Sample records for ultrasonic guided wave

  1. Ultrasonic guided wave for monitoring corrosion of steel bar

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Xi; Qin, Lei; Huang, Bosheng

    2018-01-01

    Steel corrosion of reinforced concrete structures has become a serious problem all over the word. In this paper, the work aims at monitoring steel corrosion using ultrasonic guided wave (UGW). Ultrasonic guided wave monitoring is a dynamic and non-destructive testing technology. The advantages of ultrasonic guided wave monitoring for reinforcement corrosion are real-time, online and continuous. In addition, it can judge the different stages of steel bar corrosion, which achieved non-destructive detection.

  2. Ultrasonic Guided Waves for Aging Wire Insulation Assessment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Anastasi, Robert F.; Madaras, Eric I.

    2001-01-01

    Environmentally aged wire insulation can become brittle and crack and thus expose the underlying conductive wire to the potential for short circuits and fire. The feasibility of using ultrasonic guided waves to measure insulation condition was examined. First a simple model to study guided wave propagation in a bare and thin plastic coated wire was examined and then some aviation grade wire samples that had been heat-damaged. Initial measurements indicate that ultrasonic guided wave velocity can be used to monitor insulation stiffness.

  3. Structural damage detection using deep learning of ultrasonic guided waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Melville, Joseph; Alguri, K. Supreet; Deemer, Chris; Harley, Joel B.

    2018-04-01

    Structural health monitoring using ultrasonic guided waves relies on accurate interpretation of guided wave propagation to distinguish damage state indicators. However, traditional physics based models do not provide an accurate representation, and classic data driven techniques, such as a support vector machine, are too simplistic to capture the complex nature of ultrasonic guide waves. To address this challenge, this paper uses a deep learning interpretation of ultrasonic guided waves to achieve fast, accurate, and automated structural damaged detection. To achieve this, full wavefield scans of thin metal plates are used, half from the undamaged state and half from the damaged state. This data is used to train our deep network to predict the damage state of a plate with 99.98% accuracy given signals from just 10 spatial locations on the plate, as compared to that of a support vector machine (SVM), which achieved a 62% accuracy.

  4. On the Piezoelectric Detection of Guided Ultrasonic Waves

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    In order to quantify the wave motion of guided ultrasonic waves, the characteristics of piezoelectric detectors, or ultrasonic transducers and acoustic emission sensors, have been evaluated systematically. Such guided waves are widely used in structural health monitoring and nondestructive evaluation, but methods of calibrating piezoelectric detectors have been inadequate. This study relied on laser interferometry for the base displacement measurement of bar waves, from which eight different guided wave test set-ups are developed with known wave motion using piezoelectric transmitters. Both plates and bars of 12.7 and 6.4 mm thickness were used as wave propagation media. The upper frequency limit was 2 MHz. Output of guided wave detectors were obtained on the test set-ups and their receiving sensitivities were characterized and averaged. While each sensitivity spectrum was noisy for a detector, the averaged spectrum showed a good convergence to a unique receiving sensitivity. Twelve detectors were evaluated and their sensitivity spectra determined in absolute units. Generally, these showed rapidly dropping sensitivity with increasing frequency due to waveform cancellation on their sensing areas. This effect contributed to vastly different sensitivities to guided wave and to normally incident wave for each one of the 12 detectors tested. Various other effects are discussed and recommendations on methods of implementing the approach developed are provided. PMID:29156579

  5. Guided ultrasonic wave beam skew in silicon wafers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pizzolato, Marco; Masserey, Bernard; Robyr, Jean-Luc; Fromme, Paul

    2018-04-01

    In the photovoltaic industry, monocrystalline silicon wafers are employed for solar cells with high conversion efficiency. Micro-cracks induced by the cutting process in the thin wafers can lead to brittle wafer fracture. Guided ultrasonic waves would offer an efficient methodology for the in-process non-destructive testing of wafers to assess micro-crack density. The material anisotropy of the monocrystalline silicon leads to variations of the guided wave characteristics, depending on the propagation direction relative to the crystal orientation. Selective guided ultrasonic wave excitation was achieved using a contact piezoelectric transducer with custom-made wedges for the A0 and S0 Lamb wave modes and a transducer holder to achieve controlled contact pressure and orientation. The out-of-plane component of the guided wave propagation was measured using a non-contact laser interferometer. The phase slowness (velocity) of the two fundamental Lamb wave modes was measured experimentally for varying propagation directions relative to the crystal orientation and found to match theoretical predictions. Significant wave beam skew was observed experimentally, especially for the S0 mode, and investigated from 3D finite element simulations. Good agreement was found with the theoretical predictions based on nominal material properties of the silicon wafer. The important contribution of guided wave beam skewing effects for the non-destructive testing of silicon wafers was demonstrated.

  6. Ultrasonic guided waves in eccentric annular pipes

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

    Pattanayak, Roson Kumar; Balasubramaniam, Krishnan; Rajagopal, Prabhu

    2014-02-18

    This paper studies the feasibility of using ultrasonic guided waves to rapidly inspect tubes and pipes for possible eccentricity. While guided waves are well established in the long range inspection of structures such as pipes and plates, studies for more complex cross sections are limited and analytical solutions are often difficult to obtain. Recent developments have made the Semi Analytical Finite Element (SAFE) method widely accessible for researchers to study guided wave properties in complex structures. Here the SAFE method is used to study the effect of eccentricity on the modal structures and velocities of lower order guided wave modesmore » in thin pipes of diameters typically of interest to the industry. Results are validated using experiments. The paper demonstrates that even a small eccentricity in the pipe can strongly affect guided wave mode structures and velocities and hence shows potential for pipe eccentricity inspection.« less

  7. High-frequency guided ultrasonic waves to monitor corrosion thickness loss

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fromme, Paul; Bernhard, Fabian; Masserey, Bernard

    2017-02-01

    Corrosion due to adverse environmental conditions can occur for a range of industrial structures, e.g., ships and offshore oil platforms. Pitting corrosion and generalized corrosion can lead to the reduction of the strength and thus degradation of the structural integrity. The nondestructive detection and monitoring of corrosion damage in difficult to access areas can be achieved using high frequency guided ultrasonic waves propagating along the structure. Using standard ultrasonic transducers with single sided access to the structure, the two fundamental Lamb wave modes were selectively generated simultaneously, penetrating through the complete thickness of the structure. The wave propagation and interference of the guided wave modes depends on the thickness of the structure. Numerical simulations were performed using a 2D Finite Difference Method (FDM) algorithm in order to visualize the guided wave propagation and energy transfer across the plate thickness. Laboratory experiments were conducted and the wall thickness reduced initially uniformly by milling of the steel structure. Further measurements were conducted using accelerated corrosion in salt water. From the measured signal change due to the wave mode interference, the wall thickness reduction was monitored and good agreement with theoretical predictions was achieved. Corrosion can lead to non-uniform thickness reduction and the influence of this on the propagation of the high frequency guided ultrasonic waves was investigated. The wave propagation in a steel specimen with varying thickness was measured experimentally and the influence on the wave propagation characteristics quantified.

  8. Microstructural and Defect Characterization in Ceramic Composites Using an Ultrasonic Guided Wave Scan System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roth, D. J.; Cosgriff, L. M.; Martin, R. E.; Verrilli, M. J.; Bhatt, R. T.

    2003-01-01

    In this study, an ultrasonic guided wave scan system was used to characterize various microstructural and flaw conditions in two types of ceramic matrix composites, SiC/SiC and C/SiC. Rather than attempting to isolate specific lamb wave modes to use for characterization (as is desired for many types of guided wave inspection problems), the guided wave scan system utilizes the total (multi-mode) ultrasonic response in its inspection analysis. Several time and frequency-domain parameters are calculated from the ultrasonic guided wave signal at each scan location to form images. Microstructural and defect conditions examined include delamination, density variation, cracking, and pre/ post-infiltration. Results are compared with thermographic imaging methods. Although the guided wave technique is commonly used so scanning can be eliminated, applying the technique in the scanning mode allows a more precise characterization of defect conditions.

  9. Wireless power transmission using ultrasonic guided waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kural, A.; Pullin, R.; Featherston, C.; Paget, C.; Holford, K.

    2011-07-01

    The unavailability of suitable power supply at desired locations is currently an important obstacle in the development of distributed, wireless sensor networks for applications such as structural health monitoring of aircraft. Proposed solutions range from improved batteries to energy harvesting from vibration, temperature gradients and other sources. A novel approach is being investigated at Cardiff University School of Engineering in cooperation with Airbus. It aims to utilise ultrasonic guided Lamb waves to transmit energy through the aircraft skin. A vibration generator is to be placed in a location where electricity supply is readily available. Ultrasonic waves generated by this device will travel through the aircraft structure to a receiver in a remote wireless sensor node. The receiver will convert the mechanical vibration of the ultrasonic waves back to electricity, which will be used to power the sensor node. This paper describes the measurement and modelling of the interference pattern which emerges when Lamb waves are transmitted continuously as in this power transmission application. The discovered features of the pattern, such as a large signal amplitude variation and a relatively high frequency, are presented and their importance for the development of a power transmission system is discussed.

  10. Ultrasonic guided wave inspection of Inconel 625 brazed lap joints

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Comot, Pierre; Bocher, Philippe; Belanger, Pierre

    2016-04-01

    The aerospace industry has been investigating the use of brazing for structural joints, as a mean of reducing cost and weight. There therefore is a need for a rapid, robust, and cost-effective non-destructive testing method for evaluating the structural integrity of the joints. The mechanical strength of brazed joints depends mainly on the amount of brittle phases in their microstructure. Ultrasonic guided waves offer the possibility of detecting brittle phases in joints using spatio-temporal measurements. Moreover, they offer the opportunity to inspect complex shape joints. This study focused on the development of a technique based on ultrasonic guided waves for the inspection of Inconel 625 lap joints brazed with BNi-2 filler metal. A finite element model of a lap joint was used to optimize the inspection parameters and assess the feasibility of detecting the amount of brittle phases in the joint. A finite element parametric study simulating the input signal shape, the center frequency, and the excitation direction was performed. The simulations showed that the ultrasonic guided wave energy transmitted through, and reflected from, the joints was proportional to the amount of brittle phases in the joint.

  11. Portable Ultrasonic Guided Wave Inspection with MACRO Fiber Composite Actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haig, A.; Mudge, P.; Catton, P.; Balachandran, W.

    2010-02-01

    The development of portable ultrasonic guided wave transducer arrays that utilize Macro Fiber Composite actuators (MFCs) is described. Portable inspection equipment can make use of ultrasonic guided waves to rapidly screen large areas of many types of engineering structures for defects. The defect finding performance combined with the difficulty of application determines how much the engineering industry makes use of this non-destructive, non-disruptive technology. The developments with MFCs have the potential to make considerable improvements in both these aspects. MFCs are highly efficient because they use interdigital electrodes to facilitate the extensional, d33 displacement mode. Their fiber composite design allows them to be thin, lightweight, flexible and durable. The flexibility affords them conformance with curved surfaces, which can facilitate good mechanical coupling. The suitability of a given transducer for Long Range Ultrasonic Testing is governed by the nature and amplitude of the displacement that it excites/senses in the contact area of the target structure. This nature is explored for MFCs through directional sensitivity analysis and empirical testing. Housing methods that facilitate non-permanent coupling techniques are discussed. Finally, arrangements of arrays of MFCs for the guided wave inspection of plates and pipes are considered and some broad design criteria are given.

  12. Rainbow trapping of ultrasonic guided waves in chirped phononic crystal plates.

    PubMed

    Tian, Zhenhua; Yu, Lingyu

    2017-01-05

    The rainbow trapping effect has been demonstrated in electromagnetic and acoustic waves. In this study, rainbow trapping of ultrasonic guided waves is achieved in chirped phononic crystal plates that spatially modulate the dispersion, group velocity, and stopband. The rainbow trapping is related to the progressively slowing group velocity, and the extremely low group velocity near the lower boundary of a stopband that gradually varies in chirped phononic crystal plates. As guided waves propagate along the phononic crystal plate, waves gradually slow down and finally stop forward propagating. The energy of guided waves is concentrated at the low velocity region near the stopband. Moreover, the guided wave energy of different frequencies is concentrated at different locations, which manifests as rainbow guided waves. We believe implementing the rainbow trapping will open new paradigms for guiding and focusing of guided waves. Moreover, the rainbow guided waves with energy concentration and spatial separation of frequencies may have potential applications in nondestructive evaluation, spatial wave filtering, energy harvesting, and acoustofluidics.

  13. Corrosion monitoring using high-frequency guided ultrasonic waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fromme, Paul

    2014-02-01

    Corrosion develops due to adverse environmental conditions during the life cycle of a range of industrial structures, e.g., offshore oil platforms, ships, and desalination plants. Both pitting corrosion and generalized corrosion leading to wall thickness loss can cause the degradation of the structural integrity. The nondestructive detection and monitoring of corrosion damage in difficult to access areas can be achieved using high frequency guided waves propagating along the structure from accessible areas. Using standard ultrasonic transducers with single sided access to the structure, guided wave modes were generated that penetrate through the complete thickness of the structure. The wave propagation and interference of the different guided wave modes depends on the thickness of the structure. Laboratory experiments were conducted and the wall thickness reduced by consecutive milling of the steel structure. Further measurements were conducted using accelerated corrosion in a salt water bath and the damage severity monitored. From the measured signal change due to the wave mode interference the wall thickness reduction was monitored. The high frequency guided waves have the potential for corrosion damage monitoring at critical and difficult to access locations from a stand-off distance.

  14. Time-localized frequency analysis of ultrasonic guided waves for nondestructive testing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shin, Hyeon Jae; Song, Sung-Jin

    2000-05-01

    A time-localized frequency (TLF) analysis is employed for the guided wave mode identification and improved guided wave applications. For the analysis of time-localized frequency contents of digitized ultrasonic signals, TLF analysis consists of splitting the time domain signal into overlapping segments, weighting each with the hanning window, and forming the columns of discrete Fourier transforms. The result is presented by a frequency versus time domain diagram showing frequency variation along the signal arrival time. For the demonstration of the utility of TLF analysis, an experimental group velocity dispersion pattern obtained by TLF analysis is compared with the dispersion diagram obtained by theory of elasticity. Sample piping is carbon steel piping that is used for the transportation of natural gas underground. Guided wave propagation characteristic on the piping is considered with TLF analysis and wave structure concepts. TLF analysis is used for the detection of simulated corrosion defects and the assessment of weld joint using ultrasonic guided waves. TLF analysis has revealed that the difficulty of mode identification in multi-mode propagation could be overcome. Group velocity dispersion pattern obtained by TLF analysis agrees well with theoretical results.

