The Effect of Fabric Position to the Distribution of Acoustic Pressure Field in Ultrasonic Bath

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gürses, B. O.; Özdemir, A. O.; Tonay, Ö.; Şener, M.; Perinçek, S.

2017-10-01

Nowadays, the use of ultrasonic energy in textile wet processes at industrial-scale is limited. It is largely due to the lack of understanding about design, operational and performance characteristics of the ultrasonic bath, suitable for textile treatments. In the context of this study, the effect of fabric position, as one of the design parameter, to the distribution of acoustic pressure field in ultrasonic bath was investigated. The ultrasonic bath in the size 20×30 cm2 with one transducer at frequency 40 kHz was used in experiments. The cotton fabric with 1 mm thickness was moved along vertical and horizontal directions of the ultrasonic bath. The acoustic field and cavitation volume density in the bath is analyzed by COMSOL Multiphysic. The cavitation volume density is calculated by comparing the pressure points in the bath with cavitation threshold pressure. Consequently, it was found that the position of the textile material in the ultrasonic bath is one of the most important factors to achieve the uniform and maximum acoustic cavitation field. So, it should be taken into consideration during the design of industrial-scale ultrasonic bath used in textile wet processes.

Ultrasonic Processing of Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Qingyou

2015-08-01

Irradiation of high-energy ultrasonic vibration in metals and alloys generates oscillating strain and stress fields in solids, and introduces nonlinear effects such as cavitation, acoustic streaming, and radiation pressure in molten materials. These nonlinear effects can be utilized to assist conventional material processing processes. This article describes recent research at Oak Ridge National Labs and Purdue University on using high-intensity ultrasonic vibrations for degassing molten aluminum, processing particulate-reinforced metal matrix composites, refining metals and alloys during solidification process and welding, and producing bulk nanostructures in solid metals and alloys. Research results suggest that high-intensity ultrasonic vibration is capable of degassing and dispersing small particles in molten alloys, reducing grain size during alloy solidification, and inducing nanostructures in solid metals.

Self-organization of granular media in airborne ultrasonic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bobrovskaya, A. I.; Stepanenko, D. A.; Minchenya, V. T.

2012-05-01

The article presents results of experimental and theoretical studies of behaviour of granular media (powder materials) in airborne ultrasonic field created by flexurally-vibrating ring-shaped waveguide with resonant frequency in the range 20-40 kHz. Experiments show that action of acoustic radiation forces results in formation of ordered structures in the form of ultrathin walls (monolayers) with number corresponding to the number of ring nodal points. Action of secondary radiation forces (König forces) results in formation of collateral (secondary) walls situated nearby primary walls. Experimental observations are compared with results of modelling of acoustic radiation force field inside the ring by means of COMSOL Multiphysics and MathCad software. Results of the studies can be used in development of devices for ultrasonic separation and concentration of particles as well as for formation of ordered monolayers from spherical particles.

An improved DPSM technique for modelling ultrasonic fields in cracked solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banerjee, Sourav; Kundu, Tribikram; Placko, Dominique

2007-04-01

In recent years Distributed Point Source Method (DPSM) is being used for modelling various ultrasonic, electrostatic and electromagnetic field modelling problems. In conventional DPSM several point sources are placed near the transducer face, interface and anomaly boundaries. The ultrasonic or the electromagnetic field at any point is computed by superimposing the contributions of different layers of point sources strategically placed. The conventional DPSM modelling technique is modified in this paper so that the contributions of the point sources in the shadow region can be removed from the calculations. For this purpose the conventional point sources that radiate in all directions are replaced by Controlled Space Radiation (CSR) sources. CSR sources can take care of the shadow region problem to some extent. Complete removal of the shadow region problem can be achieved by introducing artificial interfaces. Numerically synthesized fields obtained by the conventional DPSM technique that does not give any special consideration to the point sources in the shadow region and the proposed modified technique that nullifies the contributions of the point sources in the shadow region are compared. One application of this research can be found in the improved modelling of the real time ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation experiments.

Ultrasonic pipe assessment

DOEpatents

Thomas, Graham H.; Morrow, Valerie L.; Levie, Harold; Kane, Ronald J.; Brown, Albert E.

2003-12-23

An ultrasonic pipe or other structure assessment system includes an ultrasonic transducer positioned proximate the pipe or other structure. A fluid connection between the ultrasonic transducer and the pipe or other structure is produced. The ultrasonic transducer is moved relative to the pipe or other structure.

Application of Discrete Huygens Method for Diffraction of Transient Ultrasonic Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alia, A.

2018-01-01

Several time-domain methods have been widely used to predict impulse response in acoustics. Despite its great potential, Discrete Huygens Method (DHM) has not been as widely used in the domain of ultrasonic diffraction as in other fields. In fact, little can be found in literature about the application of the DHM to diffraction phenomenon that can be described in terms of direct and edge waves, a concept suggested by Young since 1802. In this paper, a simple axisymmetric DHM-model has been used to simulate the transient ultrasonic field radiation of a baffled transducer and its diffraction by a target located on axis. The results are validated by impulse response based calculations. They indicate the capability of DHM to simulate diffraction occurring at transducer and target edges and to predict the complicated transient field in pulse mode.

Nondestructive testing and characterization of residual stress field using an ultrasonic method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Wentao; Xu, Chunguang; Pan, Qinxue; Song, Jianfeng

2016-03-01

To address the difficulty in testing and calibrating the stress gradient in the depth direction of mechanical components, a new technology of nondestructive testing and characterization of the residual stress gradient field by ultrasonic method is proposed based on acoustoelasticity theory. By carrying out theoretical analysis, the sensitivity coefficients of different types of ultrasonic are obtained by taking the low carbon steel(12%C) as a research object. By fixing the interval distance between sending and receiving transducers, the mathematical expressions of the change of stress and the variation of time are established. To design one sending-one receiving and oblique incidence ultrasonic detection probes, according to Snell law, the critically refracted longitudinal wave (LCR wave) is excited at a certain depth of the fixed distance of the tested components. Then, the relationship between the depth of LCR wave detection and the center frequency of the probe in Q235 steel is obtained through experimental study. To detect the stress gradient in the depth direction, a stress gradient LCR wave detection model is established, through which the stress gradient formula is derived by the relationship between center frequency and detecting depth. A C-shaped stress specimen of Q235 steel is designed to conduct stress loading tests, and the stress is measured with the five group probes at different center frequencies. The accuracy of ultrasonic testing is verified by X-ray stress analyzer. The stress value of each specific depth is calculated using the stress gradient formula. Accordingly, the ultrasonic characterization of residual stress field is realized. Characterization results show that the stress gradient distribution is consistent with the simulation in ANSYS. The new technology can be widely applied in the detection of the residual stress gradient field caused by mechanical processing, such as welding and shot peening.

Sound intensity probe for ultrasonic field in water using light-emitting diodes and piezoelectric elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Xi; Mizuno, Yosuke; Nakamura, Kentaro

2017-12-01

The sound intensity vector provides useful information on the state of an ultrasonic field in water, since sound intensity is a vector quantity expressing the direction and magnitude of the sound field. In the previous studies on sound intensity measurement in water, conventional piezoelectric sensors and metal cables were used, and the transmission distance was limited. A new configuration of a sound intensity probe suitable for ultrasonic measurement in water is proposed and constructed for trial in this study. The probe consists of light-emitting diodes and piezoelectric elements, and the output signals are transmitted through fiber optic cables as intensity-modulated light. Sound intensity measurements of a 26 kHz ultrasonic field in water are demonstrated. The difference in the intensity vector state between the water tank with and without sound-absorbing material on its walls was successfully observed.

Dispersion Method Using Focused Ultrasonic Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jungsoon Kim,; Moojoon Kim,; Kanglyel Ha,; Minchul Chu,

2010-07-01

The dispersion of powders into liquids has become one of the most important techniques in high-tech industries and it is a common process in the formulation of various products, such as paint, ink, shampoo, beverages, and polishing media. In this study, an ultrasonic system with a cylindrical transducer is newly introduced for pure nanoparticle dispersion. The acoustics pressure field and the characteristics of the shock pulse caused by cavitation are investigated. The frequency spectrum of the pulse from the collapse of air bubbles in the cavitation is analyzed theoretically. It was confirmed that a TiO2 water suspension can be dispersed effectively using the suggested system.

Interfacial Dynamics of Condensing Vapor Bubbles in an Ultrasonic Acoustic Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boziuk, Thomas; Smith, Marc; Glezer, Ari

2016-11-01

Enhancement of vapor condensation in quiescent subcooled liquid using ultrasonic actuation is investigated experimentally. The vapor bubbles are formed by direct injection from a pressurized steam reservoir through nozzles of varying characteristic diameters, and are advected within an acoustic field of programmable intensity. While kHz-range acoustic actuation typically couples to capillary instability of the vapor-liquid interface, ultrasonic (MHz-range) actuation leads to the formation of a liquid spout that penetrates into the vapor bubble and significantly increases its surface area and therefore condensation rate. Focusing of the ultrasonic beam along the spout leads to ejection of small-scale droplets from that are propelled towards the vapor liquid interface and result in localized acceleration of the condensation. High-speed video of Schlieren images is used to investigate the effects of the ultrasonic actuation on the thermal boundary layer on the liquid side of the vapor-liquid interface and its effect on the condensation rate, and the liquid motion during condensation is investigated using high-magnification PIV measurements. High-speed image processing is used to assess the effect of the actuation on the dynamics and temporal variation in characteristic scale (and condensation rate) of the vapor bubbles.

Schlieren imaging of the standing wave field in an ultrasonic acoustic levitator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rendon, Pablo Luis; Boullosa, Ricardo R.; Echeverria, Carlos; Porta, David

2015-11-01

We consider a model of a single axis acoustic levitator consisting of two cylinders immersed in air and directed along the same axis. The first cylinder has a flat termination and functions as a sound emitter, and the second cylinder, which is simply a refector, has the side facing the first cylinder cut out by a spherical surface. By making the first cylinder vibrate at ultrasonic frequencies a standing wave is produced in the air between the cylinders which makes it possible, by means of the acoustic radiation pressure, to levitate one or several small objects of different shapes, such as spheres or disks. We use schlieren imaging to observe the acoustic field resulting from the levitation of one or several objects, and compare these results to previous numerical approximations of the field obtained using a finite element method. The authors acknowledge financial support from DGAPA-UNAM through project PAPIIT IN109214.

Controllable Electrochromic Polyamide Film and Device Produced by Facile Ultrasonic Spray-coating.

PubMed

Liu, Huan-Shen; Chang, Wei-Chieh; Chou, Chin-Yen; Pan, Bo-Cheng; Chou, Yi-Shan; Liou, Guey-Sheng; Liu, Cheng-Liang

2017-09-20

Thermally stable TPA-OMe polyamide films with high transmittance modulation in response to applied potential are formed by facile ultrasonic spray-coating. Four processing conditions (Film A, Film B, Film C and Film D) through tuning both solution concentrations and deposition temperatures can be utilized for the formation of wet and dry deposited films with two film thickness intervals. The electrochromic results show that the dry deposited rough films at higher deposition temperature generally reveal a faster electrochromic response, lower charge requirements (Q) and less conspicuous color changes (smaller optical density change (ΔOD) and lightness change (ΔL*)) during the oxidation process as compared to the wet deposited smooth films at lower deposition temperature. Moreover, thicker electrochromic films from increased solution concentration exhibit more obvious changes between coloration and bleaching transition. All these four polyamide films display colorless-to-turquoise electrochromic switching with good redox stability. The large scale patterned electrochromic film and its application for assembled device (10 × 10 cm 2 in size) are also produced and reversibly operated for color changes. These represent a major solution-processing technique produced by ultrasonic spray-coating method towards scalable and cost-effective production, allowing more freedoms to facilitate the designed electrochromic devices as required.

Effect of acoustic field parameters on arc acoustic binding during ultrasonic wave-assisted arc welding.

PubMed

Xie, Weifeng; Fan, Chenglei; Yang, Chunli; Lin, Sanbao

2016-03-01

As a newly developed arc welding method, power ultrasound has been successfully introduced into arc and weld pool during ultrasonic wave-assisted arc welding process. The advanced process for molten metals can be realized by utilizing additional ultrasonic field. Under the action of the acoustic wave, the plasma arc as weld heat source is regulated and its characteristics make an obvious change. Compared with the conventional arc, the ultrasonic wave-assisted arc plasma is bound significantly and becomes brighter. To reveal the dependence of the acoustic binding force on acoustic field parameters, a two-dimensional acoustic field model for ultrasonic wave-assisted arc welding device is established. The influences of the radiator height, the central pore radius, the radiator radius, and curvature radius or depth of concave radiator surface are discussed using the boundary element method. Then the authors analyze the resonant mode by this relationship curve between acoustic radiation power and radiator height. Furthermore, the best acoustic binding ability is obtained by optimizing the geometric parameters of acoustic radiator. In addition, three concave radiator surfaces including spherical cap surface, paraboloid of revolution, and rotating single curved surface are investigated systematically. Finally, both the calculation and experiment suggest that, to obtain the best acoustic binding ability, the ultrasonic wave-assisted arc welding setup should be operated under the first resonant mode using a radiator with a spherical cap surface, a small central pore, a large section radius and an appropriate curvature radius. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Control of hydrodynamic cavitation using ultrasonic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatterjee, Dhiman; Arakeri, Vijay H.

2003-11-01

Hydrodynamic cavitation is known to have many harmful effects like surface damage and generation of noise. We investigated the use of ultrasonics to control traveling bubble cavitation. Ultrasonic pressure field, produced by a piezoelectric crystal, was applied to modify the nuclei size distribution. Effects of continuous-wave (CW) and pulsed excitations were studied. At low dissolved gas content the CW-mode performed better than the pulsed one, whereas for high gas content the pulsed one was more effective. The dominant mechanisms were Bjerknes force and rectified diffusion in these two cases. Simultaneous excitation by two crystals in CW and pulsed modes was seen to control cavitation better.

Ultrasonic Waves in Water Visualized With Schlieren Imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juergens, Jeffrey R.

2000-01-01

The Acoustic Liquid Manipulation project at the NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is working with high-intensity ultrasound waves to produce acoustic radiation pressure and acoustic streaming. These effects can be used to propel liquid flows to manipulate floating objects and liquid surfaces. Interest in acoustic liquid manipulation has been shown in acoustically enhanced circuit board electroplating, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and microgravity space experiments. The current areas of work on this project include phased-array ultrasonic beam steering, acoustic intensity measurements, and schlieren imaging of the ultrasonic waves.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles incorporated into silica nanoparticles by inelastic collision via ultrasonic field: Role of colloidal stability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sodipo, Bashiru Kayode; Azlan, Abdul Aziz; Innovation

2015-04-24

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION)/Silica composite nanoparticles were prepared by ultrasonically irradiating colloidal suspension of silica and SPION mixture. Both silica and SPION were synthesized independently via co-precipitation and sol-gel method, respectively. Their mixtures were sonicated at different pH between 3 and 5. Electrophoresis measurement and other physicochemical analyses of the products demonstrate that at lower pH SPION was found incorporated into the silica. However, at pH greater than 4, SPION was unstable and unable to withstand the turbulence flow and shock wave from the ultrasonic field. Results suggest that the formation of the SPION/silica composite nanoparticles is strongly relatedmore » to the inelastic collision induced by ultrasonic irradiation. More so, the formation the composite nanoparticles via the ultrasonic field are dependent on the zeta potential and colloidal stability of the particles.« less

Ultrasonic Bat Deterrent Technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kinzie, Kevin; Rominger, Kathryn M.

The project objective was to advance the development and testing of an Near commercial bat-deterrent system with a goal to increase the current GE deterrent system effectiveness to over 50% with broad species applicability. Additionally, the research supported by this program has provided insights into bat behavior and ultrasonic deterrent design that had not previously been explored. Prior research and development had demonstrated the effectiveness of a commercial-grade, air-powered, ultrasonic bat deterrent to be between 30-50% depending upon the species of bat. However, the previous research provided limited insight into the behavioral responses of bats in the presence of ultrasonicmore » deterrent sound fields that could be utilized to improve effectiveness. A unique bat flight room was utilized to observe the behavioral characteristics of bats in the presence of ultrasonic sound fields. Behavioral testing in the bat flight facility demonstrated that ultrasonic sounds similar to those produced by the GE deterrent influenced the activities and behaviors, primarily those associated with foraging, of the species exposed. The study also indicated that continuous and pulsing ultrasonic signals had a similar effect on the bats, and confirmed that as ultrasonic sounds attenuate, their influence on the bats’ activities and behavior decreases. Ground testing at Wolf Ridge Wind, LLC and Shawnee National Forest assessed both continuous and pulsing deterrent signals emitted from the GE deterrent system and further enhanced the behavioral understanding of bats in the presence of the deterrent. With these data and observations, the existing 4-nozzle continuous, or steady, emission ultrasonic system was redesigned to a 6-nozzle system that could emit a pulsing signal covering a larger air space around a turbine. Twelve GE 1.6-100 turbines were outfitted with the deterrent system and a formal three-month field study was performed using daily carcass searches beneath the 12

Development and field application of a nonlinear ultrasonic modulation technique for fatigue crack detection without reference data from an intact condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Hyung Jin; Kim, Yongtak; Koo, Gunhee; Yang, Suyoung; Sohn, Hoon; Bae, In-hwan; Jang, Jeong-Hwan

2016-09-01

In this study, a fatigue crack detection technique, which detects a fatigue crack without relying on any reference data obtained from the intact condition of a target structure, is developed using nonlinear ultrasonic modulation and applied to a real bridge structure. Using two wafer-type lead zirconate titanate (PZT) transducers, ultrasonic excitations at two distinctive frequencies are applied to a target inspection spot and the corresponding ultrasonic response is measured by another PZT transducer. Then, the nonlinear modulation components produced by a breathing-crack are extracted from the measured ultrasonic response, and a statistical classifier, which can determine if the nonlinear modulation components are statistically significant in comparison with the background noise level, is proposed. The effectiveness of the proposed fatigue crack detection technique is experimentally validated using the data obtained from aluminum plates and aircraft fitting-lug specimens under varying temperature and loading conditions, and through a field testing of Yeongjong Grand Bridge in South Korea. The uniqueness of this study lies in that (1) detection of a micro fatigue crack with less than 1 μm width and fatigue cracks in the range of 10-20 μm in width using nonlinear ultrasonic modulation, (2) automated detection of fatigue crack formation without using reference data obtained from an intact condition, (3) reliable and robust diagnosis under varying temperature and loading conditions, (4) application of a local fatigue crack detection technique to online monitoring of a real bridge.

Association schemes perspective of microbubble cluster in ultrasonic fields.

PubMed

Behnia, S; Yahyavi, M; Habibpourbisafar, R

2018-06-01

Dynamics of a cluster of chaotic oscillators on a network are studied using coupled maps. By introducing the association schemes, we obtain coupling strength in the adjacency matrices form, which satisfies Markov matrices property. We remark that in general, the stability region of the cluster of oscillators at the synchronization state is characterized by Lyapunov exponent which can be defined based on the N-coupled map. As a detailed physical example, dynamics of microbubble cluster in an ultrasonic field are studied using coupled maps. Microbubble cluster dynamics have an indicative highly active nonlinear phenomenon, were not easy to be explained. In this paper, a cluster of microbubbles with a thin elastic shell based on the modified Keller-Herring equation in an ultrasonic field is demonstrated in the framework of the globally coupled map. On the other hand, a relation between the microbubble elements is replaced by a relation between the vertices. Based on this method, the stability region of microbubbles pulsations at complete synchronization state has been obtained analytically. In this way, distances between microbubbles as coupling strength play the crucial role. In the stability region, we thus observe that the problem of study of dynamics of N-microbubble oscillators reduce to that of a single microbubble. Therefore, the important parameters of the isolated microbubble such as applied pressure, driving frequency and the initial radius have effective behavior on the synchronization state. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Calculation of acoustic field based on laser-measured vibration velocities on ultrasonic transducer surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Liang; Zhao, Nannan; Gao, Zhijian; Mao, Kai; Chen, Wenyu; Fu, Xin

2018-05-01

Determination of the distribution of a generated acoustic field is valuable for studying ultrasonic transducers, including providing the guidance for transducer design and the basis for analyzing their performance, etc. A method calculating the acoustic field based on laser-measured vibration velocities on the ultrasonic transducer surface is proposed in this paper. Without knowing the inner structure of the transducer, the acoustic field outside it can be calculated by solving the governing partial differential equation (PDE) of the field based on the specified boundary conditions (BCs). In our study, the BC on the transducer surface, i.e. the distribution of the vibration velocity on the surface, is accurately determined by laser scanning measurement of discrete points and follows a data fitting computation. In addition, to ensure the calculation accuracy for the whole field even in an inhomogeneous medium, a finite element method is used to solve the governing PDE based on the mixed BCs, including the discretely measured velocity data and other specified BCs. The method is firstly validated on numerical piezoelectric transducer models. The acoustic pressure distributions generated by a transducer operating in an homogeneous and inhomogeneous medium, respectively, are both calculated by the proposed method and compared with the results from other existing methods. Then, the method is further experimentally validated with two actual ultrasonic transducers used for flow measurement in our lab. The amplitude change of the output voltage signal from the receiver transducer due to changing the relative position of the two transducers is calculated by the proposed method and compared with the experimental data. This method can also provide the basis for complex multi-physical coupling computations where the effect of the acoustic field should be taken into account.

Laryngeal airway reconstruction indicates that rodent ultrasonic vocalizations are produced by an edge-tone mechanism

PubMed Central

Borgard, Heather L.

2017-01-01

Some rodents produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) for social communication using an aerodynamic whistle, a unique vocal production mechanism not found in other animals. The functional anatomy and evolution of this sound production mechanism remains unclear. Using laryngeal airway reconstruction, we identified anatomical specializations critical for USV production. A robust laryngeal cartilaginous framework supports a narrow supraglottal airway. An intralaryngeal airsac-like cavity termed the ventral pouch was present in three muroid rodents (suborder Myomorpha), but was absent in a heteromyid rodent (suborder Castorimorpha) that produces a limited vocal repertoire and no documented USVs. Small lesions to the ventral pouch in laboratory rats caused dramatic changes in USV production, supporting the hypothesis that an interaction between a glottal exit jet and the alar edge generates ultrasonic signals in rodents. The resulting undulating airflow around the alar edge interacts with the resonance of the ventral pouch, which may function as a Helmholtz resonator. The proposed edge-tone mechanism requires control of intrinsic laryngeal muscles and sets the foundation for acoustic variation and diversification among rodents. Our work highlights the importance of anatomical innovations in the evolution of animal sound production mechanisms. PMID:29291091

Field deployable processing methods for stay-in-place ultrasonic transducers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malarich, Nathan; Lissenden, Cliff J.; Tittmann, Bernhard R.

2018-04-01

Condition monitoring provides key data for managing the operation and maintenance of mechanical equipment in the power generation, chemical processing, and manufacturing industries. Ultrasonic transducers provide active monitoring capabilities by wall thickness measurements, elastic property determination, crack detection, and other means. In many cases the components operate in harsh environments that may include high temperature, radiation, and hazardous chemicals. Thus, it is desirable to have permanently affixed ultrasonic transducers for condition monitoring in harsh environments. Spray-on transducers provide direct coupling between the active element and the substrate, and can be applied to curved surfaces. We describe a deposition methodology for ultrasonic transducers that can be applied in the field. First, piezoceramic powders mixed into a sol-gel are air-spray deposited onto the substrate. Powder constituents are selected based on the service environment in which the condition monitoring will be performed. Then the deposited coating is pyrolyzed and partially densified using an induction heating system with a custom work coil designed to match the substrate geometry. The next step, applying the electrodes, is more challenging than might be expected because of the porosity of the piezoelectric coating and the potential reactivity of elements in the adjacent layers. After connecting lead wires to the electrodes the transducer is poled and a protective coating can be applied prior to use. Processing of a PZT-bismuth titanate transducer on a large steel substrate is described along with alternate methods.

Ultrasonic neuromodulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naor, Omer; Krupa, Steve; Shoham, Shy

2016-06-01

Ultrasonic waves can be non-invasively steered and focused into mm-scale regions across the human body and brain, and their application in generating controlled artificial modulation of neuronal activity could therefore potentially have profound implications for neural science and engineering. Ultrasonic neuro-modulation phenomena were experimentally observed and studied for nearly a century, with recent discoveries on direct neural excitation and suppression sparking a new wave of investigations in models ranging from rodents to humans. In this paper we review the physics, engineering and scientific aspects of ultrasonic fields, their control in both space and time, and their effect on neuronal activity, including a survey of both the field’s foundational history and of recent findings. We describe key constraints encountered in this field, as well as key engineering systems developed to surmount them. In closing, the state of the art is discussed, with an emphasis on emerging research and clinical directions.

Effects of Ultrasonic Parameters on the Crystallization Behavior of Virgin Coconut Oil.

PubMed

Wu, Linhe; Cao, Jun; Bai, Xinpeng; Chen, Haiming; Zhang, Yuxiang; Wu, Qian

2016-12-01

Crystallization behavior of virgin coconut oil (VCO) in the absence and presence of ultrasonic treatment under a temperature gradient field was investigated. The effects of ultrasonic parameters on the crystallization behavior of VCO were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometry and polarized light microscopy. The thermal effect of the ultrasonic treatment was also increased at higher power levels. Therefore, the optimal power level was determined at approximately 36 W. Induction time reduced evidently and the crystallization rate was accelerated under ultrasonic treatment at crystallization temperature (T c ) above 15°C. However, no significant difference in induction time was noted at 13°C. The result of morphological studies showed that the growth mechanism of crystals was significantly changed. Meanwhile, smaller and uniform crystals were produced by the ultrasonic treatment. This study shows a novel technique to accelerate the crystallization rate and alter the growth mechanism of VCO crystals.

Ultrasonic speech translator and communications system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Akerman, M.A.; Ayers, C.W.; Haynes, H.D.

1996-07-23

A wireless communication system undetectable by radio frequency methods for converting audio signals, including human voice, to electronic signals in the ultrasonic frequency range, transmitting the ultrasonic signal by way of acoustical pressure waves across a carrier medium, including gases, liquids, or solids, and reconverting the ultrasonic acoustical pressure waves back to the original audio signal. The ultrasonic speech translator and communication system includes an ultrasonic transmitting device and an ultrasonic receiving device. The ultrasonic transmitting device accepts as input an audio signal such as human voice input from a microphone or tape deck. The ultrasonic transmitting device frequency modulatesmore » an ultrasonic carrier signal with the audio signal producing a frequency modulated ultrasonic carrier signal, which is transmitted via acoustical pressure waves across a carrier medium such as gases, liquids or solids. The ultrasonic receiving device converts the frequency modulated ultrasonic acoustical pressure waves to a frequency modulated electronic signal, demodulates the audio signal from the ultrasonic carrier signal, and conditions the demodulated audio signal to reproduce the original audio signal at its output. 7 figs.« less

Ultrasonic speech translator and communications system

DOEpatents

Akerman, M.A.; Ayers, C.W.; Haynes, H.D.

1996-07-23

A wireless communication system undetectable by radio frequency methods for converting audio signals, including human voice, to electronic signals in the ultrasonic frequency range, transmitting the ultrasonic signal by way of acoustical pressure waves across a carrier medium, including gases, liquids, or solids, and reconverting the ultrasonic acoustical pressure waves back to the original audio signal. The ultrasonic speech translator and communication system includes an ultrasonic transmitting device and an ultrasonic receiving device. The ultrasonic transmitting device accepts as input an audio signal such as human voice input from a microphone or tape deck. The ultrasonic transmitting device frequency modulates an ultrasonic carrier signal with the audio signal producing a frequency modulated ultrasonic carrier signal, which is transmitted via acoustical pressure waves across a carrier medium such as gases, liquids or solids. The ultrasonic receiving device converts the frequency modulated ultrasonic acoustical pressure waves to a frequency modulated electronic signal, demodulates the audio signal from the ultrasonic carrier signal, and conditions the demodulated audio signal to reproduce the original audio signal at its output. 7 figs.

Ultrasonic speech translator and communications system

DOEpatents

Akerman, M. Alfred; Ayers, Curtis W.; Haynes, Howard D.

1996-01-01

A wireless communication system undetectable by radio frequency methods for converting audio signals, including human voice, to electronic signals in the ultrasonic frequency range, transmitting the ultrasonic signal by way of acoustical pressure waves across a carrier medium, including gases, liquids, or solids, and reconverting the ultrasonic acoustical pressure waves back to the original audio signal. The ultrasonic speech translator and communication system (20) includes an ultrasonic transmitting device (100) and an ultrasonic receiving device (200). The ultrasonic transmitting device (100) accepts as input (115) an audio signal such as human voice input from a microphone (114) or tape deck. The ultrasonic transmitting device (100) frequency modulates an ultrasonic carrier signal with the audio signal producing a frequency modulated ultrasonic carrier signal, which is transmitted via acoustical pressure waves across a carrier medium such as gases, liquids or solids. The ultrasonic receiving device (200) converts the frequency modulated ultrasonic acoustical pressure waves to a frequency modulated electronic signal, demodulates the audio signal from the ultrasonic carrier signal, and conditions the demodulated audio signal to reproduce the original audio signal at its output (250).

Electromagnetic stimulation of the ultrasonic signal for nondestructive detection of the ferromagnetic inclusions and flaws

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finkel, Peter

2007-03-01

It was recently shown that thermal or optical stimulation can be used to increase sensitivity of the conventional nondestructive ultrasonic detection of the small crack, flaws and inclusions in a ferromagnetic thin-walled parts. We proposed another method based on electromagnetic modulation of the ultrasonic scattered signal from the inclusions or defects. The electromagnetically induced high density current pulse produces stresses which alter the ultrasonic waves scanning the part with the defect and modulate ultrasonic signal. The excited electromagnetic field can produces crack-opening due to Lorentz forces that increase the ultrasonic reflection. The Joule heating associated with the high density current, and consequent thermal stresses may cause both crack-closure, as well as crack-opening, depending on various factors. Experimental data is presented here for the case of a small cracks near small holes in thin-walled structures. The measurements were taken at 2-10 MHz with a Lamb wave wedge transducer. It is shown that electromagnetic transient modulation of the ultrasonic echo pulse tone-burst suggest that this method could be used to enhance detection of small cracks and ferromagnetic inclusions in thin walled metallic structures.

The observation of resistivity change on the ultrasonic treated Fe-Cr ODS sinter alloy under magnetic field influence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silalahi, Marzuki; Purwanto, Setyo; Mujamilah; Dimyati, Arbi

2018-03-01

About the observation of resistivity change on the ultrasonic treated Fe-Cr ODS sinter alloy under magnetic field influence. This paper reported about the observation of the resistivity change in the ultrasonic pre-treated Fe-Cr ODS sinter alloy under the influence of magnetic field at the Center for Science and Technology of Advanced Material, Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia. Fe-Cr ODS alloy were sinthesized by vacuum sintering of Fe- and Cr-powder dispersed Y2O3. However, before sintering the powder mixture was subjected to the irradiation process by ultrasonic for 50 hours at 20 kHz and then isostatic pressed up to 50.91 MPa to form a coin of 10 mm in diameter. LCR meassurement revealed the decreasing of resistivity about 3 times by increasing of applied magnetic field from 0 to 70 mT. In addition, VSM meassurement was performed on both as powder material and as sintered sample. The results showed increasing the magnetization with increasing magnetic field and the curve exhibits almost exact symmetry S-form with small hysterese indicating fast changing magnetization and demagnetization capability without energy loss. This opens strong speculations about the existence of magnetoresistant property of the material which is important for many application in field of sensors or electro magnetic valves.

The development of recent high-power ultrasonic transducers for Near-well ultrasonic processing technology.

PubMed

Wang, Zhenjun; Xu, Yuanming

2017-07-01

With the reduction of crude oil throughout the world, enhance oil recovery technology has become a major oil research topics, which can greatly increase the recovery ratio of the crude oil before the dawning of renewable energy era. Near-well ultrasonic processing technology, as one new method, has attracted more attention for Enhanced Oil Recovery due to its low cost, good applicability and no environmental pollution in recent rears. There are two important relevant aspects about Near-well ultrasonic processing technology: (a) how to enhance the oil flow through the rocks into the pumping pool and (b) how to reduce the oil viscosity so that it can be easier to pump. Therefore, how to design a high-power ultrasonic equipment with excellent performance is crucial for Near-well ultrasonic processing technology. In this paper, recent new high-power ultrasonic transducers for Near-well ultrasonic processing technology are summarized. Each field application of them are also given. The purpose of this paper is to provide reference for the further development of Near-well ultrasonic processing technology. With the reduction of crude oil throughout the world, enhance oil recovery technology has become a major oil research topics, which can greatly increase the recovery ratio of the crude oil before the dawning of renewable energy era. Near-well ultrasonic processing technology, as one new method, has attracted more attention for Enhanced Oil Recovery due to its low cost, good applicability and no environmental pollution in recent rears. There are two important relevant aspects about Near-well ultrasonic processing technology: (a) how to enhance the oil flow through the rocks into the pumping pool and (b) how to reduce the oil viscosity so that it can be easier to pump. Therefore, how to design a high-power ultrasonic equipment with excellent performance is crucial for Near-well ultrasonic processing technology. In this paper, recent new high-power ultrasonic transducers

Monitoring bolt torque levels through signal processing of full-field ultrasonic data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haynes, Colin; Yeager, Michael; Todd, Michael; Lee, Jung-Ryul

2014-03-01

Using full-field ultrasonic guided wave data can provide a wealth of information on the state of a structure through a detailed characterization of its wave propagation properties. However, the need for appropriate feature selection and quantified metrics for making rigorous assessments of the structural state is in no way lessened by the density of information. In this study, a simple steel bolted connection with two bolts is monitored for bolt loosening. The full-field data were acquired using a scanning-laser-generated ultrasound system with a single surface-mounted sensor. Such laser systems have many advantages that make them attractive for nondestructive evaluation, including their high-speed, high spatial resolution, and the ability to scan large areas of in-service structures. In order to characterize the relationship between bolt torque and the resulting wavefield in this specimen, the bolt torque in each of the bolts is independently varied from fully tightened to fully loosened in several steps. First, qualitative observations about the changes in the wavefield are presented. Next, an approach to quantifying the wave transmission through the bolted joint is discussed. Finally, a method of monitoring the bolt torque using the ultrasonic data is demonstrated.

A general-purpose computer program for studying ultrasonic beam patterns generated with acoustic lenses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberti, Dino; Ludwig, Reinhold; Looft, Fred J.

1988-01-01

A 3-D computer model of a piston radiator with lenses for focusing and defocusing is presented. To achieve high-resolution imaging, the frequency of the transmitted and received ultrasound must be as high as 10 MHz. Current ultrasonic transducers produce an extremely narrow beam at these high frequencies and thus are not appropriate for imaging schemes such as synthetic-aperture focus techniques (SAFT). Consequently, a numerical analysis program has been developed to determine field intensity patterns that are radiated from ultrasonic transducers with lenses. Lens shapes are described and the field intensities are numerically predicted and compared with experimental results.

Error-eliminating rapid ultrasonic firing

DOEpatents

Borenstein, Johann; Koren, Yoram

1993-08-24

A system for producing reliable navigation data for a mobile vehicle, such as a robot, combines multiple range samples to increase the "confidence" of the algorithm in the existence of an obstacle. At higher vehicle speed, it is crucial to sample each sensor quickly and repeatedly to gather multiple samples in time to avoid a collision. Erroneous data is rejected by delaying the issuance of an ultrasonic energy pulse by a predetermined wait-period, which may be different during alternate ultrasonic firing cycles. Consecutive readings are compared, and the corresponding data is rejected if the readings differ by more than a predetermined amount. The rejection rate for the data is monitored and the operating speed of the navigation system is reduced if the data rejection rate is increased. This is useful to distinguish and eliminate noise from the data which truly represents the existence of an article in the field of operation of the vehicle.

Error-eliminating rapid ultrasonic firing

DOEpatents

Borenstein, J.; Koren, Y.

1993-08-24

A system for producing reliable navigation data for a mobile vehicle, such as a robot, combines multiple range samples to increase the confidence'' of the algorithm in the existence of an obstacle. At higher vehicle speed, it is crucial to sample each sensor quickly and repeatedly to gather multiple samples in time to avoid a collision. Erroneous data is rejected by delaying the issuance of an ultrasonic energy pulse by a predetermined wait-period, which may be different during alternate ultrasonic firing cycles. Consecutive readings are compared, and the corresponding data is rejected if the readings differ by more than a predetermined amount. The rejection rate for the data is monitored and the operating speed of the navigation system is reduced if the data rejection rate is increased. This is useful to distinguish and eliminate noise from the data which truly represents the existence of an article in the field of operation of the vehicle.

Study on Gap Flow Field Simulation in Small Hole Machining of Ultrasonic Assisted EDM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yu; Chang, Hao; Zhang, Wenchao; Ma, Fujian; Sha, Zhihua; Zhang, Shengfang

2017-12-01

When machining a small hole with high aspect ratio in EDM, it is hard for the flushing liquid entering the bottom gap and the debris could hardly be removed, which results in the accumulation of debris and affects the machining efficiency and machining accuracy. The assisted ultrasonic vibration can improve the removal of debris in the gap. Based on dynamics simulation software Fluent, a 3D model of debris movement in the gap flow field of EDM small hole machining assisted with side flushing and ultrasonic vibration is established in this paper. When depth to ratio is 3, the laws of different amplitudes and frequencies on debris distribution and removal are quantitatively analysed. The research results show that periodic ultrasonic vibration can promote the movement of debris, which is beneficial to the removal of debris in the machining gap. Compared to traditional small hole machining in EDM, the debris in the machining gap is greatly reduced, which ensures the stability of machining process and improves the machining efficiency.

Electromagnetic modulation of the ultrasonic signal for nondestructive detection of small defects and ferromagnetic inclusions in thin wall structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finkel, Peter

2008-03-01

We report on new nondestructive evaluation technique based on electromagnetic modulation of ultrasonic signal for detection of the small crack, flaws and inclusions in thin-walled parts. The electromagnetically induced high density current pulse produces stresses which alter the ultrasonic waves scanning the part with the defect and modulate ultrasonic signal. The excited electromagnetic field can produces crack-opening due to Lorentz forces that increase the ultrasonic reflection. The Joule heating associated with the high density current, and consequent thermal stresses may cause both crack-closure, as well as crack-opening, depending on various factors. Experimental data is presented here for the case of a small crack near holes in thin-walled structures. The measurements were taken at 2-10 MHz with a Lamb wave wedge transducer. It is shown that electromagnetic transient modulation of the ultrasonic echo pulse tone-burst suggest that this method could be used to enhance detection of small cracks and ferromagnetic inclusions in thin walled metallic structures.

Magnetic nanoparticles for enhancing the effectiveness of ultrasonic hyperthermia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Józefczak, A.; Kaczmarek, K.; Hornowski, T.; Kubovčíková, M.; Rozynek, Z.; Timko, M.; Skumiel, A.

2016-06-01

Ultrasonic hyperthermia is a method of cancer treatment in which tumors are exposed to an elevated cytotoxic temperature using ultrasound (US). In conventional ultrasonic hyperthermia, the ultrasound-induced heating in the tumor is achieved through the absorption of wave energy. However, to obtain appropriate temperature in reasonable time, high US intensities, which can have a negative impact on healthy tissues, are required. The effectiveness of US for medical purposes can be significantly improved by using the so-called sonosensitizers, which can enhance the thermal effect of US on the tissue by increasing US absorption. One possible candidate for such sonosensitizers is magnetic nanoparticles with mean sizes of 10-300 nm, which can be efficiently heated because of additional attenuation and scattering of US. Additionally, magnetic nanoparticles are able to produce heat in the alternating magnetic field (magnetic hyperthermia). The synergetic application of ultrasonic and magnetic hyperthermia can lead to a promising treatment modality.

Removing function model and experiments on ultrasonic polishing molding die

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Qitai; Ni, Ying; Yu, Jingchi

2010-10-01

Low temperature glass molding technology is the main method on volume-producing high precision middle and small diameter optical cells in the future. While the accuracy of the molding die will effect the cell precision, so the high precision molding die development is one of the most important part of the low temperature glass molding technology. The molding die is manufactured from high rigid and crisp metal alloy, with the ultrasonic vibration character of high vibration frequency and concentrative energy distribution; abrasive particles will impact the rigid metal alloy surface with very high speed that will remove the material from the work piece. Ultrasonic can make the rigid metal alloy molding die controllable polishing and reduce the roughness and surface error. Different from other ultrasonic fabrication method, untouched ultrasonic polishing is applied on polish the molding die, that means the tool does not touch the work piece in the process of polishing. The abrasive particles vibrate around the balance position with high speed and frequency under the drive of ultrasonic vibration in the liquid medium and impact the workspace surface, the energy of abrasive particles come from ultrasonic vibration, while not from the direct hammer blow of the tool. So a nummular vibrator simple harmonic vibrates on an infinity plane surface is considered as a model of ultrasonic polishing working condition. According to Huygens theory the sound field distribution on a plane surface is analyzed and calculated, the tool removing function is also deduced from this distribution. Then the simple point ultrasonic polishing experiment is proceeded to certificate the theory validity.

Model Prediction Results for 2007 Ultrasonic Benchmark Problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hak-Joon; Song, Sung-Jin

2008-02-01

The World Federation of NDE Centers (WFNDEC) has addressed two types of problems for the 2007 ultrasonic benchmark problems: prediction of side-drilled hole responses with 45° and 60° refracted shear waves, and effects of surface curvatures on the ultrasonic responses of flat-bottomed hole. To solve this year's ultrasonic benchmark problems, we applied multi-Gaussian beam models for calculation of ultrasonic beam fields and the Kirchhoff approximation and the separation of variables method for calculation of far-field scattering amplitudes of flat-bottomed holes and side-drilled holes respectively In this paper, we present comparison results of model predictions to experiments for side-drilled holes and discuss effect of interface curvatures on ultrasonic responses by comparison of peak-to-peak amplitudes of flat-bottomed hole responses with different sizes and interface curvatures.

A novel ultrasonic clutch using near-field acoustic levitation.

PubMed

Chang, Kuo-Tsi

2004-10-01

This paper investigates design, fabrication and drive of an ultrasonic clutch with two transducers. For the two transducers, one serving as a driving element of the clutch is connected to a driving shaft via a coupling, and the other serving as a slave element of the clutch is connected to a slave shaft via another coupling. The principle of ultrasonic levitation is first expressed. Then, a series-resonant inverter is used to generate AC voltages at input terminals of each transducer, and a speed measuring system with optic sensors is used to find the relationship between rotational speed of the slave shaft and applied voltage of each transducer. Moreover, contact surfaces of the two transducers are coupled by the frictional force when both the two transducers are not energized, and separated using the ultrasonic levitation when at least one of the two transducers is energized at high voltages at resonance.

Old World frog and bird vocalizations contain prominent ultrasonic harmonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narins, Peter M.; Feng, Albert S.; Lin, Wenyu; Schnitzler, Hans-Ulrich; Denzinger, Annette; Suthers, Roderick A.; Xu, Chunhe

2004-02-01

Several groups of mammals such as bats, dolphins and whales are known to produce ultrasonic signals which are used for navigation and hunting by means of echolocation, as well as for communication. In contrast, frogs and birds produce sounds during night- and day-time hours that are audible to humans; their sounds are so pervasive that together with those of insects, they are considered the primary sounds of nature. Here we show that an Old World frog (Amolops tormotus) and an oscine songbird (Abroscopus albogularis) living near noisy streams reliably produce acoustic signals that contain prominent ultrasonic harmonics. Our findings provide the first evidence that anurans and passerines are capable of generating tonal ultrasonic call components and should stimulate the quest for additional ultrasonic species.

Analytical ultrasonics for structural materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kupperman, D. S.

1986-01-01

The application of ultrasonic velocity and attenuation measurements to characterize the microstructure of structural materials is discussed. Velocity measurements in cast stainless steel are correlated with microstructural variations ranging from equiaxed (elastically isotropic) to columnar (elastically anisotropic) grain structure. The effect of the anisotropic grain structure on the deviation of ultrasonic waves in cast stainless steel is also reported. Field-implementable techniques for distinguishing equiaxed from columnar grain structures in cast strainless steel structural members are presented. The application of ultrasonic velocity measurements to characterize structural ceramics in the green state is also discussed.

Ultrasonic dyeing of cellulose nanofibers.

PubMed

Khatri, Muzamil; Ahmed, Farooq; Jatoi, Abdul Wahab; Mahar, Rasool Bux; Khatri, Zeeshan; Kim, Ick Soo

2016-07-01

Textile dyeing assisted by ultrasonic energy has attained a greater interest in recent years. We report ultrasonic dyeing of nanofibers for the very first time. We chose cellulose nanofibers and dyed with two reactive dyes, CI reactive black 5 and CI reactive red 195. The cellulose nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning of cellulose acetate (CA) followed by deacetylation. The FTIR results confirmed complete conversion of CA into cellulose nanofibers. Dyeing parameters optimized were dyeing temperature, dyeing time and dye concentrations for each class of the dye used. Results revealed that the ultrasonic dyeing produced higher color yield (K/S values) than the conventional dyeing. The color fastness test results depicted good dye fixation. SEM analysis evidenced that ultrasonic energy during dyeing do not affect surface morphology of nanofibers. The results conclude successful dyeing of cellulose nanofibers using ultrasonic energy with better color yield and color fastness results than conventional dyeing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Production of ultrasonic vocalizations by Peromyscus mice in the wild

PubMed Central

Kalcounis-Rueppell, Matina C; Metheny, Jackie D; Vonhof, Maarten J

2006-01-01

Background There has been considerable research on rodent ultrasound in the laboratory and these sounds have been well quantified and characterized. Despite the value of research on ultrasound produced by mice in the lab, it is unclear if, and when, these sounds are produced in the wild, and how they function in natural habitats. Results We have made the first recordings of ultrasonic vocalizations produced by two free-living species of mice in the genus Peromyscus (P. californicus and P. boylii) on long term study grids in California. Over 6 nights, we recorded 65 unique ultrasonic vocalization phrases from Peromyscus. The ultrasonic vocalizations we recorded represent 7 different motifs. Within each motif, there was considerable variation in the acoustic characteristics suggesting individual and contextual variation in the production of ultrasound by these species. Conclusion The discovery of the production of ultrasonic vocalizations by Peromyscus in the wild highlights an underappreciated component in the behavior of these model organisms. The ability to examine the production of ultrasonic vocalizations in the wild offers excellent opportunities to test hypotheses regarding the function of ultrasound produced by rodents in a natural context. PMID:16507093

Recent advances in ultrasonic treatment: Challenges and field applications for controlling harmful algal blooms (HABs).

PubMed

Park, Jungsu; Church, Jared; Son, Younggyu; Kim, Keug-Tae; Lee, Woo Hyoung

2017-09-01

Algal blooms are a naturally occurring phenomenon which can occur in both freshwater and saltwater. However, due to excess nutrient loading in water bodies (e.g. agricultural runoff and industrial activities), harmful algal blooms (HABs) have become an increasing issue globally, and can even cause health effects in humans due to the release of cyanotoxins. Among currently available treatment methods, sonication has received increasing attention for algal control because of its low impact on ecosystems and the environment. The effects of ultrasound on algal cells are well understood and operating parameter such as frequency, intensity, and duration of exposure has been well studied. However, most studies have been limited to laboratory data interpretation due to complicated environmental conditions in the field. Only a few field and pilot tests in small reservoirs were reported and the applicability of ultrasound for HABs prevention and control is still under question. There is a lack of information on the upscaling of ultrasonication devices for HAB control on larger water bodies, considering field influencing factors such as rainfall, light intensity/duration, temperature, water flow, nutrients loading, and turbidity. In this review article, we address the challenges and field considerations of ultrasonic applications for controlling algal blooms. An extensive literature survey, from the fundamentals of ultrasound techniques to recent ultrasound laboratory and field studies, has been thoroughly conducted and summarized to identify future technical expectations for field applications. Case studies investigating spatial distribution of frequency and pressure during sonication are highlighted with future implications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Digital Signal Processing Methods for Ultrasonic Echoes.

PubMed

Sinding, Kyle; Drapaca, Corina; Tittmann, Bernhard

2016-04-28

Digital signal processing has become an important component of data analysis needed in industrial applications. In particular, for ultrasonic thickness measurements the signal to noise ratio plays a major role in the accurate calculation of the arrival time. For this application a band pass filter is not sufficient since the noise level cannot be significantly decreased such that a reliable thickness measurement can be performed. This paper demonstrates the abilities of two regularization methods - total variation and Tikhonov - to filter acoustic and ultrasonic signals. Both of these methods are compared to a frequency based filtering for digitally produced signals as well as signals produced by ultrasonic transducers. This paper demonstrates the ability of the total variation and Tikhonov filters to accurately recover signals from noisy acoustic signals faster than a band pass filter. Furthermore, the total variation filter has been shown to reduce the noise of a signal significantly for signals with clear ultrasonic echoes. Signal to noise ratios have been increased over 400% by using a simple parameter optimization. While frequency based filtering is efficient for specific applications, this paper shows that the reduction of noise in ultrasonic systems can be much more efficient with regularization methods.

The Effect of Non-Uniform Temperature and Velocity Fields on Long Range Ultrasonic Measurement Systems in MYRRHA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van De Wyer, Nicolas; Schram, Christophe; Van Dyck, Dries; Dierckx, Marc

2017-02-01

SCK·CEN, the Belgian Nuclear Research Center, is developing MYRRHA, a generation IV liquid metal cooled nuclear research reactor. As the liquid metal coolant is opaque to light, normal visual feedback during fuel manipulations is not available and must therefore be replaced by a system that is not hindered by the opacity of the coolant. In this respect ultrasonic based instrumentation is under development at SCK·CEN to provide feedback during operations under liquid metal. One of the tasks that will be tackled using ultrasound is the detection and localization of a potentially lost fuel assembly. The development of this localization tool is detailed in this paper. In this application, the distance between ultrasonic sensor and target may be as large as 2.5m. At these distances, non uniform velocity and temperature fields in the liquid metal potentially influence the propagation of the ultrasonic signals, affecting the performance of the ultrasonic systems. In this paper, we investigate how relevant temperature and velocity gradients inside the liquid metal influence the propagation of ultrasonic waves. The effect of temperature and velocity gradients are simulated by means of a newly developed numerical raytracing model. The performance of the model is validated by dedicated water experiments. The setup is capable of creating velocity and temperature gradients representative for MYRRHA conditions. Once validated in water, the same model is used to make predictions for the effect of gradients in the MYRRHA liquid metal environment.

Measurement of ultrasonic fields in transparent media using a scanning differential interferometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dockery, G. D.; Claus, R. O.

1983-01-01

An experimental system for the detection of three dimensional acoustic fields in optically transparent media using a dual beam differential interferometer is described. In this system, two coherent, parallel, focused laser beams are passed through the specimen and the interference fringe pattern which results when these beams are combined shifts linearly by an amount which is related to the optical pathlength difference between the two beams. It is shown that for small signals, the detector output is directly proportional to the amplitude of the acoustic field integrated along the optical beam path through the specimen. A water tank and motorized optical platform were constructed to allow these dual beams to be scanned through an ultrasonic field generated by a piezoelectric transducer at various distances from the transducer. Scan data for the near, Fresnel, and far zones of a uniform, circular transducer are presented and an algorithm for constructing the radial field profile from this integrated optical data, assuming cylindrical symmetry, is described.

Graphene electrostatic microphone and ultrasonic radio

PubMed Central

Zhou, Qin; Zheng, Jinglin; Onishi, Seita; Crommie, M. F.; Zettl, Alex K.

2015-01-01

We present a graphene-based wideband microphone and a related ultrasonic radio that can be used for wireless communication. It is shown that graphene-based acoustic transmitters and receivers have a wide bandwidth, from the audible region (20∼20 kHz) to the ultrasonic region (20 kHz to at least 0.5 MHz). Using the graphene-based components, we demonstrate efficient high-fidelity information transmission using an ultrasonic band centered at 0.3 MHz. The graphene-based microphone is also shown to be capable of directly receiving ultrasound signals generated by bats in the field, and the ultrasonic radio, coupled to electromagnetic (EM) radio, is shown to function as a high-accuracy rangefinder. The ultrasonic radio could serve as a useful addition to wireless communication technology where the propagation of EM waves is difficult. PMID:26150483

Ultrasonic Linear Motor with Two Independent Vibrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muneishi, Takeshi; Tomikawa, Yoshiro

2004-09-01

We propose a new structure of an ultrasonic linear motor in order to solve the problems of high-power ultrasonic linear motors that drive the XY-stage for electron beam equipment and to expand the application fields of the motor. We pay special attention to the following three points: (1) the vibration in two directions of the ultrasonic linear motor should not influence mutually each other, (2) the vibration in two directions should be divided into the stage traveling direction and the pressing direction of the ultrasonic linear motor, and (3) the rigidity of the stage traveling direction of the ultrasonic linear motor should be increased. As a result, the supporting method of ultrasonic linear motors is simplified. The efficiency of the motor is improved and temperature rise is reduced. The stage position drift is also improved.

Assessing the strength of soil aggregates produced by two types of organic matter amendments using the ultrasonic energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Zhaolong; minasny, Budiman; Field, Damien; Angers, Denis

2017-04-01

The presence of organic matter (OM) is known to stimulate the formation of soil aggregates, but the aggregation strength may vary with different amount and type/quality of OM. Conventionally wet sieving method was used to assess the aggregates' strength. In this study, we wish to get insight of the effects of different types of C inputs on aggregate dynamics using quantifiable energy via ultrasonic agitation. A clay soil with an inherently low soil organic carbon (SOC) content, was amended with two different sources of organic matter (alfalfa, C:N = 16.7 and barley straw, C:N = 95.6) at different input levels (0, 10, 20, & 30 g C kg-1 soil). The soil's inherent macro aggregates were first destroyed via puddling. The soils were incubated in pots at moisture content 70% of field capacity for a period of 3 months. The pots were housed in a 1.2L sealed opaque plastic container. The CO2 generated during the incubation was captured by a vial of NaOH which was placed in each of the sealed containers and sampled per week. At 14, 28, 56, and 84 days, soil samples were collected and the change in aggregation was assessed using a combination of wet sieving and ultrasonic agitation. The relative strength of aggregates exposed to ultrasonic agitation was modelled using the aggregate disruption characteristic curve (ADCC) and soil dispersion characteristic curve (SDCC). Both residue quality and quantity of organic matter input influenced the amount of aggregates formed and their relative strength. The MWD of soils amended with alfalfa residues was greater than that of barley straw at lower input rates and early in the incubation. In the longer term, the use of ultrasonic energy revealed that barley straw resulted in stronger aggregates, especially at higher input rates despite showing similar MWD as alfalfa. The use of ultrasonic agitation, where we quantify the energy required to liberate and disperse aggregates allowed us to differentiate the effects of C inputs on the size of

The control of ultrasonic transmission by the metamaterials structure of electrorheological fluid and metal foam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Linlin; Wang, Mingzhong; Wang, Jiahui; Zhao, Xiaopeng

2017-11-01

A metamaterial structure formed by foamed metal and starch and oil-based electrorheological (ER) fluid is designed in this paper. Experiments show that the metamaterial structure exhibits a regulation effect on the amplitude and phase of the transmitted waves of 35-80 kHz ultra-wideband ultrasonic waves in water. With the increase of the electric field, the transmission amplitude and phase of the ultrasonic wave increases, whereas the control ability of the same gradient electric field decreases. The amplitude of the transmission controlled by the metamaterial structure and electric field increases at first, and then decreases with the increase in volume fraction of the ER fluid. Thus, it is thought that the interaction between the microstructure produced by the rheological properties of the ER fluid and the porous foam metal affects the propagation of the acoustic wave.

