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Applied Sciences
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Advances in and Research on Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing
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Advances in and Research on Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 3906

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mohsen Barzegar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Telecomunicações, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: signal processing; laser doppler vibrometers; non-destructive testing; networks of sensors; composite plates; piezoelectric transducers; Lamb waves; ultrasonic guided waves; damage imaging; ultrasonic testing; machine learning; anomaly detection; autoencoders; wavenumber–frequency domain; reconstruction algorithms; ultrasonic imaging; damage indexes
Dr. Bo Feng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: ultrasonic testing; signal processing; sensors; non-destructive testing; instrumentation; measurement
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dario J. Pasadas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Telecomunicações, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: non-destructive testing; networks of sensors; piezoelectric transducers; Lamb waves; ultrasonic guided waves; damage imaging; ultrasonic testing; ultrasonic imaging; instrumentation; measurement
Dr. Vykintas Samaitis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Prof. K. Barsauskas Ultrasound Research Institute, Kaunas University of Technology, K. Barsausko Str. 59, LT-51423 Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: PAUT; structural health monitoring; guided waves; signal processing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) is undergoing a transformation supported by continuous innovations in wave propagation theory, advanced sensor technologies, data acquisition systems, sophisticated signal processing algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This rapid progress is enabling researchers to move beyond the limitations of conventional methods and explore ultrasonic inspection’s full potential for use with increasingly complex materials and structures and in industrial environments.

While conventional Ultrasonic Testing (UT) remains a foundational technique in quality assurance and defect detection, recent advancements have transformed Ultrasonic Testing into a powerful, high-resolution diagnostic tool. Emerging techniques such as Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) offer beam steering, dynamic focusing, and advanced visualization capabilities, while Ultrasonic Guided Waves (UGWs) enable the long-range monitoring of pipelines, rails, and other extended structures with limited access points. Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers (EMATs) eliminate the need for couplants and physical contact, making them ideal for use with high-temperature, coated, or rough-surfaced materials in harsh industrial environments. Meanwhile, Ultrasonic Wavefield Imaging (UWI), which leverages full-field ultrasonic measurement and advanced reconstruction algorithms, provides a comprehensive spatial and temporal visualization of waves’ interactions with defects. Laser Ultrasonics offers non-contact optical ultrasound generation and detection, opening up new possibilities for the precise inspection of delicate or moving parts. These advanced ultrasonic techniques are redefining the limits of defect detection and sizing and becoming the foundation for reliable Structural Health Monitoring (SHM).

For this Special Issue, we invite the submission of cutting-edge research articles, technical reviews, and application-driven case studies that explore novel methodologies, innovative technologies, and emerging trends in ultrasonic NDT techniques. Manuscripts with a focus on theoretical modeling, numerical simulation, experimental validation, sensor and system development, data fusion, and real-world industrial implementation are particularly encouraged.

Dr. Mohsen Barzegar
Dr. Bo Feng
Dr. Dario J. Pasadas
Dr. Vykintas Samaitis
Guest Editors

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-blind 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

  • non-destructive testing
  • ultrasonic testing
  • structural health monitoring
  • PAUT
  • signal processing, sensor network
  • EMAT
  • sensor arrays, ultrasonic guided waves