  15. A study on laser-based ultrasonic technique by the use of guided wave tomographic imaging

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

    Park, Junpil, E-mail: jpp@pusan.ac.kr; Lim, Juyoung, E-mail: jpp@pusan.ac.kr; Cho, Younho

    2015-03-31

    Guided wave tests are impractical for investigating specimens with limited accessibility and coarse surfaces or geometrically complicated features. A non-contact setup with a laser ultrasonic transmitter and receiver is the classic attractive for guided wave inspection. The present work was done to develop a non-contact guided-wave tomography technique by laser ultrasonic technique in a plate-like structure. A method for Lam wave generation and detection in an aluminum plate with a pulse laser ultrasonic transmitter and a Michelson interferometer receiver has been developed. In the images obtained by laser scanning, the defect shape and area showed good agreement with the actualmore » defect. The proposed approach can be used as a non-contact-based online inspection and monitoring technique.« less

  16. Rainbow trapping of ultrasonic guided waves in chirped phononic crystal plates

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

    Tian, Zhenhua; Yu, Lingyu

    The rainbow trapping effect has been demonstrated in electromagnetic and acoustic waves. In this study, rainbow trapping of ultrasonic guided waves is achieved in chirped phononic crystal plates that spatially modulate the dispersion, group velocity, and stopband. The rainbow trapping is related to the progressively slowing group velocity, and the extremely low group velocity near the lower boundary of a stopband that gradually varies in chirped phononic crystal plates. As guided waves propagate along the phononic crystal plate, waves gradually slow down and finally stop forward propagating. The energy of guided waves is concentrated at the low velocity region nearmore » the stopband. Moreover, the guided wave energy of different frequencies is concentrated at different locations, which manifests as rainbow guided waves. We believe implementing the rainbow trapping will open new paradigms for guiding and focusing of guided waves. Furthermore, the rainbow guided waves with energy concentration and spatial separation of frequencies may have potential applications in nondestructive evaluation, spatial wave filtering, energy harvesting, and acoustofluidics.« less

  17. Rainbow trapping of ultrasonic guided waves in chirped phononic crystal plates

    DOE PAGES

    Tian, Zhenhua; Yu, Lingyu

    2017-01-05

    The rainbow trapping effect has been demonstrated in electromagnetic and acoustic waves. In this study, rainbow trapping of ultrasonic guided waves is achieved in chirped phononic crystal plates that spatially modulate the dispersion, group velocity, and stopband. The rainbow trapping is related to the progressively slowing group velocity, and the extremely low group velocity near the lower boundary of a stopband that gradually varies in chirped phononic crystal plates. As guided waves propagate along the phononic crystal plate, waves gradually slow down and finally stop forward propagating. The energy of guided waves is concentrated at the low velocity region nearmore » the stopband. Moreover, the guided wave energy of different frequencies is concentrated at different locations, which manifests as rainbow guided waves. We believe implementing the rainbow trapping will open new paradigms for guiding and focusing of guided waves. Furthermore, the rainbow guided waves with energy concentration and spatial separation of frequencies may have potential applications in nondestructive evaluation, spatial wave filtering, energy harvesting, and acoustofluidics.« less

  18. Ultrasonic guided wave sensing characteristics of large area thin piezo coating

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rathod, V. T.; Jeyaseelan, A. Antony; Dutta, Soma; Mahapatra, D. Roy

    2017-10-01

    This paper reports on the characterization method and performance enhancement of thin piezo coating for ultrasonic guided wave sensing applications. We deposited the coatings by an in situ slurry coating method and studied their guided wave sensing properties on a one-dimensional metallic beam as a substrate waveguide. The developed piezo coatings show good sensitivity to the longitudinal and flexural modes of guided waves. Sensing voltage due to the guided waves at various different ultrasonic frequencies shows a linear dependence on the thickness of the coating. The coatings also exhibit linear sensor output voltage with respect to the induced dynamic strain magnitude. Diameter/size of the piezo coatings strongly influences the voltage response in relation to the wavelength. The proposed method used a characterization set-up involving coated sensors, reference transducers and an analytical model to estimate the piezoelectric coefficient of the piezo coating. The method eliminates the size dependent effect on the piezo property accurately and gives further insight to design better sensors/filters with respect to frequency/wavelength of interest. The developed coatings will have interesting applications in structural health monitoring (SHM) and internet of things (IOT).

  19. Design and Implementation of an Electronic Front-End Based on Square Wave Excitation for Ultrasonic Torsional Guided Wave Viscosity Sensor

    PubMed Central

    Rabani, Amir

    2016-01-01

    The market for process instruments generally requires low cost devices that are robust, small in size, portable, and usable in-plant. Ultrasonic torsional guided wave sensors have received much attention by researchers for measurement of viscosity and/or density of fluids in recent years. The supporting electronic systems for these sensors providing many different settings of sine-wave signals are bulky and expensive. In contrast, a system based on bursts of square waves instead of sine waves would have a considerable advantage in that respect and could be built using simple integrated circuits at a cost that is orders of magnitude lower than for a windowed sine wave device. This paper explores the possibility of using square wave bursts as the driving signal source for the ultrasonic torsional guided wave viscosity sensor. A simple design of a compact and fully automatic analogue square wave front-end for the sensor is also proposed. The successful operation of the system is demonstrated by using the sensor for measuring the viscosity in a representative fluid. This work provides the basis for design and manufacture of low cost compact standalone ultrasonic guided wave sensors and enlightens the possibility of using coded excitation techniques utilising square wave sequences in such applications. PMID:27754324

  20. Design and Implementation of an Electronic Front-End Based on Square Wave Excitation for Ultrasonic Torsional Guided Wave Viscosity Sensor.

    PubMed

    Rabani, Amir

    2016-10-12

    The market for process instruments generally requires low cost devices that are robust, small in size, portable, and usable in-plant. Ultrasonic torsional guided wave sensors have received much attention by researchers for measurement of viscosity and/or density of fluids in recent years. The supporting electronic systems for these sensors providing many different settings of sine-wave signals are bulky and expensive. In contrast, a system based on bursts of square waves instead of sine waves would have a considerable advantage in that respect and could be built using simple integrated circuits at a cost that is orders of magnitude lower than for a windowed sine wave device. This paper explores the possibility of using square wave bursts as the driving signal source for the ultrasonic torsional guided wave viscosity sensor. A simple design of a compact and fully automatic analogue square wave front-end for the sensor is also proposed. The successful operation of the system is demonstrated by using the sensor for measuring the viscosity in a representative fluid. This work provides the basis for design and manufacture of low cost compact standalone ultrasonic guided wave sensors and enlightens the possibility of using coded excitation techniques utilising square wave sequences in such applications.

  1. Delamination Defect Detection Using Ultrasonic Guided Waves in Advanced Hybrid Structural Elements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yan, Fei; Qi, Kevin ``Xue''; Rose, Joseph L.; Weiland, Hasso

    2010-02-01

    Nondestructive testing for multilayered structures is challenging because of increased numbers of layers and plate thicknesses. In this paper, ultrasonic guided waves are applied to detect delamination defects inside a 23-layer Alcoa Advanced Hybrid Structural plate. A semi-analytical finite element (SAFE) method generates dispersion curves and wave structures in order to select appropriate wave structures to detect certain defects. One guided wave mode and frequency is chosen to achieve large in-plane displacements at regions of interest. The interactions of the selected mode with defects are simulated using finite element models. Experiments are conducted and compared with bulk wave measurements. It is shown that guided waves can detect deeply embedded damages inside thick multilayer fiber-metal laminates with suitable mode and frequency selection.

  2. Ultrasonic guided wave propagation across waveguide transitions: energy transfer and mode conversion.

    PubMed

    Puthillath, Padmakumar; Galan, Jose M; Ren, Baiyang; Lissenden, Cliff J; Rose, Joseph L

    2013-05-01

    Ultrasonic guided wave inspection of structures containing adhesively bonded joints requires an understanding of the interaction of guided waves with geometric and material discontinuities or transitions in the waveguide. Such interactions result in mode conversion with energy being partitioned among the reflected and transmitted modes. The step transition between an aluminum layer and an aluminum-adhesive-aluminum multi-layer waveguide is analyzed as a model structure. Dispersion analysis enables assessment of (i) synchronism through dispersion curve overlap and (ii) wavestructure correlation. Mode-pairs in the multi-layer waveguide are defined relative to a prescribed mode in a single layer as being synchronized and having nearly perfect wavestructure matching. Only a limited number of mode-pairs exist, and each has a unique frequency range. A hybrid model based on semi-analytical finite elements and the normal mode expansion is implemented to assess mode conversion at a step transition in a waveguide. The model results indicate that synchronism and wavestructure matching is associated with energy transfer through the step transition, and that the energy of an incident wave mode in a single layer is transmitted almost entirely to the associated mode-pair, where one exists. This analysis guides the selection of incident modes that convert into transmitted modes and improve adhesive joint inspection with ultrasonic guided waves.

  3. Guided waves and ultrasonic characterization of three-dimensional composites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leymarie, Nicolas; Baste, Stéphane

    2000-05-01

    Ultrasonic NDE of anisotropic media appears nowadays as one of the best experimental approaches in studying mechanical properties. A complete identification of stiffness tensor can be performed with phase velocity measurements of obliquely incidence ultrasonic bulk waves from water onto a plate. The medium considered, however, has to be homogeneous with respect to wavelength used. In the case of 3D-composites, textures scales may reach one millimeter and their cut-off frequency is less than MHz. The dispersion curves observed in the considered range of frequencies are often very close and sometimes may be overlapped. Experimental studies show complex signals, which are due to a combination of both bulk and guided waves. Wave-speed measurements of the bulk wave and its detection become unreliable with classical techniques of signal processing (simple time or spectral analysis). Moreover, even if the coupled time-frequency analysis with wavelet transforms allows a better interpretation of the signal, the time delay estimation for the bulk wave and so the characterization of the material remains uncertain. To understand blended signals more accurately, different analytical and numerical models are proposed to show the advantages and disadvantages of methods used in NDE.

  4. Preventing microbial biofilms on catheter tubes using ultrasonic guided waves.

    PubMed

    Wang, Huanlei; Teng, Fengmeng; Yang, Xin; Guo, Xiasheng; Tu, Juan; Zhang, Chunbing; Zhang, Dong

    2017-04-04

    Biofilms on indwelling tubes and medical prosthetic devices are among the leading causes of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. In this work, a new anti-biofilm catheter prototype was proposed. By combining an endotracheal tube (ET) with a group of ultrasonic guided wave (UGW) transducers, the general idea was to prevent bacteria aggregation with UGW vibrations. Based on quantitative analysis of UGW propagation, detailed approach was achieved through (a) selection of ultrasonic frequency, wave modes and vibration amplitude; and (b) adoption of wave coupling and 45° wave incidence technique. Performance of the proposed UGW-ET prototype was demonstrated via in vitro experiments, during which it deterred deposition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) biofilms successfully. With current configuration, UGW amplitudes ranged from 0.05-5 nm could be optimal to achieve biofilm prevention. This work sheds a light in the underlying mechanism of ultrasound-mediated biofilm prevention, and will inspire the development of new catheters of better antibacterial capability.

  5. Ultrasonic guided wave interpretation for structural health inspections

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bingham, Jill Paisley

    Structural Health Management (SHM) combines the use of onboard sensors with artificial intelligence algorithms to automatically identify and monitor structural health issues. A fully integrated approach to SHM systems demands an understanding of the sensor output relative to the structure, along with sophisticated prognostic systems that automatically draw conclusions about structural integrity issues. Ultrasonic guided wave methods allow us to examine the interaction of multimode signals within key structural components. Since they propagate relatively long distances within plate- and shell-like structures, guided waves allow inspection of greater areas with fewer sensors, making this technique attractive for a variety of applications. This dissertation describes the experimental development of automatic guided wave interpretation for three real world applications. Using the guided wave theories for idealized plates we have systematically developed techniques for identifying the mass loading of underwater limpet mines on US Navy ship hulls, characterizing type and bonding of protective coatings on large diameter pipelines, and detecting the thinning effects of corrosion on aluminum aircraft structural stringers. In each of these circumstances the signals received are too complex for interpretation without knowledge of the guided wave physics. We employ a signal processing technique called the Dynamic Wavelet Fingerprint Technique (DFWT) in order to render the guided wave mode information in two-dimensional binary images. The use of wavelets allows us to keep track of both time and scale features from the original signals. With simple image processing we have developed automatic extraction algorithms for features that correspond to the arrival times of the guided wave modes of interest for each of the applications. Due to the dispersive nature of the guided wave modes, the mode arrival times give details of the structure in the propagation path. For further

  6. Numerical Simulation of Monitoring Corrosion in Reinforced Concrete Based on Ultrasonic Guided Waves

    PubMed Central

    Zheng, Zhupeng; Lei, Ying; Xue, Xin

    2014-01-01

    Numerical simulation based on finite element method is conducted to predict the location of pitting corrosion in reinforced concrete. Simulation results show that it is feasible to predict corrosion monitoring based on ultrasonic guided wave in reinforced concrete, and wavelet analysis can be used for the extremely weak signal of guided waves due to energy leaking into concrete. The characteristic of time-frequency localization of wavelet transform is adopted in the corrosion monitoring of reinforced concrete. Guided waves can be successfully used to identify corrosion defects in reinforced concrete with the analysis of suitable wavelet-based function and its scale. PMID:25013865

  7. Aging Wire Insulation Assessment by Phase Spectrum Examination of Ultrasonic Guided Waves

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Anastasi, Robert F.; Madaras, Eric I.

    2003-01-01

    Wire integrity has become an area of concern to the aerospace community including DoD, NASA, FAA, and Industry. Over time and changing environmental conditions, wire insulation can become brittle and crack. The cracks expose the wire conductor and can be a source of equipment failure, short circuits, smoke, and fire. The technique of using the ultrasonic phase spectrum to extract material properties of the insulation is being examined. Ultrasonic guided waves will propagate in both the wire conductor and insulation. Assuming the condition of the conductor remains constant then the stiffness of the insulator can be determined by measuring the ultrasonic guided wave velocity. In the phase spectrum method the guided wave velocity is obtained by transforming the time base waveform to the frequency domain and taking the phase difference between two waveforms. The result can then be correlated with a database, derived by numerical model calculations, to extract material properties of the wire insulator. Initial laboratory tests were performed on a simple model consisting of a solid cylinder and then a solid cylinder with a polymer coating. For each sample the flexural mode waveform was identified. That waveform was then transformed to the frequency domain and a phase spectrum was calculated from a pair of waveforms. Experimental results on the simple model compared well to numerical calculations. Further tests were conducted on aircraft or mil-spec wire samples, to see if changes in wire insulation stiffness can be extracted using the phase spectrum technique.

  8. Monitoring of corrosion damage using high-frequency guided ultrasonic waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chew, D.; Fromme, P.

    2014-03-01

    Due to adverse environmental conditions corrosion can develop during the life cycle of industrial structures, e.g., offshore oil platforms, ships, and desalination plants. Both pitting corrosion and generalized corrosion leading to wall thickness loss can cause the degradation of the integrity and load bearing capacity of the structure. Structural health monitoring of corrosion damage in difficult to access areas can in principle be achieved using high frequency guided waves propagating along the structure from accessible areas. Using standard ultrasonic transducers with single sided access to the structure, high frequency guided wave modes were generated that penetrate through the complete thickness of the structure. Wall thickness reduction was induced using accelerated corrosion in a salt water bath. The corrosion damage was monitored based on the effect on the wave propagation and interference of the different modes. The change in the wave interference was quantified based on an analysis in the frequency domain (Fourier transform) and was found to match well with theoretical predictions for the wall thickness loss. High frequency guided waves have the potential for corrosion damage monitoring at critical and difficult to access locations from a stand-off distance.

  9. Monitoring of corrosion damage using high-frequency guided ultrasonic waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chew, D.; Fromme, P.

