Research on Acoustic Field Correction Vector-Coherent Total Focusing Imaging Method Based on Coarse-Grained Elastic Anisotropic Material Properties

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 25; no. 15; p. 4550
• Main Authors: Zhao, Tianwei, Liu, Ziyu, Zhang, Donghui, Wang, Junlong, Peng, Guowen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 23.07.2025; MDPI
• Subjects: Acoustics; Anisotropy; Austenitic stainless steel; coarse-grained material; Energy; Methods; Nuclear power plants; phase coherent imaging; sound field correction; TFM; ultrasonic phased array; coarse-grained material; TFM; phase coherent imaging; ultrasonic phased array; sound field correction
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s25154550

This study aims to address the challenges posed by uneven energy amplitude and a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the total focus imaging of coarse-crystalline elastic anisotropic materials. A novel method for acoustic field correction vector-coherent total focus imaging, based on the materials’ properties, is proposed. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this method, a test specimen, an austenitic stainless steel nozzle weld, was employed. Seven side-drilled hole defects located at varying positions and depths, each with a diameter of 2 mm, were examined. An ultrasound simulation model was developed based on material backscatter diffraction results, and the scattering attenuation compensation factor was optimized. The acoustic field correction function was derived by combining acoustic field directivity with diffusion attenuation compensation. The phase coherence weighting coefficients were calculated, followed by image reconstruction. The results show that the proposed method significantly improves imaging amplitude uniformity and reduces the structural noise caused by the coarse crystal structure of austenitic stainless steel. Compared to conventional total focus imaging, the detection SNR of the seven defects increased by 2.34 dB to 10.95 dB. Additionally, the defect localization error was reduced from 0.1 mm to 0.05 mm, with a range of 0.70 mm to 0.88 mm.