Simulation studies of waves transmission in a steel-vessel ultrasonic tomography system

Abstract

This paper addresses a specific form of inspection, that of ultrasonic wave propagation in the ultrasonic tomographic imaging system. From the sensing configuration standpoint, ultrasound wave simulation is an important imaging process. From the simulation results, ultrasonic sensors with suitable centre frequency can be mounted spherically on a sealed vessel, facilitating the local pitch-catch measurements of the fan-beam sensor configuration to reconstruct the ultrasound image as a fluid flow diagnostic tool. Two basic quantities are measured in ultrasonic flow systems: time-of-flight or the amount of time for the sound to travel through the sample, and the amplitude of the received signal. We used the acoustics pressure model in COMSOL version 4.2a to predict the propagation of acoustic waves through three-phase structures and bubbly flow. Our overall goal is to enable structurally specific inspection tasks to be optimized, taking into account both the physical aspects of the ultrasound propagation and the dynamic capabilities and restrictions of the vessel platform.