    2015-03-01

    Due to adverse environmental conditions corrosion can develop during the life cycle of industrial structures, e.g., offshore oil platforms, ships, and desalination plants. Both pitting corrosion and generalized corrosion leading to wall thickness loss can cause the degradation of the integrity and load bearing capacity of the structure. Structural health monitoring of corrosion damage in difficult to access areas can in principle be achieved using high frequency guided waves propagating along the structure from accessible areas. Using standard ultrasonic transducers with single sided access to the structure, high frequency guided wave modes were generated that penetrate through the complete thickness of the structure. Wall thickness reduction was induced using accelerated corrosion in a salt water bath. The corrosion damage was monitored based on the effect on the wave propagation and interference of the different modes. The change in the wave interference was quantified based on an analysis in the frequency domain (Fourier transform) and was found to match well with theoretical predictions for the wall thickness loss. High frequency guided waves have the potential for corrosion damage monitoring at critical and difficult to access locations from a stand-off distance.

  10. Ultrasonic guided wave bondline evaluation of thick metallic structures with viscoelastic coatings and the demonstration of a novel mode sweep technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bostron, Jason

    Ultrasonic guided waves are becoming more widely used in nondestructive evaluation applications due to their efficiency in defect detection, ability to inspect hidden areas, and other reasons. This dissertation addresses two main topics: ultrasonic guided wave bond evaluation of thin and thick coatings on thick metallic structures, and the use of a novel phased array technique for optimal guided wave mode and frequency selection. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

  11. Propagation characteristics of ultrasonic guided waves in continuously welded rail

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yao, Wenqing; Sheng, Fuwei; Wei, Xiaoyuan; Zhang, Lei; Yang, Yuan

    2017-07-01

    Rail defects cause numerous railway accidents. Trains are derailed and serious consequences often occur. Compared to traditional bulk wave testing, ultrasonic guided waves (UGWs) can provide larger monitoring ranges and complete coverage of the waveguide cross-section. These advantages are of significant importance for the non-destructive testing (NDT) of the continuously welded rail, and the technique is therefore widely used in high-speed railways. UGWs in continuous welded rail (CWR) and their propagation characteristics have been discussed in this paper. Finite element methods (FEMs) were used to accomplish a vibration modal analysis, which is extended by a subsequent dispersion analysis. Wave structure features were illustrated by displacement profiles. It was concluded that guided waves have the ability to detect defects in the rail via choice of proper mode and frequency. Additionally, thermal conduction that is caused by temperature variation in the rail is added into modeling and simulation. The results indicated that unbalanced thermal distribution may lead to the attenuation of UGWs in the rail.

  12. Ultrasonic nonlinear guided wave inspection of microscopic damage in a composite structure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Li; Borigo, Cody; Owens, Steven; Lissenden, Clifford; Rose, Joseph; Hakoda, Chris

    2017-02-01

    Sudden structural failure is a severe safety threat to many types of military and industrial composite structures. Because sudden structural failure may occur in a composite structure shortly after macroscale damage initiates, reliable early diagnosis of microdamage formation in the composite structure is critical to ensure safe operation and to reduce maintenance costs. Ultrasonic guided waves have been widely used for long-range defect detection in various structures. When guided waves are generated under certain excitation conditions, in addition to the traditional linear wave mode (known as the fundamental harmonic wave mode), a number of nonlinear higher-order harmonic wave modes are also be generated. Research shows that the nonlinear parameters of a higher-order harmonic wave mode could have excellent sensitivity to microstructural changes in a material. In this work, we successfully employed a nonlinear guided wave structural health monitoring (SHM) method to detect microscopic impact damage in a 32-layer carbon/epoxy fiber-reinforced composite plate. Our effort has demonstrated that, utilizing appropriate transducer design, equipment, excitation signals, and signal processing techniques, nonlinear guided wave parameter measurements can be reliably used to monitor microdamage initiation and growth in composite structures.

  13. High-frequency guided ultrasonic waves for hidden defect detection in multi-layered aircraft structures.

    PubMed

    Masserey, Bernard; Raemy, Christian; Fromme, Paul

    2014-09-01

    Aerospace structures often contain multi-layered metallic components where hidden defects such as fatigue cracks and localized disbonds can develop, necessitating non-destructive testing. Employing standard wedge transducers, high frequency guided ultrasonic waves that penetrate through the complete thickness were generated in a model structure consisting of two adhesively bonded aluminium plates. Interference occurs between the wave modes during propagation along the structure, resulting in a frequency dependent variation of the energy through the thickness with distance. The wave propagation along the specimen was measured experimentally using a laser interferometer. Good agreement with theoretical predictions and two-dimensional finite element simulations was found. Significant propagation distance with a strong, non-dispersive main wave pulse was achieved. The interaction of the high frequency guided ultrasonic waves with small notches in the aluminium layer facing the sealant and on the bottom surface of the multilayer structure was investigated. Standard pulse-echo measurements were conducted to verify the detection sensitivity and the influence of the stand-off distance predicted from the finite element simulations. The results demonstrated the potential of high frequency guided waves for hidden defect detection at critical and difficult to access locations in aerospace structures from a stand-off distance. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Ultrasonic guided wave tomography for wall thickness mapping in pipes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Willey, Carson L.

    Corrosion and erosion damage pose fundamental challenges to operation of oil and gas infrastructure. In order to manage the life of critical assets, plant operators must implement inspection programs aimed at assessing the severity of wall thickness loss (WTL) in pipelines, vessels, and other structures. Maximum defect depth determines the residual life of these structures and therefore represents one of the key parameters for robust damage mitigation strategies. In this context, continuous monitoring with permanently installed sensors has attracted significant interest and currently is the subject of extensive research worldwide. Among the different monitoring approaches being considered, significant promise is offered by the combination of guided ultrasonic wave technology with the principles of model based inversion under the paradigm of what is now referred to as guided wave tomography (GWT). Guided waves are attractive because they propagate inside the wall of a structure over a large distance. This can yield significant advantages over conventional pulse-echo thickness gage sensors that provide insufficient area coverage -- typically limited to the sensor footprint. While significant progress has been made in the application of GWT to plate-like structures, extension of these methods to pipes poses a number of fundamental challenges that have prevented the development of sensitive GWT methods. This thesis focuses on these challenges to address the complex guided wave propagation in pipes and to account for parametric uncertainties that are known to affect model based inversion and which are unavoidable in real field applications. The main contribution of this work is the first demonstration of a sensitive GWT method for accurately mapping the depth of defects in pipes. This is achieved by introducing a novel forward model that can extract information related to damage from the complex waveforms measured by pairs of guided wave transducers mounted on the pipe

  15. Air- coupled ultrasonic testing of CFRP rods by means of guided waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kažys, Rymantas; Raišutis, Renaldas; Žukauskas, Egidijus; Mažeika, Liudas; Vladišauskas, Alfonsas

    2010-01-01

    One of the most important parts of the gliders is a lightweight longeron reinforcement made of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) rods. These small diameter (a few millimetres) rods during manufacturing are glued together in epoxy filled matrix in order to build the arbitrary spar profile. However, the defects presenting in the rods such as brake of fibres, lack of bonding, reduction of density affect essentially the strength of the construction and are very complicated in repairing. Therefore, appropriate non-destructive testing techniques of carbon fibber rods should be applied before gluing them together. The objective of the presented work was development of NDT technique of CFRP rods used for aerospace applications, which is based on air- coupled excitation/reception of guided waves. The regularities of ultrasonic guided waves propagating in both circular and rectangular cross-section CFRP rods immersed into water were investigated and it was shown that the guided waves propagating along sample of the rod create leaky waves which are radiated into a surrounding medium. The ultrasonic receiver scanned over the rod enables to pick-up the leaky waves and to determine the non-uniformities of propagation caused by the defects. Theoretical investigations were carried out by means of numerical simulations based on a 2D and 3D finite differences method. By modelling and experimental investigations it was demonstrated that presence of any type of the defect disturbs the leaky wave and enables to detect them. So, the spatial position of defects can be determined also. It was shown that such important defects as a disbond of the plies essentially reduce or even completely suppress the leaky wave, so they can be detected quit easily.

  16. Local numerical modelling of ultrasonic guided waves in linear and nonlinear media

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Packo, Pawel; Radecki, Rafal; Kijanka, Piotr; Staszewski, Wieslaw J.; Uhl, Tadeusz; Leamy, Michael J.

    2017-04-01

    Nonlinear ultrasonic techniques provide improved damage sensitivity compared to linear approaches. The combination of attractive properties of guided waves, such as Lamb waves, with unique features of higher harmonic generation provides great potential for characterization of incipient damage, particularly in plate-like structures. Nonlinear ultrasonic structural health monitoring techniques use interrogation signals at frequencies other than the excitation frequency to detect changes in structural integrity. Signal processing techniques used in non-destructive evaluation are frequently supported by modeling and numerical simulations in order to facilitate problem solution. This paper discusses known and newly-developed local computational strategies for simulating elastic waves, and attempts characterization of their numerical properties in the context of linear and nonlinear media. A hybrid numerical approach combining advantages of the Local Interaction Simulation Approach (LISA) and Cellular Automata for Elastodynamics (CAFE) is proposed for unique treatment of arbitrary strain-stress relations. The iteration equations of the method are derived directly from physical principles employing stress and displacement continuity, leading to an accurate description of the propagation in arbitrarily complex media. Numerical analysis of guided wave propagation, based on the newly developed hybrid approach, is presented and discussed in the paper for linear and nonlinear media. Comparisons to Finite Elements (FE) are also discussed.

  17. Model-Based IN SITU Parameter Estimation of Ultrasonic Guided Waves in AN Isotropic Plate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hall, James S.; Michaels, Jennifer E.

    2010-02-01

    Most ultrasonic systems employing guided waves for flaw detection require information such as dispersion curves, transducer locations, and expected propagation loss. Degraded system performance may result if assumed parameter values do not accurately reflect the actual environment. By characterizing the propagating environment in situ at the time of test, potentially erroneous a priori estimates are avoided and performance of ultrasonic guided wave systems can be improved. A four-part model-based algorithm is described in the context of previous work that estimates model parameters whereby an assumed propagation model is used to describe the received signals. This approach builds upon previous work by demonstrating the ability to estimate parameters for the case of single mode propagation. Performance is demonstrated on signals obtained from theoretical dispersion curves, finite element modeling, and experimental data.

  18. Wave Mode Discrimination of Coded Ultrasonic Guided Waves Using Two-Dimensional Compressed Pulse Analysis.

    PubMed

    Malo, Sergio; Fateri, Sina; Livadas, Makis; Mares, Cristinel; Gan, Tat-Hean

    2017-07-01

    Ultrasonic guided waves testing is a technique successfully used in many industrial scenarios worldwide. For many complex applications, the dispersive nature and multimode behavior of the technique still poses a challenge for correct defect detection capabilities. In order to improve the performance of the guided waves, a 2-D compressed pulse analysis is presented in this paper. This novel technique combines the use of pulse compression and dispersion compensation in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and temporal-spatial resolution of the signals. The ability of the technique to discriminate different wave modes is also highlighted. In addition, an iterative algorithm is developed to identify the wave modes of interest using adaptive peak detection to enable automatic wave mode discrimination. The employed algorithm is developed in order to pave the way for further in situ applications. The performance of Barker-coded and chirp waveforms is studied in a multimodal scenario where longitudinal and flexural wave packets are superposed. The technique is tested in both synthetic and experimental conditions. The enhancements in SNR and temporal resolution are quantified as well as their ability to accurately calculate the propagation distance for different wave modes.

  19. Noncontact measurement of guided ultrasonic wave scattering for fatigue crack characterization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fromme, P.

    2013-04-01

    Fatigue cracks can develop in aerospace structures at locations of stress concentration such as fasteners. For the safe operation of the aircraft fatigue cracks need to be detected before reaching a critical length. Guided ultrasonic waves offer an efficient method for the detection and characterization of fatigue cracks in large aerospace structures. Noncontact excitation of guided waves was achieved using electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMAT). The transducers were developed for the specific excitation of the A0 Lamb mode. Based on the induced eddy currents in the plate a simple theoretical model was developed and reasonably good agreement with the measurements was achieved. However, the detection sensitivity for fatigue cracks depends on the location and orientation of the crack relative to the measurement locations. Crack-like defects have a directionality pattern of the scattered field depending on the angle of the incident wave relative to the defect orientation and on the ratio of the characteristic defect size to wavelength. The detailed angular dependency of the guided wave field scattered at crack-like defects in plate structures has been measured using a noncontact laser interferometer. Good agreement with 3D Finite Element simulation predictions was achieved for machined part-through and through-thickness notches. The amplitude of the scattered wave was quantified for a variation of angle of the incident wave relative to the defect orientation and the defect depth. These results provide the basis for the defect characterization in aerospace structures using guided wave sensors.

  20. Characterization of C/Enhanced SiC Composite During Creep-Rupture Tests Using an Ultrasonic Guided Wave Scan System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roth, Don J.; Verrilli, Michael J.; Martin, Richard E.; Cosgriff, Laura M.

    2004-01-01

    An ultrasonic guided wave scan system was used to nondestructively monitor damage over time and position in a C/enhanced SiC sample that was creep tested to failure at 1200 C in air at a stress of 69 MPa (10 ksi). The use of the guided wave scan system for mapping evolving oxidation profiles (via porosity gradients resulting from oxidation) along the sample length and predicting failure location was explored. The creep-rupture tests were interrupted for ultrasonic evaluation every two hours until failure at approx. 17.5 cumulative hours.

  1. Ultrasonic guided wave monitoring of composite wing skin-to-spar bonded joints in aerospace structures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matt, Howard; Bartoli, Ivan; Lanza di Scalea, Francesco

    2005-10-01

    The monitoring of adhesively bonded joints by ultrasonic guided waves is the general topic of this paper. Specifically, composite-to-composite joints representative of the wing skin-to-spar bonds of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are examined. This research is the first step towards the development of an on-board structural health monitoring system for UAV wings based on integrated ultrasonic sensors. The study investigates two different lay-ups for the wing skin and two different types of bond defects, namely poorly cured adhesive and disbonded interfaces. The assessment of bond state is based on monitoring the strength of transmission through the joints of selected guided modes. The wave propagation problem is studied numerically by a semi-analytical finite element method that accounts for viscoelastic damping, and experimentally by ultrasonic testing that uses small PZT disks preferably exciting and detecting the single-plate s0 mode. Both the models and the experiments confirm that the ultrasonic energy transmission through the joint is highly dependent on the bond conditions, with defected bonds resulting in increased transmission strength. Large sensitivity to the bond conditions is found at mode coupling points, as a result of the large interlayer energy transfer.

  2. Material State Awareness for Composites Part I: Precursor Damage Analysis Using Ultrasonic Guided Coda Wave Interferometry (CWI).

    PubMed

    Patra, Subir; Banerjee, Sourav

    2017-12-16

    Detection of precursor damage followed by the quantification of the degraded material properties could lead to more accurate progressive failure models for composite materials. However, such information is not readily available. In composite materials, the precursor damages-for example matrix cracking, microcracks, voids, interlaminar pre-delamination crack joining matrix cracks, fiber micro-buckling, local fiber breakage, local debonding, etc.-are insensitive to the low-frequency ultrasonic guided-wave-based online nondestructive evaluation (NDE) or Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) (~100-~500 kHz) systems. Overcoming this barrier, in this article, an online ultrasonic technique is proposed using the coda part of the guided wave signal, which is often neglected. Although the first-arrival wave packets that contain the fundamental guided Lamb wave modes are unaltered, the coda wave packets however carry significant information about the precursor events with predictable phase shifts. The Taylor-series-based modified Coda Wave Interferometry (CWI) technique is proposed to quantify the stretch parameter to compensate the phase shifts in the coda wave as a result of precursor damage in composites. The CWI analysis was performed on five woven composite-fiber-reinforced-laminate specimens, and the precursor events were identified. Next, the precursor damage states were verified using high-frequency Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (SAM) and optical microscopy imaging.