Viscoacoustic model for near-field ultrasonic levitation.

PubMed

Melikhov, Ivan; Chivilikhin, Sergey; Amosov, Alexey; Jeanson, Romain

2016-11-01

Ultrasonic near-field levitation allows for contactless support and transportation of an object over vibrating surface. We developed an accurate model predicting pressure distribution in the gap between the surface and levitating object. The formulation covers a wide range of the air flow regimes: from viscous squeezed flow dominating in small gap to acoustic wave propagation in larger gap. The paper explains derivation of the governing equations from the basic fluid dynamics. The nonreflective boundary conditions were developed to properly define air flow at the outlet. Comparing to direct computational fluid dynamics modeling our approach allows achieving good accuracy while keeping the computation cost low. Using the model we studied the levitation force as a function of gap distance. It was shown that there are three distinguished flow regimes: purely viscous, viscoacoustic, and acoustic. The regimes are defined by the balance of viscous and inertial forces. In the viscous regime the pressure in the gap is close to uniform while in the intermediate viscoacoustic and the acoustic regimes the pressure profile is wavy. The model was validated by a dedicated levitation experiment and compared to similar published results.

Viscoacoustic model for near-field ultrasonic levitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melikhov, Ivan; Chivilikhin, Sergey; Amosov, Alexey; Jeanson, Romain

2016-11-01

Ultrasonic near-field levitation allows for contactless support and transportation of an object over vibrating surface. We developed an accurate model predicting pressure distribution in the gap between the surface and levitating object. The formulation covers a wide range of the air flow regimes: from viscous squeezed flow dominating in small gap to acoustic wave propagation in larger gap. The paper explains derivation of the governing equations from the basic fluid dynamics. The nonreflective boundary conditions were developed to properly define air flow at the outlet. Comparing to direct computational fluid dynamics modeling our approach allows achieving good accuracy while keeping the computation cost low. Using the model we studied the levitation force as a function of gap distance. It was shown that there are three distinguished flow regimes: purely viscous, viscoacoustic, and acoustic. The regimes are defined by the balance of viscous and inertial forces. In the viscous regime the pressure in the gap is close to uniform while in the intermediate viscoacoustic and the acoustic regimes the pressure profile is wavy. The model was validated by a dedicated levitation experiment and compared to similar published results.

Absolute calibration technique for broadband ultrasonic transducers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yost, William T. (Inventor); Cantrell, John H. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

Calibrating an ultrasonic transducer can be performed with a reduced number of calculations and testing. A wide-band pulser is connected to an ultrasonic transducer under test to generate ultrasonic waves in a liquid. A single frequency is transmitted to the electrostatic acoustic transducer (ESAT) and the voltage change produced is monitored. Then a broadband ultrasonic pulse is generated by the ultrasonic transducer and received by the ESAT. The output of the ESAT is amplified and input to a digitized oscilloscope for fast Fourier transform. The resulting plot is normalized with the monitored signal from the single frequency pulse. The plot is then corrected for characteristics of the membrane and diffraction effects. The transfer function of the final plot is determined. The transfer function gives the final sensitivity of the ultrasonic transducer as a function of frequency. The advantage of the system is the speed of calibrating the transducer by a reduced number of measurements and removal of the membrane and diffraction effects.

Experimental Verification of Modeled Thermal Distribution Produced by a Piston Source in Physiotherapy Ultrasound

PubMed Central

Lopez-Haro, S. A.; Leija, L.

2016-01-01

Objectives. To present a quantitative comparison of thermal patterns produced by the piston-in-a-baffle approach with those generated by a physiotherapy ultrasonic device and to show the dependency among thermal patterns and acoustic intensity distributions. Methods. The finite element (FE) method was used to model an ideal acoustic field and the produced thermal pattern to be compared with the experimental acoustic and temperature distributions produced by a real ultrasonic applicator. A thermal model using the measured acoustic profile as input is also presented for comparison. Temperature measurements were carried out with thermocouples inserted in muscle phantom. The insertion place of thermocouples was monitored with ultrasound imaging. Results. Modeled and measured thermal profiles were compared within the first 10 cm of depth. The ideal acoustic field did not adequately represent the measured field having different temperature profiles (errors 10% to 20%). Experimental field was concentrated near the transducer producing a region with higher temperatures, while the modeled ideal temperature was linearly distributed along the depth. The error was reduced to 7% when introducing the measured acoustic field as the input variable in the FE temperature modeling. Conclusions. Temperature distributions are strongly related to the acoustic field distributions. PMID:27999801

Ultrasonic weld testing.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1970-12-01

The study was broken down into two phases. Phase I consisted of a laboratory investigation of test specimens to determine the reliability of the ultrasonic equipment and testing procedure. Phase II was a field study where the knowledge, skills and ab...

Improved ultrasonic standard reference blocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eitzen, D. G.

1975-01-01

A program to improve the quality, reproducibility and reliability of nondestructive testing through the development of improved ASTM-type ultrasonic reference standards is described. Reference blocks of aluminum, steel, and titanium alloys were considered. Equipment representing the state-of-the-art in laboratory and field ultrasonic equipment was obtained and evaluated. Some RF and spectral data on ten sets of ultrasonic reference blocks were taken as part of a task to quantify the variability in response from nominally identical blocks. Techniques for residual stress, preferred orientation, and microstructural measurements were refined and are applied to a reference block rejected by the manufacturer during fabrication in order to evaluate the effect of metallurgical condition on block response.

Electrochemical mechanism of tin membrane electrodeposition under ultrasonic waves.

PubMed

Nan, Tianxiang; Yang, Jianguang; Chen, Bing

2018-04-01

Tin was electrodeposited from chloride solutions using a membrane cell under ultrasonic waves. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), chronoamperometry (CHR), and chronopotentiometry were applied to investigate the electrochemical mechanism of tin electrodeposition under ultrasonic field. Chronoamperometry curves showed that the initial process of tin electrodeposition followed the diffusion controlled three-dimensional nucleation and grain growth mechanism. The analysis of the cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry diagrams showed that the application of ultrasound can change the tin membrane electro-deposition reaction from diffusion to electrochemical control, and the optimum parameters for tin electrodeposition were H + concentration 3.5 mol·L -1 , temperature 35 °C and ultrasonic power 100 W. The coupling ultrasonic field played a role in refining the grain in this process. The growth of tin crystals showed no orientation preferential, and the tin deposition showed a tendency to form a regular network structure after ultrasonic coupling. While in the absence of ultrasonic coupling, the growth of tin crystals has a high preferential orientation, and the tin deposition showed a tendency to form tin whiskers. Ultrasonic coupling was more favorable for obtaining a more compact and smoother cathode tin layer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Broadband Ultrasonic Transducers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heyser, R. C.

1986-01-01

New geometry spreads out resonance region of piezoelectric crystal. In new transducer, crystal surfaces made nonparallel. One surface planar; other, concave. Geometry designed to produce nearly uniform response over a predetermined band of frequencies and to attenuate strongly frequencies outside band. Greater bandwidth improves accuracy of sonar and ultrasonic imaging equipment.

Ultrasonic Welding of Hybrid Joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagner, Guntram; Balle, Frank; Eifler, Dietmar

2012-03-01

A central research field of the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Kaiserslautern (WKK), Germany, is the realization of innovative hybrid joints by ultrasonic metal welding. This article gives an overview of suitable ultrasonic welding systems as well as of essential machine and material parameters, which influence the quality of the welds. Besides the ultrasonic welding of dissimilar metals such as Al to Cu or Al to steels, the welds between newly developed materials like aluminum foam sandwiches or flat flexible cables also can be realized. Moreover, the joining of glass and ceramic to sheet metals is a point of interest at the WKK. By using the ultrasonic metal welding process, it is possible to realize metal/glass welds with tensile shear strengths of 50 MPa. For metal/ceramic joints, the shear strengths values up to 150 MPa were measured. Finally, selected results about the occurring bonding mechanisms will be discussed.

Ultrasonic measurement of stress in 2219-T87 aluminum plate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clotfelter, W. N.; Risch, E. R.

1976-01-01

The basic relationship of ultrasonic signal velocity to directional subsurface stress is reviewed. Inappropriateness of dependency on a single correlative value of constant for a three dimensional stress field in metallic materials is discussed. Implementation of conventional ultrasonic nondestructive testing capabilities integrated to provide a composite technique for the measurement of orthogonal stress components is described, and the procedures for performing the preparatory calibration and subsequent stress field measurements are presented. In conclusion, the prime effect of stress on ultrasonic signal velocity occurs only in the direction of material excitation or particle motion.

Measurement of hydroxyl radical production in ultrasonic aqueous solutions by a novel chemiluminescence method.

PubMed

Hu, Yufei; Zhang, Zhujun; Yang, Chunyan

2008-07-01

Measurement methods for ultrasonic fields are important for reasons of safety. The investigation of an ultrasonic field can be performed by detecting the yield of hydroxyl radicals resulting from ultrasonic cavitations. In this paper, a novel method is introduced for detecting hydroxyl radicals by a chemiluminescence (CL) reaction of luminol-hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-K5[Cu(HIO6)2](DPC). The yield of hydroxyl radicals is calculated directly by the relative CL intensity according to the corresponding concentration of H2O2. This proposed CL method makes it possible to perform an in-line and real-time assay of hydroxyl radicals in an ultrasonic aqueous solution. With flow injection (FI) technology, this novel CL reaction is sensitive enough to detect ultra trace amounts of H2O2 with a limit of detection (3sigma) of 4.1 x 10(-11) mol L(-1). The influences of ultrasonic output power and ultrasonic treatment time on the yield of hydroxyl radicals by an ultrasound generator were also studied. The results indicate that the amount of hydroxyl radicals increases with the increase of ultrasonic output power (< or = 15 W mL(-1)). There is a linear relationship between the time of ultrasonic treatment and the yield of H2O2. The ultrasonic field of an ultrasonic cleaning baths has been measured by calculating the yield of hydroxyl radicals.

Noncontact Acousto-Ultrasonics for Material Characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kautz, Harold E.

1998-01-01

A NdYAG 1064 nm, laser pulse was employed to produce ultrasonic waves in specimens of SiC/SiC and SiC/Ti 6-4 composites which are high temperature materials of interest for aerospace applications. Air coupled transducers were used to detect and collect the signals used for acousto-ultrasonic analysis. Conditions for detecting ultrasonic decay signals were examined. The results were compared to those determined on the same specimens with contact coupling. Some non-contact measurements were made employing conventional air focused detectors. Others were performed with a more novel micromachined capacitance transducer. Concerns of the laser-in technology include potential destructiveness of the laser pulse. Repeated laser pulsing at the same location does lead to deterioration of the ultrasonic signal in some materials, but seems to recover with time. Also, unlike contact AU, the frequency regime employed is a function of laser-material interaction rather than the choice of transducers. Concerns of the air coupled-out technology include the effect of air attenuation. This imposes a practical upper limit to frequency of detection. In the case of the experimental specimens studied ultrasonic decay signals could be imaged satisfactorily.

Improved ultrasonic standard reference blocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eitzen, D. G.; Sushinsky, G. F.; Chwirut, D. J.; Bechtoldt, C. J.; Ruff, A. W.

1976-01-01

A program to improve the quality, reproducibility and reliability of nondestructive testing through the development of improved ASTM-type ultrasonic reference standards is described. Reference blocks of aluminum, steel, and titanium alloys are to be considered. Equipment representing the state-of-the-art in laboratory and field ultrasonic equipment was obtained and evaluated. RF and spectral data on ten sets of ultrasonic reference blocks have been taken as part of a task to quantify the variability in response from nominally identical blocks. Techniques for residual stress, preferred orientation, and micro-structural measurements were refined and are applied to a reference block rejected by the manufacturer during fabrication in order to evaluate the effect of metallurgical condition on block response. New fabrication techniques for reference blocks are discussed and ASTM activities are summarized.

An Improved Scheduling Algorithm for Data Transmission in Ultrasonic Phased Arrays with Multi-Group Ultrasonic Sensors

PubMed Central

Tang, Wenming; Liu, Guixiong; Li, Yuzhong; Tan, Daji

2017-01-01

High data transmission efficiency is a key requirement for an ultrasonic phased array with multi-group ultrasonic sensors. Here, a novel FIFOs scheduling algorithm was proposed and the data transmission efficiency with hardware technology was improved. This algorithm includes FIFOs as caches for the ultrasonic scanning data obtained from the sensors with the output data in a bandwidth-sharing way, on the basis of which an optimal length ratio of all the FIFOs is achieved, allowing the reading operations to be switched among all the FIFOs without time slot waiting. Therefore, this algorithm enhances the utilization ratio of the reading bandwidth resources so as to obtain higher efficiency than the traditional scheduling algorithms. The reliability and validity of the algorithm are substantiated after its implementation in the field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology, and the bandwidth utilization ratio and the real-time performance of the ultrasonic phased array are enhanced. PMID:29035345

In situ x-ray diffraction measurements of the capillary fountain jet produced via ultrasonic atomization.

PubMed

Yano, Yohko F; Douguchi, Junya; Kumagai, Atsushi; Iijima, Takao; Tomida, Yukinobu; Miyamoto, Toshiaki; Matsuura, Kazuo

2006-11-07

In situ x-ray diffraction measurements were carried out for investigating the liquid structure in the ultrasonic fountain jet to consider the mechanism of the "ultrasonic ethanol separation" reported by Sato et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 114, 2382 (2001)]. For pure liquids (water and ethanol), it was found that the high frequency ultrasound does not affect the liquid structure microscopically. For the 20 mol % ethanol-water mixture, the estimated ethanol mole fraction in the ultrasonic fountain jet by using the position of the main maximum in the x-ray diffraction profile coincided with that in the reservoir. This result suggests that the ethanol separation is not caused by any distorted liquid structure under the ultrasound irradiation and occurs when or after the generation of the liquid droplet mist.

In situ x-ray diffraction measurements of the capillary fountain jet produced via ultrasonic atomization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yano, Yohko F.; Douguchi, Junya; Kumagai, Atsushi; Iijima, Takao; Tomida, Yukinobu; Miyamoto, Toshiaki; Matsuura, Kazuo

2006-11-01

In situ x-ray diffraction measurements were carried out for investigating the liquid structure in the ultrasonic fountain jet to consider the mechanism of the "ultrasonic ethanol separation" reported by Sato et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 114, 2382 (2001)]. For pure liquids (water and ethanol), it was found that the high frequency ultrasound does not affect the liquid structure microscopically. For the 20mol% ethanol-water mixture, the estimated ethanol mole fraction in the ultrasonic fountain jet by using the position of the main maximum in the x-ray diffraction profile coincided with that in the reservoir. This result suggests that the ethanol separation is not caused by any distorted liquid structure under the ultrasound irradiation and occurs when or after the generation of the liquid droplet mist.

Ultrasonic measurements of surface defects on flexible circuits using high-frequency focused polymer transducers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagle, Sanat; Habib, Anowarul; Melandsø, Frank

2017-07-01

High-frequency transducers made from a layer-by-layer deposition method are investigated as transducers for ultrasonic imaging. Prototypes of adhesive-free transducers with four active elements were made on a high-performance poly(ether imide) substrate with precision milled spherical cavities used to produce focused ultrasonic beams. The transducer prototypes were characterized using a pulse-echo experimental setup in a water tank using a glass plate as a reflector. Then, transducer was used in a three-dimensional ultrasonic scanning tank, to produce high-resolution ultrasonic images of flexible electronic circuits with the aim to detect defects in the outermost cover layer.

Study of ultrasonic thermometry based on ultrasonic time-of-flight measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Ruixi; Xiong, Qingyu; Wang, Lijie; Wang, Kai; Shen, Xuehua; Liang, Shan; Shi, Xin

2016-03-01

Ultrasonic thermometry is a kind of acoustic pyrometry and it has been evolving as a new temperature measurement technology for various environment. However, the accurate measurement of the ultrasonic time-of-flight is the key for ultrasonic thermometry. In this paper, we study the ultrasonic thermometry technique based on ultrasonic time-of-flight measurement with a pair of ultrasonic transducers for transmitting and receiving signal. The ultrasonic transducers are installed in a single path which ultrasonic travels. In order to validate the performance of ultrasonic thermometry, we make a contrast about the absolute error between the measured temperature value and the practical one. With and without heater source, the experimental results indicate ultrasonic thermometry has high precision of temperature measurement.

Apparatus and method for ultrasonic treatment of a liquid

DOEpatents

Chandler, Darrell P.; Posakony, Gerald J.; Bond, Leonard J.; Bruckner-Lea, Cynthia J.

2006-04-04

The present invention is an apparatus for ultrasonically treating a liquid to generate a product. The apparatus is capable of treating a continuously-flowing, or intermittently-flowing, liquid along a line segment coincident with the flow path of the liquid. The apparatus has one or more ultrasonic transducers positioned asymmetrically about the line segment. The ultrasonic field encompasses the line segment and the ultrasonic energy may be concentrated along the line segment. Lysing treatments have been successfully achieved with efficiencies of greater than 99% using ultrasound at MHz frequencies without erosion or heating problems and without the need for chemical or mechanical pretreatment, or contrast agents. The present invention overcomes drawbacks of current ultrasonic treatments beyond lysing and opens up new sonochemical and sonophysical processing opportunities.

Microfluidic ultrasonic particle separators with engineered node locations and geometries

DOEpatents

Rose, Klint A.; Fisher, Karl A.; Wajda, Douglas A.; Mariella, Jr., Raymond P.; Bailey, Christopher; Dehlinger, Dietrich; Shusteff, Maxim; Jung, Byoungsok; Ness, Kevin D.

2016-04-26

An ultrasonic microfluidic system includes a separation channel for conveying a sample fluid containing small particles and large particles, flowing substantially parallel, adjacent to a recovery fluid, with which it is in contact. An acoustic transducer produces an ultrasound standing wave, that generates a pressure field having at least one node of minimum pressure amplitude. An acoustic extension structure is located proximate to said separation channel for positioning said acoustic node off center in said acoustic area and concentrating the large particles in said recovery fluid stream.

Microfluidic ultrasonic particle separators with engineered node locations and geometries

DOEpatents

Rose, Klint A; Fisher, Karl A; Wajda, Douglas A; Mariella, Jr., Raymond P; Bailey, Christopher; Dehlinger, Dietrich; Shusteff, Maxim; Jung, Byoungsok; Ness, Kevin D

2015-03-31

An ultrasonic microfluidic system includes a separation channel for conveying a sample fluid containing small particles and large particles, flowing substantially parallel, adjacent to a recovery fluid, with which it is in contact. An acoustic transducer produces an ultrasound standing wave, that generates a pressure field having at least one node of minimum, pressure amplitude. An acoustic extension structure is located proximate to said separation channel for positioning said acoustic node off center in said acoustic area and concentrating the large particles in said recovery fluid stream.

Microfluidic ultrasonic particle separators with engineered node locations and geometries

DOEpatents

Rose, Klint A; Fisher, Karl A; Wajda, Douglas A; Mariella, Jr., Raymond P; Bailey, Christoppher; Dehlinger, Dietrich; Shusteff, Maxim; Jung, Byoungsok; Ness, Kevin D

2014-05-20

An ultrasonic microfluidic system includes a separation channel for conveying a sample fluid containing small particles and large particles, flowing substantially parallel, adjacent to a recovery fluid, with which it is in contact. An acoustic transducer produces an ultrasound standing wave, that generates a pressure field having at least one node of minimum pressure amplitude. An acoustic extension structure is located proximate to said separation channel for positioning said acoustic node off center in said acoustic area and concentrating the large particles in said recovery fluid stream.

Experimental investigation of the Multipoint Ultrasonic Flowmeter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jakub, Filipský

2018-06-01

The Multipoint Ultrasonic Flowmeter is a vector tomographic device capable of reconstructing all three components of velocity field based solely on boundary ultrasonic measurements. Computer simulations have shown the feasibility of such a device and have been published previously. This paper describes an experimental investigation of achievable accuracy of such a method. Doubled acoustic tripoles used to obtain information of the solenoidal part of vector field show extremely short differences between the Time Of Flights (TOFs) of individual sensors and are therefore sensitive to parasitic effects of TOF measurements. Sampling at 40MHz and correlation method is used to measure the TOF.

Optimal simulations of ultrasonic fields produced by large thermal therapy arrays using the angular spectrum approach

PubMed Central

Zeng, Xiaozheng; McGough, Robert J.

2009-01-01

The angular spectrum approach is evaluated for the simulation of focused ultrasound fields produced by large thermal therapy arrays. For an input pressure or normal particle velocity distribution in a plane, the angular spectrum approach rapidly computes the output pressure field in a three dimensional volume. To determine the optimal combination of simulation parameters for angular spectrum calculations, the effect of the size, location, and the numerical accuracy of the input plane on the computed output pressure is evaluated. Simulation results demonstrate that angular spectrum calculations performed with an input pressure plane are more accurate than calculations with an input velocity plane. Results also indicate that when the input pressure plane is slightly larger than the array aperture and is located approximately one wavelength from the array, angular spectrum simulations have very small numerical errors for two dimensional planar arrays. Furthermore, the root mean squared error from angular spectrum simulations asymptotically approaches a nonzero lower limit as the error in the input plane decreases. Overall, the angular spectrum approach is an accurate and robust method for thermal therapy simulations of large ultrasound phased arrays when the input pressure plane is computed with the fast nearfield method and an optimal combination of input parameters. PMID:19425640

Ultrasonic-assisted dyeing of Nylon-6 nanofibers.

PubMed

Jatoi, Abdul Wahab; Ahmed, Farooq; Khatri, Muzamil; Tanwari, Anwaruddin; Khatri, Zeeshan; Lee, Hoik; Kim, Ick Soo

2017-11-01

We first time report ultrasonic dyeing of the Nylon 6 nanofibers with two disperse dyes CI Disperse blue 56 and CI Disperse Red 167:1 by utilising ultrasonic energy during dyeing process. The Nylon 6 nanofibers were fabricated via electrospinning and dyed via batchwise method with and without sonication. Results revealed that ultrasonic dyeing produce higher color yield (K/S values) and substantially reduces dyeing time from 60min for conventional dyeing to 30min can be attributed to breakage of dye aggregate, transient cavitation near nanofiber surface and mass transfer within/between nanofibers. Color fastness results exhibited good to very good dye fixation. SEM images exhibit insignificant effect of sonication on morphology of the nanofibers. Our research results demonstrate ultrasonic dyeing as a better dyeing technique for Nylon 6 nanofibers with higher color yield and substantially reduced dyeing time. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Particle scavenging in a cylindrical ultrasonic standing wave field using levitated drops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merrell, Tyler; Saylor, J. R.

2015-11-01

A cylindrical ultrasonic standing wave field was generated in a tube containing a flow of particles and fog. Both the particles and fog drops were concentrated in the nodes of the standing wave field where they combined and then grew large enough to fall out of the system. In this way particles were scavenged from the system, cleaning the air. While this approach has been attempted using a standing wave field established between disc-shaped transducers, a cylindrical resonator has not been used for this purpose heretofore. The resonator was constructed by bolting three Langevin transducers to an aluminum tube. The benefit of the cylindrical geometry is that the acoustic energy is focused. Furthermore, the residence time of the particle in the field can be increased by increasing the length of the resonator. An additional benefit of this approach is that tubes located downstream of the resonator were acoustically excited, acting as passive resonators that enhanced the scavenging process. The performance of this system on scavenging particles is presented as a function of particle diameter and volumetric flow rate. It is noted that, when operated without particles, the setup can be used to remove drops and shows promise for liquid aerosol retention from systems where these losses can be financially disadvantageous and/or hazardous.

Apparatus and method for ultrasonic treatment of a liquid

DOEpatents

Chandler, Darrell P [Richland, WA; Posakony, Gerald J [Richland, WA; Bond, Leonard J [Richland, WA; Bruckner-Lea, Cynthia J [Richland, WA

2003-01-14

The present invention is an apparatus and method for ultrasonically treating a liquid to generate a product. The apparatus is capable of treating a continuously-flowing, or intermittently-flowing, liquid along a line segment coincident with the flow path of the liquid. The apparatus has one or more ultrasonic transducers positioned asymmetrically about the line segment. The ultrasonic field encompasses the line segment and the ultrasonic energy may be concentrated along the line segment. Lysing treatments have been successfully achieved with efficiencies of greater than 99% using ultrasound at MHz frequencies without erosion or heating problems and without the need for chemical or mechanical pretreatment, or contrast agents. The present invention overcomes drawbacks of current ultrasonic treatments beyond lysing and opens up new sonochemical and sonophysical processing opportunities.

The efficiency of ultrasonic oscillations transfer into the load

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abramov, O. V.; Abramov, V. O.; Mullakaev, M. S.; Artem'ev, V. V.

2009-11-01

The results of ultrasonic action to the substances have been presented. It is examined, the correlation between the electrical parameters of ultrasonic equipment and acoustic performances of the ultrasonic field in treating the medium, the efficiency of ultrasonic technological facility, and the peculiarities of oscillations introduced into the load under cavitation development. The correlation between the acoustic powers of oscillations securing the needed level of cavitation and desired technological effect, and the electrical parameters of the ultrasonic facility, first of all, the power, is established. The peculiarities of cavitation development in liquids with different physical-chemical properties (including the molten low-melting metals) have been studied, and the acoustic power of oscillations introduced into the load under input variation of electric power to the generator has been also estimated.

Antarctic Testing of the European Ultrasonic Planetary Core Drill (UPCD)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Timoney, R.; Worrall, K.; Li, X.; Firstbrook, D.; Harkness, P.

2018-04-01

An overview of a series of field testing in Antarctica where the Ultrasonic Planetary Core Drill (UPCD) architecture was tested. The UPCD system is the product an EC FP7 award to develop a Mars Sample Return architecture based around the ultrasonic technique.

Ultrasonic pulser-receiver

DOEpatents

Taylor, Steven C.

2006-09-12

Ultrasonic pulser-receiver circuitry, for use with an ultrasonic transducer, the circuitry comprising a circuit board; ultrasonic pulser circuitry supported by the circuit board and configured to be coupled to an ultrasonic transducer and to cause the ultrasonic transducer to emit an ultrasonic output pulse; receiver circuitry supported by the circuit board, coupled to the pulser circuitry, including protection circuitry configured to protect against the ultrasonic pulse and including amplifier circuitry configured to amplify an echo, received back by the transducer, of the output pulse; and a connector configured to couple the ultrasonic transducer directly to the circuit board, to the pulser circuitry and receiver circuitry, wherein impedance mismatches that would result if the transducer was coupled to the circuit board via a cable can be avoided.

Ultrasonic influence on evolution of disordered dislocation structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bachurin, D. V.; Murzaev, R. T.; Nazarov, A. A.

2017-12-01

Evolution of disordered dislocation structures under ultrasonic influence is studied in a model two-dimensional grain within the discrete-dislocation approach. Non-equilibrium grain boundary state is mimicked by a mesodefect located at the corners of the grain, stress field of which is described by that of a wedge junction disclination quadrupole. Significant rearrangement related to gliding of lattice dislocations towards the grain boundaries is found, which results in a noticeable reduction of internal stress fields and cancel of disclination quadrupole. The process of dislocation structure evolution passes through two stages: rapid and slow. The main dislocation rearrangement occurs during the first stage. Reduction of internal stress fields is associated with the number of dislocations entered into the grain boundaries. The change of misorientation angle due to lattice dislocations absorbed by the grain boundaries is evaluated. Amplitude of ultrasonic treatment significantly influences the relaxation of dislocation structure. Preliminary elastic relaxation of dislocation structure does not affect substantially the results of the following ultrasonic treatment. Substantial grain size dependence of relaxation of disordered dislocation systems is found. Simulation results are consistent with experimental data.

Bulk-wave ultrasonic propagation imagers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbas, Syed Haider; Lee, Jung-Ryul

2018-03-01

Laser-based ultrasound systems are described that utilize the ultrasonic bulk-wave sensing to detect the damages and flaws in the aerospace structures. These systems apply pulse-echo or through transmission methods to detect longitudinal through-the-thickness bulk-waves. These thermoelastic waves are generated using Q-switched laser and non-contact sensing is performed using a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV). Laser-based raster scanning is performed by either twoaxis translation stage for linear-scanning or galvanometer-based laser mirror scanner for angular-scanning. In all ultrasonic propagation imagers, the ultrasonic data is captured and processed in real-time and the ultrasonic propagation can be visualized during scanning. The scanning speed can go up to 1.8 kHz for two-axis linear translation stage based B-UPIs and 10 kHz for galvanometer-based laser mirror scanners. In contrast with the other available ultrasound systems, these systems have the advantage of high-speed, non-contact, real-time, and non-destructive inspection. In this paper, the description of all bulk-wave ultrasonic imagers (B-UPIs) are presented and their advantages are discussed. Experiments are performed with these system on various structures to proof the integrity of their results. The C-scan results produced from non-dispersive, through-the-thickness, bulk-wave detection show good agreement in detection of structural variances and damage location in all inspected structures. These results show that bulk-wave UPIs can be used for in-situ NDE of engineering structures.

Ultrasonic enhancing amorphization during synthesis of calcium phosphate.

PubMed

He, Kun; Xiao, Gui-Yong; Xu, Wen-Hua; Zhu, Rui-Fu; Lu, Yu-Peng

2014-03-01

Amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) has great application potential in biomaterials field due to its non-cytotoxicity, high bioactivity, good cytocompatibility, and so on. The results of this research demonstrated that ultrasonic obviously enhanced amorphization during synthesis of calcium phosphate. The ACP phase was relatively ideal when the solvent of Ca(NO3)2·4H2O was ethanol and the solvent of (NH4)2HPO4 was a mixture of water and ethanol, under ultrasonic. In-situ crystallization of ACP could be observed by HRTEM. The mechanism on the effects of ultrasonic on amorphization of the synthesized calcium phosphate was discussed. It was suggested that ultrasonic synthesis might be a facile method to prepare pure and safe ACP related biomaterials. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A parallel-architecture parametric equalizer for air-coupled capacitive ultrasonic transducers.

PubMed

McSweeney, Sean G; Wright, William M D

2012-01-01

Parametric equalization is rarely applied to ultrasonic transducer systems, for which it could be used on either the transmitter or the receiver to achieve a desired response. An optimized equalizer with both bump and cut capabilities would be advantageous for ultrasonic systems in applications in which variations in the transducer performance or the properties of the propagating medium produce a less-than-desirable signal. Compensation for non-ideal transducer response could be achieved using equalization on a device-by-device basis. Additionally, calibration of ultrasonic systems in the field could be obtained by offline optimization of equalization coefficients. In this work, a parametric equalizer for ultrasonic applications has been developed using multiple bi-quadratic filter elements arranged in a novel parallel arrangement to increase the flexibility of the equalization. The equalizer was implemented on a programmable system-on-chip (PSOC) using a small number of parallel 4th-order infinite impulse response switchedcapacitor band-pass filters. Because of the interdependency of the required coefficients for the switched capacitors, particle swarm optimization (PSO) was used to determine the optimum values. The response of a through-transmission system using air-coupled capacitive ultrasonic transducers was then equalized to idealized Hamming function or brick-wall frequencydomain responses. In each case, there was excellent agreement between the equalized signals and the theoretical model, and the fidelity of the time-domain response was maintained. The bandwidth and center frequency response of the system were significantly improved. It was also shown that the equalizer could be used on either the transmitter or the receiver, and the system could compensate for the effects of transmitterreceiver misalignment. © 2012 IEEE

Interaction of Sound with Sound by Novel Mechanisms: Ultrasonic Four-Wave Mixing Mediated by a Suspension and Ultrasonic Three-Wave Mixing at a Free Surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simpson, Harry Jay

Two mechanisms of sound interacting with sound are experimentally and theoretically investigated. Ultrasonic four-wave mixing in a dilute particle suspension, analogous to optical four-wave mixing in photorefractive materials, involves the interaction of three ultrasonic wavefields that produces a fourth scattered wavefield. The experimental configuration consists of two ultrasonic (800 kHz) pump waves that are used to produce a grating in a suspension of 25 μm diameter polymer particles in salt water. The pump waves are counter-propagating, which form a standing wavefield in the suspension and the less compressible particles are attracted to the pressure nodes in response to the time averaged radiation pressure. A higher frequency (2-10 MHz) ultrasonic wavefield is used to probe the resulting grating. The ultrasonic Bragg scattering is then measured. The scattering depends strongly on the response to the pump wave and is an unusual class of acoustical nonlinearity. Investigation of very small amplitude gratings are done by studying the temporal response of the Bragg scattering to a sudden turn on of a moderate amplitude pump wavefield in a previously homogeneous particle suspension. The Bragg scattering has been verified experimentally and is modeled for early-time grating formations using a sinusoidal grating. The larger amplitude gratings are studied in equilibrium and are modeled using an Epstein layer approximation. Ultrasonic three-wave mixing at a free surface involves the interaction of a high amplitude 400 kHz plane wavefield incident at 33^circ on a water-air interface with a normally incident high frequency (4.6 MHz) focused wavefield. The 400 kHz "pump" wavefield reflects from the surface and produces an oscillating surface displacement that forms a local traveling phase grating. Simultaneously the 4.6 MHz "probe" wavefield is reflected from the free surface. The grating scatters the focused probe wavefield and produces (or contributes to) spatially

Interaction of sound with sound by novel mechanisms: Ultrasonic four-wave mixing mediated by a suspension and ultrasonic three-wave mixing at a free surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simpson, Harry Jay

Two mechanisms of sound interacting with sound are experimentally and theoretically investigated. Ultrasonic four-wave mixing in a dilute particle suspension, analogous to optical four-wave mixing in photorefractive materials, involves the interaction of three ultrasonic wavefields that produces a fourth scattered wavefield. The experimental configuration consists of two ultrasonic (800 kHz) pump waves that are used to produce a grating in a suspension of 25 micron diameter polymer particles in salt water. The pump waves are counter-propagating, which form a standing wavefield in the suspension and the less compressible particles are attracted to the pressure nodes in response to the time averaged radiation pressure. A higher frequency (2 to 10 MHz) ultrasonic wavefield is used to probe the resulting grating. The ultrasonic Bragg scattering is then measured. The scattering depends strongly on the response to the pump wave and is an unusual class of acoustical nonlinearity. Investigation of very small amplitude gratings are done by studying the temporal response of the Bragg scattering to a sudden turn on of a moderate amplitude pump wavefield in a previously homogeneous particle suspension. The Bragg scattering has been verified experimentally and is modeled for early-time grating formations using a sinusoidal grating. The larger amplitude gratings are studied in equilibrium and are modeled using an Epstein layer approximation. Ultrasonic three-wave mixing at a free surface involves the interaction of a high amplitude 400 kHz plane wavefield incident at 33 degrees on a water-air interface with a normally incident high frequency (4.6 MHz) focused wavefield. The 400 kHz 'pump' wavefield reflects from the surface and produces an oscillating surface displacement that forms a local traveling phase grating. Simultaneously the 4.6 MHz 'probe' wavefield is reflected from the free surface. The grating scatters the focused probe wavefield and produces (or contributes to

High resolution in situ ultrasonic corrosion monitor

DOEpatents

Grossman, R.J.

1984-01-10

An ultrasonic corrosion monitor is provided which produces an in situ measurement of the amount of corrosion of a monitoring zone or zones of an elongate probe placed in the corrosive environment. A monitoring zone is preferably formed between the end of the probe and the junction of the zone with a lead-in portion of the probe. Ultrasonic pulses are applied to the probe and a determination made of the time interval between pulses reflected from the end of the probe and the junction referred to, both when the probe is uncorroded and while it is corroding. Corresponding electrical signals are produced and a value for the normalized transit time delay derived from these time interval measurements is used to calculate the amount of corrosion.

High resolution in situ ultrasonic corrosion monitor

DOEpatents

Grossman, Robert J.

1985-01-01

An ultrasonic corrosion monitor is provided which produces an in situ measurement of the amount of corrosion of a monitoring zone or zones of an elongate probe placed in the corrosive environment. A monitoring zone is preferably formed between the end of the probe and the junction of the zone with a lead-in portion of the probe. Ultrasonic pulses are applied to the probe and a determination made of the time interval between pulses reflected from the end of the probe and the junction referred to, both when the probe is uncorroded and while it is corroding. Corresponding electrical signals are produced and a value for the normalized transit time delay derived from these time interval measurements is used to calculate the amount of corrosion.

Method for the concurrent ultrasonic inspection of partially completed welds

DOEpatents

Johnson, John A.; Larsen, Eric D.; Miller, Karen S.; Smartt, Herschel B.; McJunkin, Timothy R.

2002-01-01

A method for the concurrent ultrasonic inspection of partially completed welds is disclosed and which includes providing a pair of transducers which are individually positioned on the opposite sides of a partially completed weld to be inspected; moving the transducers along the length of and laterally inwardly and outwardly relative to the partially completed weld; pulsing the respective transducers to produce an ultrasonic signal which passes through or is reflected from the partially completed weld; receiving from the respective transducers ultrasonic signals which pass through or are reflected from the partially completed welds; and analyzing the ultrasonic signal which has passed through or is reflected from the partially completed weld to determine the presence of any weld defects.

High-power ultrasonic system for the enhancement of mass transfer in supercritical CO2 extraction processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riera, Enrique; Blanco, Alfonso; García, José; Benedito, José; Mulet, Antonio; Gallego-Juárez, Juan A.; Blasco, Miguel

2010-01-01

Oil is an important component of almonds and other vegetable substrates that can show an influence on human health. In this work the development and validation of an innovative, robust, stable, reliable and efficient ultrasonic system at pilot scale to assist supercritical CO2 extraction of oils from different substrates is presented. In the extraction procedure ultrasonic energy represents an efficient way of producing deep agitation enhancing mass transfer processes because of some mechanisms (radiation pressure, streaming, agitation, high amplitude vibrations, etc.). A previous work to this research pointed out the feasibility of integrating an ultrasonic field inside a supercritical extractor without losing a significant volume fraction. This pioneer method enabled to accelerate mass transfer and then, improving supercritical extraction times. To commercially develop the new procedure fulfilling industrial requirements, a new configuration device has been designed, implemented, tested and successfully validated for supercritical fluid extraction of oil from different vegetable substrates.

Field method for the determination of hexavalent chromium by ultrasonication and strong anion-exchange solid-phase extraction.

PubMed

Wang, J; Ashley, K; Marlow, D; England, E C; Carlton, G

1999-03-01

A simple, fast, sensitive, and economical field method was developed and evaluated for the determination of hexavalent chromium (CrVI) in environmental and workplace air samples. By means of ultrasonic extraction in combination with a strong anion-exchange solid-phase extraction (SAE-SPE) technique, the filtration, isolation, and determination of CrVI in the presence of trivalent chromium (CrIII) and potential interferents was achieved. The method entails (1) ultrasonication in basic ammonium buffer solution to extract CrVI from environmental matrixes; (2) SAE-SPE to separate CrVI from CrIII and interferences; (3) elution/acidification of the eluate; (4) complexation of chromium with 1,5-diphenylcarbazide; and (5) spectrophotometric determination of the colored chromium-diphenylcarbazone complex. Several critical parameters were optimized in order to effect the extraction of both soluble (K2CrO4) and insoluble (PbCrO4) forms of CrVI without inducing CrIII oxidation or CrVI reduction. The method allowed for the dissolution and purification of CrVI from environmental and workplace air sample matrixes for up to 24 samples simultaneously in less than 90 min (including ultrasonication). The results demonstrated that the method was simple, fast, quantitative, and sufficiently sensitive for the determination of occupational exposures of CrVI. The method is applicable for on-site monitoring of CrVI in environmental and industrial hygiene samples.

Concepts and techniques for ultrasonic evaluation of material mechanical properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vary, A.

1980-01-01

Ultrasonic methods that can be used for material strength are reviewed. Emergency technology involving advanced ultrasonic techniques and associated measurements is described. It is shown that ultrasonic NDE is particularly useful in this area because it involves mechanical elastic waves that are strongly modulated by morphological factors that govern mechanical strength and also dynamic failure modes. These aspects of ultrasonic NDE are described in conjunction with advanced approaches and theoretical concepts for signal acquisition and analysis for materials characterization. It is emphasized that the technology is in its infancy and that much effort is still required before the techniques and concepts can be transferred from laboratory to field conditions.

Providing the Efficiency and Dispersion Characteristics of Aerosols in Ultrasonic Atomization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khmelev, V. N.; Shalunov, A. V.; Golykh, R. N.; Nesterov, V. A.; Dorovskikh, R. S.; Shalunova, A. V.

2017-07-01

This article is devoted to the investigation of the process of atomization of liquids under the action of ultrasonic vibrations. It has been shown that the ultrasonic atomization parameters are determined by the regimes of action (vibration frequency and amplitude of the atomization surface), the liquid properties (viscosity, surface tension), and the thickness of the liquid layer covering the atomization surface. To reveal the dependences of the efficiency of the process at various dispersion characteristics of produced liquid droplets, we propose a model based on the cavitation-wave theory of droplet formation. The obtained results can be used in designing and using ultrasonic atomizers producing an aerosol with characteristics complying with the requirements on efficiency and dispersivity for the process being realized.

Modeling cavitation in a rapidly changing pressure field - application to a small ultrasonic horn.

PubMed

Žnidarčič, Anton; Mettin, Robert; Dular, Matevž

2015-01-01

Ultrasonic horn transducers are frequently used in applications of acoustic cavitation in liquids. It has been observed that if the horn tip is sufficiently small and driven at high amplitude, cavitation is very strong, and the tip can be covered entirely by the gas/vapor phase for longer time intervals. A peculiar dynamics of the attached cavity can emerge with expansion and collapse at a self-generated frequency in the subharmonic range, i.e. below the acoustic driving frequency. The term "acoustic supercavitation" was proposed for this type of cavitation Žnidarčič et al. (2014) [1]. We tested several established hydrodynamic cavitation models on this problem, but none of them was able to correctly predict the flow features. As a specific characteristic of such acoustic cavitation problems lies in the rapidly changing driving pressures, we present an improved approach to cavitation modeling, which does not neglect the second derivatives in the Rayleigh-Plesset equation. Comparison with measurements of acoustic supercavitation at an ultrasonic horn of 20kHz frequency revealed a good agreement in terms of cavity dynamics, cavity volume and emitted pressure pulsations. The newly developed cavitation model is particularly suited for simulation of cavitating flow in highly fluctuating driving pressure fields. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonically-assisted Polymer Molding: An Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moles, Matthew; Roy, Anish; Silberschmidt, Vadim

Energy reduction in extrusion and injection molding processes can be achieved by the introduction of ultrasonic energy. Polymer flow can be enhanced on application of ultrasonic vibration, which can reduce the thermal and pressure input requirements to produce the same molding; higher productivity may also be achieved. In this paper, a design of an ultrasound-assisted injection mold machine is explored. An extrusion-die design was augmented with a commercial 1.5 kW ultrasonic transducer and sonotrode designed to resonate close to 20 kHz with up to 100 μm vibration amplitude. The design was evaluated with modal and thermal analysis using finite-element analysis software. The use of numerical techniques, including computational fluid dynamics, fluid-structure interaction and coupled Lagrangian-Eulerian method, to predict the effect of ultrasound on polymer flow was considered. A sonotrode design utilizing ceramic to enhance thermal isolation was also explored.

Ultrasonication of Bismuth Telluride Nanocrystals Fabricated by Solvothermal Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chu, Sang-Hyon; Choi, Sang H.; Kim, Jae-Woo; King, Glen C.; Elliott, James R.

2006-01-01

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of ultrasonication on bismuth telluride nanocrystals prepared by solvothermal method. In this study, a low dimensional nanocrystal of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) was synthesized by a solvothermal process in an autoclave at 180 C and 200 psi. During the solvothermal reaction, organic surfactants effectively prevented unwanted aggregation of nanocrystals in a selected solvent while controlling the shape of the nanocrystal. The atomic ratio of bismuth and tellurium was determined by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The cavitational energy created by the ultrasonic probe was varied by the ultrasonication process time, while power amplitude remained constant. The nanocrystal size and its size distribution were measured by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and a dynamic light scattering system. When the ultrasonication time increased, the average size of bismuth telluride nanocrystal gradually increased due to the direct collision of nanocrystals. The polydispersity of the nanocrystals showed a minimum when the ultrasonication was applied for 5 min. Keywords: bismuth telluride, nanocrystal, low-dimensional, ultrasonication, solvothermal

Effects of ultrasonic disintegration of excess sludge obtained in disintegrators of different constructions.

PubMed

Zielewicz, Ewa; Tytła, Malwina

2015-01-01

The ultrasonic disintegration of excess sludge is placed after the mechanical thickening but before the digestion tanks in order to intensify the process of sludge stabilization. The effects obtained directly after ultrasonic disintegration depend on many factors and can be grouped in two main categories: factors affecting the quality of sludge and those associated with the construction of disintegrators and its parameters. The ultrasonic disintegration research was carried out using three types of structural solutions of disintegrators. Two of them, that is, WK-2000 ultrasonic generator (P = 400 W) working with a thin sonotrode and WK-2010 ultrasonic generator (P = 100-1000 W) working with a new type construction emitter lens sonotrode, were compared with the influence of a washer with a flat emitter. The investigations have shown that in the same sludge, using the same value of volumetric energy, the resulting effect depends on the construction of the ultrasonic disintegrator, that is, design of the head and the ratio between the field of the emitter and the field of the chamber in sonicated medium.

Ultrasonic Interferometers Revisited

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenslade, Thomas B., Jr.

2007-01-01

I have been tinkering with ultrasonic transducers once more. In earlier notes I reported on optics-like experiments performed with ultrasonics, described a number of ultrasonic interferometers, and showed how ultrasonic transducers can be used for Fourier analysis. This time I became interested in trying the technique of using two detectors in…

Rod-shaped cavitation bubble structure in ultrasonic field.

PubMed

Bai, Lixin; Wu, Pengfei; Liu, Huiyu; Yan, Jiuchun; Su, Chang; Li, Chao

2018-06-01

Rod-shaped cavitation bubble structure in thin liquid layers in ultrasonic field is investigated experimentally. It is found that cavitation structure successively experiences several stages with the change of the thickness of the thin liquid layer. Rod-shaped structure is a stable structure of the boundary between the cavitation cloud region and the non-cavitation liquid region, which can be formed in two different ways. Cavitation bubbles in a thin liquid layer have a distribution in the thickness direction. The rod-shaped structures tend to crosslink with each other to form stable Y-branch structures. The angle of the Y-branch structure is Gauss distribution with mathematical expectation μ = 119.93. A special rod-shaped cavitation structure with source is also investigated in detail. Due to the pressure gradient in the normal direction, the primary Bjerknes force causes the bubbles in the rod-shaped structure on both sides to converge to the axis. The secondary Bjerknes forces between the bubbles also make the cluster converge, so the large bubbles which are attached to the radiating surface tend to align themselves along the central line. According to the formula deduced in this paper, the variation of curvature of curved rod-shaped structure is qualitatively analyzed. The Y-branch structure of cavitation cloud and Plateau boundary of soap bubbles are compared. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Droplet size prediction in the production of drug delivery microsystems by ultrasonic atomization

PubMed Central

Dalmoro, Annalisa; d’Amore, Matteo; Barba, Anna Angela

Microencapsulation processes of drugs or other functional molecules are of great interest in pharmaceutical production fields. Ultrasonic assisted atomization is a new technique to produce microencapsulated systems by mechanical approach. It seems to offer several advantages (low level of mechanical stress in materials, reduced energy request, reduced apparatuses size) with respect to more conventional techniques. In this paper the groundwork of atomization is briefly introduced and correlations to predict droplet size starting from process parameters and material properties are presented. PMID:24251250

Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation Techniques Applied to the Quantitative Characterization of Textile Composite Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, James G.

1998-01-01

An overall goal of this research has been to enhance our understanding of the scientific principles necessary to develop advanced ultrasonic nondestructive techniques for the quantitative characterization of advanced composite structures. To this end, we have investigated a thin woven composite (5-harness biaxial weave). We have studied the effects that variations of the physical parameters of the experimental setup can have on the ultrasonic determination of the material properties for this thin composite. In particular, we have considered the variation of the nominal center frequency and the f-number of the transmitting transducer which in turn address issues such as focusing and beam spread of ultrasonic fields. This study has employed a planar, two-dimensional, receiving pseudo-array that has permitted investigation of the diffraction patterns of ultrasonic fields. Distortion of the ultrasonic field due to the spatial anisotropy of the thin composite has prompted investigation of the phenomenon of phase cancellation at the face of a finite-aperture, piezoelectric receiver. We have performed phase-sensitive and phase-insensitive analyses to provide a measure of the amount of phase cancellation at the face of a finite-aperture, piezoelectric receiver. The pursuit of robust measurements of received energy (i.e., those not susceptible to phase cancellation at the face of a finite-aperture, piezoelectric receiver) supports the development of robust techniques to determine material properties from measure ultrasonic parameters.

NEET In-Pile Ultrasonic Sensor Enablement-Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

J. Daw; J. Rempe; J. Palmer

2014-09-01

Ultrasonic technologies offer the potential to measure a range of parameters during irradiation of fuels and materials, including geometry changes, temperature, crack initiation and growth, gas pressure and composition, and microstructural changes under harsh irradiation test conditions. There are two primary issues that currently limit in-pile deployment of ultrasonic sensors. The first is transducer survivability. The ability of ultrasonic transducer materials to maintain their useful properties during an irradiation must be demonstrated. The second issue is signal processing. Ultrasonic testing is typically performed in a lab or field environment, where the sensor and sample are accessible. The harsh nature ofmore » in-pile testing and the variety of desired measurements demand that an enhanced signal processing capability be developed to make in-pile ultrasonic sensors viable. To address these issues, the NEET ASI program funded a three year Ultrasonic Transducer Irradiation and Signal Processing Enhancements project, which is a collaborative effort between the Idaho National Laboratory, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Argonne National Laboratory, and the Pennsylvania State University. The objective of this report is to document the objectives and accomplishments from this three year project. As summarized within this document, significant work has been accomplished during this three year project.« less

Ultrasonic signal enhancement by resonator techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heyman, J. S.

1973-01-01

Ultrasonic resonators increase experimental sensitivity to acoustic dispersion and changes in attenuation. Experimental sensitivity enhancement line shapes are presented which were obtained by modulating the acoustic properties of a CdS resonator with a light beam. Small changes in light level are made to produce almost pure absorptive or dispersive changes in the resonator signal. This effect is due to the coupling of the ultrasonic wave to the CdS conductivity which is proportional to incident light intensity. The resonator conductivity is adjusted in this manner to obtain both dispersive and absorptive sensitivity enhancement line shapes. The data presented verify previous thoretical calculations based on a propagating wave model.

Dynamics of Cavitation Clouds within a High-Intensity Focused Ultrasonic Beam

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-01

the cloud size. I. INTRODUCTION High-intensity focused ultrasound ( HIFU ), along with the associated cavitation, is used in a variety of fields. The...this experimental study, we generate a 500 kHz high-intensity focused ultrasonic ( HIFU ) beam, with pressure amplitude in the focal zone of up to 1.9 MPa... focused ultrasonic ( HIFU ) beam, with pressure amplitude in the focal zone of up to 1.9 MPa, in initially quiescent water. The resulting pressure field

Design of an ultrasonic micro-array for near field sensing during retinal microsurgery.

PubMed

Clarke, Clyde; Etienne-Cummings, Ralph

2006-01-01

A method for obtaining the optimal and specific sensor parameters for a tool-tip mountable ultrasonic transducer micro-array is presented. The ultrasonic transducer array sensor parameters, such as frequency of operation, element size, inter-element spacing, number of elements and transducer geometry are obtained using a quadratic programming method to obtain a maximum directivity while being constrained to a total array size of 4 mm2 and the required resolution for retinal imaging. The technique is used to design a uniformly spaced NxN transducer array that is capable of resolving structures in the retina that are as small as 2 microm from a distance of 100 microm. The resultant 37x37 array of 16 microm transducers with 26 microm spacing will be realized as a Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (CMUT) array and used for imaging and robotic guidance during retinal microsurgery.

Process Stability of Ultrasonic-Wave-Assisted Gas Metal Arc Welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Chenglei; Xie, Weifeng; Yang, Chunli; Lin, Sanbao; Fan, Yangyang

2017-10-01

As a newly developed arc welding method, ultrasonic-wave-assisted arc welding successfully introduced power ultrasound into the arc and weld pool, during which the ultrasonic acts on the top of the arc in the coaxial alignment direction. The advanced process for molten metals can be realized by using an additional ultrasonic field. Compared with the conventional gas metal arc welding (GMAW), the welding arc is compressed, the droplet size is decreased, and the droplet transfer frequency is increased significantly in ultrasonic-wave-assisted GMAW (U-GMAW). However, the stability of the metal transfer has deep influence on the welding quality equally, and the ultrasonic wave effect on the stability of the metal transfer is a phenomenon that is not completely understood. In this article, the stabilities of the short-circuiting transfer process and globular transfer process are studied systematically, and the effect of ultrasonic wave on the metal transfer is analyzed further. The transfer frequency and process stability of the U-GMAW process are much higher than those of the conventional GMAW. Analytical results show that the additional ultrasonic wave is helpful for improving welding stability.

The ultrasonic characteristics of high frequency modulated arc and its application in material processing.

