Simulation-supported POD for ultrasonic testing. Recommendations from the PICASSO project

The objective of the European project PICASSO (Improved reliability inspection of aeronautic structures by simulation-supported POD) was to build a new and original concept of simulation-supported Probability of Detection (POD) curves based on Non Destructive Testing simulations. This new methodology is based on the replacement of some of the experimental data with simulation results to obtain accurate and reliable POD curves with significantly less personnel and material costs. The present paper presents the main results of the PICASSO project for ultrasonic testing and addresses the most crucial aspects of the new approach, e.g. the definition of the noise level, the validation of the modeling tools, the combination of experimental and numerical data, and the specification of the uncertainty parameters and their statistical distribution. From the results recommendations for the practical use of simulation-supported POD curves are given.