  3. Quantification of thickness loss in a liquid-loaded plate using ultrasonic guided wave tomography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rao, Jing; Ratassepp, Madis; Fan, Zheng

    2017-12-01

    Ultrasonic guided wave tomography (GWT) provides an attractive solution to map thickness changes from remote locations. It is based on the velocity-to-thickness mapping employing the dispersive characteristics of selected guided modes. This study extends the application of GWT on a liquid-loaded plate. It is a more challenging case than the application on a free plate, due to energy of the guided waves leaking into the liquid. In order to ensure the accuracy of thickness reconstruction, advanced forward models are developed to consider attenuation effects using complex velocities. The reconstruction of the thickness map is based on the frequency-domain full waveform inversion (FWI) method, and its accuracy is discussed using different frequencies and defect dimensions. Validation experiments are carried out on a water-loaded plate with an irregularly shaped defect using S0 guided waves, showing excellent performance of the reconstruction algorithm.

  4. Excitation condition analysis of guided wave on PFA tubes for ultrasonic flow meter.

    PubMed

    Li, Xuan; Xiao, Xufeng; Cao, Li

    2016-12-01

    Impurity accumulation, which decreases the accuracy of flow measurement, is a critical problem when applying Z-shaped or U-shaped ultrasonic flow meters on straight PFA tubes. It can be expected that the guided wave can be used to implement flow measurement on straight PFA tubes. In this paper, the propagation of guided wave is explained by finite element simulations for the flow meter design. Conditions of guided wave generation, including the excitation frequency and the wedge structure, are studied in the simulations. The wedge is designed as a cone which is friendly to be manufactured and installed. The cone angle, the piezoelectric wafer's resonant frequency and the vibration directions are studied in the simulations. The simulations shows that the propagation of guided wave in thin PFA tubes is influenced by the piezoelectric wafers' resonant frequency and the vibration direction when the mode is on the 'water line'. Based on the results of the simulations, an experiment is conducted to verify the principles of excitation conditions, which performs flow measurement on a straight PFA tube well. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Quantitative diagnostics of multilayered composite structures with ultrasonic guided waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bunget, Gheorghe; Friedersdorf, Fritz; Na, Jeong K.

    2015-03-01

    The main objective of the current work is to develop a practical nondestructive inspection methodology for a highly sound absorbing composite structural system consisting of polymeric and metallic materials. Due to constraints in geometrical shapes and thicknesses of the composite system used in this work, ultrasonic guided wave approach has been chosen. Since the polymer coatings have high damping properties, less energy is dissipated into the adjacent media in the presence of interface delaminations. Experimental measurements performed on a targeted composite system, whether it has an aluminum, carbon-fiber-composite, or steel outer casing, show promising results.

  6. Ice detection and classification on an aircraft wing with ultrasonic shear horizontal guided waves.

    PubMed

    Gao, Huidong; Rose, Joseph L

    2009-02-01

    Ice accumulation on airfoils has been identified as a primary cause of many accidents in commercial and military aircraft. To improve aviation safety as well as reduce cost and environmental threats related to aircraft icing, sensitive, reliable, and aerodynamically compatible ice detection techniques are in great demand. Ultrasonic guided-wave-based techniques have been proved reliable for "go" and "no go" types of ice detection in some systems including the HALO system, in which the second author of this paper is a primary contributor. In this paper, we propose a new model that takes the ice layer into guided-wave modeling. Using this model, the thickness and type of ice formation can be determined from guided-wave signals. Five experimental schemes are also proposed in this paper based on some unique features identified from the guided- wave dispersion curves. A sample experiment is also presented in this paper, where a 1 mm thick glaze ice on a 2 mm aluminum plate is clearly detected. Quantitative match of the experiment data to theoretical prediction serves as a strong support for future implementation of other testing schemes proposed in this paper.

  7. Time-of-flight dependency on transducer separation distance in a reflective-path guided-wave ultrasonic flow meter at zero flow conditions.

    PubMed

    Aanes, Magne; Kippersund, Remi Andre; Lohne, Kjetil Daae; Frøysa, Kjell-Eivind; Lunde, Per

    2017-08-01

    Transit-time flow meters based on guided ultrasonic wave propagation in the pipe spool have several advantages compared to traditional inline ultrasonic flow metering. The extended interrogation field, obtained by continuous leakage from guided waves traveling in the pipe wall, increases robustness toward entrained particles or gas in the flow. In reflective-path guided-wave ultrasonic flow meters (GW-UFMs), the flow equations are derived from signals propagating solely in the pipe wall and from signals passing twice through the fluid. In addition to the time-of-flight (TOF) through the fluid, the fluid path experiences an additional time delay upon reflection at the opposite pipe wall due to specular and non-specular reflections. The present work investigates the influence of these reflections on the TOF in a reflective-path GW-UFM as a function of transducer separation distance at zero flow conditions. Two models are used to describe the signal propagation through the system: (i) a transient full-wave finite element model, and (ii) a combined plane-wave and ray-tracing model. The study shows that a range-dependent time delay is associated with the reflection of the fluid path, introducing transmitter-receiver distance dependence. Based on these results, the applicability of the flow equations derived using model (ii) is discussed.

  8. Structural Health Monitoring of Above-Ground Storage Tank Floors by Ultrasonic Guided Wave Excitation on the Tank Wall.

    PubMed

    Lowe, Premesh S; Duan, Wenbo; Kanfoud, Jamil; Gan, Tat-Hean

    2017-11-04

    There is an increasing interest in using ultrasonic guided waves to assess the structural degradation of above-ground storage tank floors. This is a non-invasive and economically viable means of assessing structural degradation. Above-ground storage tank floors are ageing assets which need to be inspected periodically to avoid structural failure. At present, normal-stress type transducers are bonded to the tank annular chime to generate a force field in the thickness direction of the floor and excite fundamental symmetric and asymmetric Lamb modes. However, the majority of above-ground storage tanks in use have no annular chime due to a simplified design and/or have a degraded chime due to corrosion. This means that transducers cannot be mounted on the chime to assess structural health according to the present technology, and the market share of structural health monitoring of above-ground storage tank floors using ultrasonic guided wave is thus limited. Therefore, the present study investigates the potential of using the tank wall to bond the transducer instead of the tank annular chime. Both normal and shear type transducers were investigated numerically, and results were validated using a 4.1 m diameter above-ground storage tank. The study results show shear mode type transducers bonded to the tank wall can be used to assess the structural health of the above-ground tank floors using an ultrasonic guided wave. It is also shown that for the cases studied there is a 7.4 dB signal-to-noise ratio improvement at 45 kHz for the guided wave excitation on the tank wall using shear mode transducers.

  9. Structural Health Monitoring of Above-Ground Storage Tank Floors by Ultrasonic Guided Wave Excitation on the Tank Wall

    PubMed Central

    Kanfoud, Jamil; Gan, Tat-Hean

    2017-01-01

    There is an increasing interest in using ultrasonic guided waves to assess the structural degradation of above-ground storage tank floors. This is a non-invasive and economically viable means of assessing structural degradation. Above-ground storage tank floors are ageing assets which need to be inspected periodically to avoid structural failure. At present, normal-stress type transducers are bonded to the tank annular chime to generate a force field in the thickness direction of the floor and excite fundamental symmetric and asymmetric Lamb modes. However, the majority of above-ground storage tanks in use have no annular chime due to a simplified design and/or have a degraded chime due to corrosion. This means that transducers cannot be mounted on the chime to assess structural health according to the present technology, and the market share of structural health monitoring of above-ground storage tank floors using ultrasonic guided wave is thus limited. Therefore, the present study investigates the potential of using the tank wall to bond the transducer instead of the tank annular chime. Both normal and shear type transducers were investigated numerically, and results were validated using a 4.1 m diameter above-ground storage tank. The study results show shear mode type transducers bonded to the tank wall can be used to assess the structural health of the above-ground tank floors using an ultrasonic guided wave. It is also shown that for the cases studied there is a 7.4 dB signal-to-noise ratio improvement at 45 kHz for the guided wave excitation on the tank wall using shear mode transducers. PMID:29113058

  10. Application of Ultrasonic Guided Waves for Evaluating Aging Wire Insulation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Anastasi, Robert F.; Madaras, Eric I.

    2005-01-01

    Aging wiring has become a critical issue to the aerospace and aircraft industries due to Shuttle and aircraft incidents. The problem is that over time the insulation on wire becomes brittle and cracks. This exposes the underlying conductive wire to the potential for short circuits and fire. Popular methods of monitoring aging wire problems focuses on applying electrical sensing techniques that are sensitive to the conductor's condition, but not very sensitive to the wire insulation's condition. Measurement of wire insulation stiffness and ultrasonic properties by ultrasonic guided waves is being examined. Experimental measurements showed that the lowest order extensional mode could be sensitive to stiffness changes in the wire insulation. To test this theory conventional wire samples were heat damaged in an oven, in a range of heating conditions. The samples were 12, 16, and 20 gauge and the heat damage introduced material changes in the wire insulation that made the originally flexible insulation brittle and darker in color. Results showed that extensional mode phase velocity increased for the samples that were exposed to heat for longer duration.

  11. Influence of the Spatial Dimensions of Ultrasonic Transducers on the Frequency Spectrum of Guided Waves.

    PubMed

    Samaitis, Vykintas; Mažeika, Liudas

    2017-08-08

    Ultrasonic guided wave (UGW)-based condition monitoring has shown great promise in detecting, localizing, and characterizing damage in complex systems. However, the application of guided waves for damage detection is challenging due to the existence of multiple modes and dispersion. This results in distorted wave packets with limited resolution and the interference of multiple reflected modes. To develop reliable inspection systems, either the transducers have to be optimized to generate a desired single mode of guided waves with known dispersive properties, or the frequency responses of all modes present in the structure must be known to predict wave interaction. Currently, there is a lack of methods to predict the response spectrum of guided wave modes, especially in cases when multiple modes are being excited simultaneously. Such methods are of vital importance for further understanding wave propagation within the structures as well as wave-damage interaction. In this study, a novel method to predict the response spectrum of guided wave modes was proposed based on Fourier analysis of the particle velocity distribution on the excitation area. The method proposed in this study estimates an excitability function based on the spatial dimensions of the transducer, type of vibration, and dispersive properties of the medium. As a result, the response amplitude as a function of frequency for each guided wave mode present in the structure can be separately obtained. The method was validated with numerical simulations on the aluminum and glass fiber composite samples. The key findings showed that it can be applied to estimate the response spectrum of a guided wave mode on any type of material (either isotropic structures, or multi layered anisotropic composites) and under any type of excitation if the phase velocity dispersion curve and the particle velocity distribution of the wave source was known initially. Thus, the proposed method may be a beneficial tool to explain

  12. Influence of the Spatial Dimensions of Ultrasonic Transducers on the Frequency Spectrum of Guided Waves

    PubMed Central

    Samaitis, Vykintas; Mažeika, Liudas

    2017-01-01

    Ultrasonic guided wave (UGW)-based condition monitoring has shown great promise in detecting, localizing, and characterizing damage in complex systems. However, the application of guided waves for damage detection is challenging due to the existence of multiple modes and dispersion. This results in distorted wave packets with limited resolution and the interference of multiple reflected modes. To develop reliable inspection systems, either the transducers have to be optimized to generate a desired single mode of guided waves with known dispersive properties, or the frequency responses of all modes present in the structure must be known to predict wave interaction. Currently, there is a lack of methods to predict the response spectrum of guided wave modes, especially in cases when multiple modes are being excited simultaneously. Such methods are of vital importance for further understanding wave propagation within the structures as well as wave-damage interaction. In this study, a novel method to predict the response spectrum of guided wave modes was proposed based on Fourier analysis of the particle velocity distribution on the excitation area. The method proposed in this study estimates an excitability function based on the spatial dimensions of the transducer, type of vibration, and dispersive properties of the medium. As a result, the response amplitude as a function of frequency for each guided wave mode present in the structure can be separately obtained. The method was validated with numerical simulations on the aluminum and glass fiber composite samples. The key findings showed that it can be applied to estimate the response spectrum of a guided wave mode on any type of material (either isotropic structures, or multi layered anisotropic composites) and under any type of excitation if the phase velocity dispersion curve and the particle velocity distribution of the wave source was known initially. Thus, the proposed method may be a beneficial tool to explain

  13. A guided wave dispersion compensation method based on compressed sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Cai-bin; Yang, Zhi-bo; Chen, Xue-feng; Tian, Shao-hua; Xie, Yong

    2018-03-01

    The ultrasonic guided wave has emerged as a promising tool for structural health monitoring (SHM) and nondestructive testing (NDT) due to their capability to propagate over long distances with minimal loss and sensitivity to both surface and subsurface defects. The dispersion effect degrades the temporal and spatial resolution of guided waves. A novel ultrasonic guided wave processing method for both single mode and multi-mode guided waves dispersion compensation is proposed in this work based on compressed sensing, in which a dispersion signal dictionary is built by utilizing the dispersion curves of the guided wave modes in order to sparsely decompose the recorded dispersive guided waves. Dispersion-compensated guided waves are obtained by utilizing a non-dispersion signal dictionary and the results of sparse decomposition. Numerical simulations and experiments are implemented to verify the effectiveness of the developed method for both single mode and multi-mode guided waves.

  14. 3D Guided Wave Motion Analysis on Laminated Composites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tian, Zhenhua; Leckey, Cara; Yu, Lingyu

    2013-01-01

    Ultrasonic guided waves have proved useful for structural health monitoring (SHM) and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) due to their ability to propagate long distances with less energy loss compared to bulk waves and due to their sensitivity to small defects in the structure. Analysis of actively transmitted ultrasonic signals has long been used to detect and assess damage. However, there remain many challenging tasks for guided wave based SHM due to the complexity involved with propagating guided waves, especially in the case of composite materials. The multimodal nature of the ultrasonic guided waves complicates the related damage analysis. This paper presents results from parallel 3D elastodynamic finite integration technique (EFIT) simulations used to acquire 3D wave motion in the subject laminated carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites. The acquired 3D wave motion is then analyzed by frequency-wavenumber analysis to study the wave propagation and interaction in the composite laminate. The frequency-wavenumber analysis enables the study of individual modes and visualization of mode conversion. Delamination damage has been incorporated into the EFIT model to generate "damaged" data. The potential for damage detection in laminated composites is discussed in the end.

