Los Alamos National LaboratoryEngineering Institute
Addressing national needs by fostering specialized recruiting and strategic partnerships

Laser-Based Nondestructive Testing

High speed, non-contact NDT for bridging the gap between traditional nondestructive testing and embedded structural health monitoring.

Contact  

  • Institute Director
  • Charles Farrar
  • (505) 663-5330
  • Email
  • UCSD EI Director
  • Michael Todd
  • (858) 534-5951
  • Executive Administrator
  • Ellie Vigil
  • (505) 667-2818
  • Email
  • Institute Administrator
  • Sarah Balkey
  • (505) 665-8777
  • Email

The engineering institute is working to develop a new class of non-destructive evaluation (NDE) hardware-software systems for automated, rapid, remote imaging and assessment of structural properties and defects. Such systems will be based on the excitation and measurement of ultrasonic waves using scanning, non-destructive pulsed laser excitation and a laser-Doppler vibrometer (LDV).

Our goal is to generate quantitative images that provide estimates of structural features and defects using one-of-a-kind, LANL-derived signal and image processing technology. We envision a system sufficiently fast, compact, automated, and non-intrusive to enable previously-far-reaching technologies such as in-line inspection of conveyed parts, “smart hangars” for drive-in-drive-out full body inspection, fixed installation NDE-based monitoring of plant facility components, and mobile robotic platforms for on-demand inspection tasks.

droneSurface Wave Number Estimates

For additional information, please contact Eric Flynn at eflynn@lanl.gov.