Clearly, sound can detect things that we wouldn't normally be able to see with our eyes.
You might say that I’m punning here, but there’s a serious field of engineering devoted to the detection of flaws, corrosion and failures in solid materials without cutting them open to prove they may exist. This branch of technology is called Non Destructive Testing (NDT) and it really is pretty amazing.
What is amazing to think about, is that if you were to send high-frequency sound waves, or ultrasound (beyond the reach of human hearing) into a steel pipeline reading with a micro method, when it bounces off itself and back into the steel, it would return to you in a different pattern, and this would be what you would visualize as a map of the interior of the pipeline. This means you would not need to drill into the structure or guess on how to fix it.
Think of it this way — if you've ever driven over a bridge, experienced an airplane landing for a flight, or driven near a gas line, you can be 100% sure that those items have already been inspected through this NDT process.
Currently there are many different types of NDT techniques being utilized such as:
1) Phased array ultrasonic testing — multiple beams of sound are fired off all at the same time through different angles providing a complete cross section in real time of the welds, components, etc.
2) Acoustic emission monitoring — using sensors to passively monitor the sounds that are put out by materials such as metals due to the stresses they are under before they will fail.
Use acoustic testing methods to provide a singular device for scanning a pipe that will cover hundreds of meters in all directions without needing to walk the entire length of the pipe
The most up-to-date generation of these systems can now be connected to the cloud, utilize artificial intelligence to detect anomalies, and send alerts in real-time. This essentially creates an immune defense for industrial assets.
Acoustic Testing Pro and other companies are assembling this entire stack of sensors, testing equipment, IoT gateways, and cloud analysis as a complete 'turnkey' B2B solution for many industries throughout North America.
Regardless of the previous statement, sound deserves more respect than it currently receives. Re blog if you are on the same wavelength regarding the need for improved visibility for materials science.
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