PubMed

He, Longbiao; Yang, Ping; Li, Luming; Wu, Minsheng

2014-12-01

To solve the difficulty of introducing traditional ultrasonic transducers to welding molten pool, high frequency current is used to modulate plasma arc and ultrasonic wave is excited successfully. The characteristics of the excited ultrasonic field are studied. The results show that the amplitude-frequency response of the ultrasonic emission is flat. The modulating current is the main factor influencing the ultrasonic power and the sound pressure depends on the variation of arc plasma stream force. Experimental study of the welding structure indicates grain refinement by the ultrasonic emission of the modulated arc and the test results showed there should be an energy region for the arc ultrasonic to get best welding joints. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonic dental scaler: associated hazards.

PubMed

Trenter, S C; Walmsley, A D

2003-02-01

The ultrasonic dental scaler is a valuable tool in the prevention of periodontal disease; however, this equipment has a number of hazards with which it is associated. These include heating of the tooth during scaling, vibrational hazards causing cell disruption, possible platelet damage by cavitation, associated electromagnetic fields that can interrupt pacemakers, auditory damage to patient and clinician and the release of aerosols containing dangerous bacteria. To collate the research reported on the various hazards associated with the ultrasonic dental scaler and discuss possible future research areas. The scientific literature was searched using Web of Science, EMBASE and Medline, and the results of these were then hand-searched to eliminate nonrelevant papers. This review outlines some of the research conducted into these areas of associated hazard in order to assess their significance in the clinical situation, and discusses ideas for future research. Suggestions of recommendations are given, which have been previously investigated for their aid in reducing possible hazards, to ensure the safe working of ultrasonic scalers in the dental practice.

Modeling of Ultrasonic and Terahertz Radiations in Defective Tiles for Condition Monitoring of Thermal Protection Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

different ultrasonic and electromagnetic field modeling problems for NDE (nondestructive evaluation) applications [5- 14]. 2d . Use of the...transient ultrasonic wave propagation using the Distributed Point Source Method”, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectric and Frequency Control...Cavity”, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectric and Frequency Control, Vol. 57(6), pp. 1396-1404, 2010. [10] A. Shelke, S. Das and T. Kundu

Carbon nanotube composites prepared by ultrasonically assisted twin screw extrusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, Todd

Two ultrasonic twin screw extrusion systems were designed and manufactured for the ultrasonic dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in viscous polymer matrices at residence times of the order of seconds in the ultrasonic treatment zones. The first design consisted of an ultrasonic slit die attachment in which nanocomposites were treated. A second design incorporated an ultrasonic treatment section into the barrel of the extruder to utilize the shearing of the polymer during extrusion while simultaneously applying treatment. High performance, high temperature thermoset phenylethynyl terminate imide oligomer (PETI-330) and two different polyetherether ketones (PEEK) were evaluated at CNT loadings up to 10 wt%. The effects of CNT loading and ultrasonic amplitude on the processing characteristics and rheological, mechanical, electrical, thermal and morphological properties of nanocomposites were investigated. PETI and PEEK nanocomposites showed a decrease in resistivity, an increase in modulus and strength and a decrease in strain at break and toughness with increased CNT loading. Ultrasonically treated samples showed a decrease in die pressure and extruder torque with increasing ultrasonic treatment and an increase in complex viscosity and storage modulus at certain ultrasonic treatment levels. Optical microscopy showed enhanced dispersion of the CNT bundles in ultrasonically treated samples. However, no significant improvement of mechanical properties was observed with ultrasonic treatment due to lack of adhesion between the CNT and matrix in the solid state. A curing model for PETI-330 was proposed that includes the induction and curing stages to predict the degree of cure of PETI-330 under non-isothermal conditions. Induction time parameters, rate constant and reaction order of the model were obtained based on differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data. The model correctly predicted experimentally measured degrees of cure of compression molded plaques cured

Ultrasonic Motors

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-06-01

micromotor have been investigated. The piezoelectric motor makes use of two orthogonal bending modes of a hollow cylinder. The vibrating element...A.Iino, K.Suzuki, M.Kasuga, M.Suzuki and T.Yamanaka, "Development of a Self- Oscillating Ultrasonic Micromotor and Its Application to a Watch...pp. 823-828, 1997. [12] M. K. Kurosawa, T. Morita, and T. Higuchi, "A Cylindrical Ultrasonic Micromotor Based on PZT Thin Film," IEEE Ultrasonics

Effect of ultrasonication in synthesis of gold nano fluid for thermal applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nath, G.; Giri, R.

2018-02-01

Ultrasonically synthesized nanofluids are efficient coolant and heat exchanger material has demonstrated its potential in various fields and thermal engineering. The computation of different acoustical parameter using the ultrasonic velocity data of gold nanofluids are taken in estimation of thermal conductivity. The computational and experimental measured values of thermal conductivity are well agrees. The results execute ultrasonically synthesized gold nanofluids is an economic and efficient technology for explaining the increase of thermal conductivity of nanofluids in suitable optimum conditions.

Characterization of nuclear graphite elastic properties using laser ultrasonic methods

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zeng, Fan W; Han, Karen; Olasov, Lauren R

2015-01-01

Laser ultrasonic methods have been used to characterize the elastic behaviors of commercially-available and legacy nuclear graphites. Since ultrasonic techniques are sensitive to various aspects of graphite microstructure including preferred grain orientation, microcrack orientation and porosity, laser ultrasonics is a candidate technique for monitoring graphite degradation and structural integrity in environments expected in high-temperature, gas-cooled nuclear reactors. Aspects of materials texture can be assessed by studying ultrasonic wavespeeds as a function of propagation direction and polarization. Shear wave birefringence measurements, in particular, can be used to evaluate elastic anisotropy. In this work, laser ultrasonic measurements of graphite moduli have beenmore » made to provide insight into the relationship between the microstructures and the macroscopic stiffnesses of these materials. In particular, laser ultrasonic measurements have been made using laser line sources to produce shear waves with specific polarizations. By varying the line orientation relative to the sample, shear wave birefringence measurements have been recorded. Results from shear wave birefringence measurements show that an isostatically molded graphite, such as PCIB, behaves isotropically, while an extruded graphite, such as H-451, displays significant ultrasonic texture. Graphites have complicated microstructures that depend on the manufacturing processes used, and ultrasonic texture in these materials could originate from grain orientation and preferred microcrack alignment. Effects on material isotropy due to service related microstructural changes are possible and the ultimate aim of this work is to determine the degree to which these changes can be assessed nondestructively using laser ultrasonics measurements« less

Research on ultrasonic excitation for the removal of drilling fluid plug, paraffin deposition plug, polymer plug and inorganic scale plug for near-well ultrasonic processing technology.

PubMed

Wang, Zhenjun; Zeng, Jing; Song, Hao; Li, Feng

2017-05-01

Near-well ultrasonic processing technology attracts more attention due to its simple operation, high adaptability, low cost and no pollution to the formation. Although this technology has been investigated in detail through laboratory experiments and field tests, systematic and intensive researches are absent for certain major aspects, such as whether ultrasonic excitation is better than chemical agent for any plugs removal; whether ultrasound-chemical combination plug removal technology has the best plugs removal effect. In this paper, the comparison of removing drilling fluid plug, paraffin deposition plug, polymer plug and inorganic scale plug using ultrasonic excitation, chemical agent and ultrasound-chemical combination plug removal technology is investigated. Results show that the initial core permeability and ultrasonic frequency play a significant role in plug removal. Ultrasonic excitation and chemical agent have different impact on different plugs. The comparison results show that the effect of removing any plugs using ultrasound-chemicals composite plug removal technology is obviously better than that using ultrasonic excitation or chemical agent alone. Such conclusion proves that ultrasonic excitation and chemical agent can cause synergetic effects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of ultrasonic distillation to sparging of liquid mixtures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Han Jung; Jung, Hye Yun; Calo, Joseph; Diebold, Gerald

2011-04-01

The application of intense ultrasound to a liquid-gas interface results in the formation of an ultrasonic fountain and generates both mist and vapor from the liquid. Here, the composition of the vapor and aerosol above an ultrasonic fountain is determined as a function of irradiation time and compared with the results of sparging for five different solutions. The experimental apparatus for determining the efficiency of separation consists of a glass vessel containing a piezoelectric transducer driven at either 1.65 or 2.40 MHz. Dry nitrogen is passed over the ultrasonic fountain to remove the vapor and aerosol. The compositions of the liquid solutions are recorded as a function of irradiation time using gas chromatography, refractive index measurement, nuclear magnetic resonance, or spectrophotometry. Data are presented for ethanol-water and ethyl acetate-ethanol solutions, cobalt chloride in water, colloidal silica, and colloidal gold. The experiments show that ultrasonic distillation produces separations that are somewhat less complete than what is obtained using sparging.

Detection of Ultrasonic Stress Waves in Structures Using 3D Shaped Optic Fiber Based on a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer.

PubMed

Lan, Chengming; Zhou, Wensong; Xie, Yawen

2018-04-16

This work proposes a 3D shaped optic fiber sensor for ultrasonic stress waves detection based on the principle of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer. This sensor can be used to receive acoustic emission signals in the passive damage detection methods and other types of ultrasonic signals propagating in the active damage detection methods, such as guided wave-based methods. The sensitivity of an ultrasonic fiber sensor based on the Mach–Zehnder interferometer mainly depends on the length of the sensing optical fiber; therefore, the proposed sensor achieves the maximum possible sensitivity by wrapping an optical fiber on a hollow cylinder with a base. The deformation of the optical fiber is produced by the displacement field of guided waves in the hollow cylinder. The sensor was first analyzed using the finite element method, which demonstrated its basic sensing capacity, and the simulation signals have the same characteristics in the frequency domain as the excitation signal. Subsequently, the primary investigations were conducted via a series of experiments. The sensor was used to detect guided wave signals excited by a piezoelectric wafer in an aluminum plate, and subsequently it was tested on a reinforced concrete beam, which produced acoustic emission signals via impact loading and crack extension when it was loaded to failure. The signals obtained from a piezoelectric acoustic emission sensor were used for comparison, and the results indicated that the proposed 3D fiber optic sensor can detect ultrasonic signals in the specific frequency response range.

Detection of Ultrasonic Stress Waves in Structures Using 3D Shaped Optic Fiber Based on a Mach–Zehnder Interferometer

PubMed Central

Xie, Yawen

2018-01-01

This work proposes a 3D shaped optic fiber sensor for ultrasonic stress waves detection based on the principle of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer. This sensor can be used to receive acoustic emission signals in the passive damage detection methods and other types of ultrasonic signals propagating in the active damage detection methods, such as guided wave-based methods. The sensitivity of an ultrasonic fiber sensor based on the Mach–Zehnder interferometer mainly depends on the length of the sensing optical fiber; therefore, the proposed sensor achieves the maximum possible sensitivity by wrapping an optical fiber on a hollow cylinder with a base. The deformation of the optical fiber is produced by the displacement field of guided waves in the hollow cylinder. The sensor was first analyzed using the finite element method, which demonstrated its basic sensing capacity, and the simulation signals have the same characteristics in the frequency domain as the excitation signal. Subsequently, the primary investigations were conducted via a series of experiments. The sensor was used to detect guided wave signals excited by a piezoelectric wafer in an aluminum plate, and subsequently it was tested on a reinforced concrete beam, which produced acoustic emission signals via impact loading and crack extension when it was loaded to failure. The signals obtained from a piezoelectric acoustic emission sensor were used for comparison, and the results indicated that the proposed 3D fiber optic sensor can detect ultrasonic signals in the specific frequency response range. PMID:29659540

The parallel-sequential field subtraction techniques for nonlinear ultrasonic imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Jingwei; Potter, Jack N.; Drinkwater, Bruce W.

2018-04-01

Nonlinear imaging techniques have recently emerged which have the potential to detect cracks at a much earlier stage and have sensitivity to particularly closed defects. This study utilizes two modes of focusing: parallel, in which the elements are fired together with a delay law, and sequential, in which elements are fired independently. In the parallel focusing, a high intensity ultrasonic beam is formed in the specimen at the focal point. However, in sequential focusing only low intensity signals from individual elements enter the sample and the full matrix of transmit-receive signals is recorded; with elastic assumptions, both parallel and sequential images are expected to be identical. Here we measure the difference between these images formed from the coherent component of the field and use this to characterize nonlinearity of closed fatigue cracks. In particular we monitor the reduction in amplitude at the fundamental frequency at each focal point and use this metric to form images of the spatial distribution of nonlinearity. The results suggest the subtracted image can suppress linear features (e.g., back wall or large scatters) and allow damage to be detected at an early stage.

Advanced DPSM approach for modeling ultrasonic wave scattering in an arbitrary geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yadav, Susheel K.; Banerjee, Sourav; Kundu, Tribikram

2011-04-01

Several techniques are used to diagnose structural damages. In the ultrasonic technique structures are tested by analyzing ultrasonic signals scattered by damages. The interpretation of these signals requires a good understanding of the interaction between ultrasonic waves and structures. Therefore, researchers need analytical or numerical techniques to have a clear understanding of the interaction between ultrasonic waves and structural damage. However, modeling of wave scattering phenomenon by conventional numerical techniques such as finite element method requires very fine mesh at high frequencies necessitating heavy computational power. Distributed point source method (DPSM) is a newly developed robust mesh free technique to simulate ultrasonic, electrostatic and electromagnetic fields. In most of the previous studies the DPSM technique has been applied to model two dimensional surface geometries and simple three dimensional scatterer geometries. It was difficult to perform the analysis for complex three dimensional geometries. This technique has been extended to model wave scattering in an arbitrary geometry. In this paper a channel section idealized as a thin solid plate with several rivet holes is formulated. The simulation has been carried out with and without cracks near the rivet holes. Further, a comparison study has been also carried out to characterize the crack. A computer code has been developed in C for modeling the ultrasonic field in a solid plate with and without cracks near the rivet holes.

Studies on the preparation of Caro’s acid by ultrasonic enhanced electrochemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Linbo; Yu, Zeli; Hong, Tao; Fang, Zhao; Peng, Jishi; Yang, Zhao

2017-06-01

Ultrasonic cavitation effects can generate hydroxyl radicals and high energy, which is widely applied in the field of oxidation currently. Ultrasound-enhanced electrochemical is used to prepare Caro’s acid, which improves the generate rate of Caro’s acid. In this article, the influences of ultrasonic frequency and ultrasonic power on the electrolysis voltage, electrolyte temperature, electrolyte concentration and the concentration of additive in the process of electrochemical preparation of Caro’s acid was studied. And the optimal production conditions were determined. The research results showed that ultrasonic can significantly improve the production of Caro’s acid and the product can increase by about 20 g/L under the best condition.

Assessment of damage in ceramics and ceramic matrix composites using ultrasonic techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chu, Y. C.; Baaklini, G. Y.; Rokhlin, S.I.

1993-01-01

This paper addresses the application of ultrasonic sensing to damage assessment in ceramics and ceramic matrix composites. It focuses on damage caused by thermal shock or oxidation at elevated temperatures, which often results in elastic anisotropy. This damaged-induced anisotropy is determined by measuring the velocities of ultrasonic waves in different propagation directions. Thermal shock damage is assessed in ceramic samples of reaction bonded silicon nitride (RBSN). Thermal shock treatment from different temperatures up to 1000 C is applied to produce the microcracks. Results indicate that most microcracks produced by thermal shock are located near sample surfaces. Ultrasonic measurements using the surface wave method are found to correlate well with measurements of degradation of mechanical properties obtained independently by other authors using destructive methods. Oxidation damage is assessed in silicon carbide fiber/reaction bonded silicon nitride matrix (SCS-6/RBSN) composites. The oxidation is done by exposing the samples in a flowing oxygen environment at elevated temperatures, up to 1400 C, for 100 hr. The Youngs' modulus in the fiber direction as obtained from ultrasonic measurements decreases significantly at 600 C but retains its original value at temperatures above 1200 C. This agrees well with the results of destructive tests by other authors. On the other hand, the transverse moduli obtained from ultrasonic measurements decrease continually until 1200 C. Measurements on the shear stiffnesses show behavior similar to the transverse moduli. The results of this work show that the damage-induced anisotropy in both ceramics and ceramic matrix composites can be determined successfully by ultrasonic methods. This suggests the possibility of assessing damage severity using ultrasonic techniques.

Ultrasonic Measurement of Aircraft Strut Hydraulic Fluid Level

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allison, Sidney G.

2002-01-01

An ultrasonic method is presented for non-intrusively measuring hydraulic fluid level in aircraft struts in the field quickly and easily without modifying the strut or aircraft. The technique interrogates the strut with ultrasonic waves generated and received by a removable ultrasonic transducer hand-held on the outside of the strut in a fashion that is in the presence or absence of hydraulic fluid inside the strut. This technique was successfully demonstrated on an A-6 aircraft strut on the carriage at the Aircraft Landing Dynamics Research Facility at NASA Langley Research Center. Conventional practice upon detection of strut problem symptoms is to remove aircraft from service for extensive maintenance to determine fluid level. No practical technique like the method presented herein for locating strut hydraulic fluid level is currently known to be used.

Development of an Ultrasonic Resonator for Ballast Water Disinfection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osman, Hafiiz; Lim, Fannon; Lucas, Margaret; Balasubramaniam, Prakash

Ultrasonic disinfection involves the application of low-frequency acoustic energy in a water body to induce cavitation. The implosion of cavitation bubbles generates high speed microjets >1 km/s, intense shock wave >1 GPa, localized hot spots >1000 K, and free-radicals, resulting in cell rupture and death of micro-organisms and pathogens. Treatment of marine ballast water using power ultrasonics is an energy-intensive process. Compared with other physical treatment methods such as ultraviolet disinfection, ultrasonic disinfection require 2 to 3 orders of magnitude more energy to achieve similar rate of micro-organism mortality. Current technology limits the amount of acoustic energy that can be transferred per unit volume of fluid and presents challenges when it comes to high-flow applications. Significant advancements in ultrasonic processing technology are needed before ultrasound can be recognized as a viable alternative disinfection method. The ultrasonic resonator has been identified as one of the areas of improvement that can potentially contribute to the overall performance of an ultrasonic disinfection system. The present study focuses on the design of multiple-orifice resonators (MOR) for generating a well-distributed cavitation field. Results show that the MOR resonator offers significantly larger vibrational surface area to mass ratio. In addition, acoustic pressure measurements indicate that the MOR resonators are able to distribute the acoustic energy across a larger surface area, while generating 2-4 times higher pressures than existing ultrasonic probes.

NDE application of ultrasonic tomography to a full-scale concrete structure.

PubMed

Choi, Hajin; Popovics, John S

2015-06-01

Newly developed ultrasonic imaging technology for large concrete elements, based on tomographic reconstruction, is presented. The developed 3-D internal images (velocity tomograms) are used to detect internal defects (polystyrene foam and pre-cracked concrete prisms) that represent structural damage within a large steel reinforced concrete element. A hybrid air-coupled/contact transducer system is deployed. Electrostatic air-coupled transducers are used to generate ultrasonic energy and contact accelerometers are attached on the opposing side of the concrete element to detect the ultrasonic pulses. The developed hybrid testing setup enables collection of a large amount of high-quality, through-thickness ultrasonic data without surface preparation to the concrete. The algebraic reconstruction technique is used to reconstruct p-wave velocity tomograms from the obtained time signal data. A comparison with a one-sided ultrasonic imaging method is presented for the same specimen. Through-thickness tomography shows some benefit over one-sided imaging for highly reinforced concrete elements. The results demonstrate that the proposed through-thickness ultrasonic technique shows great potential for evaluation of full-scale concrete structures in the field.

Geometric Limitations Of Ultrasonic Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Nicolai, C.; Schilling, F.

2006-12-01

Laboratory experiments are a key for interpreting seismic field observations. Due to their potential in many experimental set-ups, the determination of elastic properties of minerals and rocks by ultrasonic measurements is common in Geosciences. The quality and thus use of ultrasonic data, however, strongly depends on the sample geometry and wavelength of the sound wave. Two factors, the diameter-to-wavelength- ratio and the diameter-to-length-ratio, are believed to be the essential parameters to affect ultrasonic signal quality. In this study, we determined under well defined conditions the restricting dimensional parameters to test the validity of published assumptions. By the use of commercial ultrasonic transducers a number of experiments were conducted on aluminium, alumina, and acrylic glass rods of varying diameter (30-10 mm) and constant length. At each diameter compressional wave travel times were measured by pulse- transmission method. From the observed travel times ultrasonic wave velocities were calculated. One additional experiment was performed with a series of square-shaped aluminium blocks in order to investigate the effect of the geometry of the samples cross-sectional area. The experimental results show that the simple diameter-to-wavelength ratios are not valid even under idealized experimental conditions and more complex relation has to be talen into account. As diameter decreases the P-waves direct phase is increasingly interfered and weakened by sidewall reflections. At very small diameters compressional waves are replaced by bar waves and P-wave signals become non resolvable. Considering the suppression of both effects, a critical D/ë-ratio was determined and compared to experimental set-ups from various publications. These tests indicate that some published and cited data derived from small diameter set-ups are out off the range of physical possibility.

Enhanced retroviral gene delivery in ultrasonic standing wave fields.

PubMed

Lee, Y-H; Peng, C-A

2005-04-01

Enhancement of retroviral transduction efficiency has been achieved by several physical and chemical approaches. However, the application of those methods is hampered by not easily scalable configurations. In this study, instead of looking into the effect of sonoporation, the potential of ultrasonic standing wave fields (USWF) to facilitate retroviral transduction rate was explored. We reasoned that, driven by the primary acoustic radiation force, suspended cells moved to the pressure nodal planes first and formed cell bands. Nanometer-sized retroviruses, circulated between nodal planes by acoustic microstreaming, then used the preformed cell bands as the nucleating sites to attach on. As a result, the encounter opportunity between retroviruses and cells was increased and further facilitated the gene delivery efficiency. Our results showed that mega-Hertz USWF brought K562 erythroleukemia cells (10(6) cells/ml) and vesicular stomatitis virus G-protein (VSV-G) pseudotyped retroviruses (titer of 5 x 10(6) CFU/ml) into close contact at the pressure nodal planes, yielding a four-fold increment of enhanced green fluorescent protein transgene expression after 5-min USWF exposure in the presence of Polybrene. Furthermore, with a fixed titer of retrovirus, the transduction rate was augmented with the increase of cell concentration. In summary, USWF offer a feasible means to enhance retroviral transduction efficiency in large-scale settings.

GPU Accelerated Ultrasonic Tomography Using Propagation and Back Propagation Method

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-28

the medical imaging field using GPUs has been done for many years. In [1], Copeland et al. used 2D images , obtained by X - ray projections, to...Index Terms— Medical Imaging , Ultrasonic Tomography, GPU, CUDA, Parallel Computing I. INTRODUCTION GRAPHIC Processing Units (GPUs) are computation... Imaging Algorithm The process of reconstructing images from ultrasonic infor- mation starts with the following acoustical wave equation: ∂2 ∂t2 u ( x

Electroless deposition of nickel-boron coatings using low frequency ultrasonic agitation: Effect of ultrasonic frequency on the coatings.

PubMed

Bonin, L; Bains, N; Vitry, V; Cobley, A J

2017-05-01

The effect of ultrasound on the properties of Nickel-Boron (NiB) coatings was investigated. NiB coatings were fabricated by electroless deposition using either ultrasonic or mechanical agitation. The deposition of Ni occurred in an aqueous bath containing a reducible metal salt (nickel chloride), reducing agent (sodium borohydride), complexing agent (ethylenediamine) and stabilizer (lead tungstate). Due to the instability of the borohydride in acidic, neutral and slightly alkaline media, pH was controlled at pH 12±1 in order to avoid destabilizing the bath. Deposition was performed in three different configurations: one with a classical mechanical agitation at 300rpm and the other two employing ultrasound at a frequency of either 20 or 35kHz. The microstructures of the electroless coatings were characterized by a combination of optical Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The chemistry of the coatings was determined by ICP-AES (Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectrometry) after dissolution in aqua regia. The mechanical properties of the coatings were established by a combination of roughness measurements, Vickers microhardness and pin-on-disk tribology tests. Lastly, the corrosion properties were analysed by potentiodynamic polarization. The results showed that low frequency ultrasonic agitation could be used to produce coatings from an alkaline NiB bath and that the thickness of coatings obtained could be increased by over 50% compared to those produced using mechanical agitation. Although ultrasonic agitation produced a smoother coating and some alteration of the deposit morphology was observed, the mechanical and corrosion properties were very similar to those found when using mechanical agitation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonic power measurement system based on acousto-optic interaction.

PubMed

He, Liping; Zhu, Fulong; Chen, Yanming; Duan, Ke; Lin, Xinxin; Pan, Yongjun; Tao, Jiaquan

2016-05-01

Ultrasonic waves are widely used, with applications including the medical, military, and chemical fields. However, there are currently no effective methods for ultrasonic power measurement. Previously, ultrasonic power measurement has been reliant on mechanical methods such as hydrophones and radiation force balances. This paper deals with ultrasonic power measurement based on an unconventional method: acousto-optic interaction. Compared with mechanical methods, the optical method has a greater ability to resist interference and also has reduced environmental requirements. Therefore, this paper begins with an experimental determination of the acoustic power in water contained in a glass tank using a set of optical devices. Because the light intensity of the diffraction image generated by acousto-optic interaction contains the required ultrasonic power information, specific software was written to extract the light intensity information from the image through a combination of filtering, binarization, contour extraction, and other image processing operations. The power value can then be obtained rapidly by processing the diffraction image using a computer. The results of this work show that the optical method offers advantages that include accuracy, speed, and a noncontact measurement method.

Ultrasonic power measurement system based on acousto-optic interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Liping; Zhu, Fulong; Chen, Yanming; Duan, Ke; Lin, Xinxin; Pan, Yongjun; Tao, Jiaquan

2016-05-01

Ultrasonic waves are widely used, with applications including the medical, military, and chemical fields. However, there are currently no effective methods for ultrasonic power measurement. Previously, ultrasonic power measurement has been reliant on mechanical methods such as hydrophones and radiation force balances. This paper deals with ultrasonic power measurement based on an unconventional method: acousto-optic interaction. Compared with mechanical methods, the optical method has a greater ability to resist interference and also has reduced environmental requirements. Therefore, this paper begins with an experimental determination of the acoustic power in water contained in a glass tank using a set of optical devices. Because the light intensity of the diffraction image generated by acousto-optic interaction contains the required ultrasonic power information, specific software was written to extract the light intensity information from the image through a combination of filtering, binarization, contour extraction, and other image processing operations. The power value can then be obtained rapidly by processing the diffraction image using a computer. The results of this work show that the optical method offers advantages that include accuracy, speed, and a noncontact measurement method.

High frequency copolymer ultrasonic transducer array of size-effective elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Decharat, Adit; Wagle, Sanat; Habib, Anowarul; Jacobsen, Svein; Melandsø, Frank

2018-02-01

A layer-by-layer deposition method for producing dual-layer ultrasonic transducers from piezoelectric copolymers has been developed. The method uses a combination of customized and standard processing to obtain 2D array transducers with electrical connection of the individual elements routed directly to the rear of the substrate. A numerical model was implemented to study basic parameters effecting the transducer characteristics. Key elements of the array were characterized and evaluated, demonstrating its viability of 2D imaging. Signal reproducibility of the prototype array was studied by characterizing the variations of the center frequency (≈42 MHz) and bandwidth (≈25 MHz) of the acoustic. Object identification was also tested and parameterized by acoustic-field beamwidth as well as proper scan step size. Simple tests to illustrate a benefit of multi-element scan on lowering the inspection time were conducted. Structural imaging of the test structure underneath multi-layered wave media (glass plate and distilled water) was also performed. The prototype presented in this work is an important step towards realizing an inexpensive, compact array of individually operated copolymer transducers that can serve in a fast/volumetric high frequency (HF) ultrasonic scanning platform.

Ultrasonic Maintenance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The Ultraprobe 2000, manufactured by UE Systems, Inc., Elmsford, NY, is a hand-held ultrasonic system that detects indications of bearing failure by analyzing changes in amplitude. It employs the technology of a prototype ultrasonic bearing-failure monitoring system developed by Mechanical Technology, Inc., Latham, New York and Marshall Space Flight Center (which was based on research into Skylab's gyroscope bearings). Bearings on the verge of failure send ultrasonic signals indicating their deterioration; the Ultraprobe changes these to audible signals. The operator hears the signals and gages their intensity with a meter in the unit.

Comparison of Tissue Injury from Focused Ultrasonic Propulsion of Kidney Stones Versus Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy

PubMed Central

Connors, Bret A.; Evan, Andrew P.; Blomgren, Philip M.; Hsi, Ryan S.; Harper, Jonathan D.; Sorensen, Mathew D.; Wang, Yak-Nam; Simon, Julianna C.; Paun, Marla; Starr, Frank; Cunitz, Bryan W.; Bailey, Michael R.; Lingeman, James E.

2013-01-01

Purpose Focused ultrasonic propulsion is a new non-invasive technique designed to move kidney stones and stone fragments out of the urinary collecting system. However, the extent of tissue injury associated with this technique is not known. As such, we quantitated the amount of tissue injury produced by focused ultrasonic propulsion under simulated clinical treatment conditions, and under conditions of higher power or continuous duty cycles, and compared those results to SWL injury. Materials and Methods A human calcium oxalate monohydrate stone and/or nickel beads were implanted (with ureteroscopy) into 3 kidneys of live pigs (45–55 kg) and repositioned using focused ultrasonic propulsion. Additional pig kidneys were exposed to SWL level pulse intensities or continuous ultrasound exposure of 10 minutes duration (ultrasound probe either transcutaneous or on the kidney). These kidneys were compared to 6 kidneys treated with an unmodified Dornier HM3 Lithotripter (2400 shocks, 120 SWs/min and 24 kV). Histological analysis was performed to assess the volume of hemorrhagic tissue injury created by each technique (% functional renal volume, FRV). Results SWL produced a lesion of 1.56±0.45% FRV. Ultrasonic propulsion produced no detectable lesion with the simulated clinical treatment. A lesion of 0.46±0.37% FRV or 1.15±0.49% FRV could be produced if excessive treatment parameters were used while the ultrasound probe was placed on the kidney. Conclusions Focused ultrasonic propulsion produced no detectable morphological injury to the renal parenchyma when using clinical treatment parameters and produced injury comparable in size to SWL when using excessive treatment parameters. PMID:23917165

Research on Dust Concentration Measurement Technique Based on the Theory of Ultrasonic Attenuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yan; Lou, Wenzhong; Liao, Maohao

2018-03-01

In this paper, a method of characteristics dust concentration is proposed, which based on ultrasonic changes of MEMS piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer. The principle is that the intensity of the ultrasonic will produce attenuation with the propagation medium and propagation distance, the attenuation coefficient is affect by dust concentration. By detecting the changes of ultra acoustic in the dust, the concentration of the dust is calculate by the attenuation-concentration model, and the EACH theory model is based on this principle. The experimental results show that the MEMS piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer can be use for dust concentration of 100-900 g/m3 detection, the deviation between theory and experiments is smaller than 10.4%.

Effect of Ultrasonic Frequency on Lactic Acid Fermentation Promotion by Ultrasonic Irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimada, Tadayuki; Ohdaira, Etsuzo; Masuzawa, Nobuyoshi

2004-05-01

The authors have been researching the promotion of lactic acid fermentation by ultrasonic irradiation. In the past research, it was proven that ultrasonic irradiation is effective in the process of fermentation, and the production of yoghurt and kefir was promoted. In this study, the effect of the ultrasonic frequency in this fermentation process was examined. In the frequency range of this study, it was found that the action of fermentation promotion was exponentially proportionate to the irradiated ultrasonic frequency.

An extended model for ultrasonic-based enhanced oil recovery with experimental validation.

PubMed

Mohsin, Mohammed; Meribout, Mahmoud

2015-03-01

This paper suggests a new ultrasonic-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) model for application in oil field reservoirs. The model is modular and consists of an acoustic module and a heat transfer module, where the heat distribution is updated when the temperature rise exceeds 1 °C. The model also considers the main EOR parameters which includes both the geophysical (i.e., porosity, permeability, temperature rise, and fluid viscosity) and acoustical (e.g., acoustic penetration and pressure distribution in various fluids and mediums) properties of the wells. Extended experiments were performed using powerful ultrasonic waves which were applied for different kind of oils & oil saturated core samples. The corresponding results showed a good matching with those obtained from simulations, validating the suggested model to some extent. Hence, a good recovery rate of around 88.2% of original oil in place (OOIP) was obtained after 30 min of continuous generation of ultrasonic waves. This leads to consider the ultrasonic-based EOR as another tangible solution for EOR. This claim is supported further by considering several injection wells where the simulation results indicate that with four (4) injection wells; the recovery rate may increase up-to 96.7% of OOIP. This leads to claim the high potential of ultrasonic-based EOR as compared to the conventional methods. Following this study, the paper also proposes a large scale ultrasonic-based EOR hardware system for installation in oil fields. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tumour cell dispersion by the ultrasonic aspirator during brain tumour resection.

PubMed

Preston, J K; Masciopinto, J; Salamat, M S; Badie, B

1999-10-01

Ultrasonic aspirators are commonly used to resect brain tumours because they allow safe, rapid and accurate removal of diseased tissue. Since ultrasonic aspirators generate a spray of aerosolized irrigating fluid around the instrument tip, we questioned whether this spray might contain viable tumours cells that could contribute to intraoperative spread of tumour fragments. To test this hypothesis, we collected the spray produced during the resection of nine brain tumours with an ultrasonic aspirator and semi-quantitatively analysed it for tumour presence. The aerosolized irrigation fluid was found to contain intact tumour cells or clumps of tumour cells in all nine instances, and there was a trend of increasing tumour cell dispersion with increasing ultrasonic aspiration times. Further examination is required to determine if this intraoperative dispersion of apparently viable tumour fragments contributes to local neoplasm recurrence.

Experimental investigation of conical bubble structure and acoustic flow structure in ultrasonic field.

PubMed

Ma, Xiaojian; Huang, Biao; Wang, Guoyu; Zhang, Mindi

2017-01-01

The objective of this paper is to investigate the transient conical bubble structure (CBS) and acoustic flow structure in ultrasonic field. In the experiment, the high-speed video and particle image velocimetry (PIV) techniques are used to measure the acoustic cavitation patterns, as well as the flow velocity and vorticity fields. Results are presented for a high power ultrasound with a frequency of 18kHz, and the range of the input power is from 50W to 250W. The results of the experiment show the input power significantly affects the structures of CBS, with the increase of input power, the cavity region of CBS and the velocity of bubbles increase evidently. For the transient motion of bubbles on radiating surface, two different types could be classified, namely the formation, aggregation and coalescence of cavitation bubbles, and the aggregation, shrink, expansion and collapse of bubble cluster. Furthermore, the thickness of turbulent boundary layer near the sonotrode region is found to be much thicker, and the turbulent intensities are much higher for relatively higher input power. The vorticity distribution is prominently affected by the spatial position and input power. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonic alignment of microparticles in nozzle-like geometries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whittaker, Molly A.; Dauson, Erin R.; Parra-Raad, Jaime; Heard, Robert A.; Oppenheim, Irving J.

2018-03-01

Additive manufacturing (3-D printing) is presently limited by the mechanical properties of the materials, such as polymer resins, that are otherwise efficient and economical for part-forming. Reinforcing the resin with microscale fibers and/or particles would be an effective mechanism to achieve desired mechanical properties such as strength and ductility. Our work combines standing wave ultrasonics and microfluidics to align microparticles in devices that can act as print nozzles, based in part on our prior work with cell sorting. In this paper three different approaches are presented illustrating different engineering tradeoffs, and demonstrating laboratory results of particle alignment. First acoustic resonators are discussed, in which the ultrasonic standing waves result mostly from the mechanical properties of the microfluidic structure, excited by a piezoceramic transducer. Next non-resonant microfluidic structures are discussed, in which ultrasonic standing waves are produced directly by symmetrical transducer deployment. Finally, devices that combine nozzle-like structures, which themselves are suitable acoustic resonators, subjected to symmetrical ultrasonic excitation are presented. We will show that all three configurations will align microparticles, and discuss the tradeoffs among them for subsequent configuration of a print nozzle.

Coherent Lienard-Wiechert fields produced by free electron lasers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elias, L.R.; Gallardo, J.C.

1981-12-01

Results are presented here of a three-dimensional numerical analysis of the radiation fields produced in a free electron laser. The method used here to obtain the spatial and temporal behavior of the radiated fields is based on the coherent superposition of the exact Lienard-Wiechert fields produced by each electron in the beam. Interference effects are responsible for the narrow angular radiation patterns obtained and for the high degree of monochromaticity of the radiated field.

Topology optimized design of functionally graded piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubio, Wilfredo Montealegre; Buiochi, Flávio; Adamowski, Julio Cezar; Silva, Emílio C. N.

2010-01-01

This work presents a new approach to systematically design piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers based on Topology Optimization Method (TOM) and Functionally Graded Material (FGM) concepts. The main goal is to find the optimal material distribution of Functionally Graded Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducers, to achieve the following requirements: (i) the transducer must be designed to have a multi-modal or uni-modal frequency response, which defines the kind of generated acoustic wave, either short pulse or continuous wave, respectively; (ii) the transducer is required to oscillate in a thickness extensional mode or piston-like mode, aiming at acoustic wave generation applications. Two kinds of piezoelectric materials are mixed for producing the FGM transducer. Material type 1 represents a PZT-5A piezoelectric ceramic and material type 2 represents a PZT-5H piezoelectric ceramic. To illustrate the proposed method, two Functionally Graded Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducers are designed. The TOM has shown to be a useful tool for designing Functionally Graded Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducers with uni-modal or multi-modal dynamic behavior.

Broadband reflective metasurface for focusing underwater ultrasonic waves with linearly tunable focal length

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Xiaoxiao; Tian, Jingxuan; Wen, Weijia, E-mail: phwen@ust.hk

2016-04-18

We report a metasurface for focusing reflected ultrasonic waves over a wide frequency band of 0.45–0.55 MHz. The broadband focusing effect of the reflective metasurface is studied numerically and then confirmed experimentally using near-field scanning techniques. The focusing mechanism can be attributed to the hyperboloidal reflection phase profile imposed by different depths of concentric grooves on the metasurface. In particular, the focal lengths of the reflective metasurface are extracted from simulations and experiments, and both exhibit good linear dependence on frequency over the considered frequency band. The proposed broadband reflective metasurface with tunable focal length has potential applications in the broadmore » field of ultrasonics, such as ultrasonic tomographic imaging, high intensity focused ultrasound treatment, etc.« less

Ultrasonic Bolt Gage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gleman, Stuart M. (Inventor); Rowe, Geoffrey K. (Inventor)

1999-01-01

An ultrasonic bolt gage is described which uses a crosscorrelation algorithm to determine a tension applied to a fastener, such as a bolt. The cross-correlation analysis is preferably performed using a processor operating on a series of captured ultrasonic echo waveforms. The ultrasonic bolt gage is further described as using the captured ultrasonic echo waveforms to perform additional modes of analysis, such as feature recognition. Multiple tension data outputs, therefore, can be obtained from a single data acquisition for increased measurement reliability. In addition, one embodiment of the gage has been described as multi-channel, having a multiplexer for performing a tension analysis on one of a plurality of bolts.

MOSFET-based high voltage short pulse generator for ultrasonic transducer excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hidayat, Darmawan; Setianto, Syafei, Nendi Suhendi; Wibawa, Bambang Mukti

2018-02-01

This paper presents the generation of a high-voltage short pulse for the excitation of high frequency ultrasonic transducers. This is highly required in the purpose of various ultrasonic-based evaluations, particularly when high resolution measurement is necessary. A high voltage (+760 V) DC voltage source was pulsated by an ultrafast switching MOSFET which was driven by a pulse generator circuit consisting of an astable multivibrator, a one-shot multivibrator with Schmitt trigger input and a high current MOSFET driver. The generated pulses excited a 200-kHz and a 1-MHz ultrasonic transducers and tested in the transmission mode propagation to evaluate the performances of the generated pulse. The test results showed the generator were able to produce negative spike pulses up to -760 V voltage with the shortest time-width of 107.1 nanosecond. The transmission-received ultrasonic waves show frequency oscillation at 200 and 961 kHz and their amplitudes varied with the voltage of excitation pulse. These results conclude that the developed pulse generator is applicable to excite transducer for the generation of high frequency ultrasonic waves.

Planar Rotary Piezoelectric Motor Using Ultrasonic Horns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sherrit, Stewart; Bao, Xiaoqi; Badescu, Mircea; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Geiyer, Daniel; Ostlund, Patrick N.; Allen, Phillip

2011-01-01

A motor involves a simple design that can be embedded into a plate structure by incorporating ultrasonic horn actuators into the plate. The piezoelectric material that is integrated into the horns is pre-stressed with flexures. Piezoelectric actuators are attractive for their ability to generate precision high strokes, torques, and forces while operating under relatively harsh conditions (temperatures at single-digit K to as high as 1,273 K). Electromagnetic motors (EM) typically have high rotational speed and low torque. In order to produce a useful torque, these motors are geared down to reduce the speed and increase the torque. This gearing adds mass and reduces the efficiency of the EM. Piezoelectric motors can be designed with high torques and lower speeds directly without the need for gears. Designs were developed for producing rotary motion based on the Barth concept of an ultrasonic horn driving a rotor. This idea was extended to a linear motor design by having the horns drive a slider. The unique feature of these motors is that they can be designed in a monolithic planar structure. The design is a unidirectional motor, which is driven by eight horn actuators, that rotates in the clockwise direction. There are two sets of flexures. The flexures around the piezoelectric material are pre-stress flexures and they pre-load the piezoelectric disks to maintain their being operated under compression when electric field is applied. The other set of flexures is a mounting flexure that attaches to the horn at the nodal point and can be designed to generate a normal force between the horn tip and the rotor so that to first order it operates independently and compensates for the wear between the horn and the rotor.

Inorganic plugs removal using ultrasonic waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Nasir; Pu, Chunsheng; Xu, Li; Lei, Zhang

2017-03-01

It is essential to recover the lost productivity caused by formation damage in the proximity of the wellbore during different well operations. In comparison to conventionally used methods, the efficiency, reliability, environment friendly, and simple and convenient technique of ultrasonic waves make it more attractive in petroleum industries. In current study, ultrasonic waves were applied to mitigate the formation damage caused by deposition of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) nearby well bore. Results showed that 100 minutes exposure time could efficiently recover 38.1% of original productivity but further increase in irradiation time (120mins) would decrease the recovery to 37.1%. This aberration can be attributed to the particle-bridge formation formed by larger particles at later stages and tendency of acoustic wave to push back the fluid flow. Moreover, ultrasonic waves transducer#2 (Frequency 20KHz and Power 1000W) could recovery maximum recovery of 36.3%, however, high frequency transducer was not effective in this recovery. This inorganic removal can be attributed to the cavitation and thermal energy produced through three different ways including cavitation, boundary friction and transformation upon hitting the medium.

Ultrasonic Phased Array Sound Field Mapping Through Large-Bore Coarse Grained Cast Austenitic Stainless Steel (CASS) Piping Materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cinson, Anthony D.; Crawford, Susan L.; Prowant, Matthew S.

2012-04-16

A sound field beam mapping exercise was conducted to further understand the effects of coarse grained microstructures found in CASS materials on phased array ultrasonic wave propagation. Laboratory measurements were made on three CASS specimens with different microstructures; the specimens were polished and etched to reveal measurable grain sizes, shapes and orientations. Three longitudinal, phased array probes were fixed on a specimen's outside diameter with the sound field directed toward one end (face) of the pipe segment over a fixed range of angles. A point receiver was raster scanned over the surface of the specimen face generating a sound fieldmore » image. A slice of CASS material was then removed from the specimen end and the beam mapping exercise repeated. The sound fields acquired were analyzed for spot size, coherency, and beam redirection. Analyses were conducted between the resulting sound fields and the microstructural characteristics of each specimen.« less

The use of ultrasonic properties of CR-39 track detectors in neutron dosimetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afifi, H.; El-Sersy, A.; Khaled, N.

2004-01-01

The longitudinal and shear wave ultrasonic velocities have been measured before and after exposing 5-mm thick CR-39 solid state nuclear track detectors to both a mixed field of gamma-rays and fast neutrons from an Am-Be source in the ranges from 0 to 10 4 mSv. The change in the intermolecular structure as caused by the fast neutron exposure was studied by the ultrasonic pulse echo method at a frequency of 2 MHz and at room temperature. The elastic coefficients, Poisson's ratio, microhardness, ultrasonic absorption coefficient and internal friction have been determined. The study shows that the gamma-ray irradiation had no effect on the ultrasonic properties of CR-39 at least at the used doses. However, all the ultrasonic properties are influenced by the fast neutrons at doses up to 10 4 mSv. Our experimental results confirmed that the ultrasonic technique is useful for fast neutron detection, by exploiting the differences in mechanical properties of CR-39.

Graphite Microstructural Characterization Using Time-Domain and Correlation-Based Ultrasonics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spicer, James

Among techniques that have been used to determine elastic modulus in nuclear graphites, ultrasonic methods have enjoyed wide use and standards using contacting piezoelectric tranducers have been developed to ensure repeatability of these types of measurements. However, the use of couplants and the pressures used to effectively couple transducers to samples can bias measurements and produce results that are not wholly related to the properties of the graphite itself. In this work, we have investigated the use of laser ultrasonic methods for making elastic modulus measurements in nuclear graphites. These methods use laser-based transmitters and receivers to gather data andmore » do not require use of ultrasonic couplants or mechanical contact with the sample. As a result, information directly related to the elastic responses of graphite can be gathered even if the graphite is porous, brittle and compliant. In particular, we have demonstrated the use of laser ultrasonics for the determination of both Young’s modulus and shear modulus in a range of nuclear graphites including those that are being considered for use in future nuclear reactors. These results have been analyzed to assess the contributions of porosity and microcracking to the elastic responses of these graphites. Laser-based methods have also been used to assess the moduli of NBG-18 and IG-110 where samples of each grade were oxidized to produce specific changes in porosity. These data were used to develop new models for the elastic responses of nuclear graphites and these models have been used to infer specific changes in graphite microstructure that occur during oxidation that affect elastic modulus. Specifically, we show how ultrasonic measurements in oxidized graphites are consistent with nano/microscale oxidation processes where basal plane edges react more readily than basal plane surfaces. We have also shown the use of laser-based methods to perform shear-wave birefringence measurements and have

Comparison of tissue injury from focused ultrasonic propulsion of kidney stones versus extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.

PubMed

Connors, Bret A; Evan, Andrew P; Blomgren, Philip M; Hsi, Ryan S; Harper, Jonathan D; Sorensen, Mathew D; Wang, Yak-Nam; Simon, Julianna C; Paun, Marla; Starr, Frank; Cunitz, Bryan W; Bailey, Michael R; Lingeman, James E

2014-01-01

Focused ultrasonic propulsion is a new noninvasive technique designed to move kidney stones and stone fragments out of the urinary collecting system. However, to our knowledge the extent of tissue injury associated with this technique is not known. We quantitated the amount of tissue injury produced by focused ultrasonic propulsion under simulated clinical treatment conditions and under conditions of higher power or continuous duty cycles. We compared those results to extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy injury. A human calcium oxalate monohydrate stone and/or nickel beads were implanted by ureteroscopy in 3 kidneys of live pigs weighing 45 to 55 kg and repositioned using focused ultrasonic propulsion. Additional pig kidneys were exposed to extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy level pulse intensity or continuous ultrasound exposure 10 minutes in duration using an ultrasound probe transcutaneously or on the kidney. These kidneys were compared to 6 treated with an unmodified Dornier HM3 lithotripter (Dornier Medical Systems, Kennesaw, Georgia) using 2,400 shocks at 120 shock waves per minute and 24 kV. Histological analysis was performed to assess the volume of hemorrhagic tissue injury created by each technique according to the percent of functional renal volume. Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy produced a mean ± SEM lesion of 1.56% ± 0.45% of functional renal volume. Ultrasonic propulsion produced no detectable lesion with simulated clinical treatment. A lesion of 0.46% ± 0.37% or 1.15% ± 0.49% of functional renal volume was produced when excessive treatment parameters were used with the ultrasound probe placed on the kidney. Focused ultrasonic propulsion produced no detectable morphological injury to the renal parenchyma when using clinical treatment parameters but produced injury comparable in size to that of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy when using excessive treatment parameters. Copyright © 2014 American Urological Association Education and

Study of ultrasonic cavitation during extraction of the peanut oil at varying frequencies.

PubMed

Zhang, Lei; Zhou, Cunshan; Wang, Bei; Yagoub, Abu El-Gasim A; Ma, Haile; Zhang, Xiao; Wu, Mian

2017-07-01

The ultrasonic extraction of oils is a typical physical processing technology. The extraction process was monitored from the standpoint of the oil quality and efficiency of oil extraction. In this study, the ultrasonic cavitation fields were measured by polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) sensor. Waveform of ultrasonic cavitation fields was gained and analyzed. The extraction yield and oxidation properties were compared. The relationship between the fields and cavitation oxidation was established. Numerical calculation of oscillation cycle was done for the cavitation bubbles. Results showed that the resonance frequency, f r , of the oil extraction was 40kHz. At f r , the voltage amplitude was the highest; the time was the shortest as reaching the amplitude of the waveform. Accordingly, the cavitation effect worked most rapidly, resulting in the strongest cavitation intensity. The extraction yield and oxidation properties were closely related to the cavitation effect. It controlled the cavitation oxidation effectively from the viewpoint of chemical and physical aspects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonic Determination Of Recrystallization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Generazio, Edward R.

1988-01-01

State of recrystallization identified. Measurement of ultrasonic attenuation shows promise as means of detecting recrystallization in metal. Technique applicable to real-time acoustic monitoring of thermomechanical treatments. Starting with work-hardened material, one ultrasonically determines effect of annealing, using correlation between ultrasonic attenuation and temperature.

Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation Techniques Applied to the Quantitative Characterization of Textile Composite Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, James G.

1997-01-01

In this Progress Report, we describe our recent developments of advanced ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation methods applied to the characterization of anisotropic materials. We present images obtained from experimental measurements of ultrasonic diffraction patterns for a thin woven composite in an immersion setup. In addition, we compare apparent signal loss measurements of the thin woven composite for phase-sensitive and phase-insensitive detection methods. All images of diffraction patterns have been included on the accompanying CD-ROM in the Adobe(Trademark) Portable Document Format (PDF). Due to the extensive amount of data, however, hardcopies of only a small representative selection of the images are included within the printed report. This Progress Report presents experimental results that support successful implementation of single element as well as one and two-dimensional ultrasonic array technologies for the inspection of textile composite structures. In our previous reports, we have addressed issues regarding beam profiles of ultrasonic pressure fields transmitted through a water reference path and transmitted through a thin woven composite sample path. Furthermore, we presented experimental results of the effect of a thin woven composite on the magnitude of an insonifying ultrasonic pressure field. In addition to the study of ultrasonic beam profiles, we consider issues relevant to the application of single-element, one-dimensional, and two-dimensional array technologies towards probing the mechanical properties of advanced engineering composites and structures. We provide comparisons between phase-sensitive and phase-insensitive detection methods for determination of textile composite structure parameters. We also compare phase-sensitive and phase-insensitive - - ---- ----- apparent signal loss measurements in an effort to study the phenomenon of phase cancellation at the face of a finite-aperture single-element receiver. Furthermore, in this

Ultrasonic cleaning: Fundamental theory and application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuchs, F. John

1995-01-01

This presentation describes: the theory of ultrasonics, cavitation and implosion; the importance and application of ultrasonics in precision cleaning; explanations of ultrasonic cleaning equipment options and their application; process parameters for ultrasonic cleaning; and proper operation of ultrasonic cleaning equipment to achieve maximum results.

The acousto-ultrasonic approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vary, Alex

1987-01-01

The nature and underlying rationale of the acousto-ultrasonic approach is reviewed, needed advanced signal analysis and evaluation methods suggested, and application potentials discussed. Acousto-ultrasonics is an NDE technique combining aspects of acoustic emission methodology with ultrasonic simulation of stress waves. This approach uses analysis of simulated stress waves for detecting and mapping variations of mechanical properties. Unlike most NDE, acousto-ultrasonics is less concerned with flaw detection than with the assessment of the collective effects of various flaws and material anomalies. Acousto-ultrasonics has been applied chiefly to laminated and filament-wound fiber reinforced composites. It has been used to assess the significant strength and toughness reducing effects that can be wrought by combinations of essentially minor flaws and diffuse flaw populations. Acousto-ultrasonics assesses integrated defect states and the resultant variations in properties such as tensile, shear, and flexural strengths and fracture resistance. Matrix cure state, porosity, fiber orientation, fiber volume fraction, fiber-matrix bonding, and interlaminar bond quality are underlying factors.

Numerical simulation and experiment on effect of ultrasonic in polymer extrusion processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Yue; Fu, ZhiHong; Wei, LingJiao; Zang, Gongzheng; Zhang, Lei

2018-01-01

The influence of ultrasonic wave on the flow field parameters and the precision of extruded products are studied. Firstly, the effect of vibration power on the average velocity of the outlet, the average viscosity of the die section, the average shear rate and the inlet pressure of the die section were studied by using the Polyflow software. Secondly, the effects of ultrasonic strength on the die temperature and the drop of die pressure were studied experimentally by different head temperature and different screw speed. Finally, the relationship between die pressure and extrusion flow rate under different ultrasonic power were studied through experiments.

Probing insulin bioactivity in oral nanoparticles produced by ultrasonication-assisted emulsification/internal gelation

PubMed Central

Lopes, Marlene A; Abrahim-Vieira, Bárbara; Oliveira, Claudia; Fonte, Pedro; Souza, Alessandra M T; Lira, Tammy; Sequeira, Joana A D; Rodrigues, Carlos R; Cabral, Lúcio M; Sarmento, Bruno; Seiça, Raquel; Veiga, Francisco; Ribeiro, António J

2015-01-01

Alginate–dextran sulfate-based particles obtained by emulsification/internal gelation technology can be considered suitable carriers for oral insulin delivery. A rational study focused on the emulsification and particle recovery steps was developed in order to reduce particles to the nanosize range while keeping insulin bioactivity. There was a decrease in size when ultrasonication was used during emulsification, which was more pronounced when a cosurfactant was added. Ultrasonication add-on after particle recovery decreased aggregation and led to a narrower nanoscale particle-size distribution. Insulin encapsulation efficiency was 99.3%±0.5%, attributed to the strong pH-stabilizing electrostatic effect between insulin and nanoparticle matrix polymers. Interactions between these polymers and insulin were predicted using molecular modeling studies through quantum mechanics calculations that allowed for prediction of the interaction model. In vitro release studies indicated well-preserved integrity of nanoparticles in simulated gastric fluid. Circular dichroism spectroscopy proved conformational stability of insulin and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technique showed rearrangements of insulin structure during processing. Moreover, in vivo biological activity in diabetic rats revealed no statistical difference when compared to nonencapsulated insulin, demonstrating retention of insulin activity. Our results demonstrate that alginate–dextran sulfate-based nanoparticles efficiently stabilize the loaded protein structure, presenting good physical properties for oral delivery of insulin. PMID:26425087

Ultrasonic assisted biodiesel production of microalgae by direct transesterification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalsum, Ummu; Mahfud, Mahfud; Roesyadi, Achmad

2017-03-01

Microalgae are considered as the third generation source of biofuel and an excellent candidate for biofuel production to replace the fossil energy. The use of ultrasonic in producing biodiesel by direct transesterification of Nannochloropsis occulata using KOH as catalyst and methanol as a solvent was investigated. The following condition were determined as an optimum by experimental evaluates:: 1: 15 microalga to methanol (molar ratio); 3% catalyst concentration at temperature 40°C after 30 minute of ultrasonication. The highest yield of biodiesel produced was 30.3%. The main components of methyl ester from Nannochloropsis occulata were palmitic (C16 :0),, oleic (C18:1), stearic (C18;0), arahidic (C20:0) and myristic (C14:0). This stated that the application of ultrasounic for direct transesterificaiton of microalgae effectively reduced the reaction time compared to the reported values of conventional heating systems.

