Granted Patent B2

US 12,669,479 · App. 18/483,228 · Granted Jun 30, 2026

Inventors: Trevor Fleck (Waco, TX); Khaled Matalgah (Waco, TX); Daniel Pulipati (Waco, TX); Pruthul Kokkada Ravindranath (Waco, TX); David A. Jack (Waco, TX)

Assignee: BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

G01N29/069G01N29/12G01N29/40G01N2291/0231G01N2291/0289

Abstract

Claims (29)

1 . A system for non-destructive testing of composite materials, comprising:

at least one ultrasonic transducer in communication with a processor;

wherein the at least one ultrasonic transducer is operable to emit ultrasonic waves into and receive ultrasonic waves from a test object including at least one delamination to produce scan data;

wherein the scan data includes a plurality of A-scans gathered at different positions along a surface of the test object;

wherein at least one of the plurality of A-scans comprises an entire waveform of at least one ultrasonic wave reflected at a particular position along the surface of the test object;

wherein the processor generates at least one C-scan based on the plurality of A-scans;

wherein the processor automatically analyzes the at least one C-scan and designates and displays at least one delamination area;

wherein the at least one delamination area includes areas of the at least one C-scan having amplitude values above a threshold number of standard deviations greater or less than a known baseline amplitude value or frequency shifts above a threshold number of standard deviations greater or less than a known baseline frequency shift for the at least one C-scan; and

wherein the processor automatically determines a size of the at least one delamination area based on a number of pixels in the at least one C-scan that are included in the at least one delamination area and a size represented by each pixel.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor automatically filters the at least one C-scan such that areas exceeding the threshold number of standard deviations greater or less than the known baseline amplitude that are smaller than a known minimum size of the at least one delamination are automatically excluded from the at least one delamination area.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor automatically determines a depth of the at least one delamination based on the plurality of A-scans.

4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the depth of the at least one delamination is determined based on comparative waveform analysis with at least one A-scan corresponding to a region of the test object without damage.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one delamination is closed, such that material adjacent to the at least one delamination is not coupled but is in intimate contact.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor automatically defines a perimeter of the at least one delamination area based on the at least one C-scan.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor displays the at least one C-scan, and wherein the processor applies color coding to a visualization of the at least one C-scan, designating which parts of the at least one C-scan are in the at least one delamination area and which parts of the at least one C-scan are not in the at least one delamination area.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one ultrasonic transducer includes at least one spherically focused transducer.

9 . A system for non-destructive testing of composite materials, comprising:

at least one ultrasonic transducer in communication with a processor;

wherein the at least one ultrasonic transducer is operable to emit ultrasonic waves into and receive ultrasonic waves from a test object including at least one delamination to produce scan data;

wherein the scan data includes a plurality of A-scans gathered at different positions along a surface of the test object;

wherein at least one of the plurality of A-scans comprises an entire waveform of at least one ultrasonic wave reflected at a particular position along the surface of the test object;

wherein the processor generates at least one C-scan constructed from amplitude data from the plurality of A-scans;

wherein the processor automatically analyzes the at least one C-scan and designates and displays at least one delamination area;

wherein the at least one delamination area includes areas of the at least one C-scan having amplitude values above a threshold number of standard deviations greater than a known baseline amplitude value for the at least one C-scan;

wherein the processor calculates and displays a size of the at least one delamination area based on analysis of the at least one C-scan; and

wherein the processor automatically defines a perimeter of the at least one delamination area based on the at least one C-scan.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor automatically determines a size of the at least one delamination area based on a number of pixels in the at least one C-scan that are included in the at least one delamination area and a size represented by each pixel.

11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor automatically determines a depth of the at least one delamination based on the plurality of A-scans.

12 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor displays the at least one C-scan, and wherein the processor applies a color coding to a visualization of the at least one C-scan, designating which parts of the at least one C-scan are in the at least one delamination area and which parts of the at least one C-scan are not in the at least one delamination area.

Assignments (3)

Continuity (12)

References Cited (77)