Latest News

Level I MT-PT Training course scheduled for October 2010 in State College, PA.

Level II UT Training course scheduled for September 2010 in State College, PA.

Level I UT Training course scheduled for August 2010 in State College, PA.

Level III Acoustic Emission Training course completed (July 30) in State College, PA.

Level III UT Training course completed (July 23) in State College, PA.

Level II Acoustic Emission Testing course completed (July 16) in State College, PA

UT weld inspection course completed (July 8) in State College, PA

Level II Ultrasonic Testing course completed (July 2) in State College, PA

Level III UT Training course completed  in State College, PA, June 2010

WINS personnel delivered invited speech on H-Pile inspection technology at "Life cycle performance of bridges and structures" conference at Changsha, China in June 2010

View a presentation on the
Principles and applications of long range ultrasound, from ASNT Greater Phila chapter meeting, April 2010

Level III UT Training course completed  in State College, PA, March 2010

WINS presents talk on ultrasonic guided wave potential towards helicopter maintenance to Indian Air force, February 2010

WINS funded by Transportation Research Board to develop Bridge Cable Inspection Technology, February 2010

Watch 
video
of Wireless Acoustic Emission Sensor Network for Bridge Structural Health Monitoring
In-service Testing of Composite Cylinders
WINS personnel have performed studies of the behavior of acoustic waves in Type III composite cylinders.  A simple, low-profile ceramic piezoelectric disk was used in this application and it worked well. Input signal was sent to a transducer located on the top of the cylinder at the tangent point just inside the dome at one end, and received on the bottom tangent point at the other.



The interaction of the defects in these materials with transmitted ultrasound is complex and the effect on the transmitted wave may alter the waveform in ways other than simple amplitude changes.  A significant change in cross-correlation coefficient between signals in undamaged materials and that obtained from a signal transmitted through a notch oriented parallel to the path between two sensors was obtained.   A summary of the data obtained from a number of defects is shown in the table below.


 Defect type
 Defect size
 Frequency (MHz)
 Correlation Coefficient
 Axial hole
 3.174 mm dia, 4.8 mm deep
 0.19  0.83
 Axial impact
 20 x 20 mm observable surface damage
 0.19  0.44
 Axial parallel notch
 25 x 2 x 2 mm
 0.19  0.83
 Axial perpendicular notch
 25 x 2 x 2 mm
 0.19  0.68
 Circumferential hole
 3.175 mm dia, 4.8 mm deep
 0.322  0.79
 circumferential damage
 20 x 20 mm observable surface damage
 0.322  0.69
 circumferential parallel notch
 25 x 2 x 2 mm
 0.322  0.93
 circumferential perpendicular notch
  25 x 2 x 2 mm  0.322  0.85