Modular, Scalable Ultrasound Data Processing Architecture Provides a Flexible, Cost-effective Solution for Medium-high Complexity Systems

In this work we present an scalable ultrasound data processing architecture, developed by INTERLAB Ingeniería Electrónica y de Control SA with the requirements of modern ultrasound inspection systems in mind. The multi-channel processing architecture presented herein has been successfully applied to the development of a variety of industrial ultrasonic inspection systems, ranging from 5-channel stand-alone ones, to a massive 192-channel system controlling the quality of rolled steel plates. Introduction: Current trends in NDT systems include demand for features such as: automatic or semiautomatic real-time operation, adaptability to inspect different parts produced within the same plant, capability to generate and manage reports on inspected parts, easy configuration to different quality standards and operation within the LAN or CAM in-plant facilities. These demands are leading to an evolution from the classic single or dual channel hand operated systems towards complex automatic or semiautomatic systems that integrate multi-channel ultrasound data processing, databases for inspected parts and quality standards, interfaces to inplant facilities and User Interface which allows easy and complete inspection system management. Thus, modern, automatic inspection systems are made up by integration of three main components (see figure 1): • Electronic hardware used to generate, capture and process the ultrasound signals. • Software, from low-level algorithms, used to process the hardware-captured data to higher level MMIs used to present the results and handle parts and standard databases. • Electromechanical subsystems used to scan the probes along the inspected part according to the planned inspection strategy. PROCESSING & ACQUISITION MODULES MOTION