Applications of High Resolution Deconvolution Techniques to Ultrasonic NDE

The technique of ultrasonic pulse echo measurement is a very cost-effective method of NDE (Non-Destructive Evaluation). These measurements are, however, usually masked by the characteristics of the measuring instruments and the propagation paths taken by the ultrasonic pulses. With a proper modeling of the pulse echo, these effects can be reduced by deconvolution. In this paper, several high resolution deconvolution algorithms that have been popularly used in other areas such as seismic explorations are revised and adapted to ultrasonic NDE applications. Simulation results are presented to support the feasibility of using these algorithms to extract impulse responses from the ultrasonic pulse echoes for use in defect classifications. The performances and computational complexities of these algorithms are analyzed and compared. In addition, application of these deconvolution techniques to B-scan enhancement is also discussed.

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