News & Views, Volume 46 | The Newest Phased Array Ultrasonic Technique: Full Matrix Capture
By: Jeff Milligan, Steve Gressler, and Allen Porter
Full Matrix Capture (FMC) and Total Focusing Method (TFM) have evolved over the past few years into NDE buzz words that warrant explanation and context for their proper and successful application. Structural Integrity (SI) is well vested and engaged in FMC and actively exploring the use of this technology where it enhances ultrasonic sensitivity and characterization to bring added value to our clients. An explanation of these technologies and what they mean to the future of ultrasonic inspection follows.
Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) has evolved significantly over the last 20+ years, with improvements and innovations in sensor design, signal processing, and data interpretation; however, the method by which PAUT is applied has remained relatively unchanged: Excite an array of transducer elements with predetermined time delays, called focal laws, and receive resulting reflections with the array of transducer elements,
