Locating small structural damages in pipes using space-frequency DORT processing

Abstract

A new imaging algorithm is introduced and applied for inspection of damages in pipes employing ultrasonic guided waves. The algorithm is based on the decomposition of the time-reversal operator (DORT, in its French acronym) and is demonstrated using both simulations and experiments. Its performance is compared against more traditional time-reversal imaging algorithms. The proposed algorithm is shown to be effective to determine the number and relative location of multiple small damages in pipes with good resolution.