Porosity detection in ceramic armor tiles via ultrasonic time-of-flight

Some multilayer armor panels contain ceramic tiles as one constituent, and porosity in the tiles can affect armor performance. It is well known that porosity in ceramic materials leads to a decrease in ultrasonic velocity. We report on a feasibility study exploring the use of ultrasonic time-of-flight (TOF) to locate and characterize porous regions in armor tiles. The tiles in question typically have well-controlled thickness, thus simplifying the translation of TOF data into velocity data. By combining UT velocity measurements and X-ray absorption measurements on selected specimens, one can construct a calibration curve relating velocity to porosity. That relationship can then be used to translate typical ultrasonic C-scans of TOF-versus-position into C-scans of porosity-versus-position. This procedure is demonstrated for pulse/echo, focused-transducer inspections of silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic tiles.