Ultrasonic Tomography Approaches and Applications

Ultrasonic Tomography Approaches and Applications details cutting-edge guided wave tomographic techniques and their applications in the non-destructive evaluation and structural health monitoring industry. Using technology which has the power to significantly transform structural maintenance and integrity management, the book enables readers to apply these techniques through the use of case studies and practical end of chapter problems.

Ultrasonic guided wave tomography (UGWT) delivers accurate and robust results to diagnose defects and inclusions in thin sheets of many different materials. Applicable to many different industries, the book uses quantitative guided wave imaging approaches based on diffraction tomography (DT) and full waveform inversion (FWI), comparing and contrasting their usefulness in reconstructing physical properties in isotropic and anisotropic structures. Applying this to real world case studies such as liquid-loaded tank floors and pipeline corrosion monitoring systems, the book demonstrates how UGWT is revolutionizing non-destructive evaluation and structural health monitoring. It presents the theoretical analysis, simulations, experiments, and practical applications of the UGWT method, ensuring more reliable non-destructive testing can be carried out.

This book will be of interest to students and engineers in the field of ultrasonics, maintenance engineering, mechanical and structural engineering, acoustics, vibration, and materials science

To assist students and instructors, the book comes with online resources like figure slides and solution manual.

Jing Rao is a Professor at Beihang University. She previously served as a Lecturer at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia, and held an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. She received her Ph.D. degree from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research focuses on ultrasonic non-destructive testing and structural health monitoring. She has led over 30 research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Beijing Natural Science Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and UNSW Australia, among others. Currently, she serves as an Associate Editor for Measurement, Ultrasonic Imaging, and the IEEE Open Journal of Signal Processing. Her recent conference roles include serving as a Session Chair for the 2021 Australian Aerospace and Applied Mechanics Congress and the 2023 International Congress on Ultrasonics, as well as a Technical Program Committee Member for the 2023 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium. She is also a committee member of the Structural Health Monitoring and Prognostics Division of the China Instrument and Control Society and the Non-Destructive Testing Division of the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society.

Madis Ratassepp is a Senior Research Fellow at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), Estonia, specializing in wave propagation modeling and ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation. He received his Ph.D. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from TalTech. His research focuses on guided wave tomography, full waveform inversion, and advanced signal processing for structural health monitoring of composite structures, pipes, and plates. He has led several key research projects, including Quantitative Imaging Methods and Efficient Signal Processing Algorithms for Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Evaluation (2020–2024), and currently serves as Principal Investigator of Advanced Acoustic Sensing and AI-Driven Underwater Monitoring Methods for Maritime Environmental Protection and Security (2026–2030). His work has been published in leading journals such as Ultrasonics, NDT & E International, and Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. Dr. Ratassepp supervises Ph.D. and Master’s students, actively serves as a reviewer for international journals, and holds academic leadership roles including Doctoral Program Manager in Civil Engineering and Architecture at TalTech.