This paper describes a new ultrasonic array imaging method for Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) which is derived from the medical Plane Wave Imaging (PWI) technique. The objective is to perform fast ultrasound imaging with high image quality. The approach is to transmit plane waves at several angles and to record the back-scattered signals with all the array elements. Focusing in receive is then achieved by coherent summations of the signals in every point of a region of interest. The medical PWI is generalized to immersion setups where water acts as a coupling medium and to multimodal (direct, half-skip modes) imaging in order to detect different types of defects (inclusions, porosities, cracks). This method is compared to the Total Focusing Method (TFM) which is the reference imaging technique in NDT. First, the two post-processing algorithms are described. Then experimental results with the array probe either in contact or in immersion are presented. A good agreement between the TFM and the PWI is observed, with three to ten times less transmissions required for the PWI.

Ultrasonic techniques are developed at CEA (French Alternative Energies and Nuclear Energy Commission) for in-service inspection of sodium-cooled reactors (SFRs). Among them, an ultrasound imaging system made up of two orthogonal antennas and originally based on an underwater imaging system is studied for long-distance vision in the liquid sodium of the reactor’s primary circuit. After a description of the imaging principle of this system, some results of a simulation study performed with the software CIVA in order to optimize the antenna parameters are presented. Then, experimental measurements carried out in a water tank illustrate the system capabilities. Finally, the limitations of the imaging performances and the ongoing search of solutions to address them are discussed.