Isolation of ultrasonic scattering by wavefield baseline subtraction

• Ultrasonic angle-beam wavefields are acquired for a plate with a through-hole.
• Two methods for wavefield baseline subtraction are described and evaluated.
• Scattered wavefields are isolated for small notches emanating from through-holes.
• Scattering details can be seen that are not visible prior to baseline subtraction.

Wavefield imaging generally refers to the measurement of signals over a two-dimensional rectilinear grid that originate from a spatially fixed source. Subtraction of such wavefields is investigated as a means of separating scattered signals from the total wavefield; that is, baseline wavefield data acquired from a defect-free specimen are subtracted from analogous data acquired after introduction of a defect. The wavefields considered here are generated by a 5 MHz angle-beam probe and measured over an area of the accessible specimen surface using a laser vibrometer. The primary challenge in isolating the scattered waves is imperfect temporal and spatial alignment of the two wavefields. Two methods for aligning the wavefields in space and time prior to performing baseline subtraction are presented and their efficacy is evaluated using data acquired before and after introducing notches that originate from a through-hole. Although perfect baseline subtraction is not achieved, the improvement in performance after alignment using either method allows for scattered waves from small defects to be separated and visualized, even when their amplitudes are much smaller than those of the incident waves.