  15. Defect detection performance of the UCSD non-contact air-coupled ultrasonic guided wave inspection of rails prototype

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mariani, Stefano; Nguyen, Thompson V.; Sternini, Simone; Lanza di Scalea, Francesco; Fateh, Mahmood; Wilson, Robert

    2016-04-01

    The University of California at San Diego (UCSD), under a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research and Development (R&D) grant, is developing a system for high-speed and non-contact rail defect detection. A prototype using an ultrasonic air-coupled guided wave signal generation and air-coupled signal detection, paired with a real-time statistical analysis algorithm, has been realized. This system requires a specialized filtering approach based on electrical impedance matching due to the inherently poor signal-to-noise ratio of air-coupled ultrasonic measurements in rail steel. Various aspects of the prototype have been designed with the aid of numerical analyses. In particular, simulations of ultrasonic guided wave propagation in rails have been performed using a Local Interaction Simulation Approach (LISA) algorithm. The system's operating parameters were selected based on Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves, which provide a quantitative manner to evaluate different detection performances based on the trade-off between detection rate and false positive rate. The prototype based on this technology was tested in October 2014 at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Colorado, and again in November 2015 after incorporating changes based on lessons learned. Results from the 2015 field test are discussed in this paper.

  16. Non-contact feature detection using ultrasonic Lamb waves

    DOEpatents

    Sinha, Dipen N [Los Alamos, NM

    2011-06-28

    Apparatus and method for non-contact ultrasonic detection of features on or within the walls of hollow pipes are described. An air-coupled, high-power ultrasonic transducer for generating guided waves in the pipe wall, and a high-sensitivity, air-coupled transducer for detecting these waves, are disposed at a distance apart and at chosen angle with respect to the surface of the pipe, either inside of or outside of the pipe. Measurements may be made in reflection or transmission modes depending on the relative position of the transducers and the pipe. Data are taken by sweeping the frequency of the incident ultrasonic waves, using a tracking narrow-band filter to reduce detected noise, and transforming the frequency domain data into the time domain using fast Fourier transformation, if required.

  17. Peri-Elastodynamic Simulations of Guided Ultrasonic Waves in Plate-Like Structure with Surface Mounted PZT.

    PubMed

    Patra, Subir; Ahmed, Hossain; Banerjee, Sourav

    2018-01-18

    Peridynamic based elastodynamic computation tool named Peri-elastodynamics is proposed herein to simulate the three-dimensional (3D) Lamb wave modes in materials for the first time. Peri-elastodynamics is a nonlocal meshless approach which is a scale-independent generalized technique to visualize the acoustic and ultrasonic waves in plate-like structure, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and nanodevices for their respective characterization. In this article, the characteristics of the fundamental Lamb wave modes are simulated in a sample plate-like structure. Lamb wave modes are generated using a surface mounted piezoelectric (PZT) transducer which is actuated from the top surface. The proposed generalized Peri-elastodynamics method is not only capable of simulating two dimensional (2D) in plane wave under plane strain condition formulated previously but also capable of accurately simulating the out of plane Symmetric and Antisymmetric Lamb wave modes in plate like structures in 3D. For structural health monitoring (SHM) of plate-like structures and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of MEMS devices, it is necessary to simulate the 3D wave-damage interaction scenarios and visualize the different wave features due to damages. Hence, in addition, to simulating the guided ultrasonic wave modes in pristine material, Lamb waves were also simulated in a damaged plate. The accuracy of the proposed technique is verified by comparing the modes generated in the plate and the mode shapes across the thickness of the plate with theoretical wave analysis.

  18. Fast Lamb wave energy shift approach using fully contactless ultrasonic system to characterize concrete structures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ham, Suyun; Popovics, John S.

    2015-03-01

    Ultrasonic techniques provide an effective non-destructive evaluation (NDE) method to monitor concrete structures, but the need to perform rapid and accurate structural assessment requires evaluation of hundreds, or even thousands, of measurement datasets. Use of a fully contactless ultrasonic system can save time and labor through rapid implementation, and can enable automated and controlled data acquisition, for example through robotic scanning. Here we present results using a fully contactless ultrasonic system. This paper describes our efforts to develop a contactless ultrasonic guided wave NDE approach to detect and characterize delamination defects in concrete structures. The developed contactless sensors, controlled scanning system, and employed Multi-channel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) signal processing scheme are reviewed. Then a guided wave interpretation approach for MASW data is described. The presence of delamination is interpreted by guided plate wave (Lamb wave) behavior, where a shift in excited Lamb mode phase velocity, is monitored. Numerically simulated and experimental ultrasonic data collected from a concrete sample with simulated delamination defects are presented, where the occurrence of delamination is shown to be associated with a mode shift in Lamb wave energy.

  19. Directional nonlinear guided wave mixing: Case study of counter-propagating shear horizontal waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hasanian, Mostafa; Lissenden, Cliff J.

    2018-04-01

    While much nonlinear ultrasonics research has been conducted on higher harmonic generation, wave mixing provides the potential for sensitive measurements of incipient damage unencumbered by instrumentation nonlinearity. Studies of nonlinear ultrasonic wave mixing, both collinear and noncollinear, for bulk waves have shown the robust capability of wave mixing for early damage detection. One merit of bulk wave mixing lies in their non-dispersive nature, but guided waves enable inspection of otherwise inaccessible material and a variety of mixing options. Co-directional guided wave mixing was studied previously, but arbitrary direction guided wave mixing has not been addressed until recently. Wave vector analysis is applied to study variable mixing angles to find wave mode triplets (two primary waves and a secondary wave) resulting in the phase matching condition. As a case study, counter-propagating Shear Horizontal (SH) guided wave mixing is analyzed. SH wave interactions generate a secondary Lamb wave mode that is readily receivable. Reception of the secondary Lamb wave mode is compared for an angle beam transducer, an air coupled transducer, and a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV). Results from the angle beam and air coupled transducers are quite consistent, while the LDV measurement is plagued by variability issues.

  20. Phased laser diode array permits selective excitation of ultrasonic guided waves in coated bone-mimicking tubes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moilanen, Petro; Salmi, Ari; Kilappa, Vantte; Zhao, Zuomin; Timonen, Jussi; Hæggström, Edward

    2017-10-01

    This paper validates simulation predictions, which state that specific modes could be enhanced in quantitative ultrasonic bone testing. Tunable selection of ultrasonic guided wave excitation is useful in non-destructive testing since it permits the mediation of energy into diagnostically useful modes while reducing the energy mediated into disturbing contributions. For instance, it is often challenging to distinguish and extract the useful modes from ultrasound signals measured in bone covered by a soft tissue. We show that a laser diode array can selectively excite ultrasound in bone mimicking phantoms. A fiber-coupled diode array (4 elements) illuminated two solid tubes (2-3 mm wall thickness) embraced by an opaque soft-tissue mimicking elastomer coating (5 mm thick). A predetermined time delay matching the selected mode and frequency was employed between the outputs of the elements. The generated ultrasound was detected by a 215 kHz piezo receiver. Our results suggest that this array reduces the disturbances caused by the elastomer cover and so pave way to permit non-contacting in vivo guided wave ultrasound assessment of human bones. The implementation is small, inexpensive, and robust in comparison with the conventional pulsed lasers.

  1. Studies on the influence of axial bends on ultrasonic guided waves in hollow cylinders (pipes)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Verma, Bhupesh; Balasubramaniam, Krishnan; Rajagopal, Prabhu

    2013-01-01

    Ultrasonic guided waves in hollow cylinders (pipes) are today widely applied as rapid screening tools in the inspection of straight pipe segments in oil, power generation and petrochemical processing industries. However, the characteristics of guided wave propagation across features such as bends in the pipe network are complicated, hampering a wider application of the developed techniques. Although a growing number of studies in recent years have considered guided wave propagation across elbows and U-type bends, the topic is still not very well understood for a general bend angle φ, mean bend radius R and pipe thickness b. Here we use 3D Finite Element (FE) simulation to illumine the propagation of fundamental guided pipe modes across bends of several different angles φ. Two different bend radius regimes, R/λ ≈ 1 and 10 (where λ denotes the wavelength of the mode studied) are considered, exemplifying 'sharp' and gradual or 'slow' bends. Different typical pipe thicknesses b within these regimes are also studied. The results confirm the expectation that different bend radius regimes affect the waves differently. Further, while as observed in earlier studies, at moderate bend radii, fundamental modes travel almost unaffected by an elbow (bend angle φ = 90 degrees), we find that as the bend angle is reduced, there is a progressively larger extent of mode-conversion. These trends and results are validated using experiments.

  2. Warped frequency transform analysis of ultrasonic guided waves in long bones

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    De Marchi, L.; Baravelli, E.; Xu, K.; Ta, D.; Speciale, N.; Marzani, A.; Viola, E.

    2010-03-01

    Long bones can be seen as irregular hollow tubes, in which, for a given excitation frequency, many ultrasonic Guided Waves (GWs) can propagate. The analysis of GWs is potential to reflect more information on both geometry and material properties of the bone than any other method (such as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, or quantitative computed tomography), and can be used in the assessment of osteoporosis and in the evaluation of fracture healing. In this study, time frequency representations (TFRs) were used to gain insights into the expected behavior of GWs in bones. To this aim, we implemented a dedicated Warped Frequency Transform (WFT) which decomposes the spectrotemporal components of the different propagating modes by selecting an appropriate warping map to reshape the frequency axis. The map can be designed once the GWs group velocity dispersion curves can be predicted. To this purpose, the bone is considered as a hollow cylinder with inner and outer diameter of 16.6 and 24.7 mm, respectively, and linear poroelastic material properties in agreement with the low level of stresses induced by the waves. Timetransient events obtained experimentally, via a piezoelectric ultrasonic set-up applied to bovine tibiae, are analyzed. The results show that WFT limits interference patterns which appear with others TFRs (such as scalograms or warpograms) and produces a sparse representation suitable for characterization purposes. In particular, the mode-frequency combinations propagating with minimal losses are identified.

  3. Structural health monitoring of plates with surface features using guided ultrasonic waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fromme, P.

    2009-03-01

    Distributed array systems for guided ultrasonic waves offer an efficient way for the long-term monitoring of the structural integrity of large plate-like structures. The measurement concept involving baseline subtraction has been demonstrated under laboratory conditions. For the application to real technical structures it needs to be shown that the methodology works equally well in the presence of structural and surface features. Problems employing this structural health monitoring concept can occur due to the presence of additional changes in the signal reflected at undamaged parts of the structure. The influence of the signal processing parameters and transducer placement on the damage detection and localization accuracy is discussed. The use of permanently attached, distributed sensors for the A0 Lamb wave mode has been investigated. Results are presented using experimental data obtained from laboratory measurements and Finite Element simulated signals for a large steel plate with a welded stiffener.

  4. Investigating the Use of Ultrasonic Guided Waves for Aging Wire Insulation Assessment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Anastasi, Robert F.; Madaras, Eric I.

    2002-01-01

    Aging wiring has become a critical issue to DoD, NASA, FAA, and Industry. The problem is that insulation on environmentally aged wire becomes brittle and cracks. This exposes the underlying conductive wire to the potential for short circuits and fire. The difficulty is that techniques to monitor aging wire problems focus on applying electrical sensing techniques that are not very sensitive to the wire insulation. Thus, the development of methods to quantify and monitor aging wire insulation is highly warranted. Measurement of wire insulation stiffness by ultrasonic guided waves is being examined. Initial laboratory tests were performed on a simple model consisting of a solid cylinder and then a solid cylinder with a polymer coating. Experimental measurements showed that the lowest order axisymmetric mode may be sensitive to stiffness changes in the wire insulation. To test this theory, mil-spec wire samples MIL-W-81381, MIL-W-22759/34, and MIL-W-22759/87 (typically found in aircraft) were heat-damaged in an oven, in a range of heating conditions. The samples were 12, 16, and 20 gauge and the heat-damage introduced material changes in the wire-insulation that made the originally flexible insulation brittle and darker in color. Axisymmetric mode phase velocity increased for the samples that were exposed to heat for longer duration. For example, the phase velocity in the 20-gauge MIL-W-22759/34 wire changed from a baseline value of 2790m/s to 3280m/s and 3530m/s for one-hour exposures to 3490C and 3990C, respectively. Although the heat-damage conditions are not the same as environmental aging, we believe that with further development and refinements, the ultrasonic guided waves can be used to inspect wire-insulation for detrimental environmental aging conditions.

  5. Numerical modeling of guided ultrasonic waves generated and received by piezoelectric wafer in a Delaminated composite beam

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, G. D.; Xu, B. Q.; Xu, C. G.; Luo, Y.

    2017-05-01

    A spectral finite element method (SFEM) is developed to analyze guided ultrasonic waves in a delaminated composite beam excited and received by a pair of surface-bonded piezoelectric wafers. The displacements of the composite beam and the piezoelectric wafer are represented by Timoshenko beam and Euler Bernoulli theory respectively. The linear piezoelectricity is used to model the electrical-mechanical coupling between the piezoelectric wafer and the beam. The coupled governing equations and the boundary conditions in time domain are obtained by using the Hamilton's principle, and then the SFEM are formulated by transforming the coupled governing equations into frequency domain via the discrete Fourier transform. The guided waves are analyzed while the interaction of waves with delamination is also discussed. The elements needed in SFEM is far fewer than those for finite element method (FEM), which result in a much faster solution speed in this study. The high accuracy of the present SFEM is verified by comparing with the finite element results.

  6. Imaging ultrasonic dispersive guided wave energy in long bones using linear radon transform.

    PubMed

    Tran, Tho N H T; Nguyen, Kim-Cuong T; Sacchi, Mauricio D; Le, Lawrence H

    2014-11-01

    Multichannel analysis of dispersive ultrasonic energy requires a reliable mapping of the data from the time-distance (t-x) domain to the frequency-wavenumber (f-k) or frequency-phase velocity (f-c) domain. The mapping is usually performed with the classic 2-D Fourier transform (FT) with a subsequent substitution and interpolation via c = 2πf/k. The extracted dispersion trajectories of the guided modes lack the resolution in the transformed plane to discriminate wave modes. The resolving power associated with the FT is closely linked to the aperture of the recorded data. Here, we present a linear Radon transform (RT) to image the dispersive energies of the recorded ultrasound wave fields. The RT is posed as an inverse problem, which allows implementation of the regularization strategy to enhance the focusing power. We choose a Cauchy regularization for the high-resolution RT. Three forms of Radon transform: adjoint, damped least-squares, and high-resolution are described, and are compared with respect to robustness using simulated and cervine bone data. The RT also depends on the data aperture, but not as severely as does the FT. With the RT, the resolution of the dispersion panel could be improved up to around 300% over that of the FT. Among the Radon solutions, the high-resolution RT delineated the guided wave energy with much better imaging resolution (at least 110%) than the other two forms. The Radon operator can also accommodate unevenly spaced records. The results of the study suggest that the high-resolution RT is a valuable imaging tool to extract dispersive guided wave energies under limited aperture. Copyright © 2014 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Transverse and Oblique Long Bone Fracture Evaluation by Low Order Ultrasonic Guided Waves: A Simulation Study

    PubMed Central

    Li, Ying; Liu, Dan; Xu, Kailiang; Le, Lawrence H.; Wang, Weiqi

    2017-01-01

    Ultrasonic guided waves have recently been used in fracture evaluation and fracture healing monitoring. An axial transmission technique has been used to quantify the impact of the gap breakage width and fracture angle on the amplitudes of low order guided wave modes S0 and A0 under a 100 kHz narrowband excitation. In our two dimensional finite-difference time-domain (2D-FDTD) simulation, the long bones are modeled as three layers with a soft tissue overlay and marrow underlay. The simulations of the transversely and obliquely fractured long bones show that the amplitudes of both S0 and A0 decrease as the gap breakage widens. Fixing the crack width, the increase of the fracture angle relative to the cross section perpendicular to the long axis enhances the amplitude of A0, while the amplitude of S0 shows a nonmonotonic trend with the decrease of the fracture angle. The amplitude ratio between the S0 and A0 modes is used to quantitatively evaluate the fracture width and angles. The study suggests that the low order guided wave modes S0 and A0 have potentials for transverse and oblique bone fracture evaluation and fracture healing monitoring. PMID:28182135

  8. Transverse and Oblique Long Bone Fracture Evaluation by Low Order Ultrasonic Guided Waves: A Simulation Study.

    PubMed

    Li, Ying; Liu, Dan; Xu, Kailiang; Ta, Dean; Le, Lawrence H; Wang, Weiqi

    2017-01-01

    Ultrasonic guided waves have recently been used in fracture evaluation and fracture healing monitoring. An axial transmission technique has been used to quantify the impact of the gap breakage width and fracture angle on the amplitudes of low order guided wave modes S 0 and A 0 under a 100 kHz narrowband excitation. In our two dimensional finite-difference time-domain (2D-FDTD) simulation, the long bones are modeled as three layers with a soft tissue overlay and marrow underlay. The simulations of the transversely and obliquely fractured long bones show that the amplitudes of both S 0 and A 0 decrease as the gap breakage widens. Fixing the crack width, the increase of the fracture angle relative to the cross section perpendicular to the long axis enhances the amplitude of A 0, while the amplitude of S 0 shows a nonmonotonic trend with the decrease of the fracture angle. The amplitude ratio between the S 0 and A 0 modes is used to quantitatively evaluate the fracture width and angles. The study suggests that the low order guided wave modes S 0 and A 0 have potentials for transverse and oblique bone fracture evaluation and fracture healing monitoring.

