Advances and Challenges of Industrial Ultrasonic Phased Array Inspection and Monitoring Systems

Industrial phased array ultrasonic testing（PAUT）systems have played an important role in critical industries such as aerospace，special equipment manufacturing and petrochemical，effectively mitigating potential safety risks. This paper first elucidates the principles of signal acquisition and imaging of PAUT systems and introduces general phased array testing process optimization and data analysis methods. Secondly，it analyzes the recent advancements in PAUT systems，covering their applications in nonlinear ultrasonic imaging，ultrasonic guided wave，air-coupled ultrasound，electromagnetic acoustic transducer，and laser ultrasound，combining PAUT technology with structural health monitoring（SHM），its applications in real-time monitoring of additive manufacturing，low-cost monitoring and cloud monitoring are explored，with implantable phased array probes applied to smart material monitoring. Finally，it discusses the challenges faced by industrial phased array ultrasonic testing and monitoring systems and summarizes the trends towards high performance，intelligence，multi-functionality，and flexibility. © 2024 Nanjing University of Aeronautics an Astronautics. All rights reserved.