Three dimensional evaluation of aluminum plates with wall-thinning by full-field pulse-echo laser ultrasound

We propose a full-field pulse-echo laser ultrasonic wave propagation imager (FF-PE-UPI) for the evaluation of structural defects. The FF-PE-UPI consists of a Q-switched laser for the generation of thermoelastic waves, a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) for sensing, and a two-axis translation stage for raster scanning of the combined generation and sensing laser beams. A-scan, B-scan, and C-scan data representations are used for the evaluation of structural defects. Three specimens were tested: a 4-mm aluminum plate with an area of 50% thickness reduction, a 6-mm aluminum plate with an area of 25% thickness reduction, and an 8-mm aluminum plate with engraved letters. The damages on the tested specimens were successfully visualized.