A modified synthetic aperture focusing algorithm used for transmission detection based on laser ultrasonics method

Compared with traditional ultrasonic nondestructive testing technology, the laser ultrasonics method (LU) has the advantages of high precision, non-contact, wide-band response, suitable for non-destructive testing (NDT) of materials having complex shapes or working in extreme environments such as the additive manufacturing (AM) process, etc. However, for a purely optical LU system, it is still limited by the poor reflection of rough/absorption surface of the material. In order to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the signal detected on the rough surface of a sample, and to overcome the limitation of the resolution restricted by half wavelength, a modified Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT) that can be used for internal defect detection of the material is proposed. The modified SAFT is based on LU centering transmission detection and it improves the resolution of the detection system by using the characteristics of ultrasonic propagation and its mode conversion. It is firstly studied in theory with a numerical model based on finite element method (FEM), and then it is applied in experiments to reconstruct the defect according to the signals detected by LU method. In our experiment, the artificial defects buried in an AM sample with diameter from 0.2 mm to 0.75 mm are successfully characterized by the SAFT imaging of ultrasonic signals. The results prove that the position of the defect in 3D and its size can be successfully obtained by the proposed SAFT.