Polarimetry has proven highly effective in microwave NDE for characterizing material orientation and isolating subtle, hard-to-detect flaws. This project seeks to translate that success to the world of ultrasound. The core principle involves intelligently transmitting and receiving different signal polarizations using, in this case, a combination of longitudinal and specifically oriented shear waves, to analyze how a material or defect alters them. Our team will develop novel ultrasound polarimetry probes and techniques and then demonstrate their effectiveness on critical NDE applications, such as detecting difficult cracks and characterizing material properties. This research aims to open a new frontier in ultrasonic inspection, potentially enabling the detection of flaws currently invisible to conventional methods.
