Generation of Three-Dimensional Images Using Ultrasonic Pulse-Echo Data for Fault Characterization

摘要

The nondestructive testing using ultrasonic pulse-echo data is an effective method especially for metal structures. Typically, the ultrasonic pulse-echo data is processed and the results are shown in A-scan, B-scan, or C-scan data formats. In conventional testing using ultrasonic pulse-echo data, the inspector is able to identify the location of faults as well as their rough dimensions upon viewing B-scan and C-scan data. In this paper, we propose an approach using 3-D visualization of ultrasonic pulse-echo data. The main idea is to use various 3-D visualization methods frequently used in medical image visualization systems, namely, surface rendering (SR), volume rendering (VR) and maximum intensity projection (MIP). Such 3-D visualization of ultrasonic pulse-echo data enables easier identification of the location and dimension of faults more accurately.