CIVA UT

UT simulation tools include beam propagation and its interaction with flaws or specimens (Backwall echo, Surface echo, corner effects and shadowing). They allow simulating a whole inspection process (pulse echo, tandem or TOFD) with a wide range of probes, components, and flaws.

PROBES

A wide range of UT probes, standard and advanced designs can be handled:

  • Contact, Immersion, dual element probes and Tandem probes
  • Rectangular or circular emitting surfaces
  • Focusing shaped emitting surfaces or probes with added acoustic lens
  • Planar or spherical/bifocal/Fermat focusing surfaces
  • Dual element probes, even if used on non-symmetrical configurations
  • Single element or phased-array probes (see Phased Arrays section).
  • Encircled or Encircling curved arrays for tube inspection
  • Flexible phased-array probe (in contact with parametric or CAD specimen, linear or matrix pattern).

CIVA Ultrasonic Sensors

COMPONENTS

The graphical interface allows defining a large set of parametric geometries:

  • Planar, cylindrical, conical, spherical,
  • 3D parametric components: elbows, nozzles or bores.

It is also possible to define 2,5D CAD pieces, corresponding to a complex profile with linear or revolution extrusion, as well as 3D CAD components. It is possible to:

  • Import a 2D CAD files with DXF or IGES format,
  • Define a 2D profile using the CIVA CAD tool.
  • import 3D CAD pieces with format IGES or STEP.

CIVA Ultrasonic Pieces

MATERIALS

The component can be homogeneous or constituted of several layers (for example cladded). Each layer may be isotropic or anisotropic, of arbitrary symmetry and orientation. Materials can also be fiber-reinforced, multi layers or granular composites. The acoustical characteristics of the materials, including attenuation coefficients, are defined by the user. Heterogeneous components can be defined using the CAD tool design in CIVA.

Simulation of structure backscattered noise is possible (randomly distributed point-like scatterers, of arbitrary density and reflectivity, adjustable for each constitutive material of the component).

CIVA Ultrasonic Materials

PHASED-ARRAYS Settings

CIVA allows to easily define various array designs: linear, matrix, circular arrays, and to compute delay laws and sequences of delay laws for standard and advanced phased-array techniques:

  • Independent definition of emitting or receiving elements
  • Variable aperture at emission or reception, for size or position
  • Electronic scanning, simple or advanced (distinct elements in emission from reception)

CIVA Ultrasonic Sensors

Delay laws can be computed for specimens of arbitrary geometry (canonical or complex) and materials (homogeneous or heterogeneous materials, isotropic and anisotropic) from the simplest to the most advanced configuration:

  • Focusing on one or several arbitrary points
  • Electronic scanning
  • Sectorial scanning
  • Application of dynamic delay laws,
  • Application of non-uniform amplitude laws (influence of non-homogeneous element responses, beam apodization)

For the case of complex geometries and heterogeneous materials, delays laws can be computed independently for each probe position along the scanning axis.

FLAWS

An arbitrary number of flaws may be inserted into the component; these defects can be:

  • Calibration defects: spherical pores, side-drilled holes, flat-bottom and hemispherical holes
  • Planar defects, of arbitrary size and orientation, rectangular, semi elliptical or with a 2D CAD shape,
  • Multifaceted defects,
  • Solid inclusions (cylindrical, spherical or elliptical shapes) : flaws constituted of a solid material.

CIVA Ultrasonic Flaws

RESULTS

Beam Computation

A first module allows to simulate the ultrasonic beam in the specimen and if asked in the coupling material. The beam can be displayed in the specimen as an amplitude color coded image or as an iso-amplitude surface. Local orientation of the beam and wave fronts can be displayed (and saved as animated files, AVI format).

Defect Response

This module simulates the beam-defect interaction and predicts the amplitude and the time of flight of various echoes : direct echo, corner effect… It allows to calculate echoes caused by the geometry, surface echoes and takes into account mode conversions. For TOFD configuration, direct tip echoes generated by the edge of the defects are simulated as well as lateral wave and the shadowing effect on the back-wall echo.

Analysis Tools

The software offers a wide range of signal processing methods, some are classical (filters, deconvolutions…) other are more sophisticated (wavelets, Double Bernouilli Gaussian deconvolution…). A Segmentation tool allows 3D grouping of signals, managing of this groups and report export.

Reconstruction tools are integrated, in particular the synthetic focusing one (FTP). This processing allows, from an acquisition file or a phased-array simulation, to reconstruct an image displaying for each pixel the amplitude obtained by combining signals in order to have the best focusing at this particular point.

A ray tracer completes these tools (it takes into account mode conversion, reflections, displays time of flight…).