Structural Phase Evolution in Ultrasonic-Assisted Friction Stir Welded 2195 Aluminum Alloy Joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliseev, A. A.; Fortuna, S. V.; Kalashnikova, T. A.; Chumaevskii, A. V.; Kolubaev, E. A.

2017-10-01

The authors examined the structural and phase state of fixed joints produced by method of friction stir welding (FSW) and ultrasonic-assisted friction stir welding (UAFSW) from extruded profile of aluminum alloy AA2195. In order to identify the role of ultrasonic application in the course of welding, such characteristics, as volume fraction and average size of secondary particles are compared in the base material and stir zones of FSW and UAFSW joints. By applying the methods of SEM and TEM analysis, researchers established the complex character of phase transitions as a result of ultrasonic application.

Correlation of field seismic refraction data with 3-D laboratory ultrasonic sounding data during exploration of a dimension stone deposit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Přikryl, Richard; Vilhelm, Jan; Lokajíček, Tomáš; Pros, Zdeněk; Klíma, Karel

2004-05-01

Multidirectional field seismic refraction data have been combined with 3-D laboratory ultrasonic sounding data in a preliminary exploration of a new dimension stone deposit in the Czech Republic. Rock fabric was interpreted from a detailed laboratory analysis of a 3-D P-wave velocity pattern and can be classified as pronounced orthorhombic due to a complex tectonometamorphic history of the rock. The P-wave velocity pattern recorded from laboratory measurements can be satisfactorily correlated with the anisotropy of P-wave velocity data acquired from field seismic refraction data. Rock fabric anisotropy also contributes to the observed anisotropy of strength and static deformational properties.

Development of glucose measurement system based on pulsed laser-induced ultrasonic method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Zhong; Wan, Bin; Liu, Guodong; Xiong, Zhihua

2016-09-01

In this study, a kind of glucose measurement system based on pulsed-induced ultrasonic technique was established. In this system, the lateral detection mode was used, the Nd: YAG pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pulsed laser was used as the excitation source, the high sensitivity ultrasonic transducer was used as the signal detector to capture the photoacoustic signals of the glucose. In the experiments, the real-time photoacoustic signals of glucose aqueous solutions with different concentrations were captured by ultrasonic transducer and digital oscilloscope. Moreover, the photoacoustic peak-to-peak values were gotten in the wavelength range from 1300nm to 2300nm. The characteristic absorption wavelengths of glucose were determined via the difference spectral method and second derivative method. In addition, the prediction models of predicting glucose concentrations were established via the multivariable linear regression algorithm and the optimal prediction model of corresponding optimal wavelengths. Results showed that the performance of the glucose system based on the pulsed-induced ultrasonic detection method was feasible. Therefore, the measurement scheme and prediction model have some potential value in the fields of non-invasive monitoring the concentration of the glucose gradient, especially in the food safety and biomedical fields.

Ultrasonic propulsion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allison, Eric

In this investigation, a propulsion system is introduced for propelling and guiding an object through a fluid. Thrust for forward motion and for turning is produced by acoustic waves generated by piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers. The principle of operation of the transducers is described, and methods are presented for the design of the entire system, including the transducers, signal generator, guidance and control system, and the power source. A wirelessly controlled proof-of-concept device was constructed. This device demonstrates the operation and practicality of the propulsion and guidance systems and illustrates that they may be employed in situations where the use of conventional propulsive devices such as propellers or jets is unfeasible.

Gigacycle fatigue behavior by ultrasonic nanocrystalline surface modification.

PubMed

Ahn, D G; Amanov, A; Cho, I S; Shin, K S; Pyoun, Y S; Lee, C S; Park, I G

2012-07-01

Nanocrystalline surface layer up to 84 microm in thick is produced on a specimen made of Al6061-T6 alloy by means of surface treatment called ultrasonic nanocrystalline surface modification (UNSM) technique. The refined grain size is produced in the top-layer and it is increased with increasing depth from the top surface. Vickers microhardness measurement for each nanocrystalline surface layer is performed and measurement results showed that the microhardness is increased from 116 HV up to 150 HV, respectively. In this study, fatigue behavior of Al6061-T6 alloy was studied up to 10(7)-10(9) cycles by using a newly developed ultrasonic fatigue testing (UFT) rig. The fatigue results of the UNSM-treated Al6061-T6 alloy specimens were compared with those of the untreated specimens. The microstructure of the untreated and UNSM-treated specimens was characterized by means of scanning electron microscopey (SEM) and transmission electron microscopey (TEM).

High-power ultrasonic processing: Recent developments and prospective advances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gallego-Juarez, Juan A.

2010-01-01

Although the application of ultrasonic energy to produce or to enhance a wide variety of processes have been explored since about the middle of the 20th century, only a reduced number of ultrasonic processes have been established at industrial level. However, during the last ten years the interest in ultrasonic processing has revived particularly in industrial sectors where the ultrasonic technology may represent a clean and efficient tool to improve classical existing processes or an innovation alternative for the development of new processes. Such seems to be the case of relevant sectors such as food industry, environment, pharmaceuticals and chemicals manufacture, machinery, mining, etc where power ultrasound is becoming an emerging technology for process development. The possible major problem in the application of high-intensity ultrasound on industrial processing is the design and development of efficient power ultrasonic systems (generators and reactors) capable of large scale successful operation specifically adapted to each individual process. In the area of ultrasonic processing in fluid media and more specifically in gases, the development of the steppedplate transducers and other power ge with extensive radiating surface has strongly contributed to the implementation at semi-industrial and industrial stage of several commercial applications, in sectors such as food and beverage industry (defoaming, drying, extraction, etc), environment (air cleaning, sludge filtration, etc...), machinery and process for manufacturing (textile washing, paint manufacture, etc). The development of different cavitational reactors for liquid treatment in continuous flow is helping to introduce into industry the wide potential of the area of sonochemistry. Processes such as water and effluent treatment, crystallization, soil remediation, etc have been already implemented at semi-industrial and/or industrial stage. Other single advances in sectors like mining or energy have

Rotating superconductor magnet for producing rotating lobed magnetic field lines

DOEpatents

Hilal, Sadek K.; Sampson, William B.; Leonard, Edward F.

1978-01-01

This invention provides a rotating superconductor magnet for producing a rotating lobed magnetic field, comprising a cryostat; a superconducting magnet in the cryostat having a collar for producing a lobed magnetic field having oppositely directed adjacent field lines; rotatable support means for selectively rotating the superconductor magnet; and means for energizing the superconductor magnet.

ULTRASONIC NEUTRON DOSIMETER

DOEpatents

Truell, R.; de Klerk, J.; Levy, P.W.

1960-02-23

A neutron dosimeter is described which utilizes ultrasonic waves in the megacycle region for determination of the extent of neutron damage in a borosilicate glass through ultrasonic wave velocity and attenuation measurements before and after damage.

Ultrasonic Imaging System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Youngquist, Robert C. (Inventor); Moerk, Steven (Inventor)

1999-01-01

An imaging system is described which can be used to either passively search for sources of ultrasonics or as an active phase imaging system. which can image fires. gas leaks, or air temperature gradients. This system uses an array of ultrasonic receivers coupled to an ultrasound collector or lens to provide an electronic image of the ultrasound intensity in a selected angular region of space. A system is described which includes a video camera to provide a visual reference to a region being examined for ultrasonic signals.

Analysis of CFRP Joints by Means of T-Pull Mechanical Test and Ultrasonic Defects Detection.

PubMed

Casavola, Caterina; Palano, Fania; De Cillis, Francesco; Tati, Angelo; Terzi, Roberto; Luprano, Vincenza

2018-04-18

Defects detection within a composite component, with the aim of understanding and predicting its mechanical behavior, is of great importance in the aeronautical field because the irregularities of the composite material could compromise functionality. The aim of this paper is to detect defects by means of non-destructive testing (NDT) on T-pull samples made by carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) and to evaluate their effect on the mechanical response of the material. Samples, obtained from an industrial stringer having an inclined web and realized with a polymeric filler between cap and web, were subjected to ultrasonic monitoring and then to T-pull mechanical tests. All samples were tested with the same load mode and the same test configuration. An experimental set-up consisting of a semiautomatic C-scan ultrasonic mapping system with a phased array probe was designed and developed, optimizing control parameters and implementing image processing software. The present work is carried out on real composites parts that are characterized by having their intrinsic defectiveness, as opposed to the previous similar results in the literature mainly obtained on composite parts with artificially produced defects. In fact, although samples under study were realized free from defects, ultrasonic mapping found defectiveness inside the material. Moreover, the ultrasonic inspection could be useful in detecting both the location and size of defects. Experimental data were critically analyzed and qualitatively correlated with results of T-pull mechanical tests in order to better understand and explain mechanical behavior in terms of fracture mode.

Analysis of CFRP Joints by Means of T-Pull Mechanical Test and Ultrasonic Defects Detection

PubMed Central

Casavola, Caterina; Palano, Fania; De Cillis, Francesco; Tati, Angelo; Terzi, Roberto; Luprano, Vincenza

2018-01-01

Defects detection within a composite component, with the aim of understanding and predicting its mechanical behavior, is of great importance in the aeronautical field because the irregularities of the composite material could compromise functionality. The aim of this paper is to detect defects by means of non-destructive testing (NDT) on T-pull samples made by carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) and to evaluate their effect on the mechanical response of the material. Samples, obtained from an industrial stringer having an inclined web and realized with a polymeric filler between cap and web, were subjected to ultrasonic monitoring and then to T-pull mechanical tests. All samples were tested with the same load mode and the same test configuration. An experimental set-up consisting of a semiautomatic C-scan ultrasonic mapping system with a phased array probe was designed and developed, optimizing control parameters and implementing image processing software. The present work is carried out on real composites parts that are characterized by having their intrinsic defectiveness, as opposed to the previous similar results in the literature mainly obtained on composite parts with artificially produced defects. In fact, although samples under study were realized free from defects, ultrasonic mapping found defectiveness inside the material. Moreover, the ultrasonic inspection could be useful in detecting both the location and size of defects. Experimental data were critically analyzed and qualitatively correlated with results of T-pull mechanical tests in order to better understand and explain mechanical behavior in terms of fracture mode. PMID:29669992

Ultrasonics in Dentistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walmsley, A. D.

Ultrasonic instruments have been used in dentistry since the 1950's. Initially they were used to cut teeth but very quickly they became established as an ultrasonic scaler which was used to remove deposits from the hard tissues of the tooth. This enabled the soft tissues around the tooth to return to health. The ultrasonic vibrations are generated in a thin metal probe and it is the working tip that is the active component of the instrument. Scanning laser vibrometry has shown that there is much variability in their movement which is related to the shape and cross sectional shape of the probe. The working instrument will also generate cavitation and microstreaming in the associated cooling water. This can be mapped out along the length of the instrument indicating which are the active areas. Ultrasonics has also found use for cleaning often inaccessible or different surfaces including root canal treatment and dental titanium implants. The use of ultrasonics to cut bone during different surgical techniques shows considerable promise. More research is indicated to determine how to maximize the efficiency of such instruments so that they are more clinically effective.

Ultrasonic Polishing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilmore, Randy

1993-01-01

The ultrasonic polishing process makes use of the high-frequency (ultrasonic) vibrations of an abradable tool which automatically conforms to the work piece and an abrasive slurry to finish surfaces and edges on complex, highly detailed, close tolerance cavities in materials from beryllium copper to carbide. Applications range from critical deburring of guidance system components to removing EDM recast layers from aircraft engine components to polishing molds for forming carbide cutting tool inserts or injection molding plastics. A variety of materials including tool steels, carbides, and even ceramics can be successfully processed. Since the abradable tool automatically conforms to the work piece geometry, the ultrasonic finishing method described offers a number of important benefits in finishing components with complex geometries.

Split-mode ultrasonic transducer.

PubMed

Ostrovskii, Igor; Cremaldi, Lucien

2013-08-01

A split-mode ultrasonic transducer is investigated in both theory and experiment. This transducer is a two-dimensional structure of periodically poled domains in a ferroelectric wafer with free surfaces. The acoustic vibrations are excited by a radio frequency electric current applied along the length of the wafer, which allows the basal-plane surfaces to be free of metal coatings and thus ready for further biomedical applications. A specific physical property of this transducer consists of the multiple acousto-electric resonances, which occur due to an acoustic mode split when the acoustic half-wavelength is equal to the domain length. Possible applications include ultrasonic generation and detection at the micro-scale, intravascular sonification and visualization, ultrasound therapy of localized small areas such as the eye, biomedical applications for cell cultures, and traditional nondestructive testing including bones and tissues. A potential use of a non-metallized wafer is a therapeutic application with double action that is both ultrasound itself and an electric field over the wafer. The experimental measurements and theoretical calculations are in good agreement.

Design of advanced ultrasonic transducers for welding devices.

PubMed

Parrini, L

2001-11-01

A new high frequency ultrasonic transducer has been conceived, designed, prototyped, and tested. In the design phase, an advanced approach was used and established. The method is based on an initial design estimate obtained with finite element method (FEM) simulations. The simulated ultrasonic transducers and resonators are then built and characterized experimentally through laser interferometry and electrical resonance spectra. The comparison of simulation results with experimental data allows the parameters of FEM models to be adjusted and optimized. The achieved FEM simulations exhibit a remarkably high predictive potential and allow full control of the vibration behavior of the transducer. The new transducer is mounted on a wire bonder with a flange whose special geometry was calculated by means of FEM simulations. This flange allows the transducer to be attached on the wire bonder, not only in longitudinal nodes, but also in radial nodes of the ultrasonic field excited in the horn. This leads to a total decoupling of the transducer to the wire bonder, which has not been achieved so far. The new approach to mount ultrasonic transducers on a welding device is of major importance, not only for wire bonding, but also for all high power ultrasound applications and has been patented.

Ultrasonic search wheel probe

DOEpatents

Mikesell, Charles R.

1978-01-01

A device is provided for reducing internal reflections from the tire of an ultrasonic search wheel probe or from within the material being examined. The device includes a liner with an anechoic chamber within which is an ultrasonic transducer. The liner is positioned within the wheel and includes an aperture through which the ultrasonic sound from the transducer is directed.

Artificial Intelligence Assists Ultrasonic Inspection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaefer, Lloyd A.; Willenberg, James D.

1992-01-01

Subtle indications of flaws extracted from ultrasonic waveforms. Ultrasonic-inspection system uses artificial intelligence to help in identification of hidden flaws in electron-beam-welded castings. System involves application of flaw-classification logic to analysis of ultrasonic waveforms.

Direct laser writing of polymer micro-ring resonator ultrasonic sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Heming; Krishnaswamy, Sridhar

2017-04-01

With the development of photoacoustic technology in recent years, ultrasound-related sensors play a vital role in a number of areas ranging from scientific research to nondestructive testing. Compared with the traditional PZT transducer as ultrasonic sensors, novel ultrasonic sensors based on optical methods such as micro-ring resonators have gained increasing attention. The total internal reflection of the light along the cavity results in light propagating in microcavities as whispering gallery modes (WGMs), which are extremely sensitive to change in the radius and refractive index of the cavity induced by ultrasound strain field. In this work, we present a polymer optical micro-ring resonator based ultrasonic sensor fabricated by direct laser writing optical lithography. The design consists of a single micro-ring and a straight tapered waveguide that can be directly coupled by single mode fibers (SMFs). The design and fabrication of the printed polymer resonator have been optimized to provide broad bandwidth and high optical quality factor to ensure high detection sensitivity. The experiments demonstrate the potential of the polymer micro-ring resonator to works as a high-performance ultrasonic sensor.

Study on optimizing ultrasonic irradiation period for thick polycrystalline PZT film by hydrothermal method.

PubMed

Ohta, Kanako; Isobe, Gaku; Bornmann, Peter; Hemsel, Tobias; Morita, Takeshi

2013-04-01

The hydrothermal method utilizes a solution-based chemical reaction to synthesize piezoelectric thin films and powders. This method has a number of advantages, such as low-temperature synthesis, and high purity and high quality of the product. In order to promote hydrothermal reactions, we developed an ultrasonic assisted hydrothermal method and confirmed that it produces dense and thick lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) films. In the hydrothermal method, a crystal growth process follows the nucleation process. In this study, we verified that ultrasonic irradiation is effective for the nucleation process, and there is an optimum irradiation period to obtain thicker PZT films. With this optimization, a 9.2-μm-thick PZT polycrystalline film was obtained in a single deposition process. For this film, ultrasonic irradiation was carried out from the beginning of the reaction for 18 h, followed by a 6 h deposition without ultrasonic irradiation. These results indicate that the ultrasonic irradiation mainly promotes the nucleation process. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Search for multipolar instability in URu2Si2 studied by ultrasonic measurements under pulsed magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yanagisawa, T.; Mombetsu, S.; Hidaka, H.; Amitsuka, H.; Cong, P. T.; Yasin, S.; Zherlitsyn, S.; Wosnitza, J.; Huang, K.; Kanchanavatee, N.; Janoschek, M.; Maple, M. B.; Aoki, D.

2018-04-01

The elastic properties of URu2Si2 in the high magnetic field region above 40 T, over a wide temperature range from 1.5 to 120 K, were systematically investigated by means of high-frequency ultrasonic measurements. The investigation was performed at high magnetic fields to better investigate the innate bare 5 f -electron properties, since the unidentified electronic thermodynamic phase of unknown origin, the so-called "hidden order" (HO), and associated hybridization of conduction and f electrons (c -f hybridization) are suppressed at high magnetic fields. From the three different transverse modes we find contrasting results; both the Γ4(B2 g) and Γ5(Eg) symmetry modes C66 and C44 show elastic softening that is enhanced above 30 T, while the characteristic softening of the Γ3(B1 g) symmetry mode (C11-C12)/2 is suppressed in high magnetic fields. These results underscore the presence of a hybridization-driven Γ3(B1 g) lattice instability in URu2Si2 . However, the results from this work cannot be explained by using existing crystalline electric field schemes applied to the quadrupolar susceptibility in a local 5 f2 configuration. Instead, we present an analysis based on a band Jahn-Teller effect.

Miniaturized multiple Fourier-horn ultrasonic droplet generators for biomedical applications.

PubMed

Tsai, Chen S; Mao, Rong W; Lin, Shih K; Wang, Ning; Tsai, Shirley C

2010-10-21

Here we report micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)-based miniaturized silicon ultrasonic droplet generators of a new and simple nozzle architecture with multiple Fourier horns in resonance but without a central channel. The centimetre-sized nozzles operate at one to two MHz and a single vibration mode which readily facilitates temporal instability of Faraday waves to produce monodisperse droplets. Droplets with diameter range 2.2-4.6 μm are produced at high throughput of 420 μl min(-1) and very low electrical drive power of 80 mW. We also report the first theoretical prediction of the droplet diameter. The resulting MHz ultrasonic devices possess important advantages and demonstrate superior performance over earlier devices with a central channel and thus have high potential for biomedical applications such as efficient and effective delivery of inhaled medications and encapsulated therapy to the lung.

Focal Length Controllable Ultrasonic Transducer Using Bimorph-Type Bending Actuator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chae, Min-Ku; Kim, Moo-Joon; Ha, Kang-Lyeol; Lee, Chai-Bong

2003-05-01

Using a bimorph-type bending actuator, we propose a new method for controlling the focal length of a transducer by electric DC voltage. We designed two focal length controllable ultrasonic transducers with actuators, a line-focus and a point-focus transducer. The polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric type polymer film is used for transmitting and receiving of ultrasonic signals. Using the new method, it is confirmed by investigation of the underwater acoustic field that the focal length can be controlled to within 10% of the radius of the transducer curvature.

Dynamic characteristics of electric discharge in liquid under ultrasonic cavitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulychev, N. A.; Kazaryan, M. A.; Averyushkin, A. S.; Kirichenko, M. N.; Zakharyan, Robert; Chernov, A. A.

2018-04-01

The characteristics of electrical discharges in liquid media under the influence of intense ultrasonic vibrations are investigated and the difference in dynamic characteristics of discharges before cavitation and after cavitation begins. The experiments carried out during this work made it possible to establish that in a liquid in an intense ultrasonic field above the cavitation threshold there exists a special form of an electric discharge characterized by volumetric luminescence in the entire space between the electrodes and the current-voltage characteristic inherent in an anomalous glow discharge in a gas.

Ultrasonic imaging for concrete infrastructure condition assessment and quality assurance.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-04-01

This report describes work on laboratory and field performance reviews of an ultrasonic shear wave imaging device called MIRA : for application to plain and reinforced concrete infrastructure components. Potential applications investigated included b...

Contact and non-contact ultrasonic measurement in the food industry: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taufiq Mohd Khairi, Mohd; Ibrahim, Sallehuddin; Yunus, Mohd Amri Md; Faramarzi, Mahdi

2016-01-01

The monitoring of the food manufacturing process is vital since it determines the safety and quality level of foods which directly affect the consumers’ health. Companies which produce high quality products will gain trust from consumers. This factor helps the companies to make profits. The use of efficient and appropriate sensors for the monitoring process can also reduce cost. The food assessing process based on an ultrasonic sensor has attracted the attention of the food industry due to its excellent capabilities in several applications. The utilization of low or high frequencies for the ultrasonic transducer has provided an enormous benefit for analysing, modifying and guaranteeing the quality of food. The contact and non-contact ultrasonic modes for measurement also contributed significantly to the food processing. This paper presents a review of the application of the contact and non-contact mode of ultrasonic measurement focusing on safety and quality control areas. The results from previous researches are shown and elaborated.

Method and means of transmitting and receiving broad-band unipolar, ultrasonic pulses for ultrasonic inspection

DOEpatents

Thompson, Donald O.; Hsu, David K.

1993-12-14

The invention includes a means and method for transmitting and receiving broadband, unipolar, ultrasonic pulses for ultrasonic inspection. The method comprises generating a generally unipolar ultrasonic stress pulse from a low impedance voltage pulse transmitter along a low impedance electrical pathway to an ultrasonic transducer, and receiving the reflected echo of the pulse by the transducer, converting it to a voltage signal, and passing it through a high impedance electrical pathway to an output. The means utilizes electrical components according to the method. The means and method allow a single transducer to be used in a pulse/echo mode, and facilitates alternatingly transmitting and receiving the broadband, unipolar, ultrasonic pulses.

Experimental Investigation on Acoustic Control Droplet Transfer in Ultrasonic-Wave-Assisted Gas Metal Arc Welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weifeng, Xie; Chenglei, Fan; Chunli, Yang; Sanbao, Lin

2018-02-01

Ultrasonic-wave-assisted gas metal arc welding (U-GMAW) is a new, advanced arc welding method that uses an ultrasonic wave emitted from an ultrasonic radiator above the arc. However, it remains unclear how the ultrasonic wave affects the metal droplet, hindering further application of U-GMAW. In this paper, an improved U-GMAW system was used and its superiority was experimentally demonstrated. Then a series of experiments were designed and performed to study how the ultrasonic wave affects droplet transfer, including droplet size, velocity, and motion trajectory. The behavior of droplet transfer was observed in high-speed images. The droplet transfer is closely related to the distribution of the acoustic field, determined by the ultrasonic current. Moreover, by analyzing the variably accelerated motion of the droplet, the acoustic control of the droplet transfer was intuitively demonstrated. Finally, U-GMAW was successfully used in vertical-up and overhead welding experiments, showing that U-GMAW is promising for use in welding in all positions.

Trip Report-Produced-Water Field Testing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sullivan, Enid J.

2012-05-25

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) conducted field testing of a produced-water pretreatment apparatus with assistance from faculty at the Texas A&M University (TAMU) protein separation sciences laboratory located on the TAMU main campus. The following report details all of the logistics surrounding the testing. The purpose of the test was to use a new, commercially-available filter media housing containing modified zeolite (surfactant-modified zeolite or SMZ) porous medium for use in pretreatment of oil and gas produced water (PW) and frac-flowback waters. The SMZ was tested previously in October, 2010 in a lab-constructed configuration ('old multicolumn system'), and performed well formore » removal of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) from PW. However, a less-expensive, modular configuration is needed for field use. A modular system will allow the field operator to add or subtract SMZ filters as needed to accommodate site specific conditions, and to swap out used filters easily in a multi-unit system. This test demonstrated the use of a commercial filter housing with a simple flow modification and packed with SMZ for removing BTEX from a PW source in College Station, Texas. The system will be tested in June 2012 at a field site in Pennsylvania for treating frac-flowback waters. The goals of this test are: (1) to determine sorption efficiency of BTEX in the new configuration; and (2) to observe the range of flow rates, backpressures, and total volume treated at a given flow rate.« less

Polarization-dependent optical reflection ultrasonic detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Xiaoyi; Huang, Zhiyu; Wang, Guohe; Li, Wenzhao; Li, Changhui

2017-03-01

Although ultrasound transducers based on commercial piezoelectric-material have been widely used, they generally have limited bandwidth centered at the resonant frequency. Currently, several pure-optical ultrasonic detection methods have gained increasing interest due to their wide bandwidth and high sensitivity. However, most of them require customized components (such as micro-ring, SPR, Fabry-Perot film, etc), which limit their broad implementations. In this study, we presented a simple pure-optical ultrasound detection method, called "Polarization-dependent Reflection Ultrasonic Detection" (PRUD). It detects the intensity difference between two polarization components of the probe beam that is modulated by ultrasound waves. PRUD detect the two components by using a balanced detector, which effectively suppressed much of the unwanted noise. We have achieved the sensitivity (noise equivalent pressure) to be 1.7kPa, and this can be further improved. In addition, like many other pure-optical ultrasonic detection methods, PRUD also has a flat and broad bandwidth from almost zero to over 100MHz. Besides theoretical analysis, we did a phantom study by imaging a tungsten filament to demonstrate the performance of PRUD. We believe this simple and economic method will attract both researchers and engineers in optical and ultrasound fields.

Optimization of ultrasonic-assisted preparation of dietary fiber from corn pericarp using response surface methodology.

PubMed

Wang, Anna; Wu, Ligen; Li, Xiulin

2013-09-01

Corn pericarp, which is an industrial waste of corn starch production, is an important source of dietary fiber in cereals, with claimed health benefits. However, they used to be discarded or utilized as animal feed. The application of pre-ultrasound treatment is critical for achieving rapid preparation of desired components from plant materials and for preserving structural and molecular properties of these compounds. Ultrasonic-assisted preparation was used to produce dietary fiber from corn pericarp using response surface methodology. The optimal particle size of corn pericarp (mesh size 40), the ratio of liquid to solid (25 mL g⁻¹), ultrasonic power (180 W) and ultrasonic time (80 min) were determined based on response surface methodology analysis. The interaction effects of particle size of corn pericarp and ultrasonic time had a highlysignificant effect on the yield of dietary fiber, and a significant effect was shown by ultrasonic power and ultrasonic time. The maximum yield of dietary fiber was 86.84%, which agreed closely with the predicted value. Using ultrasonic-assisted preparation, it may be possible to enhance the yield of dietary fiber from corn pericarp. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

Design and Performance Analysis of an Intrinsically Safe Ultrasonic Ranging Sensor

PubMed Central

Zhang, Hongjuan; Wang, Yu; Zhang, Xu; Wang, Dong; Jin, Baoquan

2016-01-01

In flammable or explosive environments, an ultrasonic sensor for distance measurement poses an important engineering safety challenge, because the driving circuit uses an intermediate frequency transformer as an impedance transformation element, in which the produced heat or spark is available for ignition. In this paper, an intrinsically safe ultrasonic ranging sensor is designed and implemented. The waterproof piezoelectric transducer with integrated transceiver is chosen as an energy transducing element. Then a novel transducer driving circuit is designed based on an impedance matching method considering safety spark parameters to replace an intermediate frequency transformer. Then, an energy limiting circuit is developed to achieve dual levels of over-voltage and over-current protection. The detail calculation and evaluation are executed and the electrical characteristics are analyzed to verify the intrinsic safety of the driving circuit. Finally, an experimental platform of the ultrasonic ranging sensor system is constructed, which involves short-circuit protection. Experimental results show that the proposed ultrasonic ranging sensor is excellent in both ranging performance and intrinsic safety. PMID:27304958

Design and Performance Analysis of an Intrinsically Safe Ultrasonic Ranging Sensor.

PubMed

Zhang, Hongjuan; Wang, Yu; Zhang, Xu; Wang, Dong; Jin, Baoquan

2016-06-13

In flammable or explosive environments, an ultrasonic sensor for distance measurement poses an important engineering safety challenge, because the driving circuit uses an intermediate frequency transformer as an impedance transformation element, in which the produced heat or spark is available for ignition. In this paper, an intrinsically safe ultrasonic ranging sensor is designed and implemented. The waterproof piezoelectric transducer with integrated transceiver is chosen as an energy transducing element. Then a novel transducer driving circuit is designed based on an impedance matching method considering safety spark parameters to replace an intermediate frequency transformer. Then, an energy limiting circuit is developed to achieve dual levels of over-voltage and over-current protection. The detail calculation and evaluation are executed and the electrical characteristics are analyzed to verify the intrinsic safety of the driving circuit. Finally, an experimental platform of the ultrasonic ranging sensor system is constructed, which involves short-circuit protection. Experimental results show that the proposed ultrasonic ranging sensor is excellent in both ranging performance and intrinsic safety.

Design and field test equipment of river water level detection based on ultrasonic sensor and SMS gateway as flood early warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sulistyowati, Riny; Sujono, Hari Agus; Musthofa, Ahmad Khamdi

2017-06-01

Due to the high rainfall, flood often occurs in some regions, especially in the area adjacent to the river banks that led to the idea to make the river water level detection system as a flood early warning. Several researches have produced flood detection equipment based on ultrasonic sensors and android as flood early warning system. This paper reported the results of a field test detection equipment to measure the river water level of the Bengawansolo River that was conducted in three villages in the district of Bungah, Dukun, and Manyar in Gresik regency. Tests were conducted simultaneously for 21 hours during heavy rainfall. The test results demonstrated the accuracy of the equipment of 97.28% for all categories of observation. The application of AFD (Android Flood Detection) via android smartphone demonstrated its precision in conveying the information of water level as represented by the status of SAFE, STAND, WARNING, and DANGER. Some charts presented from the analysis of data was derived from the data acquisition time of testing that can be used as an evaluation of flooding at some points prone to flood.

An ultrasonic pseudorandom signal-correlation system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elias, C. M.

1980-01-01

A working ultrasonic pseudorandom signal-correlation system is described which, unlike ultrasonic random signal-correlation systems, does not require an acoustic delay line. Elimination of the delay line allows faster data acquisition and better range resolution. The system uses two identical shift-register type generators to produce pseudonoise bursts which are subsequences of a 65 535-bit complementary m-sequence. One generator produces the transmitted bursts while the other generates identical reference bursts which start at a variable correlation delay time after the transmitted bursts. The reference bursts are cross-correlated with the received echoes to obtain the approximate impulse response of the transducer/specimen system under test. Range sidelobes are reduced by transmitting and correlating many bursts at a given correlation delay before incrementing the delay. Signal-to-sidelobe ratios of greater than 47 dB have been obtained using this method. Limitations of the system due to sampling constraints and the pseudonoise power spectrum are discussed, and the system design and implementation are outlined. Results of experimental characterization of the system show that the pseudorandom signal-correlation system has approximately the same range resolution as a conventional pulse-echo system but can yield a significant increase in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

A study of the effectiveness and energy efficiency of ultrasonic emulsification.

PubMed

Li, Wu; Leong, Thomas S H; Ashokkumar, Muthupandian; Martin, Gregory J O

2017-12-20

Three essential experimental parameters in the ultrasonic emulsification process, namely sonication time, acoustic amplitude and processing volume, were individually investigated, theoretically and experimentally, and correlated to the emulsion droplet sizes produced. The results showed that with a decrease in droplet size, two kinetic regions can be separately correlated prior to reaching a steady state droplet size: a fast size reduction region and a steady state transition region. In the fast size reduction region, the power input and sonication time could be correlated to the volume-mean diameter by a power-law relationship, with separate power-law indices of -1.4 and -1.1, respectively. A proportional relationship was found between droplet size and processing volume. The effectiveness and energy efficiency of droplet size reduction was compared between ultrasound and high-pressure homogenisation (HPH) based on both the effective power delivered to the emulsion and the total electric power consumed. Sonication could produce emulsions across a broad range of sizes, while high-pressure homogenisation was able to produce emulsions at the smaller end of the range. For ultrasonication, the energy efficiency was higher at increased power inputs due to more effective droplet breakage at high ultrasound intensities. For HPH the consumed energy efficiency was improved by operating at higher pressures for fewer passes. At the laboratory scale, the ultrasound system required less electrical power than HPH to produce an emulsion of comparable droplet size. The energy efficiency of HPH is greatly improved at large scale, which may also be true for larger scale ultrasonic reactors.

Method and means of transmitting and receiving broad-band unipolar, ultrasonic pulses for ultrasonic inspection

DOEpatents

Thompson, D.O.; Hsu, D.K.

1993-12-14

The invention includes a means and method for transmitting and receiving broadband, unipolar, ultrasonic pulses for ultrasonic inspection. The method comprises generating a generally unipolar ultrasonic stress pulse from a low impedance voltage pulse transmitter along a low impedance electrical pathway to an ultrasonic transducer, and receiving the reflected echo of the pulse by the transducer, converting it to a voltage signal, and passing it through a high impedance electrical pathway to an output. The means utilizes electrical components according to the method. The means and method allow a single transducer to be used in a pulse/echo mode, and facilitates alternatingly transmitting and receiving the broadband, unipolar, ultrasonic pulses. 25 figures.

Ultrasonic probe deployment device for increased wave transmission and rapid area scan inspections

DOEpatents

DiMambro, Joseph; Roach, Dennis P; Rackow, Kirk A; Nelson, Ciji L; Dasch, Cameron J; Moore, David G

2013-02-12

An ultrasonic probe deployment device in which an ultrasound-transmitting liquid forms the portion of the ultrasonic wave path in contact with the surface being inspected (i.e., the inspection surface). A seal constrains flow of the liquid, for example preventing the liquid from surging out and flooding the inspection surface. The seal is not rigid and conforms to variations in the shape and unevenness of the inspection surface, thus forming a seal (although possibly a leaky seal) around the liquid. The probe preferably is held in place to produce optimum ultrasonic focus on the area of interest. Use of encoders can facilitate the production of C-scan area maps of the material being inspected.

Ultrasonic probe deployment device for increased wave transmission and rapid area scan inspections

DOEpatents

DiMambro, Joseph [Placitas, NM; Roach, Dennis P [Albuquerque, NM; Rackow, Kirk A [Albuquerque, NM; Nelson, Ciji L [Albuquerque, NM; Dasch, Cameron J [Boomfield Hills, MI; Moore, David G [Albuquerque, NM

2012-01-03

An ultrasonic probe deployment device in which an ultrasound-transmitting liquid forms the portion of the ultrasonic wave path in contact with the surface being inspected (i.e., the inspection surface). A seal constrains flow of the liquid, for example preventing the liquid from surging out and flooding the inspection surface. The seal is not rigid and conforms to variations in the shape and unevenness of the inspection surface, thus forming a seal (although possibly a leaky seal) around the liquid. The probe preferably is held in place to produce optimum ultrasonic focus on the area of interest. Use of encoders can facilitate the production of C-scan area maps of the material being inspected.

Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation Techniques Applied to the Quantitative Characterization of Textile Composite Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, James G.

1997-01-01

In this Progress Report, we describe our further development of advanced ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation methods applied to the characterization of anisotropic materials. We present images obtained from experimental measurements of ultrasonic diffraction patterns transmitted through water only and transmitted through water and a thin woven composite. All images of diffraction patterns have been included on the accompanying CD-ROM in the JPEG format and Adobe TM Portable Document Format (PDF), in addition to the inclusion of hardcopies of the images contained in this report. In our previous semi-annual Progress Report (NAG 1-1848, December, 1996), we proposed a simple model to simulate the effect of a thin woven composite on an insonifying ultrasonic pressure field. This initial approach provided an avenue to begin development of a robust measurement method for nondestructive evaluation of anisotropic materials. In this Progress Report, we extend that work by performing experimental measurements on a single layer of a five-harness biaxial woven composite to investigate how a thin, yet architecturally complex, material interacts with the insonifying ultrasonic field. In Section 2 of this Progress Report we describe the experimental arrangement and methods for data acquisition of the ultrasonic diffraction patterns upon transmission through a thin woven composite. We also briefly describe the thin composite specimen investigated. Section 3 details the analysis of the experimental data followed by the experimental results in Section 4. Finally, a discussion of the observations and conclusions is found in Section 5.

Ultrasonic infrared thermal wave nondestructive evaluation for crack detection of several aerospace materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Weichao; Shen, Jingling; Zhang, Cunlin; Tao, Ning; Feng, Lichun

2008-03-01

The applications of ultrasonic infrared thermal wave nondestructive evaluation for crack detection of several materials, which often used in aviation alloy. For instance, steel and carbon fiber. It is difficult to test cracks interfacial or vertical with structure's surface by the traditional nondestructive testing methods. Ultrasonic infrared thermal wave nondestructive testing technology uses high-power and low-frequency ultrasonic as heat source to excite the sample and an infrared video camera as a detector to detect the surface temperature. The ultrasonic emitter launch pulses of ultrasonic into the skin of the sample, which causes the crack interfaces to rub and dissipate energy as heat, and then caused local increase in temperature at one of the specimen surfaces. The infrared camera images the returning thermal wave reflections from subsurface cracks. A computer collects and processes the thermal images according to different properties of samples to get the satisfied effect. In this paper, a steel plate with fatigue crack we designed and a juncture of carbon fiber composite that has been used in a space probe were tested and get satisfying results. The ultrasonic infrared thermal wave nondestructive detection is fast, sensitive for cracks, especially cracks that vertical with structure's surface. It is significative for nondestructive testing in manufacture produce and application of aviation, cosmography and optoelectronics.

Accelerated damage visualization using binary search with fixed pitch-catch distance laser ultrasonic scanning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Byeongjin; Sohn, Hoon

2017-07-01

Laser ultrasonic scanning, especially full-field wave propagation imaging, is attractive for damage visualization thanks to its noncontact nature, sensitivity to local damage, and high spatial resolution. However, its practicality is limited because scanning at a high spatial resolution demands a prohibitively long scanning time. Inspired by binary search, an accelerated damage visualization technique is developed to visualize damage with a reduced scanning time. The pitch-catch distance between the excitation point and the sensing point is also fixed during scanning to maintain a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of measured ultrasonic responses. The approximate damage boundary is identified by examining the interactions between ultrasonic waves and damage observed at the scanning points that are sparsely selected by a binary search algorithm. Here, a time-domain laser ultrasonic response is transformed into a spatial ultrasonic domain response using a basis pursuit approach so that the interactions between ultrasonic waves and damage, such as reflections and transmissions, can be better identified in the spatial ultrasonic domain. Then, the area inside the identified damage boundary is visualized as damage. The performance of the proposed damage visualization technique is validated excusing a numerical simulation performed on an aluminum plate with a notch and experiments performed on an aluminum plate with a crack and a wind turbine blade with delamination. The proposed damage visualization technique accelerates the damage visualization process in three aspects: (1) the number of measurements that is necessary for damage visualization is dramatically reduced by a binary search algorithm; (2) the number of averaging that is necessary to achieve a high SNR is reduced by maintaining the wave propagation distance short; and (3) with the proposed technique, the same damage can be identified with a lower spatial resolution than the spatial resolution required by full-field

Supporting the potential of quantitative ultrasonic techniques for the evaluation of platelet concentration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villamarín, J. A.; Jiménez, Y. M.; Molano, L. Tatiana; Gutierrez, W. Edgar; Londoño, L. Fernando; Gutierrez, D. A.

2017-11-01

This article describes the results obtained by making use of a non-destructive, non-invasive ultrasonic system for the acoustic characterization of bovine plasma rich in platelets using digital signal processing techniques. This study includes computational methods based on acoustic spectrometry estimation and experimental measurements of the speed of sound in blood plasma from different samples analyzed, using an ultrasonic field with resonance frequency of 5 MHz. The results showed that the measurements on ultrasonic signals can contribute to the hematological predictions based on the linear regression model applied to the relationship between experimental ultrasonic parameters calculated and platelet concentration, indicating a growth rate of 1 m/s for each 0.90 x103 platelet per mm3. On the other hand, the attenuation coefficient presented changes of 20% in the platelet concentration using a resolution of 0.057 dB/cm MHz.

Remote consulting based on ultrasonic digital immages and dynamic ultrasonic sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Margan, Anamarija; Rustemović, Nadan

2006-03-01

Telematic ultrasonic diagnostics is a relatively new tool in providing health care to patients in remote, islolated communities. Our project facility, "The Virtual Polyclinic - A Specialists' Consulting Network for the Islands", is located on the island of Cres in the Adriatic Sea in Croatia and has been extending telemedical services to the archipelago population since 2000. Telemedicine applications include consulting services by specialists at the University Clinical Hospital Center Rebro in Zagreb and at "Magdalena", a leading cardiology clinic in Croatia. After several years of experience with static high resolution ultrasonic digital immages for referral consulting diagnostics purposes, we now also use dynamic ultrasonic sequences in a project with the Department of Emmergency Gastroenterology at Rebro in Zagreb. The aim of the ongoing project is to compare the advantages and shortcomings in transmitting static ultrasonic digital immages and live sequences of ultrasonic examination in telematic diagnostics. Ultrasonic examination is a dynamic process in which the diagnostic accuracy is highly dependent on the dynamic moment of an ultrasound probe and signal. Our first results indicate that in diffuse parenchymal organ pathology the progression and the follow up of a disease is better presented to a remote consulting specialist by dynamic ultrasound sequences. However, the changes that involve only one part of a parenchymal organ can be suitably presented by static ultrasonic digital images alone. Furthermore, we need less time for digital imaging and such tele-consultations overall are more economical. Our previous telemedicine research and practice proved that we can greatly improve the level of medical care in remote healthcare facilities and cut healthcare costs considerably. The experience in the ongoing project points to a conclusion that we can further optimize remote diagnostics benefits by a right choice of telematic application thus reaching a

Ultrasonic drilling apparatus

DOEpatents

Duran, Edward L.; Lundin, Ralph L.

1989-01-01

Apparatus attachable to an ultrasonic drilling machine for drilling deep holes in very hard materials, such as boron carbide, is provided. The apparatus utilizes a hollow spindle attached to the output horn of the ultrasonic drilling machine. The spindle has a hollow drill bit attached at the opposite end. A housing surrounds the spindle, forming a cavity for holding slurry. In operation, slurry is provided into the housing, and into the spindle through inlets while the spindle is rotating and ultrasonically reciprocating. Slurry flows through the spindle and through the hollow drill bit to cleanse the cutting edge of the bit during a drilling operation.

Ultrasonic drilling apparatus

DOEpatents

Duran, E.L.; Lundin, R.L.

1988-06-20

Apparatus attachable to an ultrasonic drilling machine for drilling deep holes in very hard materials, such as boron carbide, is provided. The apparatus utilizes a hollow spindle attached to the output horn of the ultrasonic drilling machine. The spindle has a hollow drill bit attached at the opposite end. A housing surrounds the spindle, forming a cavity for holding slurry. In operation, slurry is provided into the housing, and into the spindle through inlets while the spindle is rotating and ultrasonically reciprocating. Slurry flows through the spindle and through the hollow drill bit to cleanse the cutting edge of the bit during a drilling operation. 3 figs.

California producers take new steps in old fields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rintoul, B.

One of the busiest fields in California from the standpoint of well servicing work is the South Belridge field 40 miles west of Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley, where Shell California Production Co.'s Kernridge Division is pursuing an active program. There are 2 principal producing horizons in the South Belridge field, and the work handled by the workover and well-pulling rigs reflects the type of activity required to produce the zones. One pay consists of the Tulare sand, which produces 13- gravity oil from depths ranging from 400 to 1,200 ft. The other is the Diatomite Zone, which producesmore » a light oil averaging 28 gravity from depths ranging from 600 to 3,000 ft. Of the 29 rigs, 23 are assigned to Tulare work, 6 to Diatomite jobs. Due to the aggressive development program, Kernridge has increased production to 77,500 bpd from the 42,000 bpd. The biggest factor in the production increase from the Tulare sands is an increase in steam injection. Another factor in the production gain is increased use of hydraulic fracturing in the Diatomite zone.« less

Wedges for ultrasonic inspection

DOEpatents

Gavin, Donald A.

1982-01-01

An ultrasonic transducer device is provided which is used in ultrasonic inspection of the material surrounding a threaded hole and which comprises a wedge of plastic or the like including a curved threaded surface adapted to be screwed into the threaded hole and a generally planar surface on which a conventional ultrasonic transducer is mounted. The plastic wedge can be rotated within the threaded hole to inspect for flaws in the material surrounding the threaded hole.

Ultrasonic Low-Friction Containment Plate for Thermal and Ultrasonic Stir Weld Processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Graff, Karl; Short, Matt

2013-01-01

The thermal stir welding (TSW) process is finding applications in fabrication of space vehicles. In this process, workpieces to be joined by TSW are drawn, by heavy forces, between "containment plates," past the TSW tool that then causes joining of the separate plates. It is believed that the TSW process would be significantly improved by reducing the draw force, and that this could be achieved by reducing the friction forces between the workpieces and containment plates. Based on use of high-power ultrasonics in metal forming processes, where friction reduction in drawing dies has been achieved, it is believed that ultrasonic vibrations of the containment plates could achieve similar friction reduction in the TSW process. By applying ultrasonic vibrations to the containment plates in a longitudinal vibration mode, as well as by mounting and holding the containment plates in a specific manner such as to permit the plates to acoustically float, friction between the metal parts and the containment plates is greatly reduced, and so is the drawing force. The concept was to bring in the ultrasonics from the sides of the plates, permitting the ultrasonic hardware to be placed to the side, away from the equipment that contains the thermal stir tooling and that applies clamping forces to the plates. Tests demonstrated that one of the major objectives of applying ultrasonics to the thermal stir system, that of reducing draw force friction, should be achievable on a scaled-up system.

Unified Ultrasonic/Eddy-Current Data Acquisition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chern, E. James; Butler, David W.

1993-01-01

Imaging station for detecting cracks and flaws in solid materials developed combining both ultrasonic C-scan and eddy-current imaging. Incorporation of both techniques into one system eliminates duplication of computers and of mechanical scanners; unifies acquisition, processing, and storage of data; reduces setup time for repetitious ultrasonic and eddy-current scans; and increases efficiency of system. Same mechanical scanner used to maneuver either ultrasonic or eddy-current probe over specimen and acquire point-by-point data. For ultrasonic scanning, probe linked to ultrasonic pulser/receiver circuit card, while, for eddy-current imaging, probe linked to impedance-analyzer circuit card. Both ultrasonic and eddy-current imaging subsystems share same desktop-computer controller, containing dedicated plug-in circuit boards for each.

Computer automation of ultrasonic testing. [inspection of ultrasonic welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yee, B. G. W.; Kerlin, E. E.; Gardner, A. H.; Dunmyer, D.; Wells, T. G.; Robinson, A. R.; Kunselman, J. S.; Walker, T. C.

1974-01-01

Report describes a prototype computer-automated ultrasonic system developed for the inspection of weldments. This system can be operated in three modes: manual, automatic, and computer-controlled. In the computer-controlled mode, the system will automatically acquire, process, analyze, store, and display ultrasonic inspection data in real-time. Flaw size (in cross-section), location (depth), and type (porosity-like or crack-like) can be automatically discerned and displayed. The results and pertinent parameters are recorded.

Simulation for Carbon Nanotube Dispersion and Microstructure Formation in CNTs/AZ91D Composite Fabricated by Ultrasonic Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yuansheng; Zhao, Fuze; Feng, Xiaohui

2017-10-01

The dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in AZ91D melt by ultrasonic processing and microstructure formation of CNTs/AZ91D composite were studied using numerical and physical simulations. The sound field and acoustic streaming were predicted using finite element method. Meanwhile, optimal immersion depth of the ultrasonic probe and suitable ultrasonic power were obtained. Single-bubble model was used to predict ultrasonic cavitation in AZ91D melt. The relationship between sound pressure amplitude and ultrasonic cavitation was established. Physical simulations of acoustic streaming and ultrasonic cavitation agreed well with the numerical simulations. It was confirmed that the dispersion of carbon nanotubes was remarkably improved by ultrasonic processing. Microstructure formation of CNTs/AZ91D composite was numerically simulated using cellular automation method. In addition, grain refinement was achieved and the growth of dendrites was changed due to the uniform dispersion of CNTs.

Experiment and numerical simulation for laser ultrasonic measurement of residual stress.

PubMed

Zhan, Yu; Liu, Changsheng; Kong, Xiangwei; Lin, Zhongya

2017-01-01

Laser ultrasonic is a most promising method for non-destructive evaluation of residual stress. The residual stress of thin steel plate is measured by laser ultrasonic technique. The pre-stress loading device is designed which can easily realize the condition of the specimen being laser ultrasonic tested at the same time in the known stress state. By the method of pre-stress loading, the acoustoelastic constants are obtained and the effect of different test directions on the results of surface wave velocity measurement is discussed. On the basis of known acoustoelastic constants, the longitudinal and transverse welding residual stresses are measured by the laser ultrasonic technique. The finite element method is used to simulate the process of surface wave detection of welding residual stress. The pulsed laser is equivalent to the surface load and the relationship between the physical parameters of the laser and the load is established by the correction coefficient. The welding residual stress of the specimen is realized by the ABAQUS function module of predefined field. The results of finite element analysis are in good agreement with the experimental method. The simple and effective numerical and experimental methods for laser ultrasonic measurement of residual stress are demonstrated. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Ultrasonic Transducer Irradiation Test Results

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Daw, Joshua; Palmer, Joe; Ramuhalli, Pradeep

2015-02-01

Ultrasonic technologies offer the potential for high-accuracy and -resolution in-pile measurement of a range of parameters, including geometry changes, temperature, crack initiation and growth, gas pressure and composition, and microstructural changes. Many Department of Energy-Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) programs are exploring the use of ultrasonic technologies to provide enhanced sensors for in-pile instrumentation during irradiation testing. For example, the ability of small diameter ultrasonic thermometers (UTs) to provide a temperature profile in candidate metallic and oxide fuel would provide much needed data for validating new fuel performance models. Other ongoing efforts include an ultrasonic technique to detect morphology changesmore » (such as crack initiation and growth) and acoustic techniques to evaluate fission gas composition and pressure. These efforts are limited by the lack of identified ultrasonic transducer materials capable of long term performance under irradiation test conditions. For this reason, the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) was awarded an ATR NSUF project to evaluate the performance of promising magnetostrictive and piezoelectric transducers in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Reactor (MITR) up to a fast fluence of at least 10 21 n/cm 2. The goal of this research is to characterize and demonstrate magnetostrictive and piezoelectric transducer operation during irradiation, enabling the development of novel radiation-tolerant ultrasonic sensors for use in Material Testing Reactors (MTRs). As such, this test is an instrumented lead test and real-time transducer performance data is collected along with temperature and neutron and gamma flux data. The current work bridges the gap between proven out-of-pile ultrasonic techniques and in-pile deployment of ultrasonic sensors by acquiring the data necessary to demonstrate the performance of ultrasonic transducers. To date, one piezoelectric transducer and two

Irradiation Testing of Ultrasonic Transducers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Daw, Joshua; Tittmann, Bernhard; Reinhardt, Brian

2014-07-30

Ultrasonic technologies offer the potential for high accuracy and resolution in-pile measurement of a range of parameters, including geometry changes, temperature, crack initiation and growth, gas pressure and composition, and microstructural changes. Many Department of Energy-Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) programs are exploring the use of ultrasonic technologies to provide enhanced sensors for in-pile instrumentation during irradiation testing. For example, the ability of single, small diameter ultrasonic thermometers (UTs) to provide a temperature profile in candidate metallic and oxide fuel would provide much needed data for validating new fuel performance models. Other efforts include an ultrasonic technique to detect morphologymore » changes (such as crack initiation and growth) and acoustic techniques to evaluate fission gas composition and pressure. These efforts are limited by the lack of existing knowledge of ultrasonic transducer material survivability under irradiation conditions. For this reason, the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) was awarded an Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility (ATR NSUF) project to evaluate promising magnetostrictive and piezoelectric transducer performance in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Reactor (MITR) up to a fast fluence of at least 1021 n/cm2 (E> 0.1 MeV). The goal of this research is to characterize magnetostrictive and piezoelectric transducer survivability during irradiation, enabling the development of novel radiation tolerant ultrasonic sensors for use in Material and Test Reactors (MTRs). As such, this test will be an instrumented lead test and real-time transducer performance data will be collected along with temperature and neutron and gamma flux data. The current work bridges the gap between proven out-of-pile ultrasonic techniques and in-pile deployment of ultrasonic sensors by acquiring the data necessary to demonstrate the performance of ultrasonic transducers.« less

Ultrasonic dip seal maintenance system

DOEpatents

Poindexter, Allan M.; Ricks, Herbert E.

1978-01-01

A system for removing impurities from the surfaces of liquid dip seals and or wetting the metal surfaces of liquid dip seals in nuclear components. The system comprises an ultrasonic transducer that transmits ultrasonic vibrations along an ultrasonic probe to the metal and liquid surfaces of the dip seal thereby loosening and removing those impurities.

