Enhanced differential methods for guided wave phased array imaging using spatially distributed piezoelectric transducers

A number of tomographic and phased-array methods have been proposed for generating two dimensional images of plate-like structures using sparse arrays of spatially distributed ultrasonic transducers. The phased array differential approach is considered here whereby pulse echo and through transmission signals are recorded before and after localized damaged is introduced, and differenced signals are combined using a focusing rule to produce an image of the plate. The application is structural health monitoring where the transducers are permanently bonded to the structure. The quality of the image is affected by many factors such as the number and location of the transducers, the characteristics of the damage, the signal-to-noise ratio, presence of edge reflections, and anything unrelated to damage that may perturb the ultrasonic signals such as temperature changes and transducer bonding variations. Two methods for enhancing image quality are implemented and then evaluated as to their effectiveness. In the first method, the windowing function is changed in width prior to phased signal addition to yield the best image quality. In the second method, signals are envelope-detected prior to phased signal addition to eliminate phasing artifacts. Results are reported for artificial defects introduced in aluminum plates.