Determination of Effective Setups for Ultrasonic Testing Based on Numerical Simulations Using Ray Tracing and the Mass Spring Lattice Model

This paper presents a practical technique for finding the most effective setup (probe types and their arrangement) for an ultrasonic testing problem subjected to a limited availability of probes and limited access to the test object's boundary. The technique consists of a preliminary step where candidate setups are quickly found using a simple ray tracing technique, and a second step of selecting the most effective among the candidates based on numerical simulations using a more sophisticated model - the mass spring lattice model. The usefulness of the proposed technique is demonstrated by considering several ultrasonic testing problems of practical interest. The technique proposed in this work may be developed further and packaged into a computer program that can automatically find the most effective ultrasonic testing setup.