Growth of oriented polycrystalline α-HgI 2 films by ultrasonic-wave-assisted physical vapor deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Weiguang; Nie, Lei; Li, Dongmei; Wang, Yali; Zhou, Jie; Ma, Lei; Wang, Zhenhua; Shi, Weimin

2011-06-01

Polycrystalline α-HgI 2 thick films have been grown on ITO-coated glass substrates using ultrasonic-wave-assisted vapor phase deposition (UWAVPD) with the different source temperatures and ultrasonic frequencies. The influence of the assisted ultrasonic wave and source temperature on the structural and electrical properties of the polycrystalline α-HgI 2 films is investigated. It is found that the assisted ultrasonic wave plays an important role in the improvement of the structural and electrical properties. An uniformly oriented polycrystalline α-HgI 2 film with clear facets and narrow size distribution can be obtained at the source temperature of 80 °C under the assistance of 59 KHz ultrasonic frequency with the ultrasonic power of 200 W, which has the lowest value of ρ=2.2×10 12 Ω cm for E-field parallel to c-axis, approaching to that of high quality α-HgI 2 single crystals (4.0×10 12 Ω cm).

Low frequency ultrasonic nondestructive inspection of aluminum/adhesive fuselage lap splices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Patton, Thadd

1994-01-04

This thesis is a collection of research efforts in ultrasonics, conducted at the Center for Aviation Systems Reliability located at Iowa State University, as part of the Federal Aviation Administration`s ``Aging Aircraft Program.`` The research was directed toward the development of an ultrasonic prototype to inspect the aluminum/adhesive fuselage lap splices found on 1970`s vintage Boeing passenger aircraft. The ultrasonic prototype consists of a normal incidence, low frequency inspection technique, and a scanning adapter that allows focused immersion transducers to be operated in a direct contact manner in any inspection orientation, including upside-down. The inspection technique uses a computer-controlled datamore » acquisition system to produce a C-scan image of a radio frequency (RF) waveform created by a low frequency, broadband, focused beam transducer, driven with a spike voltage pulser. C-scans produced by this technique are color representations of the received signal`s peak-to-peak amplitude (voltage) taken over an (x, y) grid. Low frequency, in this context, refers to a wavelength that is greater than the lap splice`s layer thicknesses. With the low frequency technique, interface echoes of the lap splice are not resolved and gating of the signal is unnecessary; this in itself makes the technique simple to implement and saves considerable time in data acquisition. Along with the advantages in data acquisition, the low frequency technique is relatively insensitive to minor surface curvature and to ultrasonic interference effects caused by adhesive bondline thickness variations in the lap splice.« less

Dispersion curve estimation via a spatial covariance method with ultrasonic wavefield imaging.

PubMed

Chong, See Yenn; Todd, Michael D

2018-05-01

Numerous Lamb wave dispersion curve estimation methods have been developed to support damage detection and localization strategies in non-destructive evaluation/structural health monitoring (NDE/SHM) applications. In this paper, the covariance matrix is used to extract features from an ultrasonic wavefield imaging (UWI) scan in order to estimate the phase and group velocities of S0 and A0 modes. A laser ultrasonic interrogation method based on a Q-switched laser scanning system was used to interrogate full-field ultrasonic signals in a 2-mm aluminum plate at five different frequencies. These full-field ultrasonic signals were processed in three-dimensional space-time domain. Then, the time-dependent covariance matrices of the UWI were obtained based on the vector variables in Cartesian and polar coordinate spaces for all time samples. A spatial covariance map was constructed to show spatial correlations within the full wavefield. It was observed that the variances may be used as a feature for S0 and A0 mode properties. The phase velocity and the group velocity were found using a variance map and an enveloped variance map, respectively, at five different frequencies. This facilitated the estimation of Lamb wave dispersion curves. The estimated dispersion curves of the S0 and A0 modes showed good agreement with the theoretical dispersion curves. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Out-of-plane ultrasonic velocity measurement

DOEpatents

Hall, Maclin S.; Brodeur, Pierre H.; Jackson, Theodore G.

1998-01-01

A method for improving the accuracy of measuring the velocity and time of flight of ultrasonic signals through moving web-like materials such as paper, paperboard and the like, includes a pair of ultrasonic transducers disposed on opposing sides of a moving web-like material. In order to provide acoustical coupling between the transducers and the web-like material, the transducers are disposed in fluid-filled wheels. Errors due to variances in the wheel thicknesses about their circumference which can affect time of flight measurements and ultimately the mechanical property being tested are compensated by averaging the ultrasonic signals for a predetermined number of revolutions. The invention further includes a method for compensating for errors resulting from the digitization of the ultrasonic signals. More particularly, the invention includes a method for eliminating errors known as trigger jitter inherent with digitizing oscilloscopes used to digitize the signals for manipulation by a digital computer. In particular, rather than cross-correlate ultrasonic signals taken during different sample periods as is known in the art in order to determine the time of flight of the ultrasonic signal through the moving web, a pulse echo box is provided to enable cross-correlation of predetermined transmitted ultrasonic signals with predetermined reflected ultrasonic or echo signals during the sample period. By cross-correlating ultrasonic signals in the same sample period, the error associated with trigger jitter is eliminated.

Ultrasonic characterization of solid liquid suspensions

DOEpatents

Panetta, Paul D.

2010-06-22

Using an ultrasonic field, properties of a solid liquid suspension such as through-transmission attenuation, backscattering, and diffuse field are measured. These properties are converted to quantities indicating the strength of different loss mechanisms (such as absorption, single scattering and multiple scattering) among particles in the suspension. Such separation of the loss mechanisms can allow for direct comparison of the attenuating effects of the mechanisms. These comparisons can also indicate a model most likely to accurately characterize the suspension and can aid in determination of properties such as particle size, concentration, and density of the suspension.

Ultrasonic Evaluation and Imaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Crawford, Susan L.; Anderson, Michael T.; Diaz, Aaron A.

2015-10-01

Ultrasonic evaluation of materials for material characterization and flaw detection is as simple as manually moving a single-element probe across a speci-men and looking at an oscilloscope display in real time or as complex as automatically (under computer control) scanning a phased-array probe across a specimen and collecting encoded data for immediate or off-line data analyses. The reliability of the results in the second technique is greatly increased because of a higher density of measurements per scanned area and measurements that can be more precisely related to the specimen geometry. This chapter will briefly discuss applications of the collection ofmore » spatially encoded data and focus primarily on the off-line analyses in the form of data imaging. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been involved with as-sessing and advancing the reliability of inservice inspections of nuclear power plant components for over 35 years. Modern ultrasonic imaging techniques such as the synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT), phased-array (PA) technolo-gy and sound field mapping have undergone considerable improvements to effec-tively assess and better understand material constraints.« less

Dissemination of aerosol and splatter during ultrasonic scaling: a pilot study.

PubMed

Veena, H R; Mahantesha, S; Joseph, Preethi A; Patil, Sudhir R; Patil, Suvarna H

2015-01-01

Routine dental procedures produce aerosol and splatter, which pose a potential risk to the clinician and dental personnel, as well as the immunocompromised patient. Reports indicate that the ultrasonic scaler is the greatest producer of aerosol and splatter. The study aimed to evaluate the contamination distance, contamination amount and contamination duration of aerosol produced during ultrasonic scaling. The study was performed on a mannequin fitted with phantom jaws on a dental chair. Mock scaling was done for 15 min using an auto-tuned magnetostrictive ultrasonic scaler with the simultaneous use of a low volume saliva ejector. An ultrafiltrate-containing fluorescent dye was used in the reservoir supplying the scaler unit. Filter paper discs were placed in different positions and distances in the operatory. Immediately following scaling, the filter paper discs were replaced with new ones. This was done every 30 min for a total duration of 90 min. Maximum contamination was found on the right arm of the operator and left arm of the assistant. Contamination was also found on the head, chest and inner surface of the face mask of the operator and of the assistant. The aerosol was found to remain in the air up to 30 min after scaling. The occupational health hazards of dental aerosols can be minimized by following simple, inexpensive precautions. Copyright © 2014 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of ultrasonic dental scaling on pulp vitality in dogs: an experimental study.

PubMed

Vérez-Fraguela, J L; Vives Vallés, M A; Ezquerra Calvo, L J

2000-06-01

We investigated whether dental pulpal damage is produced as a result of the application of an ultrasonic scaler commonly used in clinical veterinary dentistry. Using methods developed in preliminary studies, we examined six dogs. The radiographic thickness of the dentin and pulp cavity was measured. The ultrasonic scaler was applied to maxillary and mandibular premolar teeth for 30, 60, or 90 seconds, without the use of water as a coolant. The temperatures of the room, the pulp canal on untreated incisor teeth, the cheek, the gingival sulcus, and the dentin of the affected teeth were recorded using a probe with a thermistor attached to a resistivity meter and inserted in the dentin to a depth of 1 mm. Two weeks following scaling, the teeth were extracted for microscopic examination. In another dog serving as a control, the temperature of the dentin was increased to between 45 degrees C (113 degrees F) and 47 degrees C (117 degrees F) and the premolar teeth were removed for microscopic examination 15 days later. We concluded that the application of an uncooled ultrasonic scaler for 90 seconds did not increase the temperature of the dentin. However, damage comparable with acute pulpitis resulted as a consequence of the ultrasonic effect, similar to the effects produced by the 45-47 degrees C heat applied in the control animal.

Ultrasonic Methods for Human Motion Detection

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-10-01

contacts. The active method utilizes continuous wave ultrasonic Doppler sonar . Human motions have unique Doppler signatures and their combination...The present article reports results of human motion investigations with help of CW ultrasonic Doppler sonar . Low-cost, low-power ultrasonic motion...have been developed for operation in air [10]. Benefits of using ultrasonic CW Doppler sonar included the low-cost, low-electric noise, small size

Non-contact transportation system of small objects using Ultrasonic Waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, K.; Koyama, D.

2012-12-01

A transportation system for small object or fluid without contact is investigated being based on ultrasonic levitation. Small objects are suspended against gravity at the nodal points in ultrasonic pressure field due to the sound radiation force generated as the gradient of the energy density of the field. In this study, the trapped object is transported in the horizontal plane by introducing the spatial shift of the standing waves by the switching the lateral modes or travelling waves. The goal of the study is to establish a technology which can provide a total system with the flexibility in composing various transportation paths. Methods for linear/rotary stepping motions and continuous linear transportation are explained in this report. All the transportation tracks are composed of a bending vibrator and a reflector. The design for these acoustic cavity/waveguide is discussed.

Ultrasonic Apparatus for Pulverizing Brittle Material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sherrit, Stewart; Bao, Xiaoqi; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Dolgin, Benjamin; Chang, Zensheu

2004-01-01

The figure depicts an apparatus that pulverizes brittle material by means of a combination of ultrasonic and sonic vibration, hammering, and abrasion. The basic design of the apparatus could be specialized to be a portable version for use by a geologist in collecting powdered rock samples for analysis in the field or in a laboratory. Alternatively, a larger benchtop version could be designed for milling and mixing of precursor powders for such purposes as synthesis of ceramic and other polycrystalline materials or preparing powder samples for x-ray diffraction or x-ray fluorescence measurements to determine crystalline structures and compositions. Among the most attractive characteristics of this apparatus are its light weight and the ability to function without need for a large preload or a large power supply: It has been estimated that a portable version could have a mass <0.5 kg, would consume less than 1 W h of energy in milling a 1-cm3 volume of rock, and could operate at a preload <10 N. The basic design and principle of operation of this apparatus are similar to those of other apparatuses described in a series of prior NASA Tech Briefs articles, the two most relevant being Ultrasonic/ Sonic Drill/Corers With Integrated Sensors (NPO-20856), Vol. 25, No. 1 (January 2001), page 38 and Ultrasonic/ Sonic Mechanisms for Deep Drilling and Coring (NPO-30291), Vol. 27, No. 9 (September 2003), page 65. As before, vibrations are excited by means of a piezoelectric actuator, an ultrasonic horn, and a mass that is free to move axially over a limited range. As before, the ultrasonic harmonic motion of the horn drives the free-mass in a combination of ultrasonic harmonic and lower-frequency hammering motion. In this case, the free-mass is confined within a hollow cylinder that serves as a crushing chamber, and the free-mass serves as a crushing or milling tool. The hammering of the free-mass against a material sample at the lower end of the chamber grinds the sample into

Enhancing Biodiesel from Kemiri Sunan Oil Manufacturing using Ultrasonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Supriyadi, Slamet; Purwanto; Anggoro, Didi Dwi; Hermawan

2018-02-01

Kemiri Sunan (Reutalis trisperma (Blanco) Airy Shaw) is a potential plant to be developed as biodiesel feedstock. The advantage of Kemiri Sunan seeds when compared to other biodiesel raw materials is their high oil content. This plant is also very good for land conservation. Due the increasingly demand for biodiesel, research and new methods to increase its biodiesel production continue to be undertaken. The weakness of conventional biodiesel manufacturing process is in the mixing process in which mechanical stirring and heating in the trans-esterification process require more energy and a longer time. A higher and stronger mixing process is required to increase the contact area between the two phases of the mixed substance to produce the emulsion. Ultrasonic is a tool that can be useful for a liquid mixing process that tends to be separated. Ultrasonic waves can cause mixing intensity at the micro level and increase mass transfer, so the reaction can be performed at a much faster rate. This study is to figure out the effect of ultrasonic irradiation on the transesterification process of biodiesel from Kemiri Sunan Oil.

Optimization of ultrasonication period for better dispersion and stability of TiO2-water nanofluid.

PubMed

Mahbubul, I M; Elcioglu, Elif Begum; Saidur, R; Amalina, M A

2017-07-01

Nanofluids are promising in many fields, including engineering and medicine. Stability deterioration may be a critical constraint for potential applications of nanofluids. Proper ultrasonication can improve the stability, and possibility of the safe use of nanofluids in different applications. In this study, stability properties of TiO 2 -H 2 O nanofluid for varying ultrasonication durations were tested. The nanofluids were prepared through two-step method; and electron microscopies, with particle size distribution and zeta potential analyses were conducted for the evaluation of their stability. Results showed the positive impact of ultrasonication on nanofluid dispersion properties up to some extent. Ultrasonication longer than 150min resulted in re-agglomeration of nanoparticles. Therefore, ultrasonication for 150min was the optimum period yielding highest stability. A regression analysis was also done in order to relate the average cluster size and ultrasonication time to zeta potential. It can be concluded that performing analytical imaging and colloidal property evaluation during and after the sample preparation leads to reliable insights. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Development of a system for ultrasonic three-dimensional reconstruction of fetus].

PubMed

Baba, K

1989-04-01

We have developed a system for ultrasonic three-dimensional (3-D) fetus reconstruction using computers. Either a real-time linear array probe or a convex array probe of an ultrasonic scanner was mounted on a position sensor arm of a manual compound scanner in order to detect the position of the probe. A microcomputer was used to convert the position information to what could be recorded on a video tape as an image. This image was superimposed on the ultrasonic tomographic image simultaneously with a superimposer and recorded on a video tape. Fetuses in utero were scanned in seven cases. More than forty ultrasonic section image on the video tape were fed into a minicomputer. The shape of the fetus was displayed three-dimensionally by means of computer graphics. The computer-generated display produced a 3-D image of the fetus and showed the usefulness and accuracy of this system. Since it took only a few seconds for data collection by ultrasonic inspection, fetal movement did not adversely affect the results. Data input took about ten minutes for 40 slices, and 3-D reconstruction and display took about two minutes. The system made it possible to observe and record the 3-D image of the fetus in utero non-invasively and therefore is expected to make it much easier to obtain a 3-D picture of the fetus in utero.

Nondestructive characterization of thermal barrier coating by noncontact laser ultrasonic technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yang; Chen, Jianwei; Zhang, Zhenzhen

2015-09-01

We present the application of a laser ultrasonic technique in nondestructive characterization of the bonding layer (BL) in a thermal barrier coating (TBC). A physical mode of a multilayered medium is established to describe the propagation of a longitudinal wave generated by a laser in a TBC system. Furthermore, the theoretical analysis on the ultrasonic transmission in TBC is carried out in order to derive the expression of the BL transmission coefficient spectrum (TCS) which is used to determine the velocity of the longitudinal wave in the BL. We employ the inversion method combined with TCS to ascertain the attenuation coefficient of the BL. The experimental validations are performed with TBC specimens produced by an electron-beam physical vapor deposition method. In those experiments, a pulsed laser with a width of 10 ns is used to generate an ultrasonic signal while a two-wave mixing interferometer is created to receive the ultrasonic signals. By introducing the wavelet soft-threshold method that improves the signal-to-noise ratio, the laser ultrasonic testing results of TBC with an oxidation of 1 cycle, 10 cycles, and 100 cycles show that the attenuation coefficients of the BL become larger with an increase in the oxidation time, which is evident for the scanning electron microscopy observations, in which the thickness of the thermally grown oxide increases with oxidation time.

Ultrasonic determination of recrystallization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Generazio, E. R.

1986-01-01

Ultrasonic attenuation was measured for cold worked Nickel 200 samples annealed at increasing temperatures. Localized dislocation density variations, crystalline order and colume percent of recrystallized phase were determined over the anneal temperature range using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and metallurgy. The exponent of the frequency dependence of the attenuation was found to be a key variable relating ultrasonic attenuation to the thermal kinetics of the recrystallization process. Identification of this key variable allows for the ultrasonic determination of onset, degree, and completion of recrystallization.

Ultrasonic assisted production of starch nanoparticles: Structural characterization and mechanism of disintegration.

PubMed

Boufi, Sami; Bel Haaj, Sihem; Magnin, Albert; Pignon, Frédéric; Impéror-Clerc, Marianne; Mortha, Gérard

2018-03-01

In this paper, the disintegration of starch (waxy and standard starch) granules into nanosized particles under the sole effect of high power ultrasonication treatment in water/isopropanol is investigated, by using wide methods of analysis. The present work aims at a fully characterization of the starch nanoparticles produced by ultrasonication, in terms of size, morphology and structural properties, and the proposition of a possible mechanism explaining the top-down generation of starch nanoparticles (SNPs) via high intensity ultrasonication. Dynamic light scattering measurements have indicated a leveling of the particle size to about 40nm after 75min of ultrasonication. The WAXD, DSC and Raman have revealed the amorphous character of the SNPs. FE-SEM. AFM observations have confirmed the size measured by DLS and suggested that SNPs exhibited 2D morphology of platelet-like shapes. This morphology is further supported by SAXS. On the basis of data collected from the different characterization techniques, a possible mechanism explaining the disintegration process of starch granules into NPs is proposed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonic Songs of Male Mice

PubMed Central

Guo, Zhongsheng

2005-01-01

Previously it was shown that male mice, when they encounter female mice or their pheromones, emit ultrasonic vocalizations with frequencies ranging over 30–110 kHz. Here, we show that these vocalizations have the characteristics of song, consisting of several different syllable types, whose temporal sequencing includes the utterance of repeated phrases. Individual males produce songs with characteristic syllabic and temporal structure. This study provides a quantitative initial description of male mouse songs, and opens the possibility of studying song production and perception in an established genetic model organism. PMID:16248680

Out-of-plane ultrasonic velocity measurement

DOEpatents

Hall, M.S.; Brodeur, P.H.; Jackson, T.G.

1998-07-14

A method for improving the accuracy of measuring the velocity and time of flight of ultrasonic signals through moving web-like materials such as paper, paperboard and the like, includes a pair of ultrasonic transducers disposed on opposing sides of a moving web-like material. In order to provide acoustical coupling between the transducers and the web-like material, the transducers are disposed in fluid-filled wheels. Errors due to variances in the wheel thicknesses about their circumference which can affect time of flight measurements and ultimately the mechanical property being tested are compensated by averaging the ultrasonic signals for a predetermined number of revolutions. The invention further includes a method for compensating for errors resulting from the digitization of the ultrasonic signals. More particularly, the invention includes a method for eliminating errors known as trigger jitter inherent with digitizing oscilloscopes used to digitize the signals for manipulation by a digital computer. In particular, rather than cross-correlate ultrasonic signals taken during different sample periods as is known in the art in order to determine the time of flight of the ultrasonic signal through the moving web, a pulse echo box is provided to enable cross-correlation of predetermined transmitted ultrasonic signals with predetermined reflected ultrasonic or echo signals during the sample period. By cross-correlating ultrasonic signals in the same sample period, the error associated with trigger jitter is eliminated. 20 figs.

Ultrasonic superlensing jets and acoustic-fork sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitri, F. G.

2017-05-01

Focusing acoustical (and optical) beams beyond the diffraction limit has remained a major challenge in imaging instruments and systems, until recent advances on ;hyper; or ;super; lensing and higher-resolution imaging techniques have shown the counterintuitive violation of this rule under certain circumstances. Nonetheless, the proposed technologies of super-resolution acoustical focusing beyond the diffraction barrier require complex tools such as artificially engineered metamaterials, and other hardware equipment that may not be easily synthesized or manufactured. The present contribution therefore suggests a simple and reliable method of using a sound-penetrable circular cylinder lens illuminated by a nonparaxial Gaussian acoustical sheet (i.e. finite beam in 2D) to produce non-evanescent ultrasonic superlensing jets (or bullets) and acoustical 'snail-fork' shaped wavefronts with limited diffraction. The generalized (near-field) scattering theory for acoustical sheets of arbitrary wavefronts and incidence is utilized to synthesize the incident beam based upon the angular spectrum decomposition method and the multipole expansion method in cylindrical wave functions to compute the scattered pressure around the cylinder with particular emphasis on its physical properties. The results show that depending on the beam and lens parameters, a tight focusing (with dimensions much smaller than the beam waist) can be achieved. Subwavelength resolution can be also achieved by selecting a lens material with a speed of sound exceeding that of the host fluid medium. The ultrasonic superlensing jets provide the impetus to develop improved subwavelength microscopy and acoustical image-slicing systems, cell lysis and surgery, and photoacoustic imaging to name a few examples. Moreover, an acoustical fork-sheet generation may open innovative avenues in reconfigurable on-chip micro/nanoparticle tweezers and surface acoustic waves devices.

Investigation of thermal conductivity of metal materials on view of influence of ultrasonic waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lepeshkin, A. R.; Shcherbakov, P. P.

2017-11-01

A devices and methods were developed to determine characteristics of thermal cunductivity in metals materials on view of influence of ultrasonic waves at frequencies of 20 kHz and 2.6 MHz. A thermograph was used for investigation of the nonstationary thermal state of a conical rod and contactless measurements of its surface temperatures. The curves of heating of the tip of the conical rod and the time of heat transfer from the electric heater to the tip of the rod in experiments with an ultrasonic radiator and without it were carried out. According to the results of the research it was obtained that the thermal conductivity of a metal rod is increased by 2 times at a frequency of 20 kHz with an intensity of 50 W. The measure technique and the experimental data on the thermal conductivity of AISI-304 stainless steel in the ultrasonic wave field 2.6 MHz are given. A stationary comparative method for determining the thermal conductivity is used. As a result of the experiments it was established that the thermal conductivity of the rod increases by 2 times in the temperature range 20-100 °C in the field of ultrasonic wave. The obtained results confirm that in the alloys under the influence of ultrasonic waves on electrons and nodes of the crystal structure the contribution of the electron and lattice components of the thermal conductivity increases.

Ultrasonic liquid level detector

DOEpatents

Kotz, Dennis M.; Hinz, William R.

2010-09-28

An ultrasonic liquid level detector for use within a shielded container, the detector being tubular in shape with a chamber at its lower end into which liquid from in the container may enter and exit, the chamber having an ultrasonic transmitter and receiver in its top wall and a reflector plate or target as its bottom wall whereby when liquid fills the chamber a complete medium is then present through which an ultrasonic wave may be transmitted and reflected from the target thus signaling that the liquid is at chamber level.

Non-destructive evaluation method employing dielectric electrostatic ultrasonic transducers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yost, William T. (Inventor); Cantrell, Jr., John H. (Inventor)

2003-01-01

An acoustic nonlinearity parameter (.beta.) measurement method and system for Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) of materials and structural members novelly employs a loosely mounted dielectric electrostatic ultrasonic transducer (DEUT) to receive and convert ultrasonic energy into an electrical signal which can be analyzed to determine the .beta. of the test material. The dielectric material is ferroelectric with a high dielectric constant .di-elect cons.. A computer-controlled measurement system coupled to the DEUT contains an excitation signal generator section and a measurement and analysis section. As a result, the DEUT measures the absolute particle displacement amplitudes in test material, leading to derivation of the nonlinearity parameter (.beta.) without the costly, low field reliability methods of the prior art.

Ultrasonic multi-skip tomography for pipe inspection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Volker, Arno; Zon, Tim van

The inspection of wall loss corrosion is difficult at pipe supports due to limited accessibility. The recently developed ultrasonic Multi-Skip screening technique is suitable for this problem. The method employs ultrasonic transducers in a pitch-catch geometry positioned on opposite sides of the pipe support. Shear waves are transmitted in the axial direction within the pipe wall, reflecting multiple times between the inner and outer surfaces before reaching the receivers. Along this path, the signals accumulate information on the integral wall thickness (e.g., via variations in travel time). The method is very sensitive in detecting the presence of wall loss, butmore » it is difficult to quantify both the extent and depth of the loss. Multi-skip tomography has been developed to reconstruct the wall thickness profile along the axial direction of the pipe. The method uses model-based full wave field inversion; this consists of a forward model for predicting the measured wave field and an iterative process that compares the predicted and measured wave fields and minimizes the differences with respect to the model parameters (i.e., the wall thickness profile). Experimental results are very encouraging. Various defects (slot and flat bottom hole) are reconstructed using the tomographic inversion. The general shape and width are well recovered. The current sizing accuracy is in the order of 1 mm.« less

Pulsed ultrasonic stir welding system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, R. Jeffrey (Inventor)

2013-01-01

An ultrasonic stir welding system includes a welding head assembly having a plate and a rod passing through the plate. The rod is rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof. During a welding operation, ultrasonic pulses are applied to the rod as it rotates about its longitudinal axis. The ultrasonic pulses are applied in such a way that they propagate parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rod.

NEET In-Pile Ultrasonic Sensor Enablement-FY 2012 Status Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

JE Daw; JL Rempe; BR Tittmann

2012-09-01

Several Department Of Energy-Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) programs, such as the Fuel Cycle Research and Development, Advanced Reactor Concepts, Light Water Reactor Sustainability, and Next Generation Nuclear Plant programs, are investigating new fuels and materials for advanced and existing reactors. A key objective of such programs is to understand the performance of these fuels and materials when irradiated. The Nuclear Energy Enabling Technology (NEET) Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation (ASI) in-pile instrumentation development activities are focused upon addressing cross-cutting needs for DOE-NE irradiation testing by providing higher fidelity, real-time data, with increased accuracy and resolution from smaller, compact sensors that are lessmore » intrusive. Ultrasonic technologies offer the potential to measure a range of parameters, including geometry changes, temperature, crack initiation and growth, gas pressure and composition, and microstructural changes, under harsh irradiation test conditions. There are two primary issues associated with in-pile deployment of ultrasonic sensors. The first is transducer survivability. The ability of ultrasonic transducer materials to maintain their useful properties during an irradiation must be demonstrated. The second issue is signal processing. Ultrasonic testing is typically performed in a lab or field environment, where the sensor and sample are accessible. Due to the harsh nature of in-pile testing, and the range of measurements that are desired, an enhanced signal processing capability is needed to make in-pile ultrasonic sensors viable. This project addresses these technology deployment issues.« less

Apparatus and method for identification and recognition of an item with ultrasonic patterns from item subsurface micro-features

DOEpatents

Perkins, Richard W.; Fuller, James L.; Doctor, Steven R.; Good, Morris S.; Heasler, Patrick G.; Skorpik, James R.; Hansen, Norman H.

1995-01-01

The present invention is a means and method for identification and recognition of an item by ultrasonic imaging of material microfeatures and/or macrofeatures within the bulk volume of a material. The invention is based upon ultrasonic interrogation and imaging of material microfeatures within the body of material by accepting only reflected ultrasonic energy from a preselected plane or volume within the material. An initial interrogation produces an identification reference. Subsequent new scans are statistically compared to the identification reference for making a match/non-match decision.

Ultrasonic stir welding process and apparatus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, R. Jeffrey (Inventor)

2009-01-01

An ultrasonic stir welding device provides a method and apparatus for elevating the temperature of a work piece utilizing at least one ultrasonic heater. Instead of relying on a rotating shoulder to provide heat to a workpiece an ultrasonic heater is utilized to provide ultrasonic energy to the workpiece. A rotating pin driven by a motor assembly performs the weld on the workpiece. A handheld version can be constructed as well as a fixedly mounted embodiment.

Ultrasonic survey and monitoring of the excavation damaged zone in callovo-oxfordian argillaceous rock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balland, C.; Morel, J.

2010-12-01

The mining of galleries in geological claystones formation induces a stress redistribution that can cause a microfissuration of the rock around the works which, by coalescence, may generate macro field fractures. In this area called EDZ (Excavation Damaged Zone), permeability is expected to increase drastically. Those induced cracking along with increased permeability, shall be taken into account in safety assessment of deep geological disposal. Ultrasonic survey and monitoring experiments have been performed in the Underground Research Laboratory of Meuse/Haute-Marne to contribute to the understanding of the extension and evolution of this damage. Ultrasonic devices have been deployed around shaft, gallery, slot and borehole to characterize the initiation, the extension and the level of the EDZ, P-wave velocity being very sensitive to the mechanical rock perturbations. The analysis of spatial and temporal velocity field changes gave reliable information on the cracks characteristics of the especially about their opening or their preferential orientation. The results provided by an ultrasonic device around shaft mine by test highlighted the initialization and extension of the damage as the shaft front proceeded. They also showed a polarisation of the velocity field and an oscillation of the transversal isotropy with a preferential orientation of the stress release and the microcracking. Otherwise, with a new automatic and ultrasonic probe, we have found around a borehole that the damage zone extends up to 0.175 diameter of depth with an anisotropic damage pattern oriented according to the regional stress field (Figure 1). Nevertheless, the evolution of this damaged zone is still not well known at longer term, particularly under the influence of parameters such as the reconfining rock in contact with a rigid concrete surface. Is it possible that cracks close up significantly toward their seal? Induced mechanical perturbations are in this case much weaker than those

A passively tunable acoustic metamaterial lens for selective ultrasonic excitation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, H.; Semperlotti, F., E-mail: Fabio.Semperlotti.1@nd.edu

2014-09-07

In this paper, we present an approach to ultrasonic beam-forming and beam-steering in structures based on the concept of embedded acoustic metamaterial lenses. The lens design exploits the principle of acoustic drop-channel that enables the dynamic coupling of multiple ultrasonic waveguides at selected frequencies. In contrast with currently available technology, the embedded lens allows exploiting the host structure as a key component of the transducer system therefore enabling directional excitation by means of a single ultrasonic transducer. The design and the performance of the lens are numerically investigated by using Plane Wave Expansion and Finite Difference Time Domain techniques appliedmore » to bulk structures. Then, the design is experimentally validated on a thin aluminum plate waveguide where the lens is implemented by through-holes. The dynamic response of the embedded lens is estimated by reconstructing, via Laser Vibrometry, the velocity field induced by a single source located at the center of the lens.« less

Bruce Thompson: Adventures and advances in ultrasonic backscatter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Margetan, Frank J.

2012-05-01

Over the course of his professional career Dr. R. Bruce Thompson published several hundred articles on non-destructive evaluation, the majority dealing with topics in ultrasonics. One longtime research interest of Dr. Thompson, with applications both to microstructure characterization and defect detection, was backscattered grain noise in metals. Over a 20 year period he led a revolving team of staff members and graduate students investigating various aspects of ultrasonic backscatter. As a member of that team I had the privilege of working along side Dr. Thompson for many years, serving as a sort of Dr. Watson to Bruce's Sherlock Holmes. This article discusses Dr. Thompson's general approaches to modeling backscatter, the research topics he chose to explore to systematically elucidate a better understanding of the phenomena, and the many contributions to the field achieved under his leadership. The backscatter work began in earnest around 1990, motivated by a need to improve inspections of aircraft engine components. At that time Dr. Thompson launched two research efforts. The first led to the heuristic Independent Scatterer Model which could be used to estimate the average grain noise level that would be seen in any given ultrasonic inspection. There the contribution from the microstructure was contained in a measureable parameter known as the Figure-of-Merit or FOM. The second research effort, spearheaded by Dr. Jim Rose, led to a formal relationship between FOM and details of the metal microstructure. The combination of the Independent Scattering Model and Rose's formalism provided a powerful tool for investigating backscatter in metals. In this article model developments are briefly reviewed and several illustrative applications are discussed. These include: the determination of grain size and shape from ultrasonic backscatter; grain noise variability in engine-titanium billets and forgings; and the design of ultrasonic inspection systems to improve defect

Air-Coupled Low Frequency Ultrasonic Transducers and Arrays with PMN-32%PT Piezoelectric Crystals

PubMed Central

Kazys, Rymantas J.; Sliteris, Reimondas; Sestoke, Justina

2017-01-01

Air-coupled ultrasonic techniques are being increasingly used for material characterization, non-destructive evaluation of composite materials using guided waves as well as for distance measurements. Application of those techniques is mainly limited by the big losses of ultrasonic signals due to attenuation and mismatch of the acoustic impedances of ultrasonic transducers and air. One of the ways to solve this problem is by application of novel more efficient piezoelectric materials like lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN-PT) type crystals. The objective of this research was the development and investigation of low frequency (<50 kHz) wide band air-coupled ultrasonic transducers and arrays with an improved performance using PMN-32%PT crystals. Results of finite element modelling and experimental investigations of the developed transducers and arrays are presented. For improvement of the performance strip-like matching elements made of low acoustic impedance, materials such as polystyrene foams were applied. It allowed to achieve transduction losses for one single element transducer −11.4 dB, what is better than of commercially available air-coupled ultrasonic transducers. Theoretical and experimental investigations of the acoustic fields radiated by the eight element ultrasonic array demonstrated not only a good performance of the array in a pulse mode, but also very good possibilities to electronically focus and steer the ultrasonic beam in space. PMID:28067807

Towards multifocal ultrasonic neural stimulation: pattern generation algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hertzberg, Yoni; Naor, Omer; Volovick, Alexander; Shoham, Shy

2010-10-01

Focused ultrasound (FUS) waves directed onto neural structures have been shown to dynamically modulate neural activity and excitability, opening up a range of possible systems and applications where the non-invasiveness, safety, mm-range resolution and other characteristics of FUS are advantageous. As in other neuro-stimulation and modulation modalities, the highly distributed and parallel nature of neural systems and neural information processing call for the development of appropriately patterned stimulation strategies which could simultaneously address multiple sites in flexible patterns. Here, we study the generation of sparse multi-focal ultrasonic distributions using phase-only modulation in ultrasonic phased arrays. We analyse the relative performance of an existing algorithm for generating multifocal ultrasonic distributions and new algorithms that we adapt from the field of optical digital holography, and find that generally the weighted Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm leads to overall superior efficiency and uniformity in the focal spots, without significantly increasing the computational burden. By combining phased-array FUS and magnetic-resonance thermometry we experimentally demonstrate the simultaneous generation of tightly focused multifocal distributions in a tissue phantom, a first step towards patterned FUS neuro-modulation systems and devices.

Metal composite as backing for ultrasonic transducers dedicated to non-destructive measurements in hostile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boubenia, R.; Rosenkrantz, E.; Despetis, F.; P, P.; Ferrandis, J.-Y.

2016-03-01

Our team is specialized in ultrasonic measurements in hostile environment especially under high temperatures. There is a need for acoustic transducers capable of continuous measurement at temperatures up to 700°C. To improve the performances of acoustic sensors we focus our works on the realisation and characterisation of transducer backings able to operate under very high temperature. Commercially, they are produced by the incorporation of tungsten powder in a plastic matrix, which limits the working temperature. The realisation of ultrasonic transducers for non-destructive measures at high temperatures requires adequate materials, manufacturing and assembly processes. To produce the backings, composites were made using very ductile metals such as tin and tungsten. These composites are manufactured by uniaxial hot pressing. First, we studied the influence of temperature and pressure on the densification of tin pellets. Then, several specimens made of tin/W were made and characterised by measuring the specific weight, speed and attenuation of sound. The acoustic measures were realised by ultrasonic spectroscopy. This test-bench was designed and tested on control samples of PMMA and on standard backings (epoxy / tungsten).

An Ultrasonic System for Weed Detection in Cereal Crops

PubMed Central

Andújar, Dionisio; Weis, Martin; Gerhards, Roland

2012-01-01

Site-specific weed management requires sensing of the actual weed infestation levels in agricultural fields to adapt the management accordingly. However, sophisticated sensor systems are not yet in wider practical use, since they are not easily available for the farmers and their handling as well as the management practice requires additional efforts. A new sensor-based weed detection method is presented in this paper and its applicability to cereal crops is evaluated. An ultrasonic distance sensor for the determination of plant heights was used for weed detection. It was hypothesised that the weed infested zones have a higher amount of biomass than non-infested areas and that this can be determined by plant height measurements. Ultrasonic distance measurements were taken in a winter wheat field infested by grass weeds and broad-leaved weeds. A total of 80 and 40 circular-shaped samples of different weed densities and compositions were assessed at two different dates. The sensor was pointed directly to the ground for height determination. In the following, weeds were counted and then removed from the sample locations. Grass weeds and broad-leaved weeds were separately removed. Differences between weed infested and weed-free measurements were determined. Dry-matter of weeds and crop was assessed and evaluated together with the sensor measurements. RGB images were taken prior and after weed removal to determine the coverage percentages of weeds and crop per sampling point. Image processing steps included EGI (excess green index) computation and thresholding to separate plants and background. The relationship between ultrasonic readings and the corresponding coverage of the crop and weeds were assessed using multiple regression analysis. Results revealed a height difference between infested and non-infested sample locations. Density and biomass of weeds present in the sample influenced the ultrasonic readings. The possibilities of weed group discrimination were

An ultrasonic system for weed detection in cereal crops.

PubMed

Andújar, Dionisio; Weis, Martin; Gerhards, Roland

2012-12-13

Site-specific weed management requires sensing of the actual weed infestation levels in agricultural fields to adapt the management accordingly. However, sophisticated sensor systems are not yet in wider practical use, since they are not easily available for the farmers and their handling as well as the management practice requires additional efforts. A new sensor-based weed detection method is presented in this paper and its applicability to cereal crops is evaluated. An ultrasonic distance sensor for the determination of plant heights was used for weed detection. It was hypothesised that the weed infested zones have a higher amount of biomass than non-infested areas and that this can be determined by plant height measurements. Ultrasonic distance measurements were taken in a winter wheat field infested by grass weeds and broad-leaved weeds. A total of 80 and 40 circular-shaped samples of different weed densities and compositions were assessed at two different dates. The sensor was pointed directly to the ground for height determination. In the following, weeds were counted and then removed from the sample locations. Grass weeds and broad-leaved weeds were separately removed. Differences between weed infested and weed-free measurements were determined. Dry-matter of weeds and crop was assessed and evaluated together with the sensor measurements. RGB images were taken prior and after weed removal to determine the coverage percentages of weeds and crop per sampling point. Image processing steps included EGI (excess green index) computation and thresholding to separate plants and background. The relationship between ultrasonic readings and the corresponding coverage of the crop and weeds were assessed using multiple regression analysis. Results revealed a height difference between infested and non-infested sample locations. Density and biomass of weeds present in the sample influenced the ultrasonic readings. The possibilities of weed group discrimination were

Design and numerical simulation of novel giant magnetostrictive ultrasonic transducer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Pengyang; Liu, Qiang; Li, Shujuan; Wang, Quandai; Zhang, Dongya; Li, Yan

This paper provides a design method of a novel giant magnetostrictive ultrasonic transducer utilized in incremental sheet metal forming. The frequency equations of the ultrasonic vibrator were deduced and the corresponding correctness verified by the modal and harmonic response characteristic through the finite element method (FEM) and ANSYS software. In addition, the magnetic field of the vibrator system was designed and verified by the ANSYS. Finally, the frequency tests based on the impedance response analysis and the amplitude measurements based on the laser displacement sensor were performed on the prototype. The results confirmed the appropriate design of this transducer, setting the foundation for a low mechanical quality factor and satisfying amplitude.

Simulation of ultrasonic and EMAT arrays using FEM and FDTD.

PubMed

Xie, Yuedong; Yin, Wuliang; Liu, Zenghua; Peyton, Anthony

2016-03-01

This paper presents a method which combines electromagnetic simulation and ultrasonic simulation to build EMAT array models. For a specific sensor configuration, Lorentz forces are calculated using the finite element method (FEM), which then can feed through to ultrasonic simulations. The propagation of ultrasound waves is numerically simulated using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method to describe their propagation within homogenous medium and their scattering phenomenon by cracks. Radiation pattern obtained with Hilbert transform on time domain waveforms is proposed to characterise the sensor in terms of its beam directivity and field distribution along the steering angle. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

21 CFR 872.4850 - Ultrasonic scaler.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... DEVICES DENTAL DEVICES Surgical Devices § 872.4850 Ultrasonic scaler. (a) Identification. An ultrasonic scaler is a device intended for use during dental cleaning and periodontal (gum) therapy to remove calculus deposits from teeth by application of an ultrasonic vibrating scaler tip to the teeth. (b...

21 CFR 872.4850 - Ultrasonic scaler.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... DEVICES DENTAL DEVICES Surgical Devices § 872.4850 Ultrasonic scaler. (a) Identification. An ultrasonic scaler is a device intended for use during dental cleaning and periodontal (gum) therapy to remove calculus deposits from teeth by application of an ultrasonic vibrating scaler tip to the teeth. (b...

21 CFR 872.4850 - Ultrasonic scaler.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... DEVICES DENTAL DEVICES Surgical Devices § 872.4850 Ultrasonic scaler. (a) Identification. An ultrasonic scaler is a device intended for use during dental cleaning and periodontal (gum) therapy to remove calculus deposits from teeth by application of an ultrasonic vibrating scaler tip to the teeth. (b...

21 CFR 872.4850 - Ultrasonic scaler.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... DEVICES DENTAL DEVICES Surgical Devices § 872.4850 Ultrasonic scaler. (a) Identification. An ultrasonic scaler is a device intended for use during dental cleaning and periodontal (gum) therapy to remove calculus deposits from teeth by application of an ultrasonic vibrating scaler tip to the teeth. (b...

21 CFR 872.4850 - Ultrasonic scaler.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... DEVICES DENTAL DEVICES Surgical Devices § 872.4850 Ultrasonic scaler. (a) Identification. An ultrasonic scaler is a device intended for use during dental cleaning and periodontal (gum) therapy to remove calculus deposits from teeth by application of an ultrasonic vibrating scaler tip to the teeth. (b...

High yield synthesis of Ni-BTC metal-organic framework with ultrasonic irradiation: Role of polar aprotic DMF solvent.

PubMed

Israr, Farrukh; Chun, Daye; Kim, Yeongmin; Kim, Duk Kyung

2016-07-01

Nickel based porous solid was synthesized with 20 kHz ultrasonic irradiation. The reaction of Ni(II) nitrate hexahydrate with 1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylic acid in N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) as the sole solvent under ultrasonic radiation produced porous Ni-BTC MOF. Choice of correct solvent for the ultrasonic treatment was proven important. The effect of varying ultrasonic powers (40%, 60% and 80% of 750 W) along with different temperature conditions (50 °C, 60 °C, 70 °C and 80 °C) influenced the respective yield. A very high yield of 88% Ni-BTC MOF was obtained from 80% ultrasonic power at 60 °C. BET surface areas of the MOF crystals measured by N2 gas adsorption isotherms were in the range of 960-1000 m(2)/g. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A novel ultrasonic aerosol generator.

PubMed

Davies, A; Hudson, N; Pirie, L

1995-07-01

An ultrasonic aerosol generator constructed from a domestic humidifier is described which has been used to produce liquid aerosols for physiological investigations. The instrument was constructed from a Pifco domestic humidifier modified to include an energy guide to direct the oscillations of the transducer through the coupling water, which would normally be aerosolized, onto a small membrane based sample chamber containing the liquid to be aerosolized. The size distribution of the aerosol produced was found to be between 2 and 6 mm, optimum for diffuse intrapulmonary deposition. Up to 4 ml/min of aqueous liquid was used; however the sample chamber could be made small enough to contain economic amounts of expensive material to administer by inhalation. The instrument has proved to be reliable over a period of three years.

Ultrasonic/Sonic Jackhammer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph (Inventor); Herz, Jack L. (Inventor); Sherrit, Stewart (Inventor)

2014-01-01

The invention provides a novel jackhammer that utilizes ultrasonic and/or sonic vibrations as source of power. It is easy to operate and does not require extensive training, requiring substantially less physical capabilities from the user and thereby increasing the pool of potential operators. An important safety benefit is that it does not fracture resilient or compliant materials such as cable channels and conduits, tubing, plumbing, cabling and other embedded fixtures that may be encountered along the impact path. While the ultrasonic/sonic jackhammer of the invention is able to cut concrete and asphalt, it generates little back-propagated shocks or vibrations onto the mounting fixture, and can be operated from an automatic platform or robotic system. PNEUMATICS; ULTRASONICS; IMPACTORS; DRILLING; HAMMERS BRITTLE MATERIALS; DRILL BITS; PROTOTYPES; VIBRATION

(abstract) Oblique Insonification Ultrasonic NDE of Composite Materials for Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Y.; Lih, S. S.; Mal, A. K.

1997-01-01

In recent years, a great deal of research has been exerted to developing NDE methods for the characterization of the material properties of composites as well as other space structural materials. The need for information about such parameters as the elastic properties, density, and thickness are critical to the safe design and operation of such structural materials. Ultrasonics using immersion methods has played an important role in these efforts due to its capability, cost effectiveness, and ease of use. The authors designed a series of ultrasonic oblique insonification experiments in order to develop a practical field applicable NDE method for space structures.

Integrating Fiber Optic Strain Sensors into Metal Using Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hehr, Adam; Norfolk, Mark; Wenning, Justin; Sheridan, John; Leser, Paul; Leser, Patrick; Newman, John A.

2018-03-01

Ultrasonic additive manufacturing, a rather new three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, uses ultrasonic energy to produce metallurgical bonds between layers of metal foils near room temperature. This low temperature attribute of the process enables integration of temperature sensitive components, such as fiber optic strain sensors, directly into metal structures. This may be an enabling technology for Digital Twin applications, i.e., virtual model interaction and feedback with live load data. This study evaluates the consolidation quality, interface robustness, and load sensing limits of commercially available fiber optic strain sensors embedded into aluminum alloy 6061. Lastly, an outlook on the technology and its applications is described.

Determination of plate wave velocities and diffuse field decay rates with braod-band acousto-ultrasonic signals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kautz, Harold E.

1993-01-01

Lowest symmetric and lowest antisymmetric plate wave modes were excited and identified in broad-band acousto-ultrasonic (AU) signals collected from various high temperature composite materials. Group velocities have been determined for these nearly nondispersive modes. An algorithm has been developed and applied to determine phase velocities and hence dispersion curves for the frequency ranges of the broad-band pulses. It is demonstrated that these data are sensitive to changes in the various stiffness moduli of the materials, in agreement by analogy, with the theoretical and experimental results of Tang and Henneke on fiber reinforced polymers. Diffuse field decay rates have been determined in the same specimen geometries and AU configuration as for the plate wave measurements. These decay rates are of value in assessing degradation such as matrix cracking in ceramic matrix composites. In addition, we verify that diffuse field decay rates respond to fiber/matrix interfacial shear strength and density in ceramic matrix composites. This work shows that velocity/stiffness and decay rate measurements can be obtained in the same set of AU experiments for characterizing materials and in specimens with geometries useful for mechanical measurements.

Parametric phase conjugation for the second harmonic of a nonlinear ultrasonic beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brysev, A. P.; Bunkin, F. V.; Hamilton, M. F.; Klopotov, R. V.; Krutyanskii, L. M.; Yan, K.

2003-01-01

The effect of phase conjugation for the second harmonic of a focused ultrasonic beam was investigated experimentally and by numerical simulation. An ultrasonic pulse with the carrier frequency f=3 MHz was emitted into water and focused at a point between the source and the phase conjugating system. The phase conjugation for the second harmonic of the incident wave (2 f=6 MHz) was performed in a magnetostrictive ceramic as a result of the parametric interaction of the incident wave with the pumping magnetic field (the pumping frequency was f p=4 f=12 MHz). The axial and focal distributions of sound pressure in the incident and conjugated beams were measured using a broadband PVDF membrane hydrophone. The corresponding calculations were performed by solving numerically the Khokhlov-Zabolotskaya-Kuznetsov (KZK) equation allowing for the nonlinearity, diffraction, and thermoviscous absorption. The results of measurements agreed well with the calculations and showed that the field of a conjugate wave adequately reproduces the field of the second harmonic of the incident wave. A certain advantage of focusing with the phase conjugation for the second harmonic was demonstrated in comparison with the operation at the doubled frequency of the incident wave. The results of this study can serve as a basis for the utilization of the phase conjugation of harmonics in ultrasonic tomography and nondestructive testing.

Apparatus and method for identification and recognition of an item with ultrasonic patterns from item subsurface micro-features

DOEpatents

Perkins, R.W.; Fuller, J.L.; Doctor, S.R.; Good, M.S.; Heasler, P.G.; Skorpik, J.R.; Hansen, N.H.

1995-09-26

The present invention is a means and method for identification and recognition of an item by ultrasonic imaging of material microfeatures and/or macrofeatures within the bulk volume of a material. The invention is based upon ultrasonic interrogation and imaging of material microfeatures within the body of material by accepting only reflected ultrasonic energy from a preselected plane or volume within the material. An initial interrogation produces an identification reference. Subsequent new scans are statistically compared to the identification reference for making a match/non-match decision. 15 figs.

High temperature pressure coupled ultrasonic waveguide

DOEpatents

Caines, Michael J.

1983-01-01

A pressure coupled ultrasonic waveguide is provided to which one end may be attached a transducer and at the other end a high temperature material for continuous ultrasonic testing of the material. The ultrasonic signal is coupled from the waveguide into the material through a thin, dry copper foil.

High-temperature pressure-coupled ultrasonic waveguide

DOEpatents

Caines, M.J.

1981-02-11

A pressure coupled ultrasonic waveguide is provided to which one end may be attached a transducer and at the other end a high temperature material for continuous ultrasonic testing of the material. The ultrasonic signal is coupled from the waveguide into the material through a thin, dry copper foil.

Weld quality inspection using laser-EMAT ultrasonic system and C-scan method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Lei; Ume, I. Charles

2014-02-01

Laser/EMAT ultrasonic technique has attracted more and more interests in weld quality inspection because of its non-destructive and non-contact characteristics. When ultrasonic techniques are used to detect welds joining relative thin plates, the dominant ultrasonic waves present in the plates are Lamb waves, which propagate all through the thickness. Traditional Time of Flight(ToF) method loses its power. The broadband nature of laser excited ultrasound plus dispersive and multi-modal characteristic of Lamb waves make the EMAT acquired signals very complicated in this situation. Challenge rises in interpreting the received signals and establishing relationship between signal feature and weld quality. In this paper, the laser/EMAT ultrasonic technique was applied in a C-scan manner to record full wave propagation field over an area close to the weld. Then the effect of weld defect on the propagation field of Lamb waves was studied visually by watching an movie resulted from the recorded signals. This method was proved to be effective to detect the presence of hidden defect in the weld. Discrete wavelet transform(DWT) was applied to characterize the acquired ultrasonic signals and ideal band-pass filter was used to isolate wave components most sensitive to the weld defect. Different interactions with the weld defect were observed for different wave components. Thus this C-Scan method, combined with DWT and ideal band-pass filter, proved to be an effective methodology to experimentally study interactions of various laser excited Lamb Wave components with weld defect. In this work, the method was demonstrated by inspecting a hidden local incomplete penetration in weld. In fact, this method can be applied to study Lamb Wave interactions with any type of structural inconsistency. This work also proposed a ideal filtered based method to effectively reduce the total experimental time.

Ultrasonic ranging and data telemetry system

DOEpatents

Brashear, Hugh R.; Blair, Michael S.; Phelps, James E.; Bauer, Martin L.; Nowlin, Charles H.

1990-01-01

An ultrasonic ranging and data telemetry system determines a surveyor's position and automatically links it with other simultaneously taken survey data. An ultrasonic and radio frequency (rf) transmitter are carried by the surveyor in a backpack. The surveyor's position is determined by calculations that use the measured transmission times of an airborne ultrasonic pulse transmitted from the backpack to two or more prepositioned ultrasonic transceivers. Once a second, rf communications are used both to synchronize the ultrasonic pulse transmission-time measurements and to transmit other simultaneously taken survey data. The rf communications are interpreted by a portable receiver and microcomputer which are brought to the property site. A video display attached to the computer provides real-time visual monitoring of the survey progress and site coverage.

Effects of ultrasonic pretreatment on quantity and composition of bacterial DNA recovered from granular activated carbon used for drinking water treatment.

PubMed

Kim, Tae Gwan; Kim, Sun-Hye; Cho, Kyung-Suk

2014-01-01

Effects of ultrasonic pretreatment on bacterial DNA recovery from granular activated carbon (GAC) were investigated. GAC (Calgon F400), biologically activated, was sampled from an actual drinking water plant. Different ultrasonic energy densities (0-400 J·cm(-3)) were applied with agitation (250 rpm for 30 min), and recovered bacterial DNA was quantified using quantitative PCR. Energy density was linearly correlated with the concentration of carbon fines produced from GAC during ultrasonication. Ultrasonication alone had no effect on DNA recovery at ≤60 J·cm(-3), but a strongly adverse effect at >67 J·cm(-3) due to the produced carbon fines. Agitation along with ultrasonication strongly enhanced the bacterial DNA recovery when ≤40 J·cm(-3) was applied, although it did not affect the production of carbon fines. Ribosomal tag pyrosequencing was used to compare recovered bacterial communities (0, 20 and 30 J·cm(-3) with or without agitation). Ultrasonication allowed for obtaining a more diverse and richer bacterial community from GAC, compared with the control. Agitation did not show a positive effect on community organization (richness and diversity). Consistently, canonical correspondence analysis indicated that the energy density was associated with the relative abundances of particular bacterial members (P < 0.05), while agitation did not. Correspondence analysis revealed that the recovered bacterial communities were grouped according to the applied energy densities. In conclusion, ultrasonication and agitation influence the recovered DNA in quality and quantity, respectively, and carbon fines as a by-product by ultrasonication interfere with the DNA recovery.

Ultrasonic waves in classical gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magner, A. G.; Gorenstein, M. I.; Grygoriev, U. V.

