CIVA Tips

CIVA is a powerful and easy to use tool, but discovering all of its numerous possibilities may take you some time. That is why we offer you here all the CIVA Tips we published in our Newsletters, to help you master it faster!

Customize your layout (January 2012)
Use section views to ease flaw positioning (November 2011)
Customize your analysis environment (September 2011)
Display cumulated views for phased-array inspections (July 2011)
Define the tranduscer… Just once! (March 2011)
Amplitude Measurement Tool (January 2011)

Customize your layout

For each data set available after one computation, a layout is defined to display the results in the corresponding analysis page.
This layout defines the organization of the following items:

Number and type of views displayed
Position of the views in the analysis tab panel
Orientation of the scan for each view

After running one simulation, a default layout (called “CEA layout”) is displayed. For instance, in the defect-response module of CIVA, the resulting analysis page shows the so-called “true Bscan” (or Sscan for phased array techniques), the 3D view and the Ascan.

“CEA layout” of the analysis page window after a defect response simulation

However, when opening a result, you may want a specific layout for the analysis page, adding for instance a new image. CIVA offers the possibility to customize the arrangement of the different images displayed for your convenience.
For each new result displayed in a new analysis page, you will then be able to recover the specific layout.

To do that, you just need to define your new layout, and then right click on the blue “analysis” title bar at the top of the window.

New arrangement of the analysis window and access to customized layout

Multiple possibilities are then available:

Color interface of preferences window

Save this new layout. Each time you wish to recover this specific arrangement, you will just have to load this layout.

Analysis page menu and layout loading

Define this new layout as the default layout. This new arrangement will be the one used for all new results displayed.

Several layouts can be saved. You will be able to select your favorite layout for different simulation results.

At last, your analysis environment is really organized as you wish!

Use section views to ease flaw positioning

Inspection of complex components often leads to big challenges when it comes to position a flaw in a critical area of interest but working in a 3D visualization window. For instance, you are inspecting a nozzle part, and you would like to put the flaw at an oblique position regarding the nozzle connection, but exactly arising at the backwall of the primary part! Well, this is not easy, and a simple 3D view can drive you crazy…

In CIVA 10, the concept of cross section views has been developed, in order to easily switch from 3D viewing into a specific 2D display. Those views are available by right clicking either on the probe or on a defect. Then, some menus allow you to select typical 2D cross section views regarding the selected object.

For instance, if you select a so-called “parallel section view” available from the flaw, you will immediately visualize the cross section view between the test piece and the flaw plane. From this new view, you are allowed to double click on the flaw to activate its interactive positioning mode, and you can easily translocate and/or rotate this flaw to put it exactly at the expected position.

You can finally go back to the 3D view with a simple click on the appropriate button, and adjust other parameters before running your simulations.
That is definitely one of the best functionalities that has been provided in the CIVA 10 release, isn’t it?

Customize your analysis environment

When analyzing a great amount of data, any CIVA user obviously complained because the color of cursors in images was not convenient!
What is more bothering than a cursor which’s color is exactly the same as the Ascan color? Why does the second red cursor have exactly the same color as limitation markers?
Well, in the CIVA 10 release, it is now possible to customize cursor’s color or even image backgrounds, so that all those annoying things will not disturb you anymore!

To change the cursor’s color, nothing easier! You just need to open the “Tool > Preferences” menu, and select the “Colors” section.

Select your favorite colors for the two cursors, change the background color of Ascan and Echodynamic curves, and/or modify the color of the axis graduations…

At last your analysis environment is far more comfortable!
Enjoy your work!

Display cumulated views for phased-array inspections

When performing a phased-array inspection involving different sequences or shots for one or several mechanical scanning position, you can cumulate the views from all “Scan” or true “Bscan” in a single image.

CIVA True Bscan Sscan

To activate this cumulated view, one just needs to select the “data tools” option available in the title bar of the true Bscan or Sscan image and click on the following icons:
CIVA Merged Mean Merged Buttons

For both of these options, the resulting image contains the complete data displayed in the image. “Merged” image means that, for each pixel of the image, the amplitude displayed corresponds to the maximum amplitude obtained in this region (if several shots correspond to this location), whereas “Mean Merged” image corresponds to the average of all shots for each pixel of the image.

“Merged image”: cumulated view for all mechanical position and sectorial scanning position (maximum amplitude displayed)

“Mean merged image”: cumulated view for all mechanical position and sectorial scanning position (average of all shots)

Define the tranduscer… Just once!

This is not a new feature in CIVA but it remains quite unknown : This is possible to save all the parameters of your transducers in a set of different files in order to build your own library of probes, ready to load in Civa.

You can really save time using this feature as this is not so easy to access to the information relative to the probe parameters (geometry, focusing, signal,…), so… just look at the manufacturer data sheet once !
This is also an interesting feature in order to share the knowledge with your colleagues and to avoid to make some mistakes when entering input data.

How to do that ? Really simple !

Once you have filled all the information in the probe panel, just select the menu “File” then “Save” on the top left side of the panel.

Then, enter a name (well… let’s put clearly the probe reference !) and save the information, this is just a simple file that you put on your disk.

When you want to define the same probe for another project, just load all probe data from the same place with the “Open” menu, don’t spend anymore time looking for the manufacturer data sheet…

And actually this feature is available similarly for other panels: component, flaw…

Amplitude Measurement Tool

CIVA 10.0 provides a new tool to make efficient amplitude measurements on images. Most commercial tools provide such a possibility but in square areas.


In the image above, it seems difficult to make an efficient measurement with a square around the tip echo (where cursors cross)!	CIVA allows the user to create a free multi point area as shown above, by clicking on the button in “data tools” available in title bars for all images.	A cross indicates the position of the maximum amplitude point in this area and a box appears and gives all available information.