Comparison between PA and PWI/TFM Techniques for Non-Destructive Testing of Carbon Steel Weld

Abstract

The Total Focusing Method (TFM) technique is an advanced Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Ultrasonic Testing (UT) technique well known for its representative images of high resolution. It was firstly developed together with Full Matrix Capture (FMC) acquisition which can be substituted later by Plane Wave Imaging (PWI) acquisition for its improved acquisition speed and gain reserve without lowering the image quality. For these advantages, the PWI/TFM technique is tending to be more and more widely implemented. This article presents some results of the related study on PWI/TFM technique. Starting by PWI/TFM reconstruction principles, mainly on the influences of beam steering settings and corresponding inspection coverage in predefined Region of Interest (ROI), it focuses on the comparison on the indication amplitudes of planar discontinuities between classical Phased Array (PA) technique and PWI/TFM technique.