2017-12-01

The velocity and absorption coefficient for the plane sound waves in a classical gas are obtained by solving the Boltzmann kinetic equation, which describes the reaction of the single-particle distribution function to a periodic external field. Within the linear response theory, the nonperturbative dispersion equation valid for all sound frequencies is derived and solved numerically. The results are in agreement with the approximate analytical solutions found for both the frequent- and rare-collision regimes. These results are also in qualitative agreement with the experimental data for ultrasonic waves in dilute gases.

Development and evaluation of an ultrasonic ground water seepage meter.

PubMed

Paulsen, R J; Smith, C F; O'Rourke, D; Wong, T F

2001-01-01

Submarine ground water discharge can influence significantly the near-shore transport and flux of chemicals into the oceans. Quantification of the sources and rates of such discharge requires a ground water seepage meter that provides continuous measurements at high resolution over an extended period of time. An ultrasonic flowmeter has been adapted for such measurements in the submarine environment. Connected to a steel collection funnel, the meter houses two piezoelectric transducers mounted at opposite ends of a cylindrical flow tube. By monitoring the perturbations of fluid flow on the propagation of sound waves inside the flow tube, the ultrasonic meter can measure both forward and reverse fluid flows in real time. Laboratory and field calibrations show that the ultrasonic meter can resolve ground water discharges on the order of 0.1 microm/sec, and it is sufficiently robust for deployment in the field for several days. Data from West Neck Bay, Shelter Island, New York, elucidate the temporal and spatial heterogeneity of submarine ground water discharge and its interplay with tidal loading. A negative correlation between the discharge and tidal elevation was generally observed. A methodology was also developed whereby data for the sound velocity as a function of temperature can be used to infer the salinity and source of the submarine discharge. Independent measurements of electrical conductance were performed to validate this methodology.

Estimating high mosquito-producing rice fields using spectral and spatial data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, B. L.; Beck, L. R.; Washino, R. K.; Hibbard, K. A.; Salute, J. S.

1992-01-01

The cultivation of irrigated rice provides ideal larval habitat for a number of anopheline vectors of malaria throughout the world. Anopheles freeborni, a potential vector of human malaria, is associated with the nearly 240,000 hectares of irrigated rice grown annually in Northern and Central California; therefore, this species can serve as a model for the study of rice field anopheline population dynamics. Analysis of field data revealed that rice fields with early season canopy development, that are located near bloodmeal sources (i.e., pastures with livestock) were more likely to produce anopheline larvae than fields with less developed canopies located further from pastures. Remote sensing reflectance measurements of early-season canopy development and geographic information system (GIS) measurements of distanes between rice fields and pastures with livestock were combined to distinguish between high and low mosquito-producing rice fields. Using spectral and distance measures in either a discriminant or Bayesian analysis, the identification of high mosquito-producing fields was made with 85 percent accuracy nearly two months before anopheline larval populations peaked. Since omission errors were also minimized by these approaches, they could provide a new basis for directing abatement techniques for the control of malaria vectors.

Wire Crimp Connectors Verification using Ultrasonic Inspection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cramer, K. Elliott; Perey, Daniel F.; Yost, William T.

2007-01-01

The development of a new ultrasonic measurement technique to quantitatively assess wire crimp connections is discussed. The amplitude change of a compressional ultrasonic wave propagating through the junction of a crimp connector and wire is shown to correlate with the results of a destructive pull test, which previously has been used to assess crimp wire junction quality. Various crimp junction pathologies (missing wire strands, incorrect wire gauge, incomplete wire insertion in connector) are ultrasonically tested, and their results are correlated with pull tests. Results show that the ultrasonic measurement technique consistently (as evidenced with pull-testing data) predicts good crimps when ultrasonic transmission is above a certain threshold amplitude level. A physics-based model, solved by finite element analysis, describes the compressional ultrasonic wave propagation through the junction during the crimping process. This model is in agreement within 6% of the ultrasonic measurements. A prototype instrument for applying the technique while wire crimps are installed is also presented.

Effect of nanofibers fraction on properties of the starch based biocomposite prepared in various ultrasonic powers.

PubMed

Abral, Hairul; Anugrah, Arya Satya; Hafizulhaq, Fadli; Handayani, Dian; Sugiarti, Eni; Muslimin, Ahmad Nove

2018-05-14

This paper reported the results of the characterization of jicama (Pachyrhizus erosus) starch based biocomposite reinforced with varied nanofiber fractions, i.e. 35.4, 70.8 and 106.2 μg per 10 g of starch. The nanofiber was isolated from oil palm empty fruit bunches. During preparation, the biocomposite in form of gel was sonicated using an ultrasonic probe at various powers, i.e. 0, 480, 600, 720 watt at 20 kHz for 5 min. The results show that ultrasonication results in a significant improvement in biocomposite properties for each of the nanofiber fractions. The tensile strength, moisture resistance of the 35.4 μg nanofibers biocomposite increase significantly 278, 11% respectively after 600 watt ultrasonication. Field emission scanning electron microscopy of the fracture surface of the film showed ultrasonication resulted in it becoming smoother and more compact. These results indicate that ultrasonication improves the performance of the film. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An ultrasonic system for determining papaya physiological properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrahim, Sallehuddin; Ramli, Azlin; Yunus, Mohd Amri Md

2015-05-01

There is an increasing need for high quality fruit. As such it is important to have a fast, accurate and reliable method for measuring and monitoring the quality of fruit from the field to the consumer. This paper presents an investigation on the use of a non-destructive ultrasonic system which can be used to measure the quality of papaya.

Ultrasonic Stir Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nabors, Sammy

2015-01-01

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Ultrasonic Stir Welding (USW) to join large pieces of very high-strength metals such as titanium and Inconel. USW, a solid-state weld process, improves current thermal stir welding processes by adding high-power ultrasonic (HPU) energy at 20 kHz frequency. The addition of ultrasonic energy significantly reduces axial, frictional, and shear forces; increases travel rates; and reduces wear on the stir rod, which results in extended stir rod life. The USW process decouples the heating, stirring, and forging elements found in the friction stir welding process allowing for independent control of each process element and, ultimately, greater process control and repeatability. Because of the independent control of USW process elements, closed-loop temperature control can be integrated into the system so that a constant weld nugget temperature can be maintained during welding.

Pitch-catch only ultrasonic fluid densitometer

DOEpatents

Greenwood, Margaret S.; Harris, Robert V.

1999-01-01

The present invention is an ultrasonic fluid densitometer that uses a material wedge and pitch-catch only ultrasonic transducers for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals internally reflected within the material wedge. Density of a fluid is determined by immersing the wedge into the fluid and measuring reflection of ultrasound at the wedge-fluid interface.

Ultrasonic corona sensor study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrold, R. T.

1976-01-01

The overall objective of this program is to determine the feasibility of using ultrasonic (above 20 kHz) corona detection techniques to detect low order (non-arcing) coronas in varying degrees of vacuum within large high vacuum test chambers, and to design, fabricate, and deliver a prototype ultrasonic corona sensor.

Development of coaxial ultrasonic probe for fatty liver diagnostic system using ultrasonic velocity change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hori, Makoto; Yokota, Daiki; Aotani, Yuhei; Kumagai, Yuta; Wada, Kenji; Matsunaka, Toshiyuki; Morikawa, Hiroyasu; Horinaka, Hiromichi

2017-07-01

A diagnostic system for fatty liver at an early stage is needed because fatty liver is linked to metabolic syndrome. We have already proposed a fatty liver diagnosis method based on the temperature coefficient of ultrasonic velocity. In this study, we fabricated a coaxial ultrasonic probe by integrating two kinds of transducers for warming and signal detection. The diagnosis system equipped with the coaxial probe was applied to tissue-mimicking phantoms including the fat area. The fat content rates corresponding to the set rates of the phantoms were estimated by the ultrasonic velocity-change method.

Pitch-catch only ultrasonic fluid densitometer

DOEpatents

Greenwood, M.S.; Harris, R.V.

1999-03-23

The present invention is an ultrasonic fluid densitometer that uses a material wedge and pitch-catch only ultrasonic transducers for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals internally reflected within the material wedge. Density of a fluid is determined by immersing the wedge into the fluid and measuring reflection of ultrasound at the wedge-fluid interface. 6 figs.

[Ultrasonic sludge treatment and its application on aerobic digestion].

PubMed

Li, Huan; Jin, Yi-ying; Nie, Yong-feng; Li, Lei; Yang, Hai-ying

2007-07-01

In order to enhance the degradation efficiency of waste activated sludge (WAS) in conventional aerobic digestion, various ultrasonic assisted treatment methods were investigated including ultrasonic disintegration of influent sludge, ultrasonic improvement of influent sludge activity and ultrasonic disintegration of return sludge. Firstly the effects of ultrasonic sludge treatment were studied to choose appropriate ultrasonic parameters, and then the experiments of aerobic digestion with different ultrasonic treatments were carried out. The results show that 1.0 W/mL, 10 minutes ultrasonic treatment can increase soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) in the supernatant phase of sludge sample by 5.4 times and decrease total suspended solid (TSS) by 16%; 0.05 W/mL, 10 min ultrasonic treatment can increase the specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR) of sludge sample by 29%. The two kinds of ultrasonic influent sludge pretreatment can't improve aerobic digestion effectively. Ultrasonic return sludge disintegration can enhance the volatile suspended solid (VSS) degradation ratio by 15%. Furthermore, the settlement performance of digested sludge is still good and the pollutant concentrations of supernatant phase increase slightly. So ultrasonic return sludge disintegration is considered as the most appropriate assisted treatment mode for aerobic digestion.

Novel Horn Designs for Power Ultrasonics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sherrit, Stewart; Badescu, M.; Bao, X.; Bar-Cohen, Y.; Chang, Z.

2004-01-01

Ultrasonic horns are used in a variety of industrial and medical applications. At JPL a rock-sampling tool based on an ultrasonic horn was developed to drill, abrade and core rock samples including hard basalts. This device is an impact device, which uses ultrasonic vibratlons that occur at the horn tip to produce a sonic resonance with the aid of a loosely connected mass. Although standard horns are found in many current industrial designs they suffer from a few key limitations when used for USDC applications. Manufacturing a horn requires turning down stock material (e.g. Titanium) from the larger outer diameter to the horn tip diameter, and this process is both time consuming and wasteful. In this paper, we present novel horn designs that are specifically designed for impact applications as the USDC. One such design addressed the excasive length that is involved with the use of the horn limiting its applications when system dimensions are constrained. For this purpose, a folded horn design was conceived that reduces the overall length of the resonator (physical length) but maintains or increases the acoustic length. Initial experiments with horns having such P design indicate that the tip displacement can be further adjusted by phasing the bending displacements and the extensional displacements. Another conceived horn design is the 'dog bone' horn that uses an end mass on the horn tip io increase the impact efficiency of the horn. In this paper, the experimental results for these novel born designs are presented and compared to the results predicted by theory.

Female Presence and Estrous State Influence Mouse Ultrasonic Courtship Vocalizations

PubMed Central

Hanson, Jessica L.; Hurley, Laura M.

2012-01-01

The laboratory mouse is an emerging model for context-dependent vocal signaling and reception. Mouse ultrasonic vocalizations are robustly produced in social contexts. In adults, male vocalization during courtship has become a model of interest for signal-receiver interactions. These vocalizations can be grouped into syllable types that are consistently produced by different subspecies and strains of mice. Vocalizations are unique to individuals, vary across development, and depend on social housing conditions. The behavioral significance of different syllable types, including the contexts in which different vocalizations are made and the responses listeners have to different types of vocalizations, is not well understood. We examined the effect of female presence and estrous state on male vocalizations by exploring the use of syllable types and the parameters of syllables during courtship. We also explored correlations between vocalizations and other behaviors. These experimental manipulations produced four main findings: 1) vocalizations varied among males, 2) the production of USVs and an increase in the use of a specific syllable type were temporally related to mounting behavior, 3) the frequency (kHz), bandwidth, and duration of syllables produced by males were influenced by the estrous phase of female partners, and 4) syllable types changed when females were removed. These findings show that mouse ultrasonic courtship vocalizations are sensitive to changes in female phase and presence, further demonstrating the context-sensitivity of these calls. PMID:22815817

A fast ultrasonic simulation tool based on massively parallel implementations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lambert, Jason; Rougeron, Gilles; Lacassagne, Lionel; Chatillon, Sylvain

2014-02-01

This paper presents a CIVA optimized ultrasonic inspection simulation tool, which takes benefit of the power of massively parallel architectures: graphical processing units (GPU) and multi-core general purpose processors (GPP). This tool is based on the classical approach used in CIVA: the interaction model is based on Kirchoff, and the ultrasonic field around the defect is computed by the pencil method. The model has been adapted and parallelized for both architectures. At this stage, the configurations addressed by the tool are : multi and mono-element probes, planar specimens made of simple isotropic materials, planar rectangular defects or side drilled holes of small diameter. Validations on the model accuracy and performances measurements are presented.

Hydrophone area-averaging correction factors in nonlinearly generated ultrasonic beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooling, M. P.; Humphrey, V. F.; Wilkens, V.

2011-02-01

The nonlinear propagation of an ultrasonic wave can be used to produce a wavefield rich in higher frequency components that is ideally suited to the calibration, or inter-calibration, of hydrophones. These techniques usually use a tone-burst signal, limiting the measurements to harmonics of the fundamental calibration frequency. Alternatively, using a short pulse enables calibration at a continuous spectrum of frequencies. Such a technique is used at PTB in conjunction with an optical measurement technique to calibrate devices. Experimental findings indicate that the area-averaging correction factor for a hydrophone in such a field demonstrates a complex behaviour, most notably varying periodically between frequencies that are harmonics of the centre frequency of the original pulse and frequencies that lie midway between these harmonics. The beam characteristics of such nonlinearly generated fields have been investigated using a finite difference solution to the nonlinear Khokhlov-Zabolotskaya-Kuznetsov (KZK) equation for a focused field. The simulation results are used to calculate the hydrophone area-averaging correction factors for 0.2 mm and 0.5 mm devices. The results clearly demonstrate a number of significant features observed in the experimental investigations, including the variation with frequency, drive level and hydrophone element size. An explanation for these effects is also proposed.

Systematic study of high-frequency ultrasonic transducer design for laser-scanning photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy

PubMed Central

Ma, Teng; Zhang, Xiangyang; Chiu, Chi Tat; Chen, Ruimin; Kirk Shung, K.; Zhou, Qifa; Jiao, Shuliang

2014-01-01

Abstract. Photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy (PAOM) is a high-resolution in vivo imaging modality that is capable of providing specific optical absorption information for the retina. A high-frequency ultrasonic transducer is one of the key components in PAOM, which is in contact with the eyelid through coupling gel during imaging. The ultrasonic transducer plays a crucial role in determining the image quality affected by parameters such as spatial resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and field of view. In this paper, we present the results of a systematic study on a high-frequency ultrasonic transducer design for PAOM. The design includes piezoelectric material selection, frequency selection, and the fabrication process. Transducers of various designs were successfully applied for capturing images of biological samples in vivo. The performances of these designs are compared and evaluated. PMID:24441942

Systematic study of high-frequency ultrasonic transducer design for laser-scanning photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy.

PubMed

Ma, Teng; Zhang, Xiangyang; Chiu, Chi Tat; Chen, Ruimin; Kirk Shung, K; Zhou, Qifa; Jiao, Shuliang

2014-01-01

Photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy (PAOM) is a high-resolution in vivo imaging modality that is capable of providing specific optical absorption information for the retina. A high-frequency ultrasonic transducer is one of the key components in PAOM, which is in contact with the eyelid through coupling gel during imaging. The ultrasonic transducer plays a crucial role in determining the image quality affected by parameters such as spatial resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and field of view. In this paper, we present the results of a systematic study on a high-frequency ultrasonic transducer design for PAOM. The design includes piezoelectric material selection, frequency selection, and the fabrication process. Transducers of various designs were successfully applied for capturing images of biological samples in vivo. The performances of these designs are compared and evaluated.

Hawkmoths produce anti-bat ultrasound

PubMed Central

Barber, Jesse R.; Kawahara, Akito Y.

2013-01-01

Bats and moths have been engaged in aerial warfare for nearly 65 Myr. This arms race has produced a suite of counter-adaptations in moths, including bat-detecting ears. One set of defensive strategies involves the active production of sound; tiger moths' ultrasonic replies to bat attack have been shown to startle bats, warn the predators of bad taste and jam their biosonar. Here, we report that hawkmoths in the Choerocampina produce entirely ultrasonic sounds in response to tactile stimulation and the playback of biosonar attack sequences. Males do so by grating modified scraper scales on the outer surface of the genital valves against the inner margin of the last abdominal tergum. Preliminary data indicate that females also produce ultrasound to touch and playback of echolocation attack, but they do so with an entirely different mechanism. The anti-bat function of these sounds is unknown but might include startling, cross-family acoustic mimicry, warning of unprofitability or physical defence and/or jamming of echolocation. Hawkmoths present a novel and tractable system to study both the function and evolution of anti-bat defences. PMID:23825084

Ultrasonic velocity testing of steel pipeline welded joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carreón, Hector

2017-04-01

In general the ultrasonic techniques have been used to determine the mechanical properties of materials on based of their relationship with metallurgical characteristics. In this research work, the relationship between ultrasonic velocity and phased array and the microstructure of steel pipeline welded joints is investigated. Measurements of ultrasonic wave velocity were made as a function of the location across the weld. Hardness measurements were performated in an attempt to correlate with ultrasonic response. In addition, the coarse and dendritic grain structure of the weld material is extreme and unpredictably anisotropic. Thus, due to the acoustic anisotropy of the crystal itself weld material of studied joints is anisotropic, too. Such structure is no longer direction-independent to the ultrasonic wave propagation; therefore, the ultrasonic beam deflects and redirects and the wave front becomes distorted. Thus, the use of conventional ultrasonic testing techniques using fixed beam angles is very limited and the application of conventional ultrasonic phased array techniques becomes desirable.

Analytical Ultrasonics in Materials Research and Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vary, A.

1986-01-01

Research results in analytical ultrasonics for characterizing structural materials from metals and ceramics to composites are presented. General topics covered by the conference included: status and advances in analytical ultrasonics for characterizing material microstructures and mechanical properties; status and prospects for ultrasonic measurements of microdamage, degradation, and underlying morphological factors; status and problems in precision measurements of frequency-dependent velocity and attenuation for materials analysis; procedures and requirements for automated, digital signal acquisition, processing, analysis, and interpretation; incentives for analytical ultrasonics in materials research and materials processing, testing, and inspection; and examples of progress in ultrasonics for interrelating microstructure, mechanical properites, and dynamic response.

Effect of ultrasonic capillary dynamics on the mechanics of thermosonic ball bonding.

PubMed

Huang, Yan; Shah, Aashish; Mayer, Michael; Zhou, Norman Y; Persic, John

2010-01-01

Microelectronic wire bonding is an essential step in today's microchip production. It is used to weld (bond) microwires to metallized pads of integrated circuits using ultrasound with hundreds of thousands of vibration cycles. Thermosonic ball bonding is the most popular variant of the wire bonding process and frequently investigated using finite element (FE) models that simplify the ultrasonic dynamics of the process with static or quasistatic boundary conditions. In this study, the ultrasonic dynamics of the bonding tool (capillary), made from Al(2)O(3), is included in a FE model. For more accuracy of the FE model, the main material parameters are measured. The density of the capillary was measured to be rho(cap) = 3552 +/- 100 kg/m(3). The elastic modulus of the capillary, E(cap) = 389 +/- 11 GPa, is found by comparing an auxiliary FE model of the free vibrating capillary with measured values. A capillary "nodding effect" is identified and found to be essential when describing the ultrasonic vibration shape. A main FE model builds on these results and adds bonded ball, pad, chip, and die attach components. There is excellent agreement between the main model and the ultrasonic force measured at the interface on a test chip with stress microsensors. Bonded ball and underpad stress results are reported. When adjusted to the same ultrasonic force, a simplified model without ultrasonic dynamics and with an infinitely stiff capillary tip is substantially off target by -40% for the maximum underpad stress. The compliance of the capillary causes a substantial inclination effect at the bonding interface between wire and pad. This oscillating inclination effect massively influences the stress fields under the pad and is studied in more detail. For more accurate results, it is therefore recommended to include ultrasonic dynamics of the bonding tool in mechanical FE models of wire bonding.

Thermal and ultrasonic influence in the formation of nanometer scale hydroxyapatite bio-ceramic

PubMed Central

Poinern, GJE; Brundavanam, R; Le, X Thi; Djordjevic, S; Prokic, M; Fawcett, D

2011-01-01

Hydroxyapatite (HAP) is a widely used biocompatible ceramic in many biomedical applications and devices. Currently nanometer-scale forms of HAP are being intensely investigated due to their close similarity to the inorganic mineral component of the natural bone matrix. In this study nano-HAP was prepared via a wet precipitation method using Ca(NO3)2 and KH2PO4 as the main reactants and NH4OH as the precipitator under ultrasonic irradiation. The Ca/P ratio was set at 1.67 and the pH was maintained at 9 during the synthesis process. The influence of the thermal treatment was investigated by using two thermal treatment processes to produce ultrafine nano-HAP powders. In the first heat treatment, a conventional radiant tube furnace was used to produce nano-particles with an average size of approximately 30 nm in diameter, while the second thermal treatment used a microwave-based technique to produce particles with an average diameter of 36 nm. The crystalline structure and morphology of all nanoparticle powders produced were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Both thermal techniques effectively produced ultrafine powders with similar crystalline structure, morphology and particle sizes. PMID:22114473

Ultrasonic Inspection Of Thick Sections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friant, C. L.; Djordjevic, B. B.; O'Keefe, C. V.; Ferrell, W.; Klutz, T.

1993-01-01

Ultrasonics used to inspect large, relatively thick vessels for hidden defects. Report based on experiments in through-the-thickness transmission of ultrasonic waves in both steel and filament-wound composite cases of solid-fuel rocket motors.

Pulsed ultrasonic stir welding method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, R. Jeffrey (Inventor)

2013-01-01

A method of performing ultrasonic stir welding uses a welding head assembly to include a plate and a rod passing through the plate. The rod is rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof. In the method, the rod is rotated about its longitudinal axis during a welding operation. During the welding operation, a series of on-off ultrasonic pulses are applied to the rod such that they propagate parallel to the rod's longitudinal axis. At least a pulse rate associated with the on-off ultrasonic pulses is controlled.

Ultrahigh Frequency (100 MHz–300 MHz) Ultrasonic Transducers for Optical Resolution Medical Imagining

PubMed Central

Fei, Chunlong; Chiu, Chi Tat; Chen, Xiaoyang; Chen, Zeyu; Ma, Jianguo; Zhu, Benpeng; Shung, K. Kirk; Zhou, Qifa

2016-01-01

High resolution ultrasonic imaging requires high frequency wide band ultrasonic transducers, which produce short pulses and highly focused beam. However, currently the frequency of ultrasonic transducers is limited to below 100 MHz, mainly because of the challenge in precise control of fabrication parameters. This paper reports the design, fabrication, and characterization of sensitive broadband lithium niobate (LiNbO3) single element ultrasonic transducers in the range of 100–300 MHz, as well as their applications in high resolution imaging. All transducers were built for an f-number close to 1.0, which was achieved by press-focusing the piezoelectric layer into a spherical curvature. Characterization results demonstrated their high sensitivity and a −6 dB bandwidth greater than 40%. Resolutions better than 6.4 μm in the lateral direction and 6.2 μm in the axial direction were achieved by scanning a 4 μm tungsten wire target. Ultrasonic biomicroscopy images of zebrafish eyes were obtained with these transducers which demonstrate the feasibility of high resolution imaging with a performance comparable to optical resolution. PMID:27329379

Ultrasonic Imaging Technology Helps American Manufacturer of Nondestructive Evaluation Equipment Become More Competitive in the Global Market

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

Sonix, Inc., of Springfield, Virginia, has implemented ultrasonic imaging methods developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center. These methods have heretofore been unavailable on commercial ultrasonic imaging systems and provide significantly more sensitive material characterization than conventional high-resolution ultrasonic c-scanning. The technology transfer is being implemented under a cooperative agreement between NASA and Sonix, and several invention disclosures have been submitted by Dr. Roth to protect Lewis interests. Sonix has developed ultrasonic imaging systems used worldwide for microelectronics, materials research, and commercial nondestructive evaluation (NDE). In 1993, Sonix won the U.S. Department of Commerce "Excellence in Exporting" award. Lewis chose to work with Sonix for two main reasons: (1) Sonix is an innovative leader in ultrasonic imaging systems, and (2) Sonix was willing to apply the improvements we developed with our in-house Sonix equipment. This symbiotic joint effort has produced mutual benefits. Sonix recognized the market potential of our new and highly sensitive methods for ultrasonic assessment of material quality. We, in turn, see the cooperative effort as an effective means for transferring our technology while helping to improve the product of a domestic firm.

Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor With Transmit Beamforming Based on a PMUT Array Bonded to CMOS Circuitry.

PubMed

Jiang, Xiaoyue; Tang, Hao-Yen; Lu, Yipeng; Ng, Eldwin J; Tsai, Julius M; Boser, Bernhard E; Horsley, David A

2017-09-01

In this paper, we present a single-chip 65 ×42 element ultrasonic pulse-echo fingerprint sensor with transmit (TX) beamforming based on piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers directly bonded to a CMOS readout application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The readout ASIC was realized in a standard 180-nm CMOS process with a 24-V high-voltage transistor option. Pulse-echo measurements are performed column-by-column in sequence using either one column or five columns to TX the ultrasonic pulse at 20 MHz. TX beamforming is used to focus the ultrasonic beam at the imaging plane where the finger is located, increasing the ultrasonic pressure and narrowing the 3-dB beamwidth to [Formula: see text], a factor of 6.4 narrower than nonbeamformed measurements. The surface of the sensor is coated with a poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer to provide good acoustic impedance matching to skin. Scanning laser Doppler vibrometry of the PDMS surface was used to map the ultrasonic pressure field at the imaging surface, demonstrating the expected increase in pressure, and reduction in beamwidth. Imaging experiments were conducted using both PDMS phantoms and real fingerprints. The average image contrast is increased by a factor of 1.5 when beamforming is used.

Droplet charging regimes for ultrasonic atomization of a liquid electrolyte in an external electric field.

PubMed

Forbes, Thomas P; Degertekin, F Levent; Fedorov, Andrei G

2011-01-01

Distinct regimes of droplet charging, determined by the dominant charge transport process, are identified for an ultrasonic droplet ejector using electrohydrodynamic computational simulations, a fundamental scale analysis, and experimental measurements. The regimes of droplet charging are determined by the relative magnitudes of the dimensionless Strouhal and electric Reynolds numbers, which are a function of the process (pressure forcing), advection, and charge relaxation time scales for charge transport. Optimal (net maximum) droplet charging has been identified to exist for conditions in which the electric Reynolds number is of the order of the inverse Strouhal number, i.e., the charge relaxation time is on the order of the pressure forcing (droplet formation) time scale. The conditions necessary for optimal droplet charging have been identified as a function of the dimensionless Debye number (i.e., liquid conductivity), external electric field (magnitude and duration), and atomization drive signal (frequency and amplitude). The specific regime of droplet charging also determines the functional relationship between droplet charge and charging electric field strength. The commonly expected linear relationship between droplet charge and external electric field strength is only found when either the inverse of the Strouhal number is less than the electric Reynolds number, i.e., the charge relaxation is slower than both the advection and external pressure forcing, or in the electrostatic limit, i.e., when charge relaxation is much faster than all other processes. The analysis provides a basic understanding of the dominant physics of droplet charging with implications to many important applications, such as electrospray mass spectrometry, ink jet printing, and drop-on-demand manufacturing.

Droplet charging regimes for ultrasonic atomization of a liquid electrolyte in an external electric field

PubMed Central

Forbes, Thomas P.; Degertekin, F. Levent; Fedorov, Andrei G.

2011-01-01

Distinct regimes of droplet charging, determined by the dominant charge transport process, are identified for an ultrasonic droplet ejector using electrohydrodynamic computational simulations, a fundamental scale analysis, and experimental measurements. The regimes of droplet charging are determined by the relative magnitudes of the dimensionless Strouhal and electric Reynolds numbers, which are a function of the process (pressure forcing), advection, and charge relaxation time scales for charge transport. Optimal (net maximum) droplet charging has been identified to exist for conditions in which the electric Reynolds number is of the order of the inverse Strouhal number, i.e., the charge relaxation time is on the order of the pressure forcing (droplet formation) time scale. The conditions necessary for optimal droplet charging have been identified as a function of the dimensionless Debye number (i.e., liquid conductivity), external electric field (magnitude and duration), and atomization drive signal (frequency and amplitude). The specific regime of droplet charging also determines the functional relationship between droplet charge and charging electric field strength. The commonly expected linear relationship between droplet charge and external electric field strength is only found when either the inverse of the Strouhal number is less than the electric Reynolds number, i.e., the charge relaxation is slower than both the advection and external pressure forcing, or in the electrostatic limit, i.e., when charge relaxation is much faster than all other processes. The analysis provides a basic understanding of the dominant physics of droplet charging with implications to many important applications, such as electrospray mass spectrometry, ink jet printing, and drop-on-demand manufacturing. PMID:21301636

Ultrasonic/Sonic Impacting Penetrators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bao, Xiaoqi; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Chang, Zensheu; Sherrit, Stewart; Stark, Randall A.

2008-01-01

Ultrasonic/sonic impacting penetrators (USIPs) are recent additions to the series of apparatuses based on ultrasonic/sonic drill corers (USDCs). A USIP enables a rod probe to penetrate packed soil or another substance of similar consistency, without need to apply a large axial force that could result in buckling of the probe or in damage to some buried objects. USIPs were conceived for use in probing and analyzing soil to depths of tens of centimeters in the vicinity of buried barrels containing toxic waste, without causing rupture of the barrels. USIPs could also be used for other purposes, including, for example, searching for pipes, barrels, or other hard objects buried in soil; and detecting land mines. USDCs and other apparatuses based on USDCs have been described in numerous previous NASA Tech Briefs articles. The ones reported previously were designed, variously, for boring into, and/or acquiring samples of, rock or other hard, brittle materials of geological interest. To recapitulate: A USDC can be characterized as a lightweight, low-power, piezoelectrically driven jackhammer in which ultrasonic and sonic vibrations are generated and coupled to a tool bit. As shown in the figure, a basic USDC includes a piezoelectric stack, a backing and a horn connected to the stack, a free mass (free in the sense that it can slide axially a short distance between the horn and the shoulder of tool bit), and a tool bit, i.e., probe for USIP. The piezoelectric stack is driven at the resonance frequency of the stack/horn/backing assembly to create ultrasonic vibrations that are mechanically amplified by the horn. To prevent fracture during operation, the piezoelectric stack is held in compression by a bolt. The bouncing of the free mass between the horn and the tool bit at sonic frequencies generates hammering actions to the bit that are more effective for drilling than is the microhammering action of ultrasonic vibrations in ordinary ultrasonic drills. The hammering actions

Comparative study of conventional and ultrasonically-assisted bone drilling.

PubMed

Alam, K; Ahmed, Naseer; Silberschmidt, V V

2014-01-01

Bone drilling is a well-known surgical procedure in orthopaedics and dentistry for fracture treatment and reconstruction. Advanced understanding of the mechanics of the drill-bone interaction is necessary to overcome challenges associated with the process and related postoperative complications. The aim of this study was to explore the benefits of a novel drilling technique, ultrasonically-assisted drilling (UAD), and its possible utilization in orthopaedic surgeries. The study was performed by conducting experiments to understand the basic mechanics of the drilling process using high speed filming of the drilling zone followed by measurements to quantify thrust force, surface roughness and cracking of the bone near the immediate vicinity of the hole with and without ultrasonic assistance. Compared to the spiral chips produced during conventional drilling (CD), UAD was found to break the chips in small pieces which facilitated their fast evacuation from the cutting region. In UAD, lower drilling force and better surface roughness was measured in drilling in the radial and longitudinal axis of the bone. UAD produced crack-free holes which will enhance postoperative performance of fixative devices anchoring the bone. UAD may be used as a possible substitute for CD in orthopaedic clinics.

A performance comparison of ultrasonically aided electric propulsion extractor configurations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, L.; Song, W.; Kang, X. M.; Zhao, W. S.

2012-08-01

As a novel propulsion technology, ultrasonically aided electric propulsion (UAEP) offers a high specific impulse and a high thrust density. In this paper, the effects of extractor grid configuration on performance of a UAEP thruster have been investigated by both experimental studies and numerical simulation. Relationships between spray current and operation parameters, including applied voltage, propellant flow rate, and vibration power and frequency, are explored for different extractor mesh sizes and shapes. Numerical simulation is also carried out for a better understanding of the formation of capillary standing waves as well as the electric field distribution in the acceleration zone. Experimental results show that compared with a circular shaped extractor, a reticular shaped extractor is able to produce a higher spray current. The current density increases with a denser mesh, which agrees well with the numerical simulation results. This phenomenon indicates that optimizing extractors with appropriate shapes and sizes can be an effective way to improve the performance of a UAEP system. A performance evaluation based on hydrodynamic and electrostatic calculations indicates that the present UAEP system can produce a thrust competitive to that of the colloid thruster with an emitter array.

A study to determine whether cavitation occurs around dental ultrasonic scaling instruments.

PubMed

Lea, S C; Price, G J; Walmsley, A D

2005-02-01

The aim of this investigation was to determine if cavitation occurred around dental ultrasonic scalers and to estimate the amount of cavitation occurring. Three styles of tip (3 x TFI-10, 3 x TFI-3, 3 x TFI-1) were used, in conjunction with a Cavitron SPS ultrasonic generator (Dentsply, USA), to insonate terephthalic acid solution. The hydroxyl radical, [*OH], concentration, produced due to cavitation from the scaler tips, was monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy. Cavitational activity was enhanced at higher power settings and at longer operating times. The tip dimensions and geometry as well as the generator power setting are both important factors that affect the production of cavitation.

Scattering of focused ultrasonic beams by cavities in a solid half-space.

PubMed

Rahni, Ehsan Kabiri; Hajzargarbashi, Talieh; Kundu, Tribikram

2012-08-01

The ultrasonic field generated by a point focused acoustic lens placed in a fluid medium adjacent to a solid half-space, containing one or more spherical cavities, is modeled. The semi-analytical distributed point source method (DPSM) is followed for the modeling. This technique properly takes into account the interaction effect between the cavities placed in the focused ultrasonic field, fluid-solid interface and the lens surface. The approximate analytical solution that is available in the literature for the single cavity geometry is very restrictive and cannot handle multiple cavity problems. Finite element solutions for such problems are also prohibitively time consuming at high frequencies. Solution of this problem is necessary to predict when two cavities placed in close proximity inside a solid can be distinguished by an acoustic lens placed outside the solid medium and when such distinction is not possible.

21 CFR 892.1570 - Diagnostic ultrasonic transducer.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Diagnostic ultrasonic transducer. 892.1570 Section... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES RADIOLOGY DEVICES Diagnostic Devices § 892.1570 Diagnostic ultrasonic transducer. (a) Identification. A diagnostic ultrasonic transducer is a device made of a piezoelectric material...

Acute and subacute effects of the ultrasonic blade and electrosurgery on nerve physiology.

PubMed

Chen, Chaoyang; Kallakuri, Srinivasu; Cavanaugh, John M; Broughton, Duan; Clymer, Jeffrey W

2015-01-01

Ultrasonic blades have been shown to cause less acute electrophysiological damage when applied near nerves than monopolar electrosurgery (ES). This study was performed to determine whether the acute nerve damage observed for ES, as well as the relative lack of damage observed for ultrasonic dissection, extends through a subacute timeframe. Muscle incisions were made in rat with the Harmonic(®) Blade (HB) and ES at a distance of 2 mm from the sciatic nerve. Sham surgery was also performed which consisted of similar exposure of the sciatic nerve without use of an energized device. Electrophysiological function was assessed acutely over a 3-h period, and subacutely after a 7-day survival, by monitoring the sciatic nerve compound action potential (CAP), conduction velocity (CV), von Frey hair (VFH) stimulation force, leukocyte infiltration, and impaired axonal transport via β-amyloid precursor protein (β-APP) immunocytochemistry. During the acute period, ES produced significantly lower CAP and CV, and higher levels of leukocytes and β-APP than sham, whereas the ultrasonic blade was not significantly different from sham, and had significantly lower VFH force than ES. After the subacute survival, ES continued to display significantly lower CAP and CV, and higher levels of leukocytes and β-APP than sham, whereas ultrasonic blade had higher CAP and CV than sham, and lower VFH than ES. This study confirms that incisions made with an ultrasonic blade cause less acute nerve damage than monopolar ES, and are comparable to sham surgery at a distance of 2 mm from the sciatic nerve. The negative effects of electrosurgery extend through at least a 7-day survival period, whereas subacute recovery after application of the ultrasonic blade was comparable to that of sham surgery. For surgical procedures in the vicinity of vital nerves, use of the ultrasonic blade represents a lower risk than ES for both acute and subacute neural trauma.

Physical mechanism of ultrasonic machining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isaev, A.; Grechishnikov, V.; Kozochkin, M.; Pivkin, P.; Petuhov, Y.; Romanov, V.

2016-04-01

In this paper, the main aspects of ultrasonic machining of constructional materials are considered. Influence of coolant on surface parameters is studied. Results of experiments on ultrasonic lathe cutting with application of tangential vibrations and with use of coolant are considered.

Synthesis of porous Cu-BTC with ultrasonic treatment: Effects of ultrasonic power and solvent condition.

PubMed

Israr, Farrukh; Kim, Duk Kyung; Kim, Yeongmin; Oh, Seung Jin; Ng, Kim Choon; Chun, Wongee

2016-03-01

Cu-BTC (BTC=1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate) metal organic framework (MOF) was synthesized using different solvent conditions with ultrasonic treatment. Solvent mixtures of water/N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), water/ethanol were used for the reactions with or without a variety of bases under 20 kHz ultrasonically treated conditions. Prepared crystals were purified through 30 min of sonication to remove unreacted chemicals. Treatment time and ultrasonic power effects were compared to get optimum synthetic condition. The characterization of MOF powders was performed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, infrared-spectroscopy, thermo-gravimetric analysis and specific surface determination using the BET method. Isolated crystal yields varied with different solvent and applied ultrasonic power conditions. A high isolated crystal yield of 86% was obtained from water/ethanol/DMF solvent system after 120 min of ultrasonic treatment at 40% power of 750 W. Different solvent conditions led to the formation of Cu-BTC with different surface area, and an extremely high surface area of 1430 m(2)/g was obtained from the crystals taken with the solvent condition of water:DMF=70:30. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Method for measuring liquid viscosity and ultrasonic viscometer

DOEpatents

Sheen, Shuh-Haw; Lawrence, William P.; Chien, Hual-Te; Raptis, Apostolos C.

1994-01-01

An ultrasonic viscometer and method for measuring fluid viscosity are provided. Ultrasonic shear and longitudinal waves are generated and coupled to the fluid. Reflections from the generated ultrasonic shear and longitudinal waves are detected. Phase velocity of the fluid is determined responsive to the detected ultrasonic longitudinal waves reflections. Viscosity of the fluid is determined responsive to the detected ultrasonic shear waves reflections. Unique features of the ultrasonic viscometer include the use of a two-interface fluid and air transducer wedge to measure relative signal change and to enable self calibration and the use of a ratio of reflection coefficients for two different frequencies to compensate for environmental changes, such as temperature.

Wire Crimp Termination Verification Using Ultrasonic Inspection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perey, Daniel F.; Cramer, K. Elliott; Yost, William T.

2007-01-01

The development of a new ultrasonic measurement technique to quantitatively assess wire crimp terminations is discussed. The amplitude change of a compressional ultrasonic wave propagating through the junction of a crimp termination and wire is shown to correlate with the results of a destructive pull test, which is a standard for assessing crimp wire junction quality. Various crimp junction pathologies such as undercrimping, missing wire strands, incomplete wire insertion, partial insulation removal, and incorrect wire gauge are ultrasonically tested, and their results are correlated with pull tests. Results show that the nondestructive ultrasonic measurement technique consistently (as evidenced with destructive testing) predicts good crimps when ultrasonic transmission is above a certain threshold amplitude level. A physics-based model, solved by finite element analysis, describes the compressional ultrasonic wave propagation through the junction during the crimping process. This model is in agreement within 6% of the ultrasonic measurements. A prototype instrument for applying this technique while wire crimps are installed is also presented. The instrument is based on a two-jaw type crimp tool suitable for butt-splice type connections. Finally, an approach for application to multipin indenter type crimps will be discussed.

Calculation for simulation of archery goal value using a web camera and ultrasonic sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rusjdi, Darma; Abdurrasyid, Wulandari, Dewi Arianti

2017-08-01

Development of the device simulator digital indoor archery-based embedded systems as a solution to the limitations of the field or open space is adequate, especially in big cities. Development of the device requires simulations to calculate the value of achieving the target based on the approach defined by the parabolic motion variable initial velocity and direction of motion of the arrow reaches the target. The simulator device should be complemented with an initial velocity measuring device using ultrasonic sensors and measuring direction of the target using a digital camera. The methodology uses research and development of application software from modeling and simulation approach. The research objective to create simulation applications calculating the value of the achievement of the target arrows. Benefits as a preliminary stage for the development of the simulator device of archery. Implementation of calculating the value of the target arrows into the application program generates a simulation game of archery that can be used as a reference development of the digital archery simulator in a room with embedded systems using ultrasonic sensors and web cameras. Applications developed with the simulation calculation comparing the outer radius of the circle produced a camera from a distance of three meters.

High Performance Relaxor-Based Ferroelectric Single Crystals for Ultrasonic Transducer Applications

PubMed Central

Chen, Yan; Lam, Kwok-Ho; Zhou, Dan; Yue, Qingwen; Yu, Yanxiong; Wu, Jinchuan; Qiu, Weibao; Sun, Lei; Zhang, Chao; Luo, Haosu; Chan, Helen L. W.; Dai, Jiyan

2014-01-01

Relaxor-based ferroelectric single crystals Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) have drawn much attention in the ferroelectric field because of their excellent piezoelectric properties and high electromechanical coupling coefficients (d33∼2000 pC/N, kt∼60%) near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). Ternary Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 (PIN-PMN-PT) single crystals also possess outstanding performance comparable with PMN-PT single crystals, but have higher phase transition temperatures (rhombohedral to tetragonal Trt, and tetragonal to cubic Tc) and larger coercive field Ec. Therefore, these relaxor-based single crystals have been extensively employed for ultrasonic transducer applications. In this paper, an overview of our work and perspectives on using PMN-PT and PIN-PMN-PT single crystals for ultrasonic transducer applications is presented. Various types of single-element ultrasonic transducers, including endoscopic transducers, intravascular transducers, high-frequency and high-temperature transducers fabricated using the PMN-PT and PIN-PMN-PT crystals and their 2-2 and 1-3 composites are reported. Besides, the fabrication and characterization of the array transducers, such as phased array, cylindrical shaped linear array, high-temperature linear array, radial endoscopic array, and annular array, are also addressed. PMID:25076222

Ultrasonic velocity profiling rheometry based on a widened circular Couette flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shiratori, Takahisa; Tasaka, Yuji; Oishi, Yoshihiko; Murai, Yuichi

2015-08-01

We propose a new rheometry for characterizing the rheological properties of fluids. The technique produces flow curves, which represent the relationship between the fluid shear rate and shear stress. Flow curves are obtained by measuring the circumferential velocity distribution of tested fluids in a circular Couette system, using an ultrasonic velocity profiling technique. By adopting a widened gap of concentric cylinders, a designed range of the shear rate is obtained so that velocity profile measurement along a single line directly acquires flow curves. To reduce the effect of ultrasonic noise on resultant flow curves, several fitting functions and variable transforms are examined to best approximate the velocity profile without introducing a priori rheological models. Silicone oil, polyacrylamide solution, and yogurt were used to evaluate the applicability of this technique. These substances are purposely targeted as examples of Newtonian fluids, shear thinning fluids, and opaque fluids with unknown rheological properties, respectively. We find that fourth-order Chebyshev polynomials provide the most accurate representation of flow curves in the context of model-free rheometry enabled by ultrasonic velocity profiling.

Method and apparatus to characterize ultrasonically reflective contrast agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pretlow, Robert A., III (Inventor)

1993-01-01

A method and apparatus for characterizing the time and frequency response of an ultrasonically reflective contrast agent is disclosed. An ultrasonically reflective contrast agent is injected, under constant pressure, into a fluid flowing through a pump flow circuit. The fluid and the ultrasonically reflective contrast agent are uniformly mixed in a mixing chamber, and the uniform mixture is passed through a contrast agent chamber. The contrast agent chamber is acoustically and axially interposed between an ultrasonic transducer chamber and an acoustic isolation chamber. A pulse of ultrasonic energy is transmitted into the contrast agent chamber from the ultrasonic transducer chamber. An echo waveform is received from the ultrasonically reflective contrast agent, and it is analyzed to determine the time and frequency response of the ultrasonically reflective contrast agent.

Separation of the Magnetic Field into Parts Produced by Internal and External Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazanja, David

2005-10-01

Given the total magnetic field on a toroidal plasma surface, a method for decomposing the field into a part due to internal currents (often the plasma) and a part due to external currents is presented. The decomposition exploits Laplace theory which is valid in the vacuum region between the plasma surface and the chamber walls. The method does not assume toroidal symmetry, and it is partly based on Merkel's 1986 work on vacuum field computations. A change in the plasma shape is produced by the total normal field perturbation on the plasma surface. This method allows a separation of the total normal field perturbation into a part produced by external currents and a part produced by the plasma response.

Motion estimation using the firefly algorithm in ultrasonic image sequence of soft tissue.

PubMed

Chao, Chih-Feng; Horng, Ming-Huwi; Chen, Yu-Chan

2015-01-01

Ultrasonic image sequence of the soft tissue is widely used in disease diagnosis; however, the speckle noises usually influenced the image quality. These images usually have a low signal-to-noise ratio presentation. The phenomenon gives rise to traditional motion estimation algorithms that are not suitable to measure the motion vectors. In this paper, a new motion estimation algorithm is developed for assessing the velocity field of soft tissue in a sequence of ultrasonic B-mode images. The proposed iterative firefly algorithm (IFA) searches for few candidate points to obtain the optimal motion vector, and then compares it to the traditional iterative full search algorithm (IFSA) via a series of experiments of in vivo ultrasonic image sequences. The experimental results show that the IFA can assess the vector with better efficiency and almost equal estimation quality compared to the traditional IFSA method.

Penetration of sub-micron particles into dentinal tubules using ultrasonic cavitation.

PubMed

Vyas, N; Sammons, R L; Pikramenou, Z; Palin, W M; Dehghani, H; Walmsley, A D

2017-01-01

Functionalised silica sub-micron particles are being investigated as a method of delivering antimicrobials and remineralisation agents into dentinal tubules. However, their methods of application are not optimised, resulting in shallow penetration and aggregation. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of cavitation occurring around ultrasonic scalers for enhancing particle penetration into dentinal tubules. Dentine slices were prepared from premolar teeth. Silica sub-micron particles were prepared in water or acetone. Cavitation from an ultrasonic scaler (Satelec P5 Newtron, Acteon, France) was applied to dentine slices immersed inside the sub-micron particle solutions. Samples were imaged with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to assess tubule occlusion and particle penetration. Qualitative observations of SEM images showed some tubule occlusion. The particles could penetrate inside the tubules up to 60μm when there was no cavitation and up to ∼180μm when there was cavitation. The cavitation bubbles produced from an ultrasonic scaler may be used to deliver sub-micron particles into dentine. This method has the potential to deliver such particles deeper into the dentinal tubules. Cavitation from a clinical ultrasonic scaler may enhance penetration of sub-micron particles into dentinal tubules. This can aid in the development of novel methods for delivering therapeutic clinical materials for hypersensitivity relief and treatment of dentinal caries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Dispersive Ultrasonic Rayleigh Surface Waves in Asphalt Concrete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

In, Chi-Won; Kim, Jin-Yeon; Jacobs, Laurence J.; Kurtis, Kimberly E.

2008-02-01

This research focuses on the application of ultrasonic Rayleigh surface waves to nondestructively characterize the mechanical properties and structural defects (non-uniformly distributed aggregate) in asphalt concrete. An efficient wedge technique is developed in this study to generate Rayleigh surface waves that is shown to be effective in characterizing Rayleigh waves in this highly viscoelastic (attenuating) and heterogeneous medium. Experiments are performed on an asphalt-concrete beam produced with uniformly distributed aggregate. Ultrasonic techniques using both contact and non-contact sensors are examined and their results are compared. Experimental results show that the wedge technique along with an air-coupled sensor appears to be effective in characterizing Rayleigh waves in asphalt concrete. Hence, measurement of theses material properties needs to be investigated in non-uniformly distributed aggregate material using these techniques.

Ultrasonic bubbles in medicine: influence of the shell.

PubMed

Postema, Michiel; Schmitz, Georg

2007-04-01

Ultrasound contrast agents consist of microscopically small bubbles encapsulated by an elastic shell. These microbubbles oscillate upon ultrasound insonification, and demonstrate highly nonlinear behavior, ameliorating their detectability. (Potential) medical applications involving the ultrasonic disruption of contrast agent microbubble shells include release-burst imaging, localized drug delivery, and noninvasive blood pressure measurement. To develop and enhance these techniques, predicting the cracking behavior of ultrasound-insonified encapsulated microbubbles has been of importance. In this paper, we explore microbubble behavior in an ultrasound field, with special attention to the influence of the bubble shell. A bubble in a sound field can be considered a forced damped harmonic oscillator. For encapsulated microbubbles, the presence of a shell has to be taken into account. In models, an extra damping parameter and a shell stiffness parameter have been included, assuming that Hooke's Law holds for the bubble shell. At high acoustic amplitudes, disruptive phenomena have been observed, such as microbubble fragmentation and ultrasonic cracking. We analyzed the occurrence of ultrasound contrast agent fragmentation, by simulating the oscillating behavior of encapsulated microbubbles with various sizes in a harmonic acoustic field. Fragmentation occurs exclusively during the collapse phase and occurs if the kinetic energy of the collapsing microbubble is greater than the instantaneous bubble surface energy, provided that surface instabilities have grown big enough to allow for break-up. From our simulations it follows that the Blake critical radius is not a good approximation for a fragmentation threshold. We demonstrated how the phase angle differences between a damped radially oscillating bubble and an incident sound field depend on shell parameters.

Ultrasonic effects on titanium tanning of leather.

PubMed

Peng, Biyu; Shi, Bi; Sun, Danhong; Chen, Yaowen; Shelly, Dennis C

2007-03-01

The effects of ultrasound on titanium tanning of leather were investigated. Either 20 or 40 kHz ultrasound was applied to the titanium tanning of pigskins. Five different treatment conditions were carried out and the effects were examined, such as leather shrinkage temperature (T(s)), titanium content and titanium distribution in the leather. Overall heat loading was carefully controlled. Results showed that 20 kHz ultrasound effectively improves titanium agent penetration into the hide and increases the leather's shrinkage temperature. Doubling the frequency to 40 kHz produced negligible enhancements. An impressive 105.6 degrees C T(s) was achieved using 20 kHz ultrasound pretreatment of the tanning liquor followed by 20 kHz ultrasound in the tanning mixture (liquor plus pigskins) in a special salt-free medium. Finally, using a unique ultrasonic tanning drum with 26.5 kHz ultrasound, the T(s) reached a record level of 106.5 degrees C, a value not achieved in conventional (no ultrasound) titanium tanning. The ultrasonic effects on titanium tanning of leather are judged to make a superior mineral tanned leather.

Ultrasonic fluid flow measurement method and apparatus

DOEpatents

Kronberg, J.W.

1993-10-12

An apparatus for measuring the flow of a fluid in a pipe using ultrasonic waves. The apparatus comprises an ultrasonic generator, a lens for focusing the sound energy produced by the generator, and means for directing the focused energy into the side of the pipe through an opening and in a direction close to parallel to the long axis of the pipe. A cone carries the sound energy to the lens from the generator. Depending on the choice of materials, there may be a quarter-wave, acoustic impedance matching section between the generator and the cone to reduce the reflections of energy at the cone boundary. The lens material has an acoustic impedance similar to that of the cone material but a different sonic velocity so that the lens can converge the sound waves in the fluid. A transition section between the lens and the fluid helps to couple the energy to the fluid and assures it is directed as close to parallel to the fluid flow direction as possible. 3 figures.

Ultrasonic fluid flow measurement method and apparatus

DOEpatents

Kronberg, James W.

1993-01-01

An apparatus for measuring the flow of a fluid in a pipe using ultrasonic waves. The apparatus comprises an ultrasonic generator, a lens for focusing the sound energy produced by the generator, and means for directing the focused energy into the side of the pipe through an opening and in a direction close to parallel to the long axis of the pipe. A cone carries the sound energy to the lens from the generator. Depending on the choice of materials, there may be a quarter-wave, acoustic impedance matching section between the generator and the cone to reduce the reflections of energy at the cone boundary. The lens material has an acoustic impedance similar to that of the cone material but a different sonic velocity so that the lens can converge the sound waves in the fluid. A transition section between the lens and the fluid helps to couple the energy to the fluid and assures it is directed as close to parallel to the fluid flow direction as possible.

21 CFR 870.2880 - Ultrasonic transducer.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

...) MEDICAL DEVICES CARDIOVASCULAR DEVICES Cardiovascular Monitoring Devices § 870.2880 Ultrasonic transducer... ultrasonic energy that is used in conjunction with an echocardiograph to provide imaging of cardiovascular...

21 CFR 870.2880 - Ultrasonic transducer.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...) MEDICAL DEVICES CARDIOVASCULAR DEVICES Cardiovascular Monitoring Devices § 870.2880 Ultrasonic transducer... ultrasonic energy that is used in conjunction with an echocardiograph to provide imaging of cardiovascular...

Ultrasonic propulsion of kidney stones.

PubMed

May, Philip C; Bailey, Michael R; Harper, Jonathan D

2016-05-01

Ultrasonic propulsion is a novel technique that uses short bursts of focused ultrasonic pulses to reposition stones transcutaneously within the renal collecting system and ureter. The purpose of this review is to discuss the initial testing of effectiveness and safety, directions for refinement of technique and technology, and opinions on clinical application. Preclinical studies with a range of probes, interfaces, and outputs have demonstrated feasibility and consistent safety of ultrasonic propulsion with room for increased outputs and refinement toward specific applications. Ultrasonic propulsion was used painlessly and without adverse events to reposition stones in 14 of 15 human study participants without restrictions on patient size, stone size, or stone location. The initial feasibility study showed applicability in a range of clinically relevant situations, including facilitating passage of residual fragments following ureteroscopy or shock wave lithotripsy, moving a large stone at the ureteropelvic junction with relief of pain, and differentiating large stones from a collection of small fragments. Ultrasonic propulsion shows promise as an office-based system for transcutaneously repositioning kidney stones. Potential applications include facilitating expulsion of residual fragments following ureteroscopy or shock wave lithotripsy, repositioning stones prior to treatment, and repositioning obstructing ureteropelvic junction stones into the kidney to alleviate acute renal colic.

