Patent ID: 7942058

Claim:
A system for determining and monitoring microstructure properties of a specimen, comprising: a transducer holder including a top surface and a bottom surface; a plurality of guides coupled to the transducer holder, wherein at least one of the guides is angularly positioned within the transducer holder with respect to the top surface; a plurality of transducers each positioned within a corresponding guide within the transducer holder; a voltage source configured to excite the transducers for transmitting multiple ultrasonic waves to a location on the specimen, wherein each transducer is configured to receive a scattered ultrasonic signal from the specimen in response to the transmitted ultrasonic waves using a pulse-echo technique; a digital signal processor configured to digitize the scattered ultrasonic signal received by each transducer; and a computer including a processor and a database, wherein the processor is configured to calculate a spatial variance value from the scattered ultrasonic signals as a function of spatial position, wherein the processor is configured to compare the spatial variance value to a theoretical spatial variance value stored in the database to assess a change in the microstructure properties of the specimen.