Method and system for generating a merged B-scan for assisted ultrasonic inspection flaw screening

1. A method of ultrasonic inspection flaw screening for weld inspection, comprising:

receiving scan data corresponding to different beam angles for different scan axis and ultrasound axis positions of an object including a weld, including a plurality of ultrasonic responses for each of a plurality of intersecting scan axis-ultrasound axis positions, wherein the scan axis is parallel to a long axis of a weld line of the weld;

for each of the plurality of intersecting scan axis-ultrasound axis positions, selecting a representative ultrasonic response with a maximum amplitude value from the plurality of ultrasonic responses for the respective scan axis-ultrasound axis position based on amplitude values of the plurality of ultrasonic responses;

merging selected ultrasonic responses for the plurality of intersecting scan axis-ultrasound axis positions to generate an image for weld inspection;

detecting a drift in a geometry of the weld in the image; and

straightening the merged ultrasonic responses to reduce or remove the drift in the image.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of ultrasonic responses for each of the plurality of intersecting scan axis-ultrasound axis positions includes a plurality of A-scans for a range of scan angles in a S-scan for the respective scan axis-ultrasound axis position.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

displaying the image, wherein the image is a merged B-scan image.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving scan data includes retrieving the scan data from a memory.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the representative ultrasonic response comprises performing an operation on the plurality of ultrasonic responses for the respective scan axis-ultrasound axis position.

6. A system comprising:

one or more processors of a machine; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

receiving scan data corresponding to different beam angles for different scan axis and ultrasound axis positions of an object including a weld, including a plurality of ultrasonic responses for each of a plurality of intersecting scan axis-ultrasound axis positions, wherein the scan axis is parallel to a long axis of a weld line of the weld;

for each of the plurality of intersecting scan axis-ultrasound axis positions, selecting a representative ultrasonic response with a maximum amplitude value from the plurality of ultrasonic responses for the respective scan axis-ultrasound axis position based on amplitude values of the plurality of ultrasonic responses;

merging selected ultrasonic responses for the plurality of intersecting scan axis-ultrasound axis positions to generate an image for weld inspection;

detecting a drift in a geometry of the weld in the image; and

straightening the merged ultrasonic responses to reduce or remove the drift in the image.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of ultrasonic responses for each of the plurality of intersecting scan axis-ultrasound axis positions includes a plurality of A-scans for a range of scan angles in a S-scan for the respective scan axis-ultrasound axis position.

8. The system of claim 6 , further comprising:

a display device to display the image, wherein the image is a merged B-scan image.

9. The system of claim 6 , further comprising:

an ultrasound probe to capture the scan data.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein selecting the representative ultrasonic response comprises performing an operation on the plurality of ultrasonic responses for the respective scan axis-ultrasound axis position.

11. A non-transitory machine readable storage medium that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

receiving scan data corresponding to different beam angles for different scan axis and ultrasound axis positions of an object including a weld, including a plurality of ultrasonic responses for each of a plurality of intersecting scan axis-ultrasound axis positions, wherein the scan axis is parallel to a long axis of a weld line of the weld;

for each of the plurality of intersecting scan axis-ultrasound axis positions, selecting a representative ultrasonic response with a maximum amplitude value from the plurality of ultrasonic responses for the respective scan axis-ultrasound axis position based on amplitude values of the plurality of ultrasonic responses;

merging selected ultrasonic responses for the plurality of intersecting scan axis-ultrasound axis positions to generate an image for weld inspection;

detecting a drift in a geometry of the weld in the image; and

straightening the merged ultrasonic responses to reduce or remove the drift in the image.

12. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of ultrasonic responses for each of the plurality of intersecting scan axis-ultrasound axis positions includes a plurality of A-scans for a range of scan angles in a S-scan for the respective scan axis-ultrasound axis position.

13. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 11 , further comprising:

displaying the image, wherein the image is a merged B-scan image.

14. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein receiving scan data includes retrieving the scan data from a memory.

15. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein selecting the representative ultrasonic response comprises performing an operation on the plurality of ultrasonic responses for the respective scan axis-ultrasound axis position.