Ultrasonic propulsion of kidney stones

PubMed Central

May, Philip C.; Bailey, Michael R.; Harper, Jonathan D.

2016-01-01

Purpose of review Ultrasonic propulsion is a novel technique that uses short bursts of focused ultrasonic pulses to reposition stones transcutaneously within the renal collecting system and ureter. The purpose of this review is to discuss the initial testing of effectiveness and safety, directions for refinement of technique and technology, and opinions on clinical application. Recent findings Preclinical studies with a range of probes, interfaces, and outputs have demonstrated feasibility and consistent safety of ultrasonic propulsion with room for increased outputs and refinement toward specific applications. Ultrasonic propulsion was used painlessly and without adverse events to reposition stones in 14 of 15 human study participants without restrictions on patient size, stone size, or stone location. The initial feasibility study showed applicability in a range of clinically relevant situations, including facilitating passage of residual fragments following ureteroscopy or shock wave lithotripsy, moving a large stone at the UPJ with relief of pain, and differentiating large stones from a collection of small fragments. Summary Ultrasonic propulsion shows promise as an office-based system for transcutaneously repositioning kidney stones. Potential applications include facilitating expulsion of residual fragments following ureteroscopy or shock wave lithotripsy, repositioning stones prior to treatment, and repositioning obstructing UPJ stones into the kidney to alleviate acute renal colic. PMID:26845428

Floating Ultrasonic Transducer Inspection System and Method for Nondestructive Evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, Patrick H. (Inventor); Zalameda, Joseph N. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

A method for inspecting a structural sample using ultrasonic energy includes positioning an ultrasonic transducer adjacent to a surface of the sample, and then transmitting ultrasonic energy into the sample. Force pulses are applied to the transducer concurrently with transmission of the ultrasonic energy. A host machine processes ultrasonic return pulses from an ultrasonic pulser/receiver to quantify attenuation of the ultrasonic energy within the sample. The host machine detects a defect in the sample using the quantified level of attenuation. The method may include positioning a dry couplant between an ultrasonic transducer and the surface. A system includes an actuator, an ultrasonic transducer, a dry couplant between the transducer the sample, a scanning device that moves the actuator and transducer, and a measurement system having a pulsed actuator power supply, an ultrasonic pulser/receiver, and a host machine that executes the above method.

Dynamic properties of micro-particles in ultrasonic transportation using phase-controllable standing waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Kun; Mei, Deqing; Meng, Jianxin; Yang, Keji

2014-10-01

Ultrasonic manipulation has become an attractive method for surface-sensitive objects in micro-technology. Related phenomena, such as radiation force, multiple scattering, and acoustic streaming, have been widely studied. However, in current studies, the behavior of micro-particles in potential force fields is always analyzed in a quasi-static manner. We developed a dynamic model of a dilute micro-particle in the commonly used two-dimensional ultrasonic manipulation system to provide a systemic and quantitative analysis of the transient properties of particle movement. In this model, the acoustic streaming and hydrodynamic forces, omitted in previous work, were both considered. The trajectory of a spherical silica particle with different initial conditions was derived by numerically solving the established nonlinear differential integral equation system, which was then validated experimentally. The envelope of the experimental data on the x-axis showed good agreement with the theoretical calculation, and the greater influence on the y-axis of the deviation between the actual sound field and the ideal distribution employed in our dynamic model could account for the differences in displacement in that direction. Finally, the influence of particle size on its movement and the effect of acoustic streaming on calculating the hydrodynamic forces for an isolated particle with motion relative to the fluid were analyzed theoretically. It was found that the ultrasonic manipulation system will translate from an under-damped system to an over-damped system with a decrease in particle size and the micro-scale acoustic streaming velocity was negligible when calculating the hydrodynamic forces on the particle in the ultrasonic manipulation system.

Ultrasonic/Sonic Jackhammer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Sherrit, Stewart; Herz, Jack

2005-01-01

An ultrasonic/sonic jackhammer (USJ) is the latest in a series of related devices. Each of these devices cuts into a brittle material by means of hammering and chiseling actions of a tool bit excited with a combination of ultrasonic and sonic vibrations. A small-scale prototype of the USJ has been demonstrated. A fully developed, full-scale version of the USJ would be used for cutting through concrete, rocks, hard asphalt, and other materials to which conventional pneumatic jackhammers are applied, but the USJ would offer several advantages over conventional pneumatic jackhammers.

Ultrasonic humidification for telecommunications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Longo, F.

1994-03-01

This article examines two installations which demonstrate that ultrasonic humidification is an excellent option for large-scale commercial installations. Many existing telephone switching centers constructed 20 to 30 years ago were equipped with electro-mechanical switching equipment that was not sensitive to humidity. Today's sophisticated solid-state telecommunications equipment requires specific levels of relative humidity to operate properly. Over the last several years, Einhorn Yaffee Prescott (formerly Rose Beaton + Rose) designed two of the largest ultrasonic humidification systems at telecommunications buildings located in Cheshire, Conn., and White Plains, N.Y. The Cheshire project was a retrofit to the existing system in a 1960smore » building; the White Plains project involved an upgrade to a totally new air handling system, including an ultrasonic humidification component, in a 1950s building.« less

Semiconductor measurement technology: Microelectronic ultrasonic bonding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harman, G. G. (Editor)

1974-01-01

Information for making high quality ultrasonic wire bonds is presented as well as data to provide a basic understanding of the ultrasonic systems used. The work emphasizes problems and methods of solving them. The required measurement equipment is first introduced. This is followed by procedures and techniques used in setting up a bonding machine, and then various machine- or operator-induced reliability problems are discussed. The characterization of the ultrasonic system and its problems are followed by in-process bonding studies and work on the ultrasonic bonding (welding) mechanism. The report concludes with a discussion of various effects of bond geometry and wire metallurgical characteristics. Where appropriate, the latest, most accurate value of a particular measurement has been substituted for an earlier reported one.

Ultrasonic Nondestructive Characterization of Porous Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Ningli

2011-12-01

Wave propagation in porous media is studied in a wide range of technological applications. In the manufacturing industry, determining porosity of materials in the manufacturing process is required for strict quality control. In the oil industry, acoustic signals and seismic surveys are used broadly to determine the physical properties of the reservoir rock which is a porous media filled with oil or gas. In porous noise control materials, a precise prediction of sound absorption with frequency and evaluation of tortuosity are necessary. Ultrasonic nondestructive methods are a very important tool for characterization of porous materials. The dissertation deals with two types of porous media: materials with relatively low and closed porosity and materials with comparatively high and open porosity. Numerical modeling, Finite Element simulations and experimental characterization are all discussed in this dissertation. First, ultrasonic scattering is used to determine the porosity in porous media with closed pores. In order get a relationship between the porosity in porous materials and ultrasonic scattering independently and to increase the sensitivity to obtain scattering information, ultrasonic imaging methods are applied and acoustic waves are focused by an acoustic lens. To verify the technique, engineered porous acrylic plates with varying porosity are measured by ultrasonic scanning and ultrasonic array sensors. Secondly, a laser based ultrasonic technique is explored for predicting the mechanical integrity and durability of cementitious materials. The technique used involves the measurement of the phase velocity of fast and slow longitudinal waves in water saturated cement paste. The slow wave velocity is related to the specimen's tortuosity. The fast wave speed is dependent on the elastic properties of porous solid. Experimental results detailing the generation and detection of fast and slow wave waves in freshly prepared and aged water-saturated cement samples

Ultrasonic Characterization of Superhard Material: Osmium Diboride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yadawa, P. K.

2012-12-01

Higher order elastic constants have been calculated in hexagonal structured superhard material OsB2 at room temperature following the interaction potential model. The temperature variation of the ultrasonic velocities is evaluated along different angles with unique axis of the crystal using the second order elastic constants. The ultrasonic velocity decreases with the temperature along particular orientation with the unique axis. Temperature variation of the thermal relaxation time and Debye average velocities are also calculated along the same orientation. The temperature dependency of the ultrasonic properties is discussed in correlation with elastic, thermal and electrical properties. It has been found that the thermal conductivity is the main contributor to the behaviour of ultrasonic attenuation as a function of temperature and the responsible cause of attenuation is phonon-phonon interaction. The mechanical properties of OsB2 at low temperature are better than at high temperature, because at low temperature it has low ultrasonic velocity and ultrasonic attenuation. Superhard material OsB2 has many industrial applications, such as abrasives, cutting tools and hard coatings.

A Biomimetic Ultrasonic Whistle for Use as a Bat Deterrent on Wind Turbines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sievert, Paul; Seyed-Aghazadeh, Banafsheh; Carlson, Daniel; Dowling, Zara; Modarres-Sadeghi, Yahya

2016-11-01

As wind energy continues to gain worldwide prominence, more and more turbines are detrimentally influencing bat colonies. In 2012 alone, an estimated 600,000 bats were killed by wind turbines in the United States. Bats show a tendency to fly towards turbines. The objective of this work is to deter bats from the proximity of the swept area of operational wind turbine blades. Established field studies have shown that bats avoid broadband ultrasonic noise on the same frequency spectrum as their echolocation chirps. A biomimetic ultrasonic pulse generator for use as a bat deterrent on wind turbines is designed and studied experimentally. This device, which works based on the fundamentals of flow-induced oscillations of a flexible sheet is a whistle-like device inspired by a bat larynx, mechanically powered via air flow on a wind turbine blade. Current device prototypes have proven robust at producing ultrasound across the 20 - 70 kHz range for flow inlet velocities of 4 - 14 m/s. Ultimately, a deterrent as described here could provide a reliable, cost-effective means of alerting bats to the presence of moving turbine blades, reducing bat mortality at wind facilities, and reducing regulatory uncertainty for wind facility developers. The financial support provided by the US Department of Energy, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy center is acknowledged.

Mesh-free distributed point source method for modeling viscous fluid motion between disks vibrating at ultrasonic frequency.

PubMed

Wada, Yuji; Kundu, Tribikram; Nakamura, Kentaro

2014-08-01

The distributed point source method (DPSM) is extended to model wave propagation in viscous fluids. Appropriate estimation on attenuation and boundary layer formation due to fluid viscosity is necessary for the ultrasonic devices used for acoustic streaming or ultrasonic levitation. The equations for DPSM modeling in viscous fluids are derived in this paper by decomposing the linearized viscous fluid equations into two components-dilatational and rotational components. By considering complex P- and S-wave numbers, the acoustic fields in viscous fluids can be calculated following similar calculation steps that are used for wave propagation modeling in solids. From the calculations reported the precision of DPSM is found comparable to that of the finite element method (FEM) for a fundamental ultrasonic field problem. The particle velocity parallel to the two bounding surfaces of the viscous fluid layer between two rigid plates (one in motion and one stationary) is calculated. The finite element results agree well with the DPSM results that were generated faster than the transient FEM results.

Monitoring of freeze-thaw cycles in concrete using embedded sensors and ultrasonic imaging.

PubMed

Ranz, Javier; Aparicio, Sofía; Romero, Héctor; Casati, María Jesús; Molero, Miguel; González, Margarita

2014-01-29

This paper deals with the study of damage produced during freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles using two non-destructive measurement approaches-the first approach devoted to continuous monitoring using embedded sensors during the cycles, and the second one, performing ultrasonic imaging before and after the cycles. Both methodologies have been tested in two different types of concrete specimens, with and without air-entraining agents. Using the first measurement approach, the size and distribution of pores were estimated using a thermoporometrical model and continuous measurements of temperature and ultrasonic velocity along cycles. These estimates have been compared with the results obtained using mercury porosimetry testing. In the second approach, the damage due to F-T cycles has been evaluated by automated ultrasonic transmission and pulse-echo inspections made before and after the cycles. With these inspections the variations in the dimensions, velocity and attenuation caused by the accelerated F-T cycles were determined.

Monitoring of Freeze-Thaw Cycles in Concrete Using Embedded Sensors and Ultrasonic Imaging

PubMed Central

Ranz, Javier; Aparicio, Sofía; Romero, Héctor; Casati, María Jesús; Molero, Miguel; González, Margarita

2014-01-01

This paper deals with the study of damage produced during freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles using two non-destructive measurement approaches—the first approach devoted to continuous monitoring using embedded sensors during the cycles, and the second one, performing ultrasonic imaging before and after the cycles. Both methodologies have been tested in two different types of concrete specimens, with and without air-entraining agents. Using the first measurement approach, the size and distribution of pores were estimated using a thermoporometrical model and continuous measurements of temperature and ultrasonic velocity along cycles. These estimates have been compared with the results obtained using mercury porosimetry testing. In the second approach, the damage due to F-T cycles has been evaluated by automated ultrasonic transmission and pulse-echo inspections made before and after the cycles. With these inspections the variations in the dimensions, velocity and attenuation caused by the accelerated F-T cycles were determined. PMID:24481231

Prediction of ultrasonic properties from grain angle

Treesearch

M.F. Kabir

2001-01-01

The ultrasonic properties of rubber wood were evaluated in three main symmetry axes – longitudinal (L), radial (R) and tangential direction and also at an angle rotating from the symmetry axes at different moisture content. The ultrasonic velocity were determined with a commercial ultrasonic tester of 45 kHz pulsed longitudinal waves. The experimental results were...

Development of an automated ultrasonic testing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuxiang, Jiao; Wong, Brian Stephen

2005-04-01

Non-Destructive Testing is necessary in areas where defects in structures emerge over time due to wear and tear and structural integrity is necessary to maintain its usability. However, manual testing results in many limitations: high training cost, long training procedure, and worse, the inconsistent test results. A prime objective of this project is to develop an automatic Non-Destructive testing system for a shaft of the wheel axle of a railway carriage. Various methods, such as the neural network, pattern recognition methods and knowledge-based system are used for the artificial intelligence problem. In this paper, a statistical pattern recognition approach, Classification Tree is applied. Before feature selection, a thorough study on the ultrasonic signals produced was carried out. Based on the analysis of the ultrasonic signals, three signal processing methods were developed to enhance the ultrasonic signals: Cross-Correlation, Zero-Phase filter and Averaging. The target of this step is to reduce the noise and make the signal character more distinguishable. Four features: 1. The Auto Regressive Model Coefficients. 2. Standard Deviation. 3. Pearson Correlation 4. Dispersion Uniformity Degree are selected. And then a Classification Tree is created and applied to recognize the peak positions and amplitudes. Searching local maximum is carried out before feature computing. This procedure reduces much computation time in the real-time testing. Based on this algorithm, a software package called SOFRA was developed to recognize the peaks, calibrate automatically and test a simulated shaft automatically. The automatic calibration procedure and the automatic shaft testing procedure are developed.

Motion Estimation Using the Firefly Algorithm in Ultrasonic Image Sequence of Soft Tissue

PubMed Central

Chao, Chih-Feng; Horng, Ming-Huwi; Chen, Yu-Chan

2015-01-01

Ultrasonic image sequence of the soft tissue is widely used in disease diagnosis; however, the speckle noises usually influenced the image quality. These images usually have a low signal-to-noise ratio presentation. The phenomenon gives rise to traditional motion estimation algorithms that are not suitable to measure the motion vectors. In this paper, a new motion estimation algorithm is developed for assessing the velocity field of soft tissue in a sequence of ultrasonic B-mode images. The proposed iterative firefly algorithm (IFA) searches for few candidate points to obtain the optimal motion vector, and then compares it to the traditional iterative full search algorithm (IFSA) via a series of experiments of in vivo ultrasonic image sequences. The experimental results show that the IFA can assess the vector with better efficiency and almost equal estimation quality compared to the traditional IFSA method. PMID:25873987

21 CFR 882.1925 - Ultrasonic scanner calibration test block.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Ultrasonic scanner calibration test block. 882... Ultrasonic scanner calibration test block. (a) Identification. An ultrasonic scanner calibration test block is a block of material with known properties used to calibrate ultrasonic scanning devices (e.g., the...

Continuous Ultrasonic Inspection of Extruded Wood-Plastic Composites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tucker, Brian J.; Bender, Donald A.

Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques are needed for in-line monitoring of wood-plastic composite (WPC) quality during manufacturing for process control. Through-transmission ultrasonic inspection is useful in characterizing stiffness and detecting cracks and voids in a range of materials; however, little is documented about ultrasound propagation in WPC materials. The objectives of this research were to determine applicable ultrasonic transducer frequencies, coupling methods, configurations and placements for wave speed monitoring and web defect detection within an extrusion process; to quantify the effects of temperature on ultrasonic parameters; and to develop a prototype ultrasonic inspection system for a full-size extrusion line. An angledmore » beam, water-coupled ultrasonic inspection system using a pair of 50-kHz narrowband transducers was adequate for monitoring wave speed parallel to the extrusion direction. For locating internal web defects, water-coupled, 500-kHz broadband ultrasonic transducers were used in a through-thickness transmission setup. Temperature compensation factors were developed to adjust ultrasonic wave speed measurements. The prototype inspection system was demonstrated in a 55 mm conical twin-screw extrusion line.« less

MIMO nonlinear ultrasonic tomography by propagation and backpropagation method.

PubMed

Dong, Chengdong; Jin, Yuanwei

2013-03-01

This paper develops a fast ultrasonic tomographic imaging method in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration using the propagation and backpropagation (PBP) method. By this method, ultrasonic excitation signals from multiple sources are transmitted simultaneously to probe the objects immersed in the medium. The scattering signals are recorded by multiple receivers. Utilizing the nonlinear ultrasonic wave propagation equation and the received time domain scattered signals, the objects are to be reconstructed iteratively in three steps. First, the propagation step calculates the predicted acoustic potential data at the receivers using an initial guess. Second, the difference signal between the predicted value and the measured data is calculated. Third, the backpropagation step computes updated acoustical potential data by backpropagating the difference signal to the same medium computationally. Unlike the conventional PBP method for tomographic imaging where each source takes turns to excite the acoustical field until all the sources are used, the developed MIMO-PBP method achieves faster image reconstruction by utilizing multiple source simultaneous excitation. Furthermore, we develop an orthogonal waveform signaling method using a waveform delay scheme to reduce the impact of speckle patterns in the reconstructed images. By numerical experiments we demonstrate that the proposed MIMO-PBP tomographic imaging method results in faster convergence and achieves superior imaging quality.

Determination of elastic modulus of ceramics using ultrasonic testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasmita, Firmansyah; Wibisono, Gatot; Judawisastra, Hermawan; Priambodo, Toni Agung

2018-04-01

Elastic modulus is important material property on structural ceramics application. However, bending test as a common method for determining this property require particular specimen preparation. Furthermore, elastic modulus of ceramics could vary because it depends on porosity content. For structural ceramics industry, such as ceramic tiles, this property is very important. This drives the development of new method to improve effectivity or verification method as well. In this research, ultrasonic testing was conducted to determine elastic modulus of soda lime glass and ceramic tiles. The experiment parameter was frequency of probe (1, 2, 4 MHz). Characterization of density and porosity were also done for analysis. Results from ultrasonic testing were compared with elastic modulus resulted from bending test. Elastic modulus of soda-lime glass based on ultrasonic testing showed excellent result with error 2.69% for 2 MHz probe relative to bending test result. Testing on red and white ceramic tiles were still contained error up to 41% and 158%, respectively. The results for red ceramic tile showed trend that 1 MHz probe gave better accuracy in determining elastic modulus. However, testing on white ceramic tile showed different trend. It was due to the presence of porosity and near field effect.

Welding apparatus and methods for using ultrasonic sensing

DOEpatents

McJunkin, Timothy R.; Johnson, John A.; Larsen, Eric D.; Smartt, Herschel B.

2006-08-22

A welding apparatus using ultrasonic sensing is described and which includes a movable welder having a selectively adjustable welding head for forming a partially completed weld in a weld seam defined between adjoining metal substrates; an ultrasonic assembly borne by the moveable welder and which is operable to generate an ultrasonic signal which is directed toward the partially completed weld, and is further reflected from same; and a controller electrically coupled with the ultrasonic assembly and controllably coupled with the welding head, and wherein the controller receives information regarding the ultrasonic signal and in response to the information optimally positions the welding head relative to the weld seam.

Ultrasonic stress wave characterization of composite materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duke, J. C., Jr.; Henneke, E. G., II; Stinchcomb, W. W.

1986-01-01

The work reported covers three simultaneous projects. The first project was concerned with: (1) establishing the sensitivity of the acousto-ultrasonic method for evaluating subtle forms of damage development in cyclically loaded composite materials, (2) establishing the ability of the acousto-ultrasonic method for detecting initial material imperfections that lead to localized damage growth and final specimen failure, and (3) characteristics of the NBS/Proctor sensor/receiver for acousto-ultrasonic evaluation of laminated composite materials. The second project was concerned with examining the nature of the wave propagation that occurs during acoustic-ultrasonic evaluation of composite laminates and demonstrating the role of Lamb or plate wave modes and their utilization for characterizing composite laminates. The third project was concerned with the replacement of contact-type receiving piezotransducers with noncontacting laser-optical sensors for acousto-ultrasonic signal acquisition.

Biological treatment process for removing petroleum hydrocarbons from oil field produced waters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tellez, G.; Khandan, N.

1995-12-31

The feasibility of removing petroleum hydrocarbons from oil fields produced waters using biological treatment was evaluated under laboratory and field conditions. Based on previous laboratory studies, a field-scale prototype system was designed and operated over a period of four months. Two different sources of produced waters were tested in this field study under various continuous flow rates ranging from 375 1/D to 1,800 1/D. One source of produced water was an open storage pit; the other, a closed storage tank. The TDS concentrations of these sources exceeded 50,000 mg/l; total n-alkanes exceeded 100 mg/l; total petroleum hydrocarbons exceeded 125 mg/l;more » and total BTEX exceeded 3 mg/l. Removals of total n-alkanes, total petroleum hydrocarbons, and BTEX remained consistently high over 99%. During these tests, the energy costs averaged $0.20/bbl at 12 bbl/D.« less

Forward ultrasonic model validation using wavefield imaging methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blackshire, James L.

2018-04-01

The validation of forward ultrasonic wave propagation models in a complex titanium polycrystalline material system is accomplished using wavefield imaging methods. An innovative measurement approach is described that permits the visualization and quantitative evaluation of bulk elastic wave propagation and scattering behaviors in the titanium material for a typical focused immersion ultrasound measurement process. Results are provided for the determination and direct comparison of the ultrasonic beam's focal properties, mode-converted shear wave position and angle, and scattering and reflection from millimeter-sized microtexture regions (MTRs) within the titanium material. The approach and results are important with respect to understanding the root-cause backscatter signal responses generated in aerospace engine materials, where model-assisted methods are being used to understand the probabilistic nature of the backscatter signal content. Wavefield imaging methods are shown to be an effective means for corroborating and validating important forward model predictions in a direct manner using time- and spatially-resolved displacement field amplitude measurements.

Ultrasonic nebulization platforms for pulmonary drug delivery.

PubMed

Yeo, Leslie Y; Friend, James R; McIntosh, Michelle P; Meeusen, Els N T; Morton, David A V

2010-06-01

Since the 1950s, ultrasonic nebulizers have played an important role in pulmonary drug delivery. As the process in which aerosol droplets are generated is independent and does not require breath-actuation, ultrasonic nebulizers, in principle, offer the potential for instantaneously fine-tuning the dose administered to the specific requirements of a patient, taking into account the patient's breathing pattern, physiological profile and disease state. Nevertheless, owing to the difficulties and limitations associated with conventional designs and technologies, ultrasonic nebulizers have never been widely adopted, and have in recent years been in a state of decline. An overview is provided on the advances in new miniature ultrasonic nebulization platforms in which large increases in lung dose efficiency have been reported. In addition to a discussion of the underlying mechanisms governing ultrasonic nebulization, in which there appears to be widely differing views, the advantages and shortcomings of conventional ultrasonic nebulization technology are reviewed and advanced state-of-the-art technologies that have been developed recently are discussed. Recent advances in ultrasonic nebulization technology demonstrate significant potential for the development of smart, portable inhalation therapy platforms for the future. Nevertheless, there remain considerable challenges that need to be addressed before such personalized delivery systems can be realized. These have to be addressed across the spectrum from fundamental physics through to in vivo device testing and dealing with the relevant regulatory framework.

21 CFR 884.2660 - Fetal ultrasonic monitor and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Fetal ultrasonic monitor and accessories. 884.2660... Devices § 884.2660 Fetal ultrasonic monitor and accessories. (a) Identification. A fetal ultrasonic monitor is a device designed to transmit and receive ultrasonic energy into and from the pregnant woman...

Reducing forces during drilling brittle hard materials by using ultrasonic and variation of coolant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schopf, C.; Rascher, R.

2016-11-01

The process of ultrasonic machining is especially used for brittle hard materials as the additional ultrasonic vibration of the tool at high frequencies and low amplitudes acts like a hammer on the surface. With this technology it is possible to drill holes with lower forces, therefor the machining can be done faster and the worktime is much less than conventionally. A three-axis dynamometer was used to measure the forces, which act between the tool and the sample part. A focus is set on the sharpness of the tool. The results of a test series are based on the Sauer Ultrasonic Grinding Centre. On the same machine it is possible to drill holes in the conventional way. Additional to the ultasonic Input the type an concentration of coolant is important for the Drilling-force. In the test there were three different coolant and three different concentrations tested. The combination of ultrasonic vibration and the right coolant and concentration is the best way to reduce the Forces. Another positive effect is, that lower drilling-forces produce smaller chipping on the edge of the hole. The way to reduce the forces and chipping is the main issue of this paper.

Ultrasonic thickness measuring and imaging system and method

DOEpatents

Bylenok, Paul J.; Patmos, William M.; Wagner, Thomas A.; Martin, Francis H.

1992-08-04

An ultrasonic thickness measuring and imaging system uses an ultrasonic fsed beam probe for measuring thickness of an object, such as a wall of a tube, a computer for controlling movement of the probe in a scanning pattern within the tube and processing an analog signal produced by the probe which is proportional to the tube wall thickness in the scanning pattern, and a line scan recorder for producing a record of the tube wall thicknesses measured by the probe in the scanning pattern. The probe is moved in the scanning pattern to sequentially scan circumferentially the interior tube wall at spaced apart adjacent axial locations. The computer processes the analog signal by converting it to a digital signal and then quantifies the digital signal into a multiplicity of thickness points with each falling in one of a plurality of thickness ranges corresponding to one of a plurality of shades of grey. From the multiplicity of quantified thickness points, a line scan recorder connected to the computer generates a pictorial map of tube wall thicknesses with each quantified thickness point thus being obtained from a minute area, e.g. 0.010 inch by 0.010 inch, of tube wall and representing one pixel of the pictorial map. In the pictorial map of tube wall thicknesses, the pixels represent different wall thicknesses having different shades of grey.

Ultrasonic thickness measuring and imaging system and method

DOEpatents

Bylenok, Paul J.; Patmos, William M.; Wagner, Thomas A.; Martin, Francis H.

1992-01-01

An ultrasonic thickness measuring and imaging system uses an ultrasonic fsed beam probe for measuring thickness of an object, such as a wall of a tube, a computer for controlling movement of the probe in a scanning pattern within the tube and processing an analog signal produced by the probe which is proportional to the tube wall thickness in the scanning pattern, and a line scan recorder for producing a record of the tube wall thicknesses measured by the probe in the scanning pattern. The probe is moved in the scanning pattern to sequentially scan circumferentially the interior tube wall at spaced apart adjacent axial locations. The computer processes the analog signal by converting it to a digital signal and then quantifies the digital signal into a multiplicity of thickness points with each falling in one of a plurality of thickness ranges corresponding to one of a plurality of shades of grey. From the multiplicity of quantified thickness points, a line scan recorder connected to the computer generates a pictorial map of tube wall thicknesses with each quantified thickness point thus being obtained from a minute area, e.g. 0.010 inch by 0.010 inch, of tube wall and representing one pixel of the pictorial map. In the pictorial map of tube wall thicknesses, the pixels represent different wall thicknesses having different shades of grey.

Ultrasonic assisted hot metal powder compaction.

PubMed

Abedini, Rezvan; Abdullah, Amir; Alizadeh, Yunes

2017-09-01

Hot pressing of metal powders is used in production of parts with similar properties to wrought materials. During hot pressing processes, particle rearrangement, plastic deformation, creep, and diffusion are of the most effective powder densification mechanisms. Applying ultrasonic vibration is thought to result in great rates of densification and therefore higher efficiency of the process is expected. This paper deals with the effects of power ultrasonic on the densification of AA1100 aluminum powder under constant applied stress. The effects of particle size and process temperature on the densification behavior are discussed. The results show that applying ultrasonic vibration leads to an improved homogeneity and a higher relative density. Also, it is found that the effect of ultrasonic vibration is greater for finer particles. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonic nondestructive materials characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, R. E., Jr.

1986-01-01

A brief review of ultrasonic wave propagation in solid materials is presented with consideration of the altered behavior in anisotropic and nonlinear elastic materials in comparison with isotropic and linear elastic materials. Some experimental results are described in which ultrasonic velocity and attenuation measurements give insight into materials microstructure and associated mechanical properties. Recent developments with laser beam non-contact generation and detection of ultrasound are presented. The results of several years of experimental measurements using high-power ultrasound are discussed, which provide substantial evidence of the inability of presently accepted theories to fully explain the interaction of ultrasound with solid materials. Finally, a special synchrotron X-ray topographic system is described which affords the possibility of observing direct interaction of ultrasonic waves with the microstructural features of real crystalline solid materials for the first time.

Lumber defect detection by ultrasonics

Treesearch

K. A. McDonald

1978-01-01

Ultrasonics, the technology of high-frequency sound, has been developed as a viable means for locating most defects In lumber for use in digital form in decision-making computers. Ultrasonics has the potential for locating surface and internal defects in lumber of all species, green or dry, and rough sawn or surfaced.

Ultrasonic manipulation of particles and cells. Ultrasonic separation of cells.

PubMed

Coakley, W T; Whitworth, G; Grundy, M A; Gould, R K; Allman, R

1994-04-01

Cells or particles suspended in a sonic standing wave field experience forces which concentrate them at positions separated by half a wavelength. The aims of the study were: (1) To optimise conditions and test theoretical predictions for ultrasonic concentration and separation of particles or cells. (2) To investigate the scale-up of experimental systems. (3) To establish the maximum acoustic pressure to which a suspension might be exposed without inducing order-disrupting cavitation. (4) To compare the efficiencies of techniques for harvesting concentrated particles. The primary outcomes were: (1) To design of an acoustic pressure distribution within cylindrical containers which led to uniformly repeating sound pressure patterns throughout the containers in the standing wave mode, concentrated suspended eukaryotic cells or latex beads in clumps on the axis of wide containers, and provided uniform response of all particle clumps to acoustic harvesting regimes. Theory for the behaviour (e.g. movement to different preferred sites) of particles as a function of specific gravity and compressibility in containers of different lateral dimensions was extended and was confirmed experimentally. Convective streaming in the container was identified as a variable requiring control in the manipulation of particles of 1 micron or smaller size. (2) Consideration of scale-up from the model 10 ml volume led to the conclusion that flow systems in intermediate volume containers have more promise than scaled up batch systems. (3) The maximum acoustic pressures applicable to a suspension without inducing order-disrupting cavitation or excessive conductive streaming at 1 MHz and 3 MHz induce a force equivalent to a centrifugal field of about 10(3) g. (4) The most efficient technique for harvesting concentrated particles was the introduction of a frequency increment between two transducers to form a slowly sweeping pseudo-standing wave. The attractive inter-droplet ultrasonic standing

Ultrasonic flow measurements for irrigation process monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziani, Elmostafa; Bennouna, Mustapha; Boissier, Raymond

2004-02-01

This paper presents the state of the art of the general principle of liquid flow measurements by ultrasonic method, and problems of flow measurements. We present an ultrasonic flowmeter designed according to smart sensors concept, for the measurement of irrigation water flowing through pipelines or open channels, using the ultrasonic transit time approach. The new flowmeter works on the principle of measuring time delay differences between sound pulses transmitted upstream and downstream in the flowing liquid. The speed of sound in the flowing medium is eliminated as a variable because the flowrate calculations are based on the reciprocals of the transmission times. The transit time difference is digitally measured by means of a suitable, microprocessor controlled logic. This type of ultrasonic flowmeter will be widely used in industry and water management, it is well studied in this work, followed by some experimental results. For pressurized channels, we use one pair of ultrasonic transducer arranged in proper positions and directions of the pipe, in this case, to determine the liquid velocity, a real time on-line analysis taking account the geometries of the hydraulic system, is applied to the obtained ultrasonic data. In the open channels, we use a single or two pairs of ultrasonic emitter-receiver according to the desired performances. Finally, the goals of this work consist in integrating the smart sensor into irrigation systems monitoring in order to evaluate potential advantages and demonstrate their performance, on the other hand, to understand and use ultrasonic approach for determining flow characteristics and improving flow measurements by reducing errors caused by disturbances of the flow profiles.

Non-contact transportation using near-field acoustic levitation

PubMed

Ueha; Hashimoto; Koike

2000-03-01

Near-field acoustic levitation, where planar objects 10 kg in weight can levitate stably near the vibrating plate, is successfully applied both to non-contact transportation of objects and to a non-contact ultrasonic motor. Transporting apparatuses and an ultrasonic motor have been fabricated and their characteristics measured. The theory of near-field acoustic levitation both for a piston-like sound source and a flexural vibration source is also briefly described.

Beat frequency ultrasonic microsphere contrast agent detection system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pretlow, Robert A., III (Inventor); Yost, William T. (Inventor); Cantrell, John H., Jr. (Inventor)

1995-01-01

A system for and method of detecting and measuring concentrations of an ultrasonically-reflective microsphere contrast agent involving detecting non-linear sum and difference beat frequencies produced by the microspheres when two impinging signals with non-identical frequencies are combined by mixing. These beat frequencies can be used for a variety of applications such as detecting the presence of and measuring the flow rates of biological fluids and industrial liquids, including determining the concentration level of microspheres in the myocardium.

Beat frequency ultrasonic microsphere contrast agent detection system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pretlow, III, Robert A. (Inventor); Yost, William T. (Inventor); Cantrell, Jr., John H. (Inventor)

1997-01-01

A system for and method of detecting and measuring concentrations of an ultrasonically-reflective microsphere contrast agent involving detecting non-linear sum and difference beat frequencies produced by the microspheres when two impinging signals with non-identical frequencies are combined by mixing. These beat frequencies can be used for a variety of applications such as detecting the presence of and measuring the flow rates of biological fluids and industrial liquids, including determining the concentration level of microspheres in the myocardium.

Enhancement of ultrasonic disintegration of sewage sludge by aeration.

PubMed

Zhao, He; Zhang, Panyue; Zhang, Guangming; Cheng, Rong

2016-04-01

Sonication is an effective way for sludge disintegration, which can significantly improve the efficiency of anaerobic digestion to reduce and recycle use of sludge. But high energy consumption limits the wide application of sonication. In order to improve ultrasonic sludge disintegration efficiency and reduce energy consumption, aeration was introduced. Results showed that sludge disintegration efficiency was improved significantly by combining aeration with ultrasound. The aeration flow rate, gas bubble size, ultrasonic density and aeration timing had impacts on sludge disintegration efficiency. Aeration that used in later stage of ultrasonic irradiation with low aeration flow rate, small gas bubbles significantly improved ultrasonic disintegration sludge efficiency. At the optimal conditions of 0.4 W/mL ultrasonic irradiation density, 30 mL/min of aeration flow rate, 5 min of aeration in later stage and small gas bubbles, ultrasonic sludge disintegration efficiency was increased by 45% and one third of ultrasonic energy was saved. This approach will greatly benefit the application of ultrasonic sludge disintegration and strongly promote the treatment and recycle of wastewater sludge. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Apparatus for the concurrent ultrasonic inspection of partially completed welds

DOEpatents

Johnson, John A.

2000-01-01

An apparatus for the concurrent nondestructive evaluation of partially completed welds is described and which is used in combination with an automated welder and which includes an ultrasonic signal generator mounted on the welder and which generates an ultrasonic signal which is directed toward one side of the partially completed welds; an ultrasonic signal receiver mounted on the automated welder for detecting ultrasonic signals which are transmitted by the ultrasonic signal generator and which are reflected or diffracted from one side of the partially completed weld or which passes through a given region of the partially completed weld; and an analysis assembly coupled with the ultrasonic signal receiver and which processes the ultrasonic signals received by the ultrasonic signal receiver to identify welding flaws in the partially completed weld.

Resonant difference-frequency atomic force ultrasonic microscope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cantrell, John H. (Inventor); Cantrell, Sean A. (Inventor)

2010-01-01

A scanning probe microscope and methodology called resonant difference-frequency atomic force ultrasonic microscopy (RDF-AFUM), employs an ultrasonic wave launched from the bottom of a sample while the cantilever of an atomic force microscope, driven at a frequency differing from the ultrasonic frequency by one of the contact resonance frequencies of the cantilever, engages the sample top surface. The nonlinear mixing of the oscillating cantilever and the ultrasonic wave in the region defined by the cantilever tip-sample surface interaction force generates difference-frequency oscillations at the cantilever contact resonance. The resonance-enhanced difference-frequency signals are used to create images of nanoscale near-surface and subsurface features.

Catalytic effect on ultrasonic decomposition of cellulose

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nomura, Shinfuku; Wakida, Kousuke; Mukasa, Shinobu; Toyota, Hiromichi

2018-07-01

Cellulase used as a catalyst is introduced into the ultrasonic welding method for cellulose decomposition in order to obtain glucose. By adding cellulase in the welding process, filter paper decomposes cellulose into glucose, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), furfural, and oligosaccharides. The amount of glucose from hydrolysis was increased by ultrasonic welding in filter paper immersed in water. Most glucose was obtained by 100 W ultrasonic irradiation; however, when was applied 200 W, the dehydration of the glucose itself occurred, and was converted into 5-HMF owing to the thermolysis of ultrasonics. Therefore, there is an optimum welding power for the production of glucose from cellulose decomposition.

Recent progress in online ultrasonic process monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Szu-Sheng L.; Chen, Tzu-Fang; Ramos-Franca, Demartonne; Nguyen, Ky T.; Jen, Cheng-Kuei; Ihara, Ikuo; Derdouri, A.; Garcia-Rejon, Andres

1998-03-01

On-line ultrasonic monitoring of polymer co-extrusion and gas-assisted injection molding are presented. During the co- extrusion of high density polyethylene and Santoprene ultrasonic sensors consisting of piezoelectric transducers and clad ultrasonic buffer rods are used to detect the interface between these two polymers and the stability of the extrusion. The same ultrasonic sensor also measures the surface temperature of the extruded polymer. The results indicate that temperature measurements using ultrasound have a faster response time than those obtained by conventional thermocouple. In gas-assisted injection molding the polymer and gas flow front positions are monitored simultaneously. This information may be used to control the plunger movement.

Ultrasonic Evaluation of Fatigue Damage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bayer, P.; Singher, L.; Notea, A.

2004-02-01

Despite the fact that most engineers and designers are aware of fatigue, many severe breakdowns of industrial plant and machinery still occur due to fatigue. In effect, it's been estimated that fatigue causes at least 80% of the failures in modern engineering components. From an operational point of view, the detection of fatigue damage, preferably at a very early stage, is a critically important consideration in order to prevent possible catastrophic equipment failure and associated losses. This paper describes the investigation involving the use of ultrasonic waves as a potential tool for early detection of fatigue damage. The parameters investigated were the ultrasonic wave velocities (longitudinal and transverse waves) and attenuation coefficient before fatigue damage and after progressive stages of fatigue. Although comparatively small uncertainties were observed, the feasibility of utilizing the velocity of ultrasonic waves as a fatigue monitor was barely substantiated within actual research conditions. However, careful measurements of the ultrasonic attenuation parameter had demonstrated its potential to provide an early assessment of damage during fatigue.

Auto-positioning ultrasonic transducer system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buchanan, Randy K. (Inventor)

2010-01-01

An ultrasonic transducer apparatus and process for determining the optimal transducer position for flow measurement along a conduit outer surface. The apparatus includes a transmitting transducer for transmitting an ultrasonic signal, said transducer affixed to a conduit outer surface; a guide rail attached to a receiving transducer for guiding movement of a receiving transducer along the conduit outer surface, wherein the receiving transducer receives an ultrasonic signal from the transmitting transducer and sends a signal to a data acquisition system; and a motor for moving the receiving transducer along the guide rail, wherein the motor is controlled by a controller. The method includes affixing a transmitting transducer to an outer surface of a conduit; moving a receiving transducer on the conduit outer surface, wherein the receiving transducer is moved along a guide rail by a motor; transmitting an ultrasonic signal from the transmitting transducer that is received by the receiving transducer; communicating the signal received by the receiving transducer to a data acquisition and control system; and repeating the moving, transmitting, and communicating along a length of the conduit.

Ultrasonic data compression via parameter estimation.

PubMed

Cardoso, Guilherme; Saniie, Jafar

2005-02-01

Ultrasonic imaging in medical and industrial applications often requires a large amount of data collection. Consequently, it is desirable to use data compression techniques to reduce data and to facilitate the analysis and remote access of ultrasonic information. The precise data representation is paramount to the accurate analysis of the shape, size, and orientation of ultrasonic reflectors, as well as to the determination of the properties of the propagation path. In this study, a successive parameter estimation algorithm based on a modified version of the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) to compress and denoise ultrasonic signals is presented. It has been shown analytically that the CWT (i.e., time x frequency representation) yields an exact solution for the time-of-arrival and a biased solution for the center frequency. Consequently, a modified CWT (MCWT) based on the Gabor-Helstrom transform is introduced as a means to exactly estimate both time-of-arrival and center frequency of ultrasonic echoes. Furthermore, the MCWT also has been used to generate a phase x bandwidth representation of the ultrasonic echo. This representation allows the exact estimation of the phase and the bandwidth. The performance of this algorithm for data compression and signal analysis is studied using simulated and experimental ultrasonic signals. The successive parameter estimation algorithm achieves a data compression ratio of (1-5N/J), where J is the number of samples and N is the number of echoes in the signal. For a signal with 10 echoes and 2048 samples, a compression ratio of 96% is achieved with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement above 20 dB. Furthermore, this algorithm performs robustly, yields accurate echo estimation, and results in SNR enhancements ranging from 10 to 60 dB for composite signals having SNR as low as -10 dB.

Ultrasonic wave propagation in powders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Lashi, R. S.; Povey, M. J. W.; Watson, N. J.

2018-05-01

Powder clumps (cakes) has a significant effect on the flowability and stability of powders. Powder caking is mainly caused by moisture migration due to wetting and environmental (temperature and humidity) changes. The process of moisture migration caking involves creating liquid bridges between the particles during condensation which subsequently harden to form solid bridges. Therefore, an effective and reliable technique is required to quantitatively and non-invasively monitor caking kinetics and effective stiffness. This paper describes two ultrasonic instruments (ultrasonic velocity pulse and airborne ultrasound systems) that have been used to monitor the caking phenomenon. Also, it discusses the relationship between the ultrasonic velocity and attenuation measurements and tracking caking kinetics and the effective stiffness of powders.

Modeling of ultrasonic wave propagation in composite laminates with realistic discontinuity representation.

PubMed

Zelenyak, Andreea-Manuela; Schorer, Nora; Sause, Markus G R

2018-02-01

This paper presents a method for embedding realistic defect geometries of a fiber reinforced material in a finite element modeling environment in order to simulate active ultrasonic inspection. When ultrasonic inspection is used experimentally to investigate the presence of defects in composite materials, the microscopic defect geometry may cause signal characteristics that are difficult to interpret. Hence, modeling of this interaction is key to improve our understanding and way of interpreting the acquired ultrasonic signals. To model the true interaction of the ultrasonic wave field with such defect structures as pores, cracks or delamination, a realistic three dimensional geometry reconstruction is required. We present a 3D-image based reconstruction process which converts computed tomography data in adequate surface representations ready to be embedded for processing with finite element methods. Subsequent modeling using these geometries uses a multi-scale and multi-physics simulation approach which results in quantitative A-Scan ultrasonic signals which can be directly compared with experimental signals. Therefore, besides the properties of the composite material, a full transducer implementation, piezoelectric conversion and simultaneous modeling of the attached circuit is applied. Comparison between simulated and experimental signals provides very good agreement in electrical voltage amplitude and the signal arrival time and thus validates the proposed modeling approach. Simulating ultrasound wave propagation in a medium with a realistic shape of the geometry clearly shows a difference in how the disturbance of the waves takes place and finally allows more realistic modeling of A-scans. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Small-angle x-ray scattering measurement of a mist of ethanol nanodroplets: An approach to understanding ultrasonic separation of ethanol-water mixtures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yano, Yohko F.; Matsuura, Kazuo; Fukazu, Tetsuo; Abe, Fusatsugu; Wakisaka, Akihiro; Kobara, Hitomi; Kaneko, Kazuyuki; Kumagai, Atsushi; Katsuya, Yoshio; Tanaka, Masahiko

2007-07-01

Small-angle x-ray scattering measurements using a brilliant x-ray source revealed nanometer sized liquid droplets in a mist formed by ultrasonic atomization. Ultrasonic atomization of ethanol-water mixtures produced a combination of water-rich droplets of micrometer order and ethanol-rich droplets as small as 1nm, which is 10-3 times smaller than the predicted size. These sizes were also obtained for mists generated from the pure liquids. These results will help to clarify the mechanism of "ultrasonic ethanol separation," which has the potential to become an alternative to distillation.

Applications of a nanocomposite-inspired in-situ broadband ultrasonic sensor to acousto-ultrasonics-based passive and active structural health monitoring.

PubMed

Liu, Menglong; Zeng, Zhihui; Xu, Hao; Liao, Yaozhong; Zhou, Limin; Zhang, Zhong; Su, Zhongqing

2017-07-01

A novel nanocomposite-inspired in-situ broadband ultrasonic sensor previously developed, with carbon black as the nanofiller and polyvinylidene fluoride as the matrix, was networked for acousto-ultrasonic wave-based passive and active structural health monitoring (SHM). Being lightweight and small, this kind of sensor was proven to be capable of perceiving strain perturbation in virtue of the tunneling effect in the formed nanofiller conductive network when acousto-ultrasonic waves traverse the sensor. Proof-of-concept validation was implemented, to examine the sensor performance in responding to acousto-ultrasonic waves in a broad frequency regime: from acoustic emission (AE) of lower frequencies to guided ultrasonic waves (GUWs) of higher frequencies. Results have demonstrated the high fidelity, ultrafast response and high sensitivity of the sensor to acousto-ultrasonic waves up to 400kHz yet with an ultra-low magnitude (of the order of micro-strain). The sensor is proven to possess sensitivity and accuracy comparable with commercial piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers, whereas with greater flexibility in accommodating curved structural surfaces. Application paradigms of using the sensor for damage evaluation have spotlighted the capability of the sensor in compromising "sensing cost" with "sensing effectiveness" for passive AE- or active GUW-based SHM. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Autoresonant control of nonlinear mode in ultrasonic transducer for machining applications.

PubMed

Babitsky, V I; Astashev, V K; Kalashnikov, A N

2004-04-01

Experiments conducted in several countries have shown that the improvement of machining quality can be promoted through conversion of the cutting process into one involving controllable high-frequency vibration at the cutting zone. This is achieved through the generation and maintenance of ultrasonic vibration of the cutting tool to alter the fracture process of work-piece material cutting to one in which loading of the materials at the tool tip is incremental, repetitive and controlled. It was shown that excitation of the high-frequency vibro-impact mode of the tool-workpiece interaction is the most effective way of ultrasonic influence on the dynamic characteristics of machining. The exploitation of this nonlinear mode needs a new method of adaptive control for excitation and stabilisation of ultrasonic vibration known as autoresonance. An approach has been developed to design an autoresonant ultrasonic cutting unit as an oscillating system with an intelligent electronic feedback controlling self-excitation in the entire mechatronic system. The feedback produces the exciting force by means of transformation and amplification of the motion signal. This allows realisation for robust control of fine resonant tuning to bring the nonlinear high Q-factor systems into technological application. The autoresonant control provides the possibility of self-tuning and self-adaptation mechanisms for the system to keep the nonlinear resonant mode of oscillation under unpredictable variation of load, structure and parameters. This allows simple regulation of intensity of the process whilst keeping maximum efficiency at all times. An autoresonant system with supervisory computer control was developed, tested and used for the control of the piezoelectric transducer during ultrasonically assisted cutting. The system has been developed as combined analog-digital, where analog devices process the control signal, and parameters of the devices are controlled digitally by computer. The

Airborne ultrasonic inspection in carbon/carbon composite materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, In-Young; Kim, Young-Hun; Park, Je-Woong; Hsu, David K.; Song, Song-Jin; Cho, Hyun-Jun; Kim, Sun-Kyu; Im, Kwang-Hee

2007-07-01

In this work, a carbon/carbon (C/C) composite material was nondestructively characterized with non-contact ultrasonic methods using automated acquisition scanner as well as contact ultrasonic measurement because (C/C) composite materials have obvious high price over conventional materials. Because of permeation of coupling medium such as water, it is desirable to perform contact-less nondestructive evaluation to assess material properties and part homogeneity. Also through transmission mode was performed because of the main limitation for air-coupled transducers, which is the acoustic impedance mismatch between most materials and air. Especially ultrasonic images and velocities for C/C composite disk brake was measured and found to be consistent to some degree with the non-contact and contact ultrasonic measurement methods. Low frequency through-transmission scans based on both amplitude and time-of-flight of the ultrasonic pulse were used for mapping out the material property inhomogeneity. Measured results were compared with those obtained by the motorized system with using dry-coupling ultrasonics and through transmission method in immersion. Finally, results using a proposed peak-delay measurement method well corresponded to ultrasonic velocities of the pulse overlap method.

Ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation, microstructure, and mechanical property interrelations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vary, A.

1984-01-01

Ultrasonic techniques for mechanical property characterizations are reviewed and conceptual models are advanced for explaining and interpreting the empirically based results. At present, the technology is generally empirically based and is emerging from the research laboratory. Advancement of the technology will require establishment of theoretical foundations for the experimentally observed interrelations among ultrasonic measurements, mechanical properties, and microstructure. Conceptual models are applied to ultrasonic assessment of fracture toughness to illustrate an approach for predicting correlations found among ultrasonic measurements, microstructure, and mechanical properties.

Female mice ultrasonically interact with males during courtship displays

PubMed Central

Neunuebel, Joshua P; Taylor, Adam L; Arthur, Ben J; Egnor, SE Roian

2015-01-01

During courtship males attract females with elaborate behaviors. In mice, these displays include ultrasonic vocalizations. Ultrasonic courtship vocalizations were previously attributed to the courting male, despite evidence that both sexes produce virtually indistinguishable vocalizations. Because of this similarity, and the difficulty of assigning vocalizations to individuals, the vocal contribution of each individual during courtship is unknown. To address this question, we developed a microphone array system to localize vocalizations from socially interacting, individual adult mice. With this system, we show that female mice vocally interact with males during courtship. Males and females jointly increased their vocalization rates during chases. Furthermore, a female's participation in these vocal interactions may function as a signal that indicates a state of increased receptivity. Our results reveal a novel form of vocal communication during mouse courtship, and lay the groundwork for a mechanistic dissection of communication during social behavior. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.06203.001 PMID:26020291

Applicability of an ultrasonic nebulization system for the airways delivery of beclomethasone dipropionate in a murine model of asthma.

PubMed

Hrvacić, Boska; Bosnjak, Berislav; Tudja, Marijan; Mesić, Milan; Merćep, Mladen

2006-08-01

We have assessed the use of an ultrasonic nebulization system (UNS), composed of ultrasonic nebulizer and diffusion dryer filled with charcoal, for the effective delivery of beclomethasone to the airways in a murine asthma model. Solution of beclomethasone in ethanol was aerosolized using an ultrasonic nebulizer. Passage of the aerosol through a drying column containing charcoal and deionizer produced dry beclomethasone particles. Particles were delivered to BALB/c mice placed in a whole-body exposition chamber 1 h before intranasal challenge with ovalbumine. Efficacy of beclomethasone delivery was evaluated by examining bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytology. Effect of three UNS system parameters on aerosol particle size was investigated. The critical parameter affecting the size of dry particles was beclomethasone concentration in aerosolized solution and solution flow rate while power level of ultrasonic nebulizer generator had no effect. Administration of beclomethasone at calculated dose of 150 microg/kg to mice significantly decreased total cell number and relative eosinophil number in BALF. The UNS system produces a monodisperse aerosol that can be used for inhalative delivery of poorly water soluble substances to experimental animals. The UNS system minimizes formulation requirements and allows rapid and relatively simple efficacy and toxicity testing in animals.

Ultrasonic enhancement of waste activated sludge hydrolysis and volatile fatty acids accumulation at pH 10.0.

PubMed

Yan, Yuanyuan; Feng, Leiyu; Zhang, Chaojie; Wisniewski, Christelle; Zhou, Qi

2010-06-01

Volatile fatty acids (VFA), the preferred carbon source for biological nutrients removal, can be produced by waste activated sludge (WAS) anaerobic fermentation. However, because the rate of VFA accumulation is limited by that of WAS hydrolysis and VFA is always consumed by methanogens at acidic or neutral pHs, the ultrasonic pretreatment which can accelerate the rate of WAS hydrolysis, and alkaline adjustment which can inhibit the activities of methanogens, were, therefore, used to improve WAS hydrolysis and VFA accumulation in this study. Experiment results showed that the combination of ultrasonic pretreatment and alkaline adjustment caused significant enhancements of WAS hydrolysis and VFA accumulation. The study of ultrasonic energy density effect revealed that energy density influenced not only the total VFA accumulation but also the percentage of individual VFA. The maximal VFA accumulation (3109.8mg COD/L) occurred at ultrasonic energy density of 1.0kW/L and fermentation time of 72h, which was more than two times that without ultrasonic treatment (1275.0mg COD/L). The analysis of VFA composition showed that the percentage of acetic acid ranked the first (more than 40%) and those of iso-valeric and propionic acids located at the second and third places, respectively. Thus, the suitable ultrasonic conditions combined with alkaline adjustment for VFA accumulation from WAS were ultrasonic energy density of 1.0kW/L and fermentation time of 72h. Also, the key enzymes related to VFA formation exhibited the highest activities at ultrasonic energy density of 1.0kW/L, which resulted in the greatest VFA production during WAS fermentation at pH 10.0. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonic multi-skip tomography for pipe inspection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volker, Arno; Vos, Rik; Hunter, Alan; Lorenz, Maarten

2012-05-01

The inspection of wall loss corrosion is difficult at pipe support locations due to limited accessibility. However, the recently developed ultrasonic Multi-Skip screening technique is suitable for this problem. The method employs ultrasonic transducers in a pitch-catch geometry positioned on opposite sides of the pipe support. Shear waves are transmitted in the axial direction within the pipe wall, reflecting multiple times between the inner and outer surfaces before reaching the receivers. Along this path, the signals accumulate information on the integral wall thickness (e.g., via variations in travel time). The method is very sensitive in detecting the presence of wall loss, but it is difficult to quantify both the extent and depth of the loss. If the extent is unknown, then only a conservative estimate of the depth can be made due to the cumulative nature of the travel time variations. Multi-Skip tomography is an extension of Multi-Skip screening and has shown promise as a complimentary follow-up inspection technique. In recent work, we have developed the technique and demonstrated its use for reconstructing high-resolution estimates of pipe wall thickness profiles. The method operates via a model-based full wave field inversion; this consists of a forward model for predicting the measured wave field and an iterative process that compares the predicted and measured wave fields and minimizes the differences with respect to the model parameters (i.e., the wall thickness profile). This paper presents our recent developments in Multi-Skip tomographic inversion, focusing on the initial localization of corrosion regions for efficient parameterization of the surface profile model and utilization of the signal phase information for improving resolution.