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 7953 KB  
Article
Accelerating Ultrasonic Guided-Wave Measurements via SNR Enhancement Using Coded Excitation: An Experimental Investigation
by Chengxiang Peng, Paul Annus, Marek Rist, Raul Land and Madis Ratassepp
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(6), 2762; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16062762 - 13 Mar 2026
Viewed by 251
Abstract
Conventional excitation signals used in ultrasonic measurements, such as the one-cycle pulse, produce waveforms that experience significant attenuation and dispersion during propagation in highly attenuative materials, resulting in a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and unreliable signal interpretation. Coded excitation is a well-established technique [...] Read more.
Conventional excitation signals used in ultrasonic measurements, such as the one-cycle pulse, produce waveforms that experience significant attenuation and dispersion during propagation in highly attenuative materials, resulting in a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and unreliable signal interpretation. Coded excitation is a well-established technique for improving the SNR; however, its practical benefit for ultrasonic guided-wave measurements under low-voltage and limited averaging conditions has not been systematically quantified. This paper presents an experimental investigation of coded excitations for accelerating ultrasonic guided-wave data acquisition through SNR improvement. A one-cycle pulse is compared with Barker-coded and complementary Golay-coded excitations over a wide range of excitation voltages (0.5–10 V) and averaging numbers (1–40). Guided waves are generated using piezoelectric excitation and measured using laser Doppler vibrometry, ensuring repeatable and coupling-independent measurements. The results show that the SNR achieved with Barker-coded excitations using fewer than ten averages is comparable to that obtained with a one-cycle pulse using forty averages. The 16-bit complementary Golay codes achieve a comparable SNR while requiring fewer than five averages. These findings demonstrate that coded excitations can significantly reduce the number of data acquisition cycles in guided-wave measurement, offering a practical pathway toward faster and more energy-efficient ultrasonic measurement systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in and Research on Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing)
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12 pages, 3606 KB  
Article
Feasibility Study of Plate Inhomogeneities Estimation Using Lamb Wave A0 Mode Signals Time-of-Flight
by Olgirdas Tumšys
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(5), 2623; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16052623 - 9 Mar 2026
Viewed by 303
Abstract
Structural health monitoring (SHM) technology enables the monitoring and assessment of the condition of various materials and structures. Lamb-guided waves (LW) are widely used to detect damage in large-scale plate structures. One of the parameters used for these purposes is the time-of-flight (ToF) [...] Read more.
Structural health monitoring (SHM) technology enables the monitoring and assessment of the condition of various materials and structures. Lamb-guided waves (LW) are widely used to detect damage in large-scale plate structures. One of the parameters used for these purposes is the time-of-flight (ToF) of ultrasonic LW signals. In the presented feasibility study, the ToF was determined based on the idea that the zero-crossings of this signal, filtered by several filters, are concentrated around the maximum of the signal envelope. This ToF detection method, unlike threshold- and peak-based methods, avoids uncertainties in signal and noise levels and does not require a signal detection threshold. Compared to the correlation method, no reference signal is required. It has been established that the curves of signal propagation times with varying distance depend on the group and phase velocities of signal propagation and have phase jumps. The proposed methodology for assessing plate inhomogeneities involves comparing signal propagation time curves with and without damage. This methodology has been verified both through theoretical modeling and experimental research. The experimental studies used a 6 mm thick steel specimen with artificial defects of various diameters (10–35 mm). The A0 mode of Lamb waves with a central frequency of 150 kHz was excited in the steel plate. For experimentally obtained B-scans, the ToF distributions of signals along the scan trajectories were calculated. By comparing the defective and defect-free ToF curves, critical points of the experimental curves were determined, which were used to estimate the dimensions of the defects. Both in the case of theoretical modeling and in the result of experimental measurements, it was determined that the proposed methodology can be used to determine the inhomogeneities of plates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in and Research on Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing)
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18 pages, 7987 KB  
Article
Implementing Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing and Lean Principles Towards Efficiency and Quality Improvement in Manufacturing Welding Processes
by Chowdhury Md. Irtiza, Bishal Silwal, Kamran Kardel and Hossein Taheri
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(20), 11271; https://doi.org/10.3390/app152011271 - 21 Oct 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1909
Abstract
Welding-based manufacturing and joining processes are extensively used in various areas of industrial production. While welding has been used as a primary method of joining in many applications, its capability to fabricate metal components such as the Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) method [...] Read more.
Welding-based manufacturing and joining processes are extensively used in various areas of industrial production. While welding has been used as a primary method of joining in many applications, its capability to fabricate metal components such as the Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) method should not be undermined. WAAM is a promising method for producing large metal parts, but it is still prone to defects such as porosity that can reduce structural reliability. To ensure these defects are found and measured in a consistent way, inspection methods must be tied directly to code-based acceptance limits. In this work, a three-pass WAAM joint specimen was made in a welded-joint configuration using robotic GMAW-based deposition. This setup provided a stable surface for Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) while still preserving WAAM process conditions. The specimen, which was intentionally seeded with porosity, was divided into five zones and inspected using the 6 dB drop method for defect length and amplitude-based classification, with AWS D1.5 serving as the reference code. The results showed that porosity was not uniform across the bead. Zones 1 and 3 contained the longest clusters (15 mm and 16.5 mm in length) and exceeded AWS length thresholds, while amplitude-based classification suggested they were less critical than other regions. This difference shows the risk of relying on only one criterion. By embedding these results in a DMAIC (Define–Measure–Analyze–Improve–Control) workflow, the inspection outcomes were linked to likely causes such as unstable shielding and cooling effects. Overall, the study demonstrates a code-referenced, dual-criteria approach that can strengthen quality control for WAAM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in and Research on Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing)
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