  9. Parametric study of guided ultrasonic wave propagation in carbon-fiber composite plates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ibrahim, N. A.; Kamarudin, M. A.; Jurimi, M. H. F. M.; Murat, B. I. S.

    2018-03-01

    The aim of this work is to study the guided ultrasonic wave (GUW) behaviour in composite plates using 3D Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Two types of composite models are chosen: plates with and without damage. The damage is modelled as a circular-shaped delamination inside the plate, representing one kind of low-velocity impact damage. Parameters such as excitation frequency, monitoring directivity, plate thickness, delamination size and shape were used to investigate the influence of these parameters on the GUW propagation and scattering behaviour. The models were constructed and coded in Matlab platform, while the simulations were performed in ABAQUS Explicit. From the results, the received signals have shown a strong dependency on the parameters. Significant scattering from the models with delamination were also observed, which indicates the possibility of using GUW for rapid non-destructive monitoring of composite panels and structures.

  10. Damage detection in hazardous waste storage tank bottoms using ultrasonic guided waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cobb, Adam C.; Fisher, Jay L.; Bartlett, Jonathan D.; Earnest, Douglas R.

    2018-04-01

    Detecting damage in storage tanks is performed commercially using a variety of techniques. The most commonly used inspection technologies are magnetic flux leakage (MFL), conventional ultrasonic testing (UT), and leak testing. MFL and UT typically involve manual or robotic scanning of a sensor along the metal surfaces to detect cracks or corrosion wall loss. For inspection of the tank bottom, however, the storage tank is commonly emptied to allow interior access for the inspection system. While there are costs associated with emptying a storage tank for inspection that can be justified in some scenarios, there are situations where emptying the tank is impractical. Robotic, submersible systems have been developed for inspecting these tanks, but there are some storage tanks whose contents are so hazardous that even the use of these systems is untenable. Thus, there is a need to develop an inspection strategy that does not require emptying the tank or insertion of the sensor system into the tank. This paper presents a guided wave system for inspecting the bottom of double-shelled storage tanks (DSTs), with the sensor located on the exterior side-wall of the vessel. The sensor used is an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) that generates and receives shear-horizontal guided plate waves using magnetostriction principles. The system operates by scanning the sensor around the circumference of the storage tank and sending guided waves into the tank bottom at regular intervals. The data from multiple locations are combined using the synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) to create a color-mapped image of the vessel thickness changes. The target application of the system described is inspection of DSTs located at the Hanford site, which are million-gallon vessels used to store nuclear waste. Other vessels whose exterior walls are accessible would also be candidates for inspection using the described approach. Experimental results are shown from tests on multiple

  11. Split-spectrum processing technique for SNR enhancement of ultrasonic guided wave.

    PubMed

    Pedram, Seyed Kamran; Fateri, Sina; Gan, Lu; Haig, Alex; Thornicroft, Keith

    2018-02-01

    Ultrasonic guided wave (UGW) systems are broadly used in several branches of industry where the structural integrity is of concern. In those systems, signal interpretation can often be challenging due to the multi-modal and dispersive propagation of UGWs. This results in degradation of the signals in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and spatial resolution. This paper employs the split-spectrum processing (SSP) technique in order to enhance the SNR and spatial resolution of UGW signals using the optimized filter bank parameters in real time scenario for pipe inspection. SSP technique has already been developed for other applications such as conventional ultrasonic testing for SNR enhancement. In this work, an investigation is provided to clarify the sensitivity of SSP performance to the filter bank parameter values for UGWs such as processing bandwidth, filter bandwidth, filter separation and a number of filters. As a result, the optimum values are estimated to significantly improve the SNR and spatial resolution of UGWs. The proposed method is synthetically and experimentally compared with conventional approaches employing different SSP recombination algorithms. The Polarity Thresholding (PT) and PT with Minimization (PTM) algorithms were found to be the best recombination algorithms. They substantially improved the SNR up to 36.9dB and 38.9dB respectively. The outcome of the work presented in this paper paves the way to enhance the reliability of UGW inspections. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Guided wave and damage detection in composite laminates using different fiber optic sensors.

    PubMed

    Li, Fucai; Murayama, Hideaki; Kageyama, Kazuro; Shirai, Takehiro

    2009-01-01

    Guided wave detection using different fiber optic sensors and their applications in damage detection for composite laminates were systematically investigated and compared in this paper. Two types of fiber optic sensors, namely fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) and Doppler effect-based fiber optic (FOD) sensors, were addressed and guided wave detection systems were constructed for both types. Guided waves generated by a piezoelectric transducer were propagated through a quasi-isotropic carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminate and acquired by these fiber optic sensors. Characteristics of these fiber optic sensors in ultrasonic guided wave detection were systematically compared. Results demonstrated that both the FBG and FOD sensors can be applied in guided wave and damage detection for the CFRP laminates. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of guided wave signal captured by an FOD sensor is relatively high in comparison with that of the FBG sensor because of their different physical principles in ultrasonic detection. Further, the FOD sensor is sensitive to the damage-induced fundamental shear horizontal (SH(0)) guided wave that, however, cannot be detected by using the FBG sensor, because the FOD sensor is omnidirectional in ultrasound detection and, in contrast, the FBG sensor is severely direction dependent.

  13. Constant Group Velocity Ultrasonic Guided Wave Inspection for Corrosion and Erosion Monitoring in Pipes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Instanes, Geir; Pedersen, Audun; Toppe, Mads; Nagy, Peter B.

    2009-03-01

    This paper describes a novel ultrasonic guided wave inspection technique for the monitoring of internal corrosion and erosion in pipes, which exploits the fundamental flexural mode to measure the average wall thickness over the inspection path. The inspection frequency is chosen so that the group velocity of the fundamental flexural mode is essentially constant throughout the wall thickness range of interest, while the phase velocity is highly dispersive and changes in a systematic way with varying wall thickness in the pipe. Although this approach is somewhat less accurate than the often used transverse resonance methods, it smoothly integrates the wall thickness over the whole propagation length, therefore it is very robust and can tolerate large and uneven thickness variations from point to point. The constant group velocity (CGV) method is capable of monitoring the true average of the wall thickness over the inspection length with an accuracy of 1% even in the presence of one order of magnitude larger local variations. This method also eliminates spurious variations caused by changing temperature, which can cause fairly large velocity variations, but do not significantly influence the dispersion as measured by the true phase angle in the vicinity of the CGV point. The CGV guided wave CEM method was validated in both laboratory and field tests.

  14. Scattering of ultrasonic wave by cracks in a plate

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Liu, S. W.; Datta, S. K.

    1993-01-01

    A hybrid numerical method combining finite elements and the boundary integral representation is used to investigate the transient scattering of ultrasonic waves by a crack in a plate. The incident wave models the guided waves generated by a steel ball impact on the plate. Two surface-breaking cracks and one subsurface crack are studied here. The results show that the location and depth of cracks have measurable effects on the surface responses in time and frequency domains. Also, the scattered fields have distinct differences in the three cases.

  15. 2D Analytical Model for the Directivity Prediction of Ultrasonic Contact Type Transducers in the Generation of Guided Waves.

    PubMed

    Tiwari, Kumar Anubhav; Raisutis, Renaldas; Mazeika, Liudas; Samaitis, Vykintas

    2018-03-26

    In this paper, a novel 2D analytical model based on the Huygens's principle of wave propagation is proposed in order to predict the directivity patterns of contact type ultrasonic transducers in the generation of guided waves (GWs). The developed model is able to estimate the directivity patterns at any distance, at any excitation frequency and for any configuration and shape of the transducers with prior information of phase dispersive characteristics of the guided wave modes and the behavior of transducer. This, in turn, facilitates to choose the appropriate transducer or arrays of transducers, suitable guided wave modes and excitation frequency for the nondestructive testing (NDT) and structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. The model is demonstrated for P1-type macro-fiber composite (MFC) transducer glued on a 2 mm thick aluminum (Al) alloy plate. The directivity patterns of MFC transducer in the generation of fundamental guided Lamb modes (the S0 and A0) and shear horizontal mode (the SH0) are successfully obtained at 80 kHz, 5-period excitation signal. The results are verified using 3D finite element (FE) modelling and experimental investigation. The results obtained using the proposed model shows the good agreement with those obtained using numerical simulations and experimental analysis. The calculation time using the analytical model was significantly shorter as compared to the time spent in experimental analysis and FE numerical modelling.

  16. 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.

  17. Corrosion monitoring using high-frequency guided waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fromme, P.

    2016-04-01

    Corrosion can develop due to adverse environmental conditions during the life cycle of a range of industrial structures, e.g., offshore oil platforms, ships, and desalination plants. Generalized corrosion leading to wall thickness loss can cause the reduction of the strength and thus degradation of the structural integrity. The monitoring of corrosion damage in difficult to access areas can be achieved using high frequency guided waves propagating along the structure from accessible areas. Using standard ultrasonic wedge transducers with single sided access to the structure, guided wave modes were selectively generated that penetrate through the complete thickness of the structure. The wave propagation and interference of the different guided wave modes depends on the thickness of the structure. Laboratory experiments were conducted for wall thickness reduction due to milling of the steel structure. From the measured signal changes due to the wave mode interference the reduced wall thickness was monitored. Good agreement with theoretical predictions was achieved. The high frequency guided waves have the potential for corrosion damage monitoring at critical and difficult to access locations from a stand-off distance.

  18. Guided waves in a monopile of an offshore wind turbine.

    PubMed

    Zernov, V; Fradkin, L; Mudge, P

    2011-01-01

    We study the guided waves in a structure which consists of two overlapping steel plates, with the overlapping section grouted. This geometry is often encountered in support structures of large industrial offshore constructions, such as wind turbine monopiles. It has been recognized for some time that the guided wave technology offers distinctive advantages for the ultrasonic inspections and health monitoring of structures of this extent. It is demonstrated that there exist advantageous operational regimes of ultrasonic transducers guaranteeing a good inspection range, even when the structures are totally submerged in water, which is a consideration when the wind turbines are deployed off shore. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. 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.

  20. 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.

  1. Enhanced sensing and conversion of ultrasonic Rayleigh waves by elastic metasurfaces.

    PubMed

    Colombi, Andrea; Ageeva, Victoria; Smith, Richard J; Clare, Adam; Patel, Rikesh; Clark, Matt; Colquitt, Daniel; Roux, Philippe; Guenneau, Sebastien; Craster, Richard V

    2017-07-28

    Recent years have heralded the introduction of metasurfaces that advantageously combine the vision of sub-wavelength wave manipulation, with the design, fabrication and size advantages associated with surface excitation. An important topic within metasurfaces is the tailored rainbow trapping and selective spatial frequency separation of electromagnetic and acoustic waves using graded metasurfaces. This frequency dependent trapping and spatial frequency segregation has implications for energy concentrators and associated energy harvesting, sensing and wave filtering techniques. Different demonstrations of acoustic and electromagnetic rainbow devices have been performed, however not for deep elastic substrates that support both shear and compressional waves, together with surface Rayleigh waves; these allow not only for Rayleigh wave rainbow effects to exist but also for mode conversion from surface into shear waves. Here we demonstrate experimentally not only elastic Rayleigh wave rainbow trapping, by taking advantage of a stop-band for surface waves, but also selective mode conversion of surface Rayleigh waves to shear waves. These experiments performed at ultrasonic frequencies, in the range of 400-600 kHz, are complemented by time domain numerical simulations. The metasurfaces we design are not limited to guided ultrasonic waves and are a general phenomenon in elastic waves that can be translated across scales.

  2. Simulation of guided wave interaction with in-plane fiber waviness

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leckey, Cara A. C.; Juarez, Peter D.

    2017-02-01

    Reducing the timeline for certification of composite materials and enabling the expanded use of advanced composite materials for aerospace applications are two primary goals of NASA's Advanced Composites Project (ACP). A key a technical challenge area for accomplishing these goals is the development of rapid composite inspection methods with improved defect characterization capabilities. Ongoing work at NASA Langley is focused on expanding ultrasonic simulation capabilities for composite materials. Simulation tools can be used to guide the development of optimal inspection methods. Custom code based on elastodynamic finite integration technique is currently being developed and implemented to study ultrasonic wave interaction with manufacturing defects, such as in-plane fiber waviness (marcelling). This paper describes details of validation comparisons performed to enable simulation of guided wave propagation in composites containing fiber waviness. Simulation results for guided wave interaction with in-plane fiber waviness are also discussed. The results show that the wavefield is affected by the presence of waviness on both the surface containing fiber waviness, as well as the opposite surface to the location of waviness.

  3. Simulation of Guided Wave Interaction with In-Plane Fiber Waviness

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Leckey, Cara A. C.; Juarez, Peter D.

    2016-01-01

    Reducing the timeline for certification of composite materials and enabling the expanded use of advanced composite materials for aerospace applications are two primary goals of NASA's Advanced Composites Project (ACP). A key a technical challenge area for accomplishing these goals is the development of rapid composite inspection methods with improved defect characterization capabilities. Ongoing work at NASA Langley is focused on expanding ultrasonic simulation capabilities for composite materials. Simulation tools can be used to guide the development of optimal inspection methods. Custom code based on elastodynamic finite integration technique is currently being developed and implemented to study ultrasonic wave interaction with manufacturing defects, such as in-plane fiber waviness (marcelling). This paper describes details of validation comparisons performed to enable simulation of guided wave propagation in composites containing fiber waviness. Simulation results for guided wave interaction with in-plane fiber waviness are also discussed. The results show that the wavefield is affected by the presence of waviness on both the surface containing fiber waviness, as well as the opposite surface to the location of waviness.

