The COFREND Days 2026 (or Les Journées COFREND) will take place from May 19 to 21 in Lyon, France, bringing together the entire French and international Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) community. Held every three years and organized by COFREND, the French Confederation for Non-Destructive Testing, the event is a key meeting point for research laboratories, engineering schools, manufacturers, service providers and industrial end users.
With more than 90 exhibiting companies and 5,000 m² of exhibition space, the conference combines a scientific program with a large exhibition area where visitors can discover the latest NDT innovations. TPAC will be present at Booth B12 with a large 81 m² exhibition space, featuring six live demonstrations and seven technical presentations focused on advanced ultrasonic inspection technologies.
Discover TPAC Ultrasonic Innovations : 6 Live Demonstrations
Visitors to the TPAC booth will be able to explore several real-time demonstrations highlighting advanced ultrasonic imaging, automation integration and high-performance inspection techniques.
Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Testing for Composites
This demo showcases a fully non-contact ultrasonic inspection solution designed for composite and delicate materials. Powered by TPAC Pilot+ multichannel instrumentation with FastView software and Arbitrary Wave Generation (AWG), the system enables advanced inspection of fragile or
curved composite structures where traditional couplants cannot be used.
Matched filtering techniques improve the signal-to-noise ratio and defect detectability, providing clearer and more reliable inspection results.
When paired with a collaborative robot, the system can also support automated inspection workflows for composite components.
Surface Profilometry on Complex Geometry
This demonstration presents an advanced ultrasonic method for inspecting complex surfaces. The technique estimates the surface profile using spline-based modeling from ultrasonic time-of-flight data. By correcting wave refraction effects before image reconstruction, the method significantly improves imaging accuracy while maintaining low computation time, even for complex geometries.
Adaptive Weld Inspection : Robotic FMC, PWI & PAUT
TPAC will showcase the integration capabilities of its ultrasonic systems in robotic inspection environments. The demonstration combines:
– an Explorer Max 128/128
– a UR10e robot
– a TPAC-developed encoder conversion interface
The system performs adaptive ultrasonic inspection on a variable-geometry weld, illustrating how TPAC algorithms support real-time imaging and adaptive techniques across FMC, PWI and PAUT. This demonstration highlights the feasibility of robotic UT integration with TPAC systems. It is intended as a conceptual demonstration rather than a finished industrial solution.
Crack Detection Using PCI
This ultrasonic inspection demonstration focuses on crack detection in stainless steel using a coherence-based imaging technique.
The approach enhances defect visibility and improves detection reliability compared to conventional ultrasonic imaging methods.
But also demonstrations of Automated Corrosion Mapping and PWI High-Speed Tube Inspection.
TPAC Technical Presentations at COFREND Days 2026
In addition to the live demonstrations, TPAC experts will contribute to the COFREND scientific program with seven technical presentations covering advanced ultrasonic imaging, signal processing, and inspection techniques.
WEDNESDAY 20th
Adaptive Imaging and Dual Profilometry for Thickness Measurement of Complex Geometry Parts
Presenter: Sylvain Deutsch
Session: ME.1.B
Time: 08:30–08:50
This presentation introduces an adaptive imaging approach for thickness measurement in components with complex internal and external surfaces. The method estimates both external and internal surface profiles and measures the distance between them to determine thickness.
By exploiting advanced acquisition modes such as Plane Wave Imaging (PWI) and Full Matrix Capture (FMC), the approach improves signal-to-noise ratio and provides more reliable measurements in cases where traditional echo-based thickness
measurements fail.
Adaptive Surface Profilometry Using Spline-Based Estimation
Presenter: Janice Ayisah
Session: ME.1.B
Time: 09:30–09:50
This work presents a profilometry method for complex surfaces based on spline modeling and ultrasonic time-of-flight data. By formulating the problem as an inverse estimation and modeling the surface profile with conic or quadratic splines, the approach improves accuracy compared to geometric methods while maintaining lower computational cost than image- reconstruction-based techniques.
High-Frequency Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Inspection of CFRP Composite Surfaces
Presenter: Hervé Saulais
Session: ME.2.D
Time: 11:30–11:50
This presentation addresses signal interpretation challenges in air-coupled ultrasonic testing of composite materials. A data-driven approach based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) is proposed to reconstruct the latent ideal ultrasonic signal from noisy A-scan measurements. The method improves signal-to-noise ratio and contrast-to-noise ratio, enhancing defect detectability in CFRP inspections.
Benefits of a Programmable Transmitter (AWG) for Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing
Presenter: Ewen Carcreff
Session: ME.4.A
Time: 16:30–16:50
This presentation investigates the use of long excitation signals combined with matched filtering to improve ultrasonic inspection in attenuating and dispersive materials. By comparing standard short pulses with long coded emissions such as chirp and Golay sequences, the study demonstrates improvements in signal-to-noise ratio, resolution, and flaw detectability.
THURSDAY 21th
09:10-09:30 - How TFM Goes Fast
09:50-10:10 - PWI vs TFM Applied to Hardness Depth Inspection
15h10-15h30 - Towards a New Technological Frontier in Corrosion Mapping
Why Visit TPAC at COFREND Days 2026?
Visitors to the TPAC booth will be able to:
– Experience live ultrasonic inspection demonstrations, including corrosion mapping, robotic weld inspection and air-coupled UT for composites
– Discover advanced ultrasonic imaging techniques such as adaptive TFM, PWI and coherence-based imaging
– Discuss real-world applications directly with TPAC experts and application engineers
– Learn how TPAC systems support flexible integration, raw data access and automation-ready ultrasonic inspection
More than 20 TPAC team members will be present to answer questions and discuss inspection challenges across multiple industries.
Meet Our Partner UTIS at COFREND 2026
TPAC will also be present alongside its partner UTIS, located at Booth B30.
UTIS is a company specialized in ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT) for demanding industrial environments, particularly in the nuclear and energy sectors. The company develops tailored inspection solutions designed to ensure the reliability, traceability and safety of critical infrastructure.
Visitors interested in applications related to nuclear inspection and advanced ultrasonic testing solutions are invited to meet both teams during the event.
FAQ - TPAC at COFREND 2026
What are the COFREND Days or Les journées COFREND?
The COFREND Days are one of the main Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) events in France. Organized every three years by COFREND (the French Confederation for Non-Destructive Testing), the conference brings together the entire NDT ecosystem including research laboratories, engineering schools, equipment manufacturers, service providers and industrial end users.
When and where will COFREND Days 2026 take place?
COFREND Days 2026 will take place from May 19 to May 21, 2026, at the Lyon Convention Centre, located in the Cité Internationale district in Lyon, France, next to the Parc de la Tête d’Or.
Why is Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) important?
Non-Destructive Testing is a key industrial activity used to ensure the safety and reliability of critical infrastructure. Every year, hundreds of thousands of inspections are performed on aircraft, trains, bridges, nuclear power plants, refineries and many other industrial components to detect defects and prevent failures.
Where can I meet TPAC during COFREND Days 2026?
Visitors can meet the TPAC team at Booth B12 during the exhibition. The company will present six live ultrasonic testing demonstrations and seven technical conference presentations focused on advanced inspection technologies.
How large is the COFREND Days exhibition?
The exhibition will feature more than 90 exhibiting companies across 5,000 m² of exhibition space, bringing together equipment manufacturers, research organizations and NDT service providers.
Are there activities for students or people interested in NDT careers?
Yes. On May 20, 2026, the COFREND OPENDAY will give students the opportunity to discover NDT professions through conferences, roundtables and hands-on demonstrations. Participants will also be able to learn about training programs and career opportunities in this growing industrial sector.