Professor Imperial College LondonAssociate Professor University of Cincinnati

Francesco Simonetti

The LaboratoryOver 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

PeopleOver the past two years the Lab has supported five graduate students, two undergraduates and one research associate

The current team members

Industrial support

GE Aviation

• NDE methods for CMC materials

• Vibration analysis of damping coatings

Electric Power Research Institute

• Ultrasonic inspection of austenitic steel

Total industrial support is $1.2 M over three years, with the main sponsors being

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.

Research focuses on solving real problems

Commercialization

An example: Corrosion depth monitoringIt 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 configurationTransmit 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 algorithmsWe have translated our experience in breast ultrasound tomography to corrosion monitoring.

20mm 20mm

Conventional UltrasoundX-ray CT

20mm

Advanced Ultrasonics

Simonetti et al. App. Phys. Lett. 95 (2009)

Simonetti et al. Med Phys. 36 (2009)

1460

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Advanced modelling algorithmsDeveloped 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

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Maximum Depth 0.76 mm

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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

Innovation TransducerSystem

Control System

Pre-processingSystem

InversionSystem

OperatorTerminal

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.

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

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 High Temperature

In-service Inspections 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