  4. A study on the prenatal zone of ultrasonic guided waves in plates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thomas, Tibin; Balasubramaniam, Krishnan

    2017-02-01

    Low frequency guided wave based inspection is an extensively used method for asset management with the advantage of wide area coverage from a single location at the cost of spatial resolution. With the advent of high frequency guided waves, short range inspections with high spatial resolution for monitoring corrosion under pipe supports and tank annular plates has gained widespread interest and acceptance. One of the major challenges in the application of high frequency guided waves in a short range inspection is to attain the desired modal displacements with respect to the application. In this paper, an investigation on the generation and formation of fundamental S0 mode is carried out through numerical simulation and experiments to establish a prenatal zone for guided waves. The effect of frequency, thickness of the plate and frequency-thickness (f*d) is studied. The investigation reveals the existence of a rudimentary form with similar modal features to the fully developed mode. This study helps in the design and development of a high frequency guided wave generator for particular applications which demands waves with very less sensitivity to the surface and loading during the initial phase which immediately evolves to a more sensitive wave towards the surface on propagation for the detection of shallow defects.

  5. Photo-acoustic excitation and detection of guided ultrasonic waves in bone samples covered by a soft coating layer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Zuomin; Moilanen, Petro; Karppinen, Pasi; Määttä, Mikko; Karppinen, Timo; Hæggström, Edward; Timonen, Jussi; Myllylä, Risto

    2012-12-01

    Photo-acoustic (PA) excitation was combined with skeletal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) for multi-mode ultrasonic assessment of human long bones. This approach permits tailoring of the ultrasonic excitation and detection so as to efficiently detect the fundamental flexural guided wave (FFGW) through a coating of soft tissue. FFGW is a clinically relevant indicator of cortical thickness. An OPO laser with tunable optical wavelength, was used to excite a photo-acoustic source in the shaft of a porcine femur. Ultrasonic signals were detected by a piezoelectric transducer, scanning along the long axis of the bone, 20-50 mm away from the source. Five femurs were measured without and with a soft coating. The coating was made of an aqueous gelatin-intralipid suspension that optically and acoustically mimicked real soft tissue. An even coating thickness was ensured by using a specific mold. The optical wave length of the source (1250 nm) was tuned to maximize the amplitude of FFGW excitation at 50 kHz frequency. The experimentally determined FFGW phase velocity in the uncoated samples was consistent with that of the fundamental antisymmetric Lamb mode (A0). Using appropriate signal processing, FFGW was also identified in the coated bone samples, this time with a phase velocity consistent with that theoretically predicted for the first mode of a fluid-solid bilayer waveguide (BL1). Our results suggest that photo-acoustic quantitative ultrasound enables assessment of the thickness-sensitive FFGW in bone through a layer of soft tissue. Photo-acoustic characterization of the cortical bone thickness may thus become possible.

  6. Characterizing Hypervelocity Impact (HVI)-Induced Pitting Damage Using Active Guided Ultrasonic Waves: From Linear to Nonlinear

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Menglong; Wang, Kai; Lissenden, Cliff J.; Wang, Qiang; Zhang, Qingming; Long, Renrong; Su, Zhongqing; Cui, Fangsen

    2017-01-01

    Hypervelocity impact (HVI), ubiquitous in low Earth orbit with an impacting velocity in excess of 1 km/s, poses an immense threat to the safety of orbiting spacecraft. Upon penetration of the outer shielding layer of a typical two-layer shielding system, the shattered projectile, together with the jetted materials of the outer shielding material, subsequently impinge the inner shielding layer, to which pitting damage is introduced. The pitting damage includes numerous craters and cracks disorderedly scattered over a wide region. Targeting the quantitative evaluation of this sort of damage (multitudinous damage within a singular inspection region), a characterization strategy, associating linear with nonlinear features of guided ultrasonic waves, is developed. Linear-wise, changes in the signal features in the time domain (e.g., time-of-flight and energy dissipation) are extracted, for detecting gross damage whose characteristic dimensions are comparable to the wavelength of the probing wave; nonlinear-wise, changes in the signal features in the frequency domain (e.g., second harmonic generation), which are proven to be more sensitive than their linear counterparts to small-scale damage, are explored to characterize HVI-induced pitting damage scattered in the inner layer. A numerical simulation, supplemented with experimental validation, quantitatively reveals the accumulation of nonlinearity of the guided waves when the waves traverse the pitting damage, based on which linear and nonlinear damage indices are proposed. A path-based rapid imaging algorithm, in conjunction with the use of the developed linear and nonlinear indices, is developed, whereby the HVI-induced pitting damage is characterized in images in terms of the probability of occurrence. PMID:28772908

  7. Towards an Ultrasonic Guided Wave Procedure for Health Monitoring of Composite Vessels: Application to Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft

    PubMed Central

    Yaacoubi, Slah; McKeon, Peter; Ke, Weina; Declercq, Nico F.; Dahmene, Fethi

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents an overview and description of the approach to be used to investigate the behavior and the defect sensitivity of various ultrasonic guided wave (UGW) modes propagating specifically in composite cylindrical vessels in the framework of the safety of hydrogen energy transportation such as hydrogen-powered aircrafts. These structures which consist of thick and multi-layer composites are envisioned for housing hydrogen gas at high pressures. Due to safety concerns associated with a weakened structure, structural health monitoring techniques are needed. A procedure for optimizing damage detection in these structural types is presented. It is shown that a finite element method can help identify useful experimental parameters including frequency range, excitation type, and receiver placement. PMID:28925961

  8. 3D Ultrasonic Wave Simulations for Structural Health Monitoring

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Campbell, Leckey Cara A/; Miler, Corey A.; Hinders, Mark K.

    2011-01-01

    Structural health monitoring (SHM) for the detection of damage in aerospace materials is an important area of research at NASA. Ultrasonic guided Lamb waves are a promising SHM damage detection technique since the waves can propagate long distances. For complicated flaw geometries experimental signals can be difficult to interpret. High performance computing can now handle full 3-dimensional (3D) simulations of elastic wave propagation in materials. We have developed and implemented parallel 3D elastodynamic finite integration technique (3D EFIT) code to investigate ultrasound scattering from flaws in materials. EFIT results have been compared to experimental data and the simulations provide unique insight into details of the wave behavior. This type of insight is useful for developing optimized experimental SHM techniques. 3D EFIT can also be expanded to model wave propagation and scattering in anisotropic composite materials.

  9. Monitoring corrosion of rebar embedded in mortar using guided ultrasonic waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ervin, Benjamin Lee

    This thesis investigates the use of guided mechanical waves for monitoring uniform and localized corrosion in steel reinforcing bars embedded in concrete. The main forms of structural deterioration from uniform corrosion in reinforced concrete are the destruction of the bond between steel and concrete, the loss of steel cross-sectional area, and the loss of concrete cross-sectional area from cracking and spalling. Localized corrosion, or pitting, leads to severe loss of steel cross-sectional area, creating a high risk of bar tensile failure and unintended transfer of loads to the surrounding concrete. Reinforcing bars were used to guide the waves, rather than bulk concrete, allowing for longer inspection distances due to lower material absorption, scattering, and divergence. Guided mechanical waves in low frequency ranges (50-200 kHz) and higher frequency ranges (2-8 MHz) were monitored in reinforced mortar specimens undergoing accelerated uniform corrosion. The frequency ranges chosen contain wave modes with varying amounts of interaction, i.e. displacement profile, at the material interface. Lower frequency modes were shown to be sensitive to the accumulation of corrosion product and the level of bond between the surrounding mortar and rebar. This allows for the onset of corrosion and bond deterioration to be monitored. Higher frequency modes were shown to be sensitive to changes in the bar profile surface, allowing for the loss of cross-sectional area to be monitored. Guided mechanical waves in the higher frequency range were also used to monitor reinforced mortar specimens undergoing accelerated localized corrosion. The high frequency modes were sensitive to the localized attack. Also promising was the unique frequency spectrum response for both uniform and localized corrosion, allowing the two corrosion types to be differentiated from through-transmission evaluation. The isolated effects of the reinforcing ribs, simulated debonding, simulated pitting, water

  10. 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.

  11. 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

  12. Guided waves in anisotropic and quasi-isotropic aerospace composites: three-dimensional simulation and experiment.

    PubMed

    Leckey, Cara A C; Rogge, Matthew D; Raymond Parker, F

    2014-01-01

    Three-dimensional (3D) elastic wave simulations can be used to investigate and optimize nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and structural health monitoring (SHM) ultrasonic damage detection techniques for aerospace materials. 3D anisotropic elastodynamic finite integration technique (EFIT) has been implemented for ultrasonic waves in carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite laminates. This paper describes 3D EFIT simulations of guided wave propagation in undamaged and damaged anisotropic and quasi-isotropic composite plates. Comparisons are made between simulations of guided waves in undamaged anisotropic composite plates and both experimental laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) wavefield data and dispersion curves. Time domain and wavenumber domain comparisons are described. Wave interaction with complex geometry delamination damage is then simulated to investigate how simulation tools incorporating realistic damage geometries can aid in the understanding of wave interaction with CFRP damage. In order to move beyond simplistic assumptions of damage geometry, volumetric delamination data acquired via X-ray microfocus computed tomography is directly incorporated into the simulation. Simulated guided wave interaction with the complex geometry delamination is compared to experimental LDV time domain data and 3D wave interaction with the volumetric damage is discussed. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  13. Ultrasonic Guided-Wave Scan System Used to Characterize Microstructure and Defects in Ceramic Composites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roth, Don J.; Cosgriff, Laura M.; Martin, Richard E.; Verrilli, Michael J.; Bhatt, Ramakrishna T.

    2004-01-01

    Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are being developed for advanced aerospace propulsion applications to save weight, improve reuse capability, and increase performance. However, mechanical and environmental loads applied to CMCs can cause discrete flaws and distributed microdamage, significantly reducing desirable physical properties. Such microdamage includes fiber/matrix debonding (interface failure), matrix microcracking, fiber fracture and buckling, oxidation, and second phase formation. A recent study (ref. 1) of the durability of a C/SiC CMC discussed the requirement for improved nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods for monitoring degradation in these materials. Distributed microdamage in CMCs has proven difficult to characterize nondestructively because of the complex microstructure and macrostructure of these materials. This year, an ultrasonic guided-wave scan system developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center was used to characterize various microstructural and flaw conditions in SiC/SiC (silicon carbide fiber in silicon carbide matrix) and C/SiC (carbon fiber in silicon carbide matrix) CMC samples.

  14. UCSD/FRA non-contact ultrasonic guided-wave system for rail inspection: an update

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Coccia, Stefano; Phillips, Robert; Nucera, Claudio; Bartoli, Ivan; Salamone, Salvatore; Lanza di Scalea, Francesco; Fateh, Mahmood; Carr, Gary

    2011-04-01

    The University of California at San Diego (UCSD), under a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research and Development (R&D) grant, is developing a system for high-speed and non-contact rail defect detection. A prototype has been designed and field tested with the support of Volpe National Transportation Systems Center and ENSCO, Inc. The goal of this project is to develop a rail defect detection system that provides (a) better defect detection reliability (including internal transverse head defects under shelling and vertical split head defects), and (b) higher inspection speed than achievable by current rail inspection systems. This effort is also in direct response to Safety Recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following the disastrous train derailments at Superior, WI in 1992 and Oneida, NY in 2007 among others. The UCSD prototype uses non-contact ultrasonic probing of the rail head (laser and air-coupled), ultrasonic guided waves, and a proprietary real-time statistical analysis algorithm that maximizes the sensitivity to defects while minimizing false positives. The current design allows potential inspection speeds up to 40 mph, although all field tests have been conducted up to 15 mph so far. This paper summarizes (a) the latest technology development test conducted at the rail defect farm of Herzog, Inc. in St Joseph, MO in June 2010, and (b) the completion of the new Rail Defect Farm facility at the UCSD Camp Elliott Field Station with partial in-kind donations from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway.

  15. Numerical studies of nonlinear ultrasonic guided waves in uniform waveguides with arbitrary cross sections

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

    Zuo, Peng; Fan, Zheng, E-mail: ZFAN@ntu.edu.sg; Zhou, Yu

    2016-07-15

    Nonlinear guided waves have been investigated widely in simple geometries, such as plates, pipe and shells, where analytical solutions have been developed. This paper extends the application of nonlinear guided waves to waveguides with arbitrary cross sections. The criteria for the existence of nonlinear guided waves were summarized based on the finite deformation theory and nonlinear material properties. Numerical models were developed for the analysis of nonlinear guided waves in complex geometries, including nonlinear Semi-Analytical Finite Element (SAFE) method to identify internal resonant modes in complex waveguides, and Finite Element (FE) models to simulate the nonlinear wave propagation at resonantmore » frequencies. Two examples, an aluminum plate and a steel rectangular bar, were studied using the proposed numerical model, demonstrating the existence of nonlinear guided waves in such structures and the energy transfer from primary to secondary modes.« less

  16. 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.

  17. Load-Differential Features for Automated Detection of Fatigue Cracks Using Guided Waves (Preprint)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-11-01

    AFRL-RX-WP-TP-2011-4363 LOAD-DIFFERENTIAL FEATURES FOR AUTOMATED DETECTION OF FATIGUE CRACKS USING GUIDED WAVES (PREPRINT) Jennifer E...AUTOMATED DETECTION OF FATIGUE CRACKS USING GUIDED WAVES (PREPRINT) 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA8650-09-C-5206 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER...tensile loads open fatigue cracks and thus enhance their detectability using ultrasonic methods. Here we introduce a class of load-differential methods

  18. Detection and assessment of flaws in friction stir welded joints using ultrasonic guided waves: experimental and finite element analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fakih, Mohammad Ali; Mustapha, Samir; Tarraf, Jaafar; Ayoub, Georges; Hamade, Ramsey

    2018-02-01

    Ultrasonic guided waves (GWs), e.g. Lamb waves, have been proven effective in the detection of defects such as corrosion, cracking, delamination, and debonding in both composite and metallic structures. They are a significant tool employed in structural health monitoring. In this study, the ability of ultrasonic GWs to assess the quality of friction stir welding (FSW) was investigated. Four friction stir welded AZ31B magnesium plates processed with different welding parameters and a non-welded plate were used. The fundamental symmetric (S0) Lamb wave mode was excited using piezoelectric wafers (PZTs). Further, the S0 mode was separated using the "Improved complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (Improved CEEMDAN)" technique. A damage index (DI) was defined based on the variation in the amplitude of the captured wave signals in order to detect the presence and asses the severity of damage resulting from the welding process. As well, computed tomography (CT) scanning was used as a non-destructive testing (NDT) technique to assess the actual weld quality and validate predictions based on the GW approach. The findings were further confirmed using finite element analysis (FEA). To model the actual damage profile in the welds, "Mimics" software was used for the 3D reconstruction of the CT scans. The built 3D models were later used for evaluation of damage volume and for FEA. The damage volumes were correlated to the damage indices computed from both experimental and numerical data. The proposed approach showed high sensitivity of the S0 mode to internal flaws within the friction stir welded joints. This methodology has great potential as a future classification method of FSW quality.

