Pulse-compression ultrasonic technique for the inspection of forged steel with high attenuation

Abstract

The application of a pulse-compression technique for the ultrasonic inspection of forged steel structures with high attenuation and large dimensions is presented. The performance of such a technique is theoretically analysed and validated experimentally by exploiting linear chirp signals. Based on the preliminary results, it is found that the strategy achieves a significant enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio and then of the inspection capability. A further increase in performance can be achieved by exploiting signal processing and by developing proper hardware.