Noninvasive ultrasonic examination technology in support of counter-terrorism and drug interdiction activities: the acoustic inspection device (AID)

Aaron A. Diaz; Brion J. Burghard; James R. Skorpik; Chester Louis Shepard; Todd J. Samuel; Richard A. Pappas

doi:10.1117/12.484671

16 July 2003 Noninvasive ultrasonic examination technology in support of counter-terrorism and drug interdiction activities: the acoustic inspection device (AID)

Aaron A. Diaz, Brion J. Burghard, James R. Skorpik, Chester Louis Shepard, Todd J. Samuel, Richard A. Pappas

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5048, Nondestructive Detection and Measurement for Homeland Security; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.484671
Event: NDE for Health Monitoring and Diagnostics, 2003, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed a portable, battery-operated, handheld ultrasonic device that provides non-invasive container interrogation and material identification capabilities. The technique governing how the acoustic inspection device (AID) functions, involves measurements of ultrasonic pulses (0.1 to 5 MHz) that are launched into a container or material. The return echoes from these pulses are analyzed in terms of time-of-flight and frequency content to extract physical property measurements (the acoustic velocity and attenuation coefficient) of the material under test. The AID performs an automated analysis of the return echoes to identify the material, and detect contraband in the form of submerged packages and concealed compartments in liquid filled containers and solid-form commodities. An inspector can quickly interrogate outwardly innocuous commodity items such as shipping barrels, tanker trucks, and metal ingots. The AID can interrogate container sizes ranging from approximately 6 inches in diameter to over 96 inches in diameter and allows the inspector to sort liquid and material types into groups of like and unlike; a powerful method for discovering corrupted materials or miss-marked containers co-mingled in large shipments. This manuscript describes the functionality, capabilities and measurement methodology of the technology as it relates to homeland security applications.

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Aaron A. Diaz, Brion J. Burghard, James R. Skorpik, Chester Louis Shepard, Todd J. Samuel, and Richard A. Pappas "Noninvasive ultrasonic examination technology in support of counter-terrorism and drug interdiction activities: the acoustic inspection device (AID)", Proc. SPIE 5048, Nondestructive Detection and Measurement for Homeland Security, (16 July 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.484671

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