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Applied Sciences
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Industrial Applications of Laser Ultrasonics
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Industrial Applications of Laser Ultrasonics

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Optics and Lasers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 July 2026 | Viewed by 5282

Editor

Dr. Cuixiang Pei

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Aerospace, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
Interests: laser ultrasonics; nondestructive evaluation; electromagnetic acoustic transducers; guided wave; infrared thermography
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Laser ultrasonic testing (LUT) is a new non-destructive technique that is widely studied for damage inspection and material characterization. Due to its non-contact, high detection speed, and high-resolution features, laser utlrasonics has a very broad application prospect in the industrial field. However, new challenges and demands from industries are constantly emerging. Therefore, this Special Issue is dedicated to the recent advances in industrial applications of laser ultrasonics. Topics of interest include but are not limited to thew following:

  1. Laser ultrasonic sensors and system;
  2. Laser ultrasonics for damage inspection;
  3. Laser ultrasonics for material characterization;
  4. Laser ultrasonics online detection;
  5. Laser ultrasonics for composite material testing;
  6. Laser ultrasonic testing singnal processing;
  7. AI for industrial application of laser ultrasonics.

Dr. Cuixiang Pei
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • laser ultrasonics
  • non-destructive testing
  • industrial applications

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3454 KB  
Article
Study on Non-Contact Defect Detection Using the Laser Ultrasonic Method for Friction Stir-Welded Cu–Al Dissimilar Material Joints
by Kazufumi Nomura, Shogo Ishifuro and Satoru Asai
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(2), 688; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16020688 - 9 Jan 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 768
Abstract
Ensuring friction stir welding (FSW) joint quality typically relies on ultrasonic testing (UT) and radiographic testing (RT), but achieving complete coverage is challenging, and echo-based defect discrimination becomes difficult in dissimilar joints. Laser ultrasonics is a promising non-contact technique that remotely assesses weld [...] Read more.
Ensuring friction stir welding (FSW) joint quality typically relies on ultrasonic testing (UT) and radiographic testing (RT), but achieving complete coverage is challenging, and echo-based defect discrimination becomes difficult in dissimilar joints. Laser ultrasonics is a promising non-contact technique that remotely assesses weld quality and provides high spatial resolution at the generation and detection points. This study establishes a laser-ultrasonic method for defect detection in dissimilar Cu–Al FSW joints. Slit-like artificial defects (0.1–2.5 mm deep in 5 mm thick plates) were introduced at the Al-side interface of specimens fabricated with an Al-offset tool. Experiments and numerical simulations were used to evaluate wave modes and irradiation configurations, focusing on intensity-attenuation ratios of specific wave types, including longitudinal and Rayleigh waves. On the non-slit surface, attenuation of reflected longitudinal waves enabled detection of defects ≥0.5 mm deep. On the slit surface, Rayleigh-wave attenuation allowed identification of defects as shallow as 0.1 mm, although slit-side irradiation may be less practical during joining. These results demonstrate that defect identification in dissimilar materials can be achieved by evaluating wave-intensity attenuation rather than relying solely on the presence of reflected echoes, suggesting potential for implementing laser ultrasonics in in-process monitoring of FSW joints. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Applications of Laser Ultrasonics)
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17 pages, 14496 KB  
Article
Development of Laser Ultrasonic Robotic System for In Situ Internal Defect Detection
by Seiya Nitta, Keiji Kadota, Kazufumi Nomura, Tetsuo Era and Satoru Asai
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(1), 281; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16010281 - 26 Dec 2025
Viewed by 949
Abstract
Assurance of the integrity of every weld joint is highly desirable, and defect detection methods that can be applied to welds at high temperatures immediately after welding are required. The laser ultrasonic (LU) method, which generates ultrasonic waves in the target via pulsed [...] Read more.
Assurance of the integrity of every weld joint is highly desirable, and defect detection methods that can be applied to welds at high temperatures immediately after welding are required. The laser ultrasonic (LU) method, which generates ultrasonic waves in the target via pulsed laser irradiation, is a well-known technique for non-contact defect detection during welding. Ultrasonic waves excited in ablation mode exhibit large amplitudes and predominantly surface-normal propagation, which has driven extensive research into their application for weld inspection. However, owing to the size and weight of conventional equipment, such systems have largely been limited to bench-top experimental setups. To address this, we developed an LU robotic system incorporating a compact, lightweight laser source and an improved signal-processing system. We conducted experiments to measure signals and to detect backside slits in flat plates and blowholes in lap-fillet welds. Additionally, a method to improve the sensitivity of laser interferometers was investigated and demonstrated on smut-covered areas near weld beads. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Applications of Laser Ultrasonics)
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18 pages, 4884 KB  
Article
A Titanium Alloy Defect Detection Method Based on Optical–Acoustic Image Fusion
by Mingzhen Wang, Yang Zhao, Yufeng Huang and Gang Zhao
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(15), 8294; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15158294 - 25 Jul 2025
Viewed by 1239
Abstract
Nowadays, a single detection method is insufficient for comprehensively and clearly identifying both surface defects and inner defects in titanium alloys. To address this limitation, this paper proposes a titanium alloy defect detection method based on optical–acoustic image fusion. A detection system was [...] Read more.
Nowadays, a single detection method is insufficient for comprehensively and clearly identifying both surface defects and inner defects in titanium alloys. To address this limitation, this paper proposes a titanium alloy defect detection method based on optical–acoustic image fusion. A detection system was developed to achieve comprehensive and precise inspection of titanium alloys by integrating advanced deep learning-based optical testing technology, reliable C-scan ultrasonic detection technology, and information fusion techniques. Furthermore, the PC software can output interactive fusion results and generate decision-level detection reports. The experimental results demonstrate that the surface defect detection algorithm achieves an accuracy of 99.0%, with a surface defect size measurement resolution of 0.01 mm, an internal defect size measurement resolution of 1 mm, and a positional error within 2 mm. It was found that the proposed method provides a potential solution for the practical application of inspecting surface defects and inner defects in the materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Applications of Laser Ultrasonics)
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15 pages, 2577 KB  
Article
Study of Online Testing of Void Defects in AM Components with Grating Laser Ultrasonic Spectrum Method
by Hengtao Li, Yan Liu, Jinfeng Yang, Qinghua Guo, Zhichao Gan and Cuixiang Pei
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(14), 7995; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15147995 - 17 Jul 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1441
Abstract
Void defects, manifested as distributed porosity, are common in metal additive manufacturing (AM) and can significantly degrade the mechanical performance and reliability of fabricated components. To enable real-time quality control during fabrication, this study proposes a grating laser ultrasonic method for the online [...] Read more.
Void defects, manifested as distributed porosity, are common in metal additive manufacturing (AM) and can significantly degrade the mechanical performance and reliability of fabricated components. To enable real-time quality control during fabrication, this study proposes a grating laser ultrasonic method for the online evaluation of porosity in AM parts. Based on the theoretical relationship between surface acoustic wave (SAW) velocity and material porosity, a non-contact detection approach is developed, allowing the direct inference of porosity from the measured SAW velocities without requiring knowledge of the exact source–detector distance. Numerical simulations are conducted to analyze SAW propagation under varying porosity conditions and to validate the inversion model. Experimental measurements on aluminum alloy specimens with different porosity levels further confirm the sensitivity of SAW signals to internal voids. The results show consistent waveform and spectral trends between the simulation and experiment, supporting the feasibility of the proposed method for practical applications. Overall, the findings demonstrate the potential of this approach for the accurate online monitoring of void defects in metal AM components. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Applications of Laser Ultrasonics)
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