Fundamentals of data acquisition for nondestructive evaluation

This article introduces basic concepts of modeling to explain briefly the origins of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) signals. Modeling is useful as a means for understanding the nature of energy-material interactions. Once a satisfactory model has been developed, it should be useful for predicting the behavior of new testing methodologies or defect combinations. This can help extend important NDE techniques to new applications without requiring a major overhaul of the technique to make it work in the new context. Data-acquisition fundamentals are also introduced because they are an important part of the overall NDE process.