  19. Method for Ultrasonic Imaging and Device for Performing the Method

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Madaras, Eric I. (Inventor)

    1997-01-01

    A method for ultrasonic imaging of interior structures and flaws in a test specimen with a smooth or irregular contact surfaces, in which an ultrasonic transducer is coupled acoustically to the contact surface via a plurality of ultrasonic wave guides with equal delay times. The wave guides are thin and bendable, so they adapt to variations in the distance between the transducer and different parts of the contact surface by bending more or less. All parts of the irregular contact surface accordingly receive sound waves that are in phase, even when the contact surface is irregular, so a coherent sound wave is infused in the test specimen. The wave guides can be arranged in the form of an ultrasonic brush, with a flat head for coupling to a flat transducer, and free bristles that can be pressed against the test specimen. By bevelling the bristle ends at a suitable angle, shear mode waves can be infused into the test specimen from a longitudinal mode transducer.

  20. 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.

  1. Non-Destructive Inspection of Impact Damage in Composite Aircraft Panels by Ultrasonic Guided Waves and Statistical Processing.

    PubMed

    Capriotti, Margherita; Kim, Hyungsuk E; Scalea, Francesco Lanza di; Kim, Hyonny

    2017-06-04

    This paper discusses a non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technique for the detection of damage in composite aircraft structures following high energy wide area blunt impact (HEWABI) from ground service equipment (GSE), such as heavy cargo loaders and other heavy equipment. The test structures typically include skin, co-cured stringers, and C-frames that are bolt-connected onto the skin with shear ties. The inspection exploits the waveguide geometry of these structures by utilizing ultrasonic guided waves and a line scan approach. Both a contact prototype and a non-contact prototype were developed and tested on realistic test panels subjected to impact in the laboratory. The results are presented in terms of receiver operating characteristic curves that show excellent probability of detection with low false alarm rates for defects located in the panel skin and stringers.

  2. 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.

  3. Temperature effects in ultrasonic Lamb wave structural health monitoring systems.

    PubMed

    Lanza di Scalea, Francesco; Salamone, Salvatore

    2008-07-01

    There is a need to better understand the effect of temperature changes on the response of ultrasonic guided-wave pitch-catch systems used for structural health monitoring. A model is proposed to account for all relevant temperature-dependent parameters of a pitch-catch system on an isotropic plate, including the actuator-plate and plate-sensor interactions through shear-lag behavior, the piezoelectric and dielectric permittivity properties of the transducers, and the Lamb wave dispersion properties of the substrate plate. The model is used to predict the S(0) and A(0) response spectra in aluminum plates for the temperature range of -40-+60 degrees C, which accounts for normal aircraft operations. The transducers examined are monolithic PZT-5A [PZT denotes Pb(Zr-Ti)O3] patches and flexible macrofiber composite type P1 patches. The study shows substantial changes in Lamb wave amplitude response caused solely by temperature excursions. It is also shown that, for the transducers considered, the response amplitude changes follow two opposite trends below and above ambient temperature (20 degrees C), respectively. These results can provide a basis for the compensation of temperature effects in guided-wave damage detection systems.

  4. Non-Destructive Inspection of Impact Damage in Composite Aircraft Panels by Ultrasonic Guided Waves and Statistical Processing

    PubMed Central

    Capriotti, Margherita; Kim, Hyungsuk E.; Lanza di Scalea, Francesco; Kim, Hyonny

    2017-01-01

    This paper discusses a non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technique for the detection of damage in composite aircraft structures following high energy wide area blunt impact (HEWABI) from ground service equipment (GSE), such as heavy cargo loaders and other heavy equipment. The test structures typically include skin, co-cured stringers, and C-frames that are bolt-connected onto the skin with shear ties. The inspection exploits the waveguide geometry of these structures by utilizing ultrasonic guided waves and a line scan approach. Both a contact prototype and a non-contact prototype were developed and tested on realistic test panels subjected to impact in the laboratory. The results are presented in terms of receiver operating characteristic curves that show excellent probability of detection with low false alarm rates for defects located in the panel skin and stringers. PMID:28772976

  5. Permeability recovery of damaged water sensitive core using ultrasonic waves.

    PubMed

    Khan, Nasir; Pu, Chunsheng; Li, Xu; He, Yanlong; Zhang, Lei; Jing, Cheng

    2017-09-01

    It is imperative to recover the well productivity lose due to formation damage nearby wellbore during variant well operations. Some indispensable issues in conventional techniques make ultrasonic technology more attractive due to simple, reliable, favorable, cost-effective, and environment friendly nature. This study proposes the independent and combined use of ultrasonic waves and chemical agents for the treatment of already damaged core samples caused by exposure to distilled water. Results elucidate that ultrasonic waves with optimum (20kHz, 1000W) instead of maximum frequency and power worked well in the recovery owing to peristaltic transport caused by matching of natural frequency with acoustic waves frequency. In addition, hundred minutes was investigated as optimum irradiation time which provided ample time span to detach fine loosely suspended particles. However, further irradiation adversely affected the damaged permeability recovery. Moreover, permeability improvement attributes to cavitation due to ultrasonic waves propagation through fluid contained in porous medium and thermal energy generated by three different ways. Eventually, experimental outcomes indicated that maximum (25.3%) damaged permeability recovery was witnessed by applying ultrasonic waves with transducer #2 (20kHz and 1000W) and optimum irradiation timeframe (100min). This recovery was further increased to 45.8% by applying chemical agent and optimum ultrasonic waves simultaneously. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. High frequency guided wave propagation in monocrystalline silicon wafers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pizzolato, Marco; Masserey, Bernard; Robyr, Jean-Luc; Fromme, Paul

    2017-04-01

    Monocrystalline silicon wafers are widely used in the photovoltaic industry for solar panels with high conversion efficiency. The cutting process can introduce micro-cracks in the thin wafers and lead to varying thickness. High frequency guided ultrasonic waves are considered for the structural monitoring of the wafers. The anisotropy of the monocrystalline silicon leads to variations of the wave characteristics, depending on the propagation direction relative to the crystal orientation. Full three-dimensional Finite Element simulations of the guided wave propagation were conducted to visualize and quantify these effects for a line source. The phase velocity (slowness) and skew angle of the two fundamental Lamb wave modes (first anti-symmetric mode A0 and first symmetric mode S0) for varying propagation directions relative to the crystal orientation were measured experimentally. Selective mode excitation was achieved using a contact piezoelectric transducer with a custom-made wedge and holder to achieve a controlled contact pressure. The out-of-plane component of the guided wave propagation was measured using a noncontact laser interferometer. Good agreement was found with the simulation results and theoretical predictions based on nominal material properties of the silicon wafer.

  7. 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.

  8. Non-destructive evaluation of coating thickness using guided waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ostiguy, Pierre-Claude; Quaegebeur, Nicolas; Masson, Patrice

    2015-04-01

    Among existing strategies for non-destructive evaluation of coating thickness, ultrasonic methods based on the measurement of the Time-of-Flight (ToF) of high frequency bulk waves propagating through the thickness of a structure are widespread. However, these methods only provide a very localized measurement of the coating thickness and the precision on the results is largely affected by the surface roughness, porosity or multi-layered nature of the host structure. Moreover, since the measurement is very local, inspection of large surfaces can be time consuming. This article presents a robust methodology for coating thickness estimation based on the generation and measurement of guided waves. Guided waves have the advantage over ultrasonic bulk waves of being less sensitive to surface roughness, and of measuring an average thickness over a wider area, thus reducing the time required to inspect large surfaces. The approach is based on an analytical multi-layer model and intercorrelation of reference and measured signals. The method is first assessed numerically for an aluminum plate, where it is demonstrated that coating thickness can be measured within a precision of 5 micrometers using the S0 mode at frequencies below 500 kHz. Then, an experimental validation is conducted and results show that coating thicknesses in the range of 10 to 200 micrometers can be estimated within a precision of 10 micrometers of the exact coating thickness on this type of structure.

  9. Distributed temperature sensors development using an stepped-helical ultrasonic waveguide

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Periyannan, Suresh; Rajagopal, Prabhu; Balasubramaniam, Krishnan

    2018-04-01

    This paper presents the design and development of the distributed ultrasonic waveguide temperature sensors using some stepped-helical structures. Distributed sensing has several applications in various industries (oil, glass, steel) for measurement of physical parameters such as level, temperature, viscosity, etc. This waveguide incorporates a special notch or bend for obtaining ultrasonic wave reflections from the desired locations (Gage-lengths) where local measurements are desired. In this paper, a multi-location measurement wave-guide, with a measurement capability of 18 locations in a single wire, has been fabricated. The distribution of these sensors is both in the axial as well as radial directions using a stepped-helical spring configuration. Also, different high temperature materials have been chosen for the wave-guide. Both lower order axi-symmetric guided ultrasonic modes (L(0,1) and T(0,1)) were employed. These wave modes were generated/received (pulse-echo approach) using conventional longitudinal and shear transducers, respectively. Also, both the wave modes were simultaneously generated/received and compared using shear transducer for developing the distributed helical wave-guide sensors. The effect of dispersion of the wave modes due to curvature effects will also be discussed.

  10. Mode perturbation method for optimal guided wave mode and frequency selection.

    PubMed

    Philtron, J H; Rose, J L

    2014-09-01

    With a thorough understanding of guided wave mechanics, researchers can predict which guided wave modes will have a high probability of success in a particular nondestructive evaluation application. However, work continues to find optimal mode and frequency selection for a given application. This "optimal" mode could give the highest sensitivity to defects or the greatest penetration power, increasing inspection efficiency. Since material properties used for modeling work may be estimates, in many cases guided wave mode and frequency selection can be adjusted for increased inspection efficiency in the field. In this paper, a novel mode and frequency perturbation method is described and used to identify optimal mode points based on quantifiable wave characteristics. The technique uses an ultrasonic phased array comb transducer to sweep in phase velocity and frequency space. It is demonstrated using guided interface waves for bond evaluation. After searching nearby mode points, an optimal mode and frequency can be selected which has the highest sensitivity to a defect, or gives the greatest penetration power. The optimal mode choice for a given application depends on the requirements of the inspection. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Flaw depth sizing using guided waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cobb, Adam C.; Fisher, Jay L.

    2016-02-01

    Guided wave inspection technology is most often applied as a survey tool for pipeline inspection, where relatively low frequency ultrasonic waves, compared to those used in conventional ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods, propagate along the structure; discontinuities cause a reflection of the sound back to the sensor for flaw detection. Although the technology can be used to accurately locate a flaw over long distances, the flaw sizing performance, especially for flaw depth estimation, is much poorer than other, local NDE approaches. Estimating flaw depth, as opposed to other parameters, is of particular interest for failure analysis of many structures. At present, most guided wave technologies estimate the size of the flaw based on the reflected signal amplitude from the flaw compared to a known geometry reflection, such as a circumferential weld in a pipeline. This process, however, requires many assumptions to be made, such as weld geometry and flaw shape. Furthermore, it is highly dependent on the amplitude of the flaw reflection, which can vary based on many factors, such as attenuation and sensor installation. To improve sizing performance, especially depth estimation, and do so in a way that is not strictly amplitude dependent, this paper describes an approach to estimate the depth of a flaw based on a multimodal analysis. This approach eliminates the need of using geometric reflections for calibration and can be used for both pipeline and plate inspection applications. To verify the approach, a test set was manufactured on plate specimens with flaws of different widths and depths ranging from 5% to 100% of total wall thickness; 90% of these flaws were sized to within 15% of their true value. A description of the initial multimodal sizing strategy and results will be discussed.

  12. Guided wave energy trapping to detect hidden multilayer delamination damage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leckey, Cara A. C.; Seebo, Jeffrey P.

    2015-03-01

    Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) simulation tools capable of modeling three-dimensional (3D) realistic energy-damage interactions are needed for aerospace composites. Current practice in NDE/SHM simulation for composites commonly involves over-simplification of the material parameters and/or a simplified two-dimensional (2D) approach. The unique damage types that occur in composite materials (delamination, microcracking, etc) develop as complex 3D geometry features. This paper discusses the application of 3D custom ultrasonic simulation tools to study wave interaction with multilayer delamination damage in carbon-fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. In particular, simulation based studies of ultrasonic guided wave energy trapping due to multilayer delamination damage were performed. The simulation results show changes in energy trapping at the composite surface as additional delaminations are added through the composite thickness. The results demonstrate a potential approach for identifying the presence of hidden multilayer delamination damage in applications where only single-sided access to a component is available. The paper also describes recent advancements in optimizing the custom ultrasonic simulation code for increases in computation speed.

  13. Guided wave attenuation in coated pipes buried in sand

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leinov, Eli; Cawley, Peter; Lowe, Michael J. S.

    2016-02-01

    Long-range guided wave testing (GWT) is routinely used for the monitoring and detection of corrosion defects in above ground pipelines in various industries. The GWT test range in buried, coated pipelines is greatly reduced compared to aboveground pipelines due to energy leakage into the embedding soil. In this study, we aim to increase test ranges for buried pipelines. The effect of pipe coatings on the T(0,1) and L(0,2) guided wave attenuation is investigated using a full-scale experimental apparatus and model predictions. Tests are performed on a fusion-bonded epoxy (FBE)-coated 8" pipe, buried in loose and compacted sand over a frequency range of 10-35 kHz. The application of a low impedance coating is shown to effectively decouple the influence of the sand on the ultrasound leakage from the buried pipe. We demonstrate ultrasonic isolation of a buried pipe by coating the pipe with a Polyethylene (PE)-foam layer that has a smaller impedance than both pipe and sand and the ability to withstand the overburden load from the sand. The measured attenuation in the buried PE-foam-FBE-coated pipe is substantially reduced, in the range of 0.3-1.2 dBm-1 for loose and compacted sand conditions, compared to buried FBE-coated pipe without the PE-foam, where the measured attenuation is in the range of 1.7-4.7 dBm-1. The acoustic properties of the PE-foam are measured independently using ultrasonic interferometry technique and used in model predictions of guided wave propagation in a buried coated pipe. Good agreement is found between the attenuation measurements and model predictions. The attenuation exhibits periodic peaks in the frequency domain corresponding to the through-thickness resonance frequencies of the coating layer. The large reduction in guided wave attenuation for PE-coated pipes would lead to greatly increased GWT test ranges, so such coatings would be attractive for new pipeline installations.

  14. Dual traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motor with single active vibrator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    An, Dawei; Yang, Ming; Zhuang, Xiaoqi; Yang, Tianyue; Meng, Fan; Dong, Zhaopeng

    2017-04-01

    Traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motor with double vibrators can improve the output performance effectively. However, the rotor has to be energized through a slip ring, which increases the complexity and reduces the reliability. Inheriting the concept of two traveling waves propagating in the stator and rotor, a dual traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motor energized only in the stator is proposed. By analyzing the oscillatory differential equation and the contact particles motion, a traveling wave is found in the rotor and the drive mechanism of dual traveling wave is studied. With the resonant rotor adopted, the consistent eigenfrequencies are calculated by finite element method and verified by an impedance analyzer. The performance experiment presents that the dual traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motor is superior to the motor with single traveling wave. The no-load speed is 60 rpm and the stalling torque is 0.85 Nm. Additionally, compared with a reported motor with double vibrators, the proposed motor presents the better output performance and the simpler design.

  15. Modal content based damage indicators and phased array transducers for structural health monitoring of aircraft structures using ultrasonic guided waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ren, Baiyang

    Composite materials, especially carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP), have been widely used in the aircraft industry because of their high specific strength and stiffness, resistance to corrosion and good fatigue life. Due to their highly anisotropic material properties and laminated structures, joining methods like bolting and riveting are no longer appropriate for joining CFRP since they initiate defects during the assembly and severely compromise the integrity of the structure; thus new techniques