Ortiz de Zuniga, MaríaDans, AndrésMegna, TitoPrinja, NawalCamacho López, Ana MaríaRodríguez Prieto, Álvaro2026-01-152026-01-152025-01-22Ortiz de Zuniga, M. et al. (2025) «Data-driven automatic validation of phased-array ultrasonic-testing data acquisitions of welds in thick austenitic stainless-steel plates for the ITER vacuum vessel manufacturing», Fusion Engineering and Design, 211, 114806 . https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FUSENGDES.2025.1148060920-3796https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2025.114806https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14468/31416The registered version of this article, first published in “Fusion Engineering and Design, 211, 114806", is available online at the publisher's website: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2025.114806La versión registrada de este artículo, publicado por primera vez en “Fusion Engineering and Design, 211, 114806", está disponible en línea en el sitio web del editor: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2025.114806Phased-Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) is a commonly used technique for rigorous non-destructive testing (NDT) of metallic welds and composite material welds, since it is known for its sensitivity and precision, mainly used in highly demanding industrial applications. Nevertheless, its interpretation is time-consuming and requires a skilled certified inspector, according to ISO 9712. The complexity of the PAUT output interpretation depends on many factors such as the type of material, the length of the welded area and the number of beams configured to be transmitted by the probe at each location. During the weld quality check, one of the main tasks of the inspector as part of the interpretation is to ensure that the acquisition is valid. Unfortunately, validation can only be done manually during the inspection and processing phase of the weld PAUT output, which can be time consuming. In the manufacturing of large and complex components with special materials, late validation of PAUT acquisitions results in large cost overruns and delays. This paper presents an automatic early detection analysis mechanism, which differentiates valid from invalid PAUT weld acquisitions based on the analysis of acquired data. This data analysis has been translated into a successful development, which can be used live in a manufacturing workshop for mechanical components. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Vacuum Vessel has been selected as a case study for the adequacy of this technique to welding, as well as to improve time and cost efficiency of PAUT. This paper brings a new data-driven methodology regarding PAUT acquisition validation, covering a gap in technical-scientific literature, by finding the most important and common features to valid PAUT acquisitions.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess3305 Tecnología de la construcciónartículoUTPA ultrasonic testingPAUT acquisition validationStainless steelMechanical manufacturingNDTNDEODS 7 - Energía asequible y no contaminanteODS 9 - Industria, innovación e infraestructuraODS 13 - Acción por el clima