An integration method of a hybrid genetic algorithm and the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm for ultrasonic testing

Abstract

The accurate measurement of time-of-flight (TOF) is essential in ultrasonic testing. Further, noise interference is the key factor affecting the measurement accuracy. Therefore, to develop a reliable computational method of TOF for test pieces working in noisy environments, an integration method of a hybrid genetic algorithm and the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm (GA–LM) for ultrasonic thickness measurement is proposed in the present research. A Gaussian model is first established for an echo signal. Further, the model-based parameter estimation is converted into a nonlinear optimization problem by applying the least square method. As the parameter estimation methods are easily affected by the initial value, an integrating innovation of the GA–LM algorithm is proposed. The initial values of the model parameters are selected by GA to obtain an approximate global optimal solution. Subsequently, this approximate solution is used as the initial value for the LM algorithm to perform iterations. The accurate global optimal solution of the Gaussian model is obtained through these iterations. Finally, the measuring accuracy and robustness of the GA–LM algorithm for TOF computation are verified by both numerical simulation and experiment data