A contactless ultrasonic surface wave approach to characterize distributed cracking damage in concrete.

PubMed

Ham, Suyun; Song, Homin; Oelze, Michael L; Popovics, John S

2017-03-01

We describe an approach that utilizes ultrasonic surface wave backscatter measurements to characterize the volume content of relatively small distributed defects (microcrack networks) in concrete. A simplified weak scattering model is used to demonstrate that the scattered wave field projected in the direction of the surface wave propagation is relatively insensitive to scatterers that are smaller than the propagating wavelength, while the scattered field projected in the opposite direction is more sensitive to sub-wavelength scatterers. Distributed microcracks in the concrete serve as the small scatterers that interact with a propagating surface wave. Data from a finite element simulation were used to demonstrate the viability of the proposed approach, and also to optimize a testing configuration to collect data. Simulations were validated through experimental measurements of ultrasonic backscattered surface waves from test samples of concrete constructed with different concentrations of fiber filler (0.0, 0.3 and 0.6%) to mimic increasing microcrack volume density and then samples with actual cracking induced by controlled thermal cycles. A surface wave was induced in the concrete samples by a 50kHz ultrasonic source operating 10mm above the surface at an angle of incidence of 9°. Silicon-based miniature MEMS acoustic sensors located a few millimeters above the concrete surface both behind and in front of the sender were used to detect leaky ultrasonic surface waves emanating from concrete. A normalized backscattered energy parameter was calculated from the signals. Statistically significant differences in the normalized backscattered energy were observed between concrete samples with varying levels of simulated and actual cracking damage volume. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Internet (WWW) based system of ultrasonic image processing tools for remote image analysis.

PubMed

Zeng, Hong; Fei, Ding-Yu; Fu, Cai-Ting; Kraft, Kenneth A

2003-07-01

Ultrasonic Doppler color imaging can provide anatomic information and simultaneously render flow information within blood vessels for diagnostic purpose. Many researchers are currently developing ultrasound image processing algorithms in order to provide physicians with accurate clinical parameters from the images. Because researchers use a variety of computer languages and work on different computer platforms to implement their algorithms, it is difficult for other researchers and physicians to access those programs. A system has been developed using World Wide Web (WWW) technologies and HTTP communication protocols to publish our ultrasonic Angle Independent Doppler Color Image (AIDCI) processing algorithm and several general measurement tools on the Internet, where authorized researchers and physicians can easily access the program using web browsers to carry out remote analysis of their local ultrasonic images or images provided from the database. In order to overcome potential incompatibility between programs and users' computer platforms, ActiveX technology was used in this project. The technique developed may also be used for other research fields.

Simulation of ultrasonic arrays for industrial and civil engineering applications including validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spies, M.; Rieder, H.; Orth, Th.; Maack, S.

2012-05-01

In this contribution we address the beam field simulation of 2D ultrasonic arrays using the Generalized Point Source Synthesis technique. Aiming at the inspection of cylindrical components (e.g. pipes) the influence of concave and convex surface curvatures, respectively, has been evaluated for a commercial probe. We have compared these results with those obtained using a commercial simulation tool. In civil engineering, the ultrasonic inspection of highly attenuating concrete structures has been advanced by the development of dry contact point transducers, mainly applied in array arrangements. Our respective simulations for a widely used commercial probe are validated using experimental results acquired on concrete half-spheres with diameters from 200 mm up to 650 mm.

The Dynamic Performance of Flexural Ultrasonic Transducers.

PubMed

Feeney, Andrew; Kang, Lei; Rowlands, George; Dixon, Steve

2018-01-18

Flexural ultrasonic transducers are principally used as proximity sensors and for industrial metrology. Their operation relies on a piezoelectric ceramic to generate a flexing of a metallic membrane, which delivers the ultrasound signal. The performance of flexural ultrasonic transducers has been largely limited to excitation through a short voltage burst signal at a designated mechanical resonance frequency. However, a steady-state amplitude response is not generated instantaneously in a flexural ultrasonic transducer from a drive excitation signal, and differences in the drive characteristics between transmitting and receiving transducers can affect the measured response. This research investigates the dynamic performance of flexural ultrasonic transducers using acoustic microphone measurements and laser Doppler vibrometry, supported by a detailed mechanical analog model, in a process which has not before been applied to the flexural ultrasonic transducer. These techniques are employed to gain insights into the physics of their vibration behaviour, vital for the optimisation of industrial ultrasound systems.

The Dynamic Performance of Flexural Ultrasonic Transducers

PubMed Central

Kang, Lei; Rowlands, George; Dixon, Steve

2018-01-01

Flexural ultrasonic transducers are principally used as proximity sensors and for industrial metrology. Their operation relies on a piezoelectric ceramic to generate a flexing of a metallic membrane, which delivers the ultrasound signal. The performance of flexural ultrasonic transducers has been largely limited to excitation through a short voltage burst signal at a designated mechanical resonance frequency. However, a steady-state amplitude response is not generated instantaneously in a flexural ultrasonic transducer from a drive excitation signal, and differences in the drive characteristics between transmitting and receiving transducers can affect the measured response. This research investigates the dynamic performance of flexural ultrasonic transducers using acoustic microphone measurements and laser Doppler vibrometry, supported by a detailed mechanical analog model, in a process which has not before been applied to the flexural ultrasonic transducer. These techniques are employed to gain insights into the physics of their vibration behaviour, vital for the optimisation of industrial ultrasound systems. PMID:29346297

21 CFR 868.2025 - Ultrasonic air embolism monitor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Ultrasonic air embolism monitor. 868.2025 Section... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Monitoring Devices § 868.2025 Ultrasonic air embolism monitor. (a) Identification. An ultrasonic air embolism monitor is a device used to detect air bubbles in...

21 CFR 868.2025 - Ultrasonic air embolism monitor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Ultrasonic air embolism monitor. 868.2025 Section... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Monitoring Devices § 868.2025 Ultrasonic air embolism monitor. (a) Identification. An ultrasonic air embolism monitor is a device used to detect air bubbles in...

21 CFR 868.2025 - Ultrasonic air embolism monitor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Ultrasonic air embolism monitor. 868.2025 Section... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Monitoring Devices § 868.2025 Ultrasonic air embolism monitor. (a) Identification. An ultrasonic air embolism monitor is a device used to detect air bubbles in...

Lithium niobate ultrasonic transducer design for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

PubMed

Wang, Zhenjun; Xu, Yuanming; Gu, Yuting

2015-11-01

Due to the strong piezoelectric effect possessed by lithium niobate, a new idea that uses lithium niobate to design high-power ultrasonic transducer for Enhanced Oil Recovery technology is proposed. The purpose of this paper is to lay the foundation for the further research and development of high-power ultrasonic oil production technique. The main contents of this paper are as follows: firstly, structure design technique and application of a new high-power ultrasonic transducer are introduced; secondly, the experiment for reducing the viscosity of super heavy oil by this transducer is done, the optimum ultrasonic parameters for reducing the viscosity of super heavy oil are given. Experimental results show that heavy large molecules in super heavy oil can be cracked into light hydrocarbon substances under strong cavitation effect caused by high-intensity ultrasonic wave. Experiment proves that it is indeed feasible to design high-power ultrasonic transducer for ultrasonic oil production technology using lithium niobate. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonic Abrasive Removal Of EDM Recast

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mandel, Johnny L.; Jacobson, Marlowe S.

1990-01-01

Ultrasonic abrasive process removes layer of recast material generated during electrical-discharge machining (EDM) of damper pocket on turbine blade. Form-fitted tool vibrated ultrasonically in damper pocket from which material removed. Vibrations activate abrasive in pocket. Amount of material removed controlled precisely.

Ultrasonically-assisted Thermal Stir Welding System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, R. Jeffrey (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A welding head assembly has a work piece disposed between its containment plates' opposing surfaces with the work piece being maintained in a plastic state thereof at least in a vicinity of the welding head assembly's stir rod as the rod is rotated about its longitudinal axis. The welding head assembly and the work piece experience relative movement there between in a direction perpendicular to the rod's longitudinal axis as the work piece is subjected to a compressive force applied by the containment plates. A first source coupled to the first containment plate applies a first ultrasonic wave thereto such that the first ultrasonic wave propagates parallel to the direction of relative movement. A second source coupled to the second containment plate applies a second ultrasonic wave thereto such that the second ultrasonic wave propagates parallel to the direction of relative movement.propagates parallel to the direction of relative movement.

Development and Implementation of an Ultrasonic Method to Characterize Acoustic and Mechanical Fingernail Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vacarescu, Rares Anthony

The human fingernail is a vital organ used by humans on a daily basis and can provide an immense supply of information based on the biological feedback of the body. By studying the quantitative mechanical and acoustic properties of fingernails, a better understanding of the scarcely-investigated field of ungual research can be explored. Investigating fingernail properties with the use of pulse-echo ultrasound is the aim of this thesis. This thesis involves the application of a developed portable ultrasonic device in a hospital-based data collection and the advancement of ultrasonic methodology to include the calculation of acoustic impedance, density and elasticity. The results of the thesis show that the reflectance method can be utilized to determine fingernail properties with a maximum 17% deviation from literature. Repeatability of measurements fell within a 95% confidence interval. Thus, the ultrasonic reflectance method was validated and may have potential clinical and cosmetic applications.

Design of embedded endoscopic ultrasonic imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ming; Zhou, Hao; Wen, Shijie; Chen, Xiodong; Yu, Daoyin

2008-12-01

Endoscopic ultrasonic imaging system is an important component in the endoscopic ultrasonography system (EUS). Through the ultrasonic probe, the characteristics of the fault histology features of digestive organs is detected by EUS, and then received by the reception circuit which making up of amplifying, gain compensation, filtering and A/D converter circuit, in the form of ultrasonic echo. Endoscopic ultrasonic imaging system is the back-end processing system of the EUS, with the function of receiving digital ultrasonic echo modulated by the digestive tract wall from the reception circuit, acquiring and showing the fault histology features in the form of image and characteristic data after digital signal processing, such as demodulation, etc. Traditional endoscopic ultrasonic imaging systems are mainly based on image acquisition and processing chips, which connecting to personal computer with USB2.0 circuit, with the faults of expensive, complicated structure, poor portability, and difficult to popularize. To against the shortcomings above, this paper presents the methods of digital signal acquisition and processing specially based on embedded technology with the core hardware structure of ARM and FPGA for substituting the traditional design with USB2.0 and personal computer. With built-in FIFO and dual-buffer, FPGA implement the ping-pong operation of data storage, simultaneously transferring the image data into ARM through the EBI bus by DMA function, which is controlled by ARM to carry out the purpose of high-speed transmission. The ARM system is being chosen to implement the responsibility of image display every time DMA transmission over and actualizing system control with the drivers and applications running on the embedded operating system Windows CE, which could provide a stable, safe and reliable running platform for the embedded device software. Profiting from the excellent graphical user interface (GUI) and good performance of Windows CE, we can not

Hidden corrosion detection in aircraft aluminum structures using laser ultrasonics and wavelet transform signal analysis.

PubMed

Silva, M Z; Gouyon, R; Lepoutre, F

2003-06-01

Preliminary results of hidden corrosion detection in aircraft aluminum structures using a noncontact laser based ultrasonic technique are presented. A short laser pulse focused to a line spot is used as a broadband source of ultrasonic guided waves in an aluminum 2024 sample cut from an aircraft structure and prepared with artificially corroded circular areas on its back surface. The out of plane surface displacements produced by the propagating ultrasonic waves were detected with a heterodyne Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Time-frequency analysis of the signals using a continuous wavelet transform allowed the identification of the generated Lamb modes by comparison with the calculated dispersion curves. The presence of back surface corrosion was detected by noting the loss of the S(1) mode near its cutoff frequency. This method is applicable to fast scanning inspection techniques and it is particularly suited for early corrosion detection.

[Effects of ultrasonic pretreatment on drying characteristics of sewage sludge].

PubMed

Li, Run-Dong; Yang, Yu-Ting; Li, Yan-Long; Niu, Hui-Chang; Wei, Li-Hong; Sun, Yang; Ke, Xin

2009-11-01

The high water content of sewage sludge has engendered many inconveniences to its treatment and disposal. While ultrasonic takes on unique advantages on the sludge drying because of its high ultrasonic power, mighty penetrating capability and the ability of causing cavitations. Thus this research studies the characteristics influences of ultrasonic bring to the sludge drying and effects of the exposure time, ultrasonic generator power, temperatures of ultrasonic and drying temperature on the drying characteristics of dewatered sludge. Results indicate that ultrasonic pretreatment could speed up evaporation of the free water in sludge surface and help to end the drying stage with constant speed. In addition, ultrasonic treatment can effectively improve the sludge drying efficiency which could be more evident with the rise of the ultrasonic power (100-250 W), ultrasonic temperature and drying temperature. If dried under low temperature such as 105 degrees C, sludge will have premium drying characteristics when radiated under ultrasound for a shorter time such as 3 min. In the end, the ultrasonic treatment is expected to be an effective way to the low-cost sludge drying and also be an important reference to the optimization of the sludge drying process because of its effects on the increase of sludge drying efficiency.

Ultrasonic imaging system for in-process fabric defect detection

DOEpatents

Sheen, Shuh-Haw; Chien, Hual-Te; Lawrence, William P.; Raptis, Apostolos C.

1997-01-01

An ultrasonic method and system are provided for monitoring a fabric to identify a defect. A plurality of ultrasonic transmitters generate ultrasonic waves relative to the fabric. An ultrasonic receiver means responsive to the generated ultrasonic waves from the transmitters receives ultrasonic waves coupled through the fabric and generates a signal. An integrated peak value of the generated signal is applied to a digital signal processor and is digitized. The digitized signal is processed to identify a defect in the fabric. The digitized signal processing includes a median value filtering step to filter out high frequency noise. Then a mean value and standard deviation of the median value filtered signal is calculated. The calculated mean value and standard deviation are compared with predetermined threshold values to identify a defect in the fabric.

Ultrasonic Leak Detection System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Youngquist, Robert C. (Inventor); Moerk, J. Steven (Inventor)

1998-01-01

A system for detecting ultrasonic vibrations. such as those generated by a small leak in a pressurized container. vessel. pipe. or the like. comprises an ultrasonic transducer assembly and a processing circuit for converting transducer signals into an audio frequency range signal. The audio frequency range signal can be used to drive a pair of headphones worn by an operator. A diode rectifier based mixing circuit provides a simple, inexpensive way to mix the transducer signal with a square wave signal generated by an oscillator, and thereby generate the audio frequency signal. The sensitivity of the system is greatly increased through proper selection and matching of the system components. and the use of noise rejection filters and elements. In addition, a parabolic collecting horn is preferably employed which is mounted on the transducer assembly housing. The collecting horn increases sensitivity of the system by amplifying the received signals. and provides directionality which facilitates easier location of an ultrasonic vibration source.

A Gaussian beam method for ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacquet, O.; Leymarie, N.; Cassereau, D.

2018-05-01

The propagation of high-frequency ultrasonic body waves can be efficiently estimated with a semi-analytic Dynamic Ray Tracing approach using paraxial approximation. Although this asymptotic field estimation avoids the computational cost of numerical methods, it may encounter several limitations in reproducing identified highly interferential features. Nevertheless, some can be managed by allowing paraxial quantities to be complex-valued. This gives rise to localized solutions, known as paraxial Gaussian beams. Whereas their propagation and transmission/reflection laws are well-defined, the fact remains that the adopted complexification introduces additional initial conditions. While their choice is usually performed according to strategies specifically tailored to limited applications, a Gabor frame method has been implemented to indiscriminately initialize a reasonable number of paraxial Gaussian beams. Since this method can be applied for an usefully wide range of ultrasonic transducers, the typical case of the time-harmonic piston radiator is investigated. Compared to the commonly used Multi-Gaussian Beam model [1], a better agreement is obtained throughout the radiated field between the results of numerical integration (or analytical on-axis solution) and the resulting Gaussian beam superposition. Sparsity of the proposed solution is also discussed.

Ultrasonic Nondestructive Characterization of Adhesive Bonds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Qu, Jianmin

1999-01-01

Adhesives and adhesive joints are widely used in various industrial applications to reduce weight and costs, and to increase reliability. For example, advances in aerospace technology have been made possible, in part, through the use of lightweight materials and weight-saving structural designs. Joints, in particular, have been and continue to be areas in which weight can be trimmed from an airframe through the use of novel attachment techniques. In order to save weight over traditional riveted designs, to avoid the introduction of stress concentrations associated with rivet holes, and to take full advantage of advanced composite materials, engineers and designers have been specifying an ever-increasing number of adhesively bonded joints for use on airframes. Nondestructive characterization for quality control and remaining life prediction has been a key enabling technology for the effective use of adhesive joints. Conventional linear ultrasonic techniques generally can only detect flaws (delamination, cracks, voids, etc) in the joint assembly. However, more important to structural reliability is the bond strength. Although strength, in principle, cannot be measured nondestructively, a slight change in material nonlinearity may indicate the onset of failure. Furthermore, microstructural variations due to aging or under-curing may also cause changes in the third order elastic constants, which are related to the ultrasonic nonlinear parameter of the polymer adhesive. It is therefore reasonable to anticipate a correlation between changes in the ultrasonic nonlinear acoustic parameter and the remaining bond strength. It has been observed that higher harmonics of the fundamental frequency are generated when an ultrasonic wave passes through a nonlinear material. It seems that such nonlinearity can be effectively used to characterize bond strength. Several theories have been developed to model this nonlinear effect. Based on a microscopic description of the nonlinear

Numerical simulation and experimental research on interaction of micro-defects and laser ultrasonic signal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Hualing; Zheng, Bin; Liu, Hui

2017-11-01

In the present research, the mechanism governing the interaction between laser-generated ultrasonic wave and the micro-defects on an aluminum plate has been studied by virtue of numerical simulation as well as practical experiments. Simulation results indicate that broadband ultrasonic waves are caused mainly by surface waves, and that the surface waves produced by micro-defects could be utilized for the detection of micro-defects because these waves reflect as much information of the defects as possible. In the research, a laser-generated ultrasonic wave testing system with a surface wave probe has been established for the detection of micro-defects, and the surface waves produced by the defects with different depths on an aluminum plate have been tested by using the system. The interaction between defect depth and the maximum amplitude of the surface wave and that between defect depth and the center frequency of the surface wave have also been analyzed in detail. Research results indicate that, when the defect depth is less than half of the wavelength of the surface wave, the maximum amplitude and the center frequency of the surface wave are in linear proportion to the defect depth. Sound consistency of experimental results with theoretical simulation indicates that the system as established in the present research could be adopted for the quantitative detection of micro-defects.

Airborne Power Ultrasonic Technologies for Intensification of Food and Environmental Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riera, Enrique; Acosta, Víctor M.; Bon, José; Aleixandre, Manuel; Blanco, Alfonso; Andrés, Roque R.; Cardoni, Andrea; Martinez, Ignacio; Herranz, Luís E.; Delgado, Rosario; Gallego-Juárez, Juan A.

Airborne power ultrasound is a green technology with a great potential for food and environmental applications, among others. This technology aims at producing permanent changes in objects and substances by means of the propagation of high-intensity waves through air and multiphase media. Specifically, the nonlinear effects produced in such media are responsible for the beneficial repercussions of ultrasound in airborne applications. Processing enhancement is achieved through minimizing the impedance mismatch between the ultrasonic radiator source and the medium by the generation of large vibration displacements and the concentration of energy radiation thus overcoming the high acoustic absorption of fluids, and in particular of gases such as air. Within this work the enhancing effects of airborne power ultrasound in various solid/liquid/gas applications including drying of solid and semi-solid substances, and the agglomeration of tiny particles in air cleaning processes are presented. Moreover, the design of new ultrasonic devices capable of generating these effects are described along with practical methods aimed at maintaining a stable performance of the tuned systems at operational powers. Hence, design strategies based on finite element modelling (FEM) and experimental methods consolidated through the years for material and tuned assembly characterizations are highlighted.

Overview of the ultrasonic instrumentation research in the MYRRHA project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dierckx, M.; Leysen, W.; Van Dyck, D.

The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK.CEN is in the process of developing MYRRHA, a new generation IV fast flux research reactor to replace the aging BR2. MYRRHA is conceptualized as an accelerator driven system cooled with lead bismuth eutectic mixture (LBE). As LBE is opaque to visual light, ultrasonic measurement techniques are employed as the main technology to provide feedback where needed. This paper we will give an overview of the R and D at SCK.CEN with respect to ultrasonic instrumentation in heavy liquid metals. High temperature ultrasonic transducers are deployed into the reactor to generate and receive the requiredmore » ultrasonic signals. The ultrasonic waves are generated and sensed by means of a piezo-electric disc at the heart of the transducer. The acoustic properties of commonly used piezo-electric materials match rather well with the acoustic properties of heavy liquid metals, simplifying the design and construction of high bandwidth ultrasonic transducers for use in heavy liquid metals. The ultrasonic transducers will operate in a liquid metal environment, where radiation and high temperature limit the choice of materials for construction. Moreover, the high surface tension of the liquid metal hinders proper wetting of the transducer, required for optimal transmission and reception of the ultrasonic waves. In a first part of the paper, we will discuss the effect of these parameters on the performance of the overall ultrasonic system. In the second part of the paper, past, present and future ultrasonic experiments in LBE will be reviewed. We will show the results of an experiment where a transducer is scanned near the free surface of an LBE pool to render ultrasonic images of objects submerged in the heavy liquid metal. Additionally, the preliminary results of an ongoing experiment that measures the evolution of LBE wetting on different types of metals and various surface conditions will be reported. The evolution of wetting is an important

21 CFR 890.5300 - Ultrasonic diathermy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Ultrasonic diathermy. 890.5300 Section 890.5300 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES PHYSICAL MEDICINE DEVICES Physical Medicine Therapeutic Devices § 890.5300 Ultrasonic...

21 CFR 890.5300 - Ultrasonic diathermy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Ultrasonic diathermy. 890.5300 Section 890.5300 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES PHYSICAL MEDICINE DEVICES Physical Medicine Therapeutic Devices § 890.5300 Ultrasonic...

21 CFR 890.5300 - Ultrasonic diathermy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Ultrasonic diathermy. 890.5300 Section 890.5300 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES PHYSICAL MEDICINE DEVICES Physical Medicine Therapeutic Devices § 890.5300 Ultrasonic...

21 CFR 890.5300 - Ultrasonic diathermy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Ultrasonic diathermy. 890.5300 Section 890.5300 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES PHYSICAL MEDICINE DEVICES Physical Medicine Therapeutic Devices § 890.5300 Ultrasonic...

21 CFR 890.5300 - Ultrasonic diathermy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Ultrasonic diathermy. 890.5300 Section 890.5300 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES PHYSICAL MEDICINE DEVICES Physical Medicine Therapeutic Devices § 890.5300 Ultrasonic...

Ultrasonic sensing of powder densification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lu, Yichi; Wadley, Haydn N. G.; Parthasarathi, Sanjai

1992-01-01

An independent scattering theory has been applied to the interpretation of ultrasonic velocity measurements made on porous metal samples produced either by a cold or a high-temperature compaction process. The results suggest that the pores in both processes are not spherical, an aspect ration of 1:3 fitting best with the data for low (less than 4 percent) pore volume fractions. For the hot compacted powders, the pores are smooth due to active diffusional processes during processing. For these types of voids, the results can be extended to a pore fraction of 10 percent, at which point voids form an interconnected network that violates the model assumptions. The cold pressed samples are not as well predicted by the theory because of poor particle bonding.

Additive Manufacturing of Thermoplastic Matrix Composites Using Ultrasonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olson, Meghan

Advanced composite materials have great potential for facilitating energy efficient product design and their manufacture if improvements are made to current composite manufacturing processes. This thesis focuses on the development of a novel manufacturing process for thermoplastic composite structures entitled Laser-Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing ('LUAM'), which is intended to combine the benefits of laser processing technology, developed by Automated Dynamics Inc., with ultrasonic bonding technology that is used commercially for unreinforced polymers. These technologies used together have the potential to significantly reduce the energy consumption and void content of thermoplastic composites made using Automated Fiber Placement (AFP). To develop LUAM in a methodical manner with minimal risk, a staged approach was devised whereby coupon-level mechanical testing and prototyping utilizing existing equipment was accomplished. Four key tasks have been identified for this effort: Benchmarking, Ultrasonic Compaction, Laser Assisted Ultrasonic Compaction, and Demonstration and Characterization of LUAM. This thesis specifically addresses Tasks 1 and 2, i.e. Benchmarking and Ultrasonic Compaction, respectively. Task 1, fabricating test specimens using two traditional processes (autoclave and thermal press) and testing structural performance and dimensional accuracy, provide results of a benchmarking study by which the performance of all future phases will be gauged. Task 2, fabricating test specimens using a non-traditional process (ultrasonic conpaction) and evaluating in a similar fashion, explores the the role of ultrasonic processing parameters using three different thermoplastic composite materials. Further development of LUAM, although beyond the scope of this thesis, will combine laser and ultrasonic technology and eventually demonstrate a working system.

Effects of ultrasonication and conventional mechanical homogenization processes on the structures and dielectric properties of BaTiO3 ceramics.

PubMed

Akbas, Hatice Zehra; Aydin, Zeki; Yilmaz, Onur; Turgut, Selvin

2017-01-01

The effects of the homogenization process on the structures and dielectric properties of pure and Nb-doped BaTiO 3 ceramics have been investigated using an ultrasonic homogenization and conventional mechanical methods. The reagents were homogenized using an ultrasonic processor with high-intensity ultrasonic waves and using a compact mixer-shaker. The components and crystal types of the powders were determined by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The complex permittivity (ε ' , ε″) and AC conductivity (σ') of the samples were analyzed in a wide frequency range of 20Hz to 2MHz at room temperature. The structures and dielectric properties of pure and Nb-doped BaTiO 3 ceramics strongly depend on the homogenization process in a solid-state reaction method. Using an ultrasonic processor with high-intensity ultrasonic waves based on acoustic cavitation phenomena can make a significant improvement in producing high-purity BaTiO 3 ceramics without carbonate impurities with a small dielectric loss. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonic assisted rapid synthesis of high uniform super-paramagnetic microspheres with core-shell structure and robust magneto-chromatic ability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wenyan; Chen, Jiahua; Wang, Wei; Lu, GongXuan; Hao, Lingyun; Ni, Yaru; Lu, Chunhua; Xu, Zhongzi

2017-03-01

Super-paramagnetic core-shell microspheres were synthesized by ultrasonic assisted routine under low ultrasonic irradiation powers. Compared with conventional routine, ultrasonic effect could not only improve the uniformity of the core-shell structure of Fe3O4@SiO2, but shorten the synthesis time in large scale. Owing to their hydrophilicity and high surface charge, the Fe3O4@SiO2 microspheres could be dispersed well in distilled water to form homogeneous colloidal suspension. The suspensions have favorable magneto-chromatic ability that they sensitively exhibit brilliant colorful ribbons by magnetic attraction. The colorful ribbons, which distributed along the magnetic lines, make morphology of the magnetic fields become "visible" to naked eyed. Those colorful ribbons originate from strong magnetic interaction between the microspheres and magnetic fields. Furthermore, the magneto-chromatic performance is reversible as the colorful ribbons vanished rapidly with the removing of magnetic fields. The silica layer effectively enhanced the acid resistance and surface-oxidation resistance of theFe3O4@SiO2 microspheres, so they could exhibit stable magnetic nature and robust magneto-chromatic property in acid environment.

Review and statistical analysis of the ultrasonic velocity method for estimating the porosity fraction in polycrystalline materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roth, D. J.; Swickard, S. M.; Stang, D. B.; Deguire, M. R.

1990-01-01

A review and statistical analysis of the ultrasonic velocity method for estimating the porosity fraction in polycrystalline materials is presented. Initially, a semi-empirical model is developed showing the origin of the linear relationship between ultrasonic velocity and porosity fraction. Then, from a compilation of data produced by many researchers, scatter plots of velocity versus percent porosity data are shown for Al2O3, MgO, porcelain-based ceramics, PZT, SiC, Si3N4, steel, tungsten, UO2,(U0.30Pu0.70)C, and YBa2Cu3O(7-x). Linear regression analysis produced predicted slope, intercept, correlation coefficient, level of significance, and confidence interval statistics for the data. Velocity values predicted from regression analysis for fully-dense materials are in good agreement with those calculated from elastic properties.

Acousto-ultrasonic decay in metal matrix composite panels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kautz, Harold E.

1995-01-01

Acousto-ultrasonic (A-U) decay rates (UD) were measured in metal matrix composite (MMC) panels. The MMC panels had fiber architectures and cross-sectional thicknesses corresponding to those designed for aerospace turbine engine structures. The wavelength-to-thickness ratio produced by the combination of experimental frequency setting conditions and specimen geometry was found to be a key parameter for identifying optimum conditions for UD measurements. The ratio was shown to be a useful rule of thumb when applied to ceramic matrix composites (CMC)s and monolithic thermo-plastics.

Piezoelectric ultrasonic micromotor with 1.5 mm diameter.

PubMed

Dong, Shuxiang; Lim, Siak P; Lee, Kwork H; Zhang, Jingdong; Lim, Leong C; Uchino, Kenji

2003-04-01

A piezoelectric ultrasonic micromotor has been developed using a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic/metal composite tube stator that was 1.5 mm in diameter and 7 mm in length. The micromotor was operated in its first bending vibration mode (approximately 70 kHz), producing speeds from hundreds to over 2000 rpm in both rotational directions. The maximum torque-output was 45 microN-m, which is far superior to previous PZT thin film-based micromotors. This micromotor showed good reliability and stability for more than 300 hours of continued operation.

Ultrasonic shear wave couplant

DOEpatents

Kupperman, D.S.; Lanham, R.N.

1984-04-11

Ultrasonically testing of an article at high temperatures is accomplished by the use of a compact layer of a dry ceramic powder as a couplant in a method which involves providing an ultrasonic transducer as a probe capable of transmitting shear waves, coupling the probe to the article through a thin compact layer of a dry ceramic powder, propagating a shear wave from the probe through the ceramic powder and into the article to develop echo signals, and analyzing the echo signals to determine at least one physical characteristic of the article.

Ultrasonic shear wave couplant

DOEpatents

Kupperman, David S.; Lanham, Ronald N.

1985-01-01

Ultrasonically testing of an article at high temperatures is accomplished by the use of a compact layer of a dry ceramic powder as a couplant in a method which involves providing an ultrasonic transducer as a probe capable of transmitting shear waves, coupling the probe to the article through a thin compact layer of a dry ceramic powder, propagating a shear wave from the probe through the ceramic powder and into the article to develop echo signals, and analyzing the echo signals to determine at least one physical characteristic of the article.

On-line ultrasonic gas entrainment monitor

DOEpatents

Day, Clifford K.; Pedersen, Herbert N.

1978-01-01

Apparatus employing ultrasonic energy for detecting and measuring the quantity of gas bubbles present in liquids being transported through pipes. An ultrasonic transducer is positioned along the longitudinal axis of a fluid duct, oriented to transmit acoustic energy radially of the duct around the circumference of the enclosure walls. The back-reflected energy is received centrally of the duct and interpreted as a measure of gas entrainment. One specific embodiment employs a conical reflector to direct the transmitted acoustic energy radially of the duct and redirect the reflected energy back to the transducer for reception. A modified embodiment employs a cylindrical ultrasonic transducer for this purpose.

Finite element analysis simulations for ultrasonic array NDE inspections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobson, Jeff; Tweedie, Andrew; Harvey, Gerald; O'Leary, Richard; Mulholland, Anthony; Tant, Katherine; Gachagan, Anthony

2016-02-01

Advances in manufacturing techniques and materials have led to an increase in the demand for reliable and robust inspection techniques to maintain safety critical features. The application of modelling methods to develop and evaluate inspections is becoming an essential tool for the NDE community. Current analytical methods are inadequate for simulation of arbitrary components and heterogeneous materials, such as anisotropic welds or composite structures. Finite element analysis software (FEA), such as PZFlex, can provide the ability to simulate the inspection of these arrangements, providing the ability to economically prototype and evaluate improved NDE methods. FEA is often seen as computationally expensive for ultrasound problems however, advances in computing power have made it a more viable tool. This paper aims to illustrate the capability of appropriate FEA to produce accurate simulations of ultrasonic array inspections - minimizing the requirement for expensive test-piece fabrication. Validation is afforded via corroboration of the FE derived and experimentally generated data sets for a test-block comprising 1D and 2D defects. The modelling approach is extended to consider the more troublesome aspects of heterogeneous materials where defect dimensions can be of the same length scale as the grain structure. The model is used to facilitate the implementation of new ultrasonic array inspection methods for such materials. This is exemplified by considering the simulation of ultrasonic NDE in a weld structure in order to assess new approaches to imaging such structures.

Accelerated defect visualization of microelectronic systems using binary search with fixed pitch-catch distance laser ultrasonic scanning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Byeongjin; Sohn, Hoon

2018-04-01

The practicality of laser ultrasonic scanning is limited because scanning at a high spatial resolution demands a prohibitively long scanning time. Inspired by binary search, an accelerated defect visualization technique is developed to visualize defect with a reduced scanning time. The pitch-catch distance between the excitation point and the sensing point is also fixed during scanning to maintain a high signal-to-noise ratio of measured ultrasonic responses. The approximate defect boundary is identified by examining the interactions between ultrasonic waves and defect observed at the scanning points that are sparsely selected by a binary search algorithm. Here, a time-domain laser ultrasonic response is transformed into a spatial ultrasonic domain response using a basis pursuit approach so that the interactions between ultrasonic waves and defect can be better identified in the spatial ultrasonic domain. Then, the area inside the identified defect boundary is visualized as defect. The performance of the proposed defect visualization technique is validated through an experiment on a semiconductor chip. The proposed defect visualization technique accelerates the defect visualization process in three aspects: (1) The number of measurements that is necessary for defect visualization is dramatically reduced by a binary search algorithm; (2) The number of averaging that is necessary to achieve a high signal-to-noise ratio is reduced by maintaining the wave propagation distance short; and (3) With the proposed technique, defect can be identified with a lower spatial resolution than the spatial resolution required by full-field wave propagation imaging.

Identifying fecal matter contamination in produce fields using multispectral reflectance imaging under ambient solar illumination

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

An imaging device to detect fecal contamination in fresh produce fields could allow the producer to avoid harvesting fecal-contaminated produce. E.coli O157:H7 outbreaks have been associated with fecal-contaminated leafy greens. In this study, in-field spectral profiles of bovine fecal matter, soil,...

Ultrasonic pretreatment for enhanced saccharification and fermentation of ethanol production from corn

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montalbo-Lomboy, Melissa T.

The 21st Century human lifestyle has become heavily dependent on hydrocarbon inputs. Energy demand and the global warming effects due to the burning of fossil fuels have continued to increase. Rising awareness of the negative environmental and economic impacts of hydrocarbon dependence has led to a resurgence of interest in renewable energy sources such as ethanol. Fuel ethanol is known to be a cleaner and renewable source of energy relative to gasoline. Many studies have agreed that fuel ethanol has reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and has larger overall energy benefits compared to gasoline. Currently, the majority of the fuel ethanol in the United States is produced from corn using dry-grind milling process. The typical dry-grind ethanol plant incorporates jet cooking using steam to cook the corn slurry as pretreatment for saccharification; an energy intensive step. In aiming to reduce energy usage, this study evaluated the use of ultrasonics as an alternative to jet cooking. Ultrasonic batch experiments were conducted using a Branson 2000 Series bench-scale ultrasonic unit operating at a frequency of 20 kHz and a maximum output of 2.2 kW. Corn slurry was sonicated at varying amplitudes from 192 to 320 mumpeak-to-peak(p-p) for 0-40 seconds. Enzyme stability was investigated by adding enzyme (STARGEN(TM)001) before and after sonication. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) images and particle size distribution analysis showed a nearly 20-fold size reduction by disintegration of corn particles due to ultrasonication. The results also showed a 30% improvement in sugar release of sonicated samples relative to the control group (untreated). The efficiency exceeded 100% in terms of relative energy gain from the additional sugar released due to ultrasonication compared to the ultrasonic energy applied. Interestingly, enzymatic activity was enhanced when sonicated at low and medium power. This result suggested that ultrasonic energy did not denature the enzymes

Digital ultrasonic signal processing: Primary ultrasonics task and transducer characterization use and detailed description

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hammond, P. L.

1979-01-01

This manual describes the use of the primary ultrasonics task (PUT) and the transducer characterization system (XC) for the collection, processing, and recording of data received from a pulse-echo ultrasonic system. Both PUT and XC include five primary functions common to many real-time data acquisition systems. Some of these functions are implemented using the same code in both systems. The solicitation and acceptance of operator control input is emphasized. Those operations not under user control are explained.

Experimental investigations of forces and torque in conventional and ultrasonically-assisted drilling of cortical bone.

PubMed

Alam, K; Mitrofanov, A V; Silberschmidt, V V

2011-03-01

Bone drilling is widely used in orthopaedics and surgery; it is a technically demanding surgical procedure. Recent technological improvements in this area are focused on efforts to reduce forces in bone drilling. This study focuses on forces and a torque required for conventional and ultrasonically-assisted tool penetration into fresh bovine cortical bone. Drilling tests were performed with two drilling techniques, and the influence of drilling speed, feed rate and parameters of ultrasonic vibration on the forces and torque was studied. Ultrasonically-assisted drilling (UAD) was found to reduce a drilling thrust force and torque compared to conventional drilling (CD). The mechanism behind lower levels of forces and torque was explored, using high-speed filming of a drill-bone interaction zone, and was linked to the chip shape and character of its formation. It is expected that UAD will produce holes with minimal effort and avoid unnecessary damage and accompanying pain during the incision. Copyright © 2010 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relation between ultrasonic properties, rheology and baking quality for bread doughs of widely differing formulation.

PubMed

Peressini, Donatella; Braunstein, Dobrila; Page, John H; Strybulevych, Anatoliy; Lagazio, Corrado; Scanlon, Martin G

2017-06-01

The objective was to evaluate whether an ultrasonic reflectance technique has predictive capacity for breadmaking performance of doughs made under a wide range of formulation conditions. Two flours of contrasting dough strength augmented with different levels of ingredients (inulin, oil, emulsifier or salt) were used to produce different bread doughs with a wide range of properties. Breadmaking performance was evaluated by conventional large-strain rheological tests on the dough and by assessment of loaf quality. The ultrasound tests were performed with a broadband reflectance technique in the frequency range of 0.3-6 MHz. Principal component analysis showed that ultrasonic attenuation and phase velocity at frequencies between 0.3 and 3 MHz are good predictors for rheological and bread scoring characteristics. Ultrasonic parameters had predictive capacity for breadmaking performance for a wide range of dough formulations. Lower frequency attenuation coefficients correlated well with conventional quality indices of both the dough and the bread. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

21 CFR 884.2660 - Fetal ultrasonic monitor and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Fetal ultrasonic monitor and accessories. 884.2660... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES OBSTETRICAL AND GYNECOLOGICAL DEVICES Obstetrical and Gynecological Monitoring Devices § 884.2660 Fetal ultrasonic monitor and accessories. (a) Identification. A fetal ultrasonic...

21 CFR 884.2660 - Fetal ultrasonic monitor and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Fetal ultrasonic monitor and accessories. 884.2660... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES OBSTETRICAL AND GYNECOLOGICAL DEVICES Obstetrical and Gynecological Monitoring Devices § 884.2660 Fetal ultrasonic monitor and accessories. (a) Identification. A fetal ultrasonic...

21 CFR 884.2660 - Fetal ultrasonic monitor and accessories.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Fetal ultrasonic monitor and accessories. 884.2660... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES OBSTETRICAL AND GYNECOLOGICAL DEVICES Obstetrical and Gynecological Monitoring Devices § 884.2660 Fetal ultrasonic monitor and accessories. (a) Identification. A fetal ultrasonic...

Ultrasonic wave based pressure measurement in small diameter pipeline.

PubMed

Wang, Dan; Song, Zhengxiang; Wu, Yuan; Jiang, Yuan

2015-12-01

An effective non-intrusive method of ultrasound-based technique that allows monitoring liquid pressure in small diameter pipeline (less than 10mm) is presented in this paper. Ultrasonic wave could penetrate medium, through the acquisition of representative information from the echoes, properties of medium can be reflected. This pressure measurement is difficult due to that echoes' information is not easy to obtain in small diameter pipeline. The proposed method is a study on pipeline with Kneser liquid and is based on the principle that the transmission speed of ultrasonic wave in pipeline liquid correlates with liquid pressure and transmission speed of ultrasonic wave in pipeline liquid is reflected through ultrasonic propagation time providing that acoustic distance is fixed. Therefore, variation of ultrasonic propagation time can reflect variation of pressure in pipeline. Ultrasonic propagation time is obtained by electric processing approach and is accurately measured to nanosecond through high resolution time measurement module. We used ultrasonic propagation time difference to reflect actual pressure in this paper to reduce the environmental influences. The corresponding pressure values are finally obtained by acquiring the relationship between variation of ultrasonic propagation time difference and pressure with the use of neural network analysis method, the results show that this method is accurate and can be used in practice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Subsurface imaging of grain microstructure using picosecond ultrasonics

DOE PAGES

Khafizov, M.; Pakarinen, J.; He, L.; ...

2016-04-21

We report on imaging subsurface grain microstructure using picosecond ultrasonics. This approach relies on elastic anisotropy of crystalline materials where ultrasonic velocity depends on propagation direction relative to the crystal axes. Picosecond duration ultrasonic pulses are generated and detected using ultrashort light pulses. In materials that are transparent or semitransparent to the probe wavelength, the probe monitors GHz Brillouin oscillations. The frequency of these oscillations is related to the ultrasonic velocity and the optical index of refraction. Ultrasonic waves propagating across a grain boundary experience a change in velocity due to a change in crystallographic orientation relative to the ultrasonicmore » propagation direction. This change in velocity is manifested as a change in the Brillouin oscillation frequency. Using the ultrasonic propagation velocity, the depth of the interface can be determined from the location in time of the transition in oscillation frequency. An image of the grain boundary is obtained by scanning the beam along the surface. We demonstrate this volumetric imaging capability using a polycrystalline UO 2 sample. As a result, cross section liftout analysis of the grain boundaries using electron microscopy were used to verify our imaging results.« less

Processing of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene/graphite composites by ultrasonic injection moulding: Taguchi optimization.

PubMed

Sánchez-Sánchez, Xavier; Elias-Zuñiga, Alex; Hernández-Avila, Marcelo

2018-06-01

Ultrasonic injection moulding was confirmed as an efficient processing technique for manufacturing ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)/graphite composites. Graphite contents of 1 wt%, 5 wt%, and 7 wt% were mechanically pre-mixed with UHMWPE powder, and each mixture was pressed at 135 °C. A precise quantity of the pre-composites mixtures cut into irregularly shaped small pieces were subjected to ultrasonic injection moulding to fabricate small tensile specimens. The Taguchi method was applied to achieve the optimal level of ultrasonic moulding parameters and to maximize the tensile strength of the composites; the results showed that mould temperature was the most significant parameter, followed by the graphite content and the plunger profile. The observed improvement in tensile strength in the specimen with 1 wt% graphite was of 8.8% and all composites showed an increase in the tensile modulus. Even though the presence of graphite produced a decrease in the crystallinity of all the samples, their thermal stability was considerably higher than that of pure UHMWPE. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy confirmed the exfoliation and dispersion of the graphite as a function of the ultrasonic processing. Fourier transform infrared spectra showed that the addition of graphite did not influence the molecular structure of the polymer matrix. Further, the ultrasonic energy led oxidative degradation and chain scission in the polymer. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of ultrasonic treatment on tensile properties of PLA/LNR/NiZn ferrite nanocomposite

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shahdan, Dalila; Ahmad, Sahrim Hj.; Flaifel, Moayad Husein

2013-11-27

The influence of sonication treatment time on the morphological and mechanical properties of LNR/PLA composite impregnated with different filler loadings of NiZn ferrite nanoparticles was investigated. The nanocomposite was prepared using melt blending method with assistance of ultrasonic treatment of 0, 1 and 2 hrs. Structural characterization of the nanocomposites was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with their elemental composition being confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The tensile properties of LNR/PLA composite treated with different ultrasonication times have improved with increasing magnetic nanofiller signature in the nanocomposite. Further, the optimum sonication time of 1 hr was foundmore » to produce nanocomposite with maximum tensile properties.« less

Study of ultrasonic attenuation in f-electron systems in the paramagnetic limit of Coulomb interaction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shadangi, Asit Ku., E-mail: asitshad@iopb.res.in; Rout, G. C., E-mail: gcr@iopb.res.in

2015-05-15

We report here a microscopic model study of ultrasonic attenuation in f-electron systems based on Periodic Anderson Model in which Coulomb interaction is considered within a mean-field approximation for a weak interaction. The Phonon is coupled to the conduction band and f-electrons. The phonon Green's function is calculated by Zubarev's technique of the Green's function method. The temperature dependent ultrasonic attenuation co-efficient is calculated from the imaginary part of the phonon self-energy in the dynamic and long wave length limit. The f-electron occupation number is calculated self-consistently in paramagnetic limit of Coulomb interaction. The effect of the Coulomb interaction onmore » ultrasonic attenuation is studied by varying the phonon coupling parameters to the conduction and f-electrons, hybridization strength, the position of f-level and the Coulomb interaction Strength. Results are discussed on the basis of experimental results.« less

Quantitative ultrasonic evaluation of concrete structures using one-sided access

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khazanovich, Lev; Hoegh, Kyle

2016-02-01

Nondestructive diagnostics of concrete structures is an important and challenging problem. A recent introduction of array ultrasonic dry point contact transducer systems offers opportunities for quantitative assessment of the subsurface condition of concrete structures, including detection of defects and inclusions. The methods described in this paper are developed for signal interpretation of shear wave impulse response time histories from multiple fixed distance transducer pairs in a self-contained ultrasonic linear array. This included generalizing Kirchoff migration-based synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) reconstruction methods to handle the spatially diverse transducer pair locations, creating expanded virtual arrays with associated reconstruction methods, and creating automated reconstruction interpretation methods for reinforcement detection and stochastic flaw detection. Interpretation of the reconstruction techniques developed in this study were validated using the results of laboratory and field forensic studies. Applicability of the developed methods for solving practical engineering problems was demonstrated.

Kalman filter-based tracking of moving objects using linear ultrasonic sensor array for road vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shengbo Eben; Li, Guofa; Yu, Jiaying; Liu, Chang; Cheng, Bo; Wang, Jianqiang; Li, Keqiang

2018-01-01

Detection and tracking of objects in the side-near-field has attracted much attention for the development of advanced driver assistance systems. This paper presents a cost-effective approach to track moving objects around vehicles using linearly arrayed ultrasonic sensors. To understand the detection characteristics of a single sensor, an empirical detection model was developed considering the shapes and surface materials of various detected objects. Eight sensors were arrayed linearly to expand the detection range for further application in traffic environment recognition. Two types of tracking algorithms, including an Extended Kalman filter (EKF) and an Unscented Kalman filter (UKF), for the sensor array were designed for dynamic object tracking. The ultrasonic sensor array was designed to have two types of fire sequences: mutual firing or serial firing. The effectiveness of the designed algorithms were verified in two typical driving scenarios: passing intersections with traffic sign poles or street lights, and overtaking another vehicle. Experimental results showed that both EKF and UKF had more precise tracking position and smaller RMSE (root mean square error) than a traditional triangular positioning method. The effectiveness also encourages the application of cost-effective ultrasonic sensors in the near-field environment perception in autonomous driving systems.

Exact Electromagnetic Fields Produced by a Finite Wire with Constant Current

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jimenez, J. L.; Campos, I.; Aquino, N.

2008-01-01

We solve exactly the problem of calculating the electromagnetic fields produced by a finite wire with a constant current, by using two methods: retarded potentials and Jefimenko's formalism. One result in this particular case is that the usual Biot-Savart law of magnetostatics gives the correct magnetic field of the problem. We also show…

Cement-based materials' characterization using ultrasonic attenuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Punurai, Wonsiri

The quantitative nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of cement-based materials is a critical area of research that is leading to advances in the health monitoring and condition assessment of the civil infrastructure. Ultrasonic NDE has been implemented with varying levels of success to characterize cement-based materials with complex microstructure and damage. A major issue with the application of ultrasonic techniques to characterize cement-based materials is their inherent inhomogeneity at multiple length scales. Ultrasonic waves propagating in these materials exhibit a high degree of attenuation losses, making quantitative interpretations difficult. Physically, these attenuation losses are a combination of internal friction in a viscoelastic material (ultrasonic absorption), and the scattering losses due to the material heterogeneity. The objective of this research is to use ultrasonic attenuation to characterize the microstructure of heterogeneous cement-based materials. The study considers a real, but simplified cement-based material, cement paste---a common bonding matrix of all cement-based composites. Cement paste consists of Portland cement and water but does not include aggregates. First, this research presents the findings of a theoretical study that uses a set of existing acoustics models to quantify the scattered ultrasonic wavefield from a known distribution of entrained air voids. These attenuation results are then coupled with experimental measurements to develop an inversion procedure that directly predicts the size and volume fraction of entrained air voids in a cement paste specimen. Optical studies verify the accuracy of the proposed inversion scheme. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of using attenuation to measure the average size, volume fraction of entrained air voids and the existence of additional larger entrapped air voids in hardened cement paste. Finally, coherent and diffuse ultrasonic waves are used to develop a direct

Use of Ultrasonic Energy in Assessing Microbial Contamination on Surfaces

PubMed Central

Puleo, John R.; Favero, Martin S.; Petersen, Norman J.

1967-01-01

Ultrasonic tanks were evaluated for their ability to remove viable microorganisms from various surfaces for subsequent enumeration. Test surfaces were polished stainless steel, smooth glass, frosted glass, and electronic components. The position of contaminated surfaces in relation to the ultrasonic energy source, distance of the ultrasonic source from the test surfaces, and temperature of the rinse fluid were some of the factors which influenced recovery. Experimental systems included both naturally occurring microbial contamination and artificial contamination with spores of Bacillus subtilis var. niger. The results showed that ultrasonic energy was more reliable and efficient than mechanical agitation for recovering surface contaminants. Conditions which increased the number and percentage of microorganisms recovered by ultrasonic energy were: using a cold rinse fluid, placing the sample bottle on the bottom of the ultrasonic tank, and facing the contaminated surfaces toward the energy source. It was also demonstrated that ultrasonic energy could be effectively used for eluting microorganisms from cotton swabs. PMID:16349743

Mapping cavitation activity around dental ultrasonic tips.

PubMed

Walmsley, A Damien; Lea, Simon C; Felver, Bernhard; King, David C; Price, Gareth J

2013-05-01

Cavitation arising within the water around the oscillating ultrasonic scaler tip is an area that may lead to advances in enhancing biofilm removal. The aim of this study is to map the occurrence of cavitation around scaler tips under loaded conditions. Two designs of piezoelectric ultrasonic scaling probes were evaluated with a scanning laser vibrometer and luminol dosimetric system under loaded (100 g/200 g) and unloaded conditions. Loads were applied to the probe tips via teeth mounted in a load-measuring apparatus. There was a positive correlation between probe displacement amplitude and cavitation production for ultrasonic probes. The position of cavitation at the tip of each probe was greater under loaded conditions than unloaded and for the longer P probe towards the tip. Whilst increasing vibration displacement amplitude of ultrasonic scalers increases the occurrence of cavitation, factors such as the length of the probe influence the amount of cavitation activity generated. The application of load affects the production of cavitation at the most clinically relevant area-the tip. Loading and the design of ultrasonic scalers lead to maximising the occurrence of the cavitation at the tip and enhance the cleaning efficiency of the scaler.

Ultrasonic ranking of toughness of tungsten carbide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vary, A.; Hull, D. R.

1983-01-01

The feasibility of using ultrasonic attenuation measurements to rank tungsten carbide alloys according to their fracture toughness was demonstrated. Six samples of cobalt-cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co) were examined. These varied in cobalt content from approximately 2 to 16 weight percent. The toughness generally increased with increasing cobalt content. Toughness was first determined by the Palmqvist and short rod fracture toughness tests. Subsequently, ultrasonic attenuation measurements were correlated with both these mechanical test methods. It is shown that there is a strong increase in ultrasonic attenuation corresponding to increased toughness of the WC-Co alloys. A correlation between attenuation and toughness exists for a wide range of ultrasonic frequencies. However, the best correlation for the WC-Co alloys occurs when the attenuation coefficient measured in the vicinity of 100 megahertz is compared with toughness as determined by the Palmqvist technique.

Optical Production and Detection of Ultrasonic Waves in Metals for Nondestructive Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morrison, R. A.

1972-01-01

Ultrasonic waves were produced by striking the surface of a metal with the focused one-joule pulse of a Q-switched ruby laser. Rayleigh (surface) waves and longitudinal waves were detected with conventional transducers. Optical methods of detection were tested and developed. Rayleigh waves were produced with an oscillator and transducer. They were optically detected on curved polished surfaces, and on unpolished surfaces. The technique uses a knife edge to detect small angle changes of the surface as the wave pulse passes the illuminated spot. Optical flaw detection using pulse echo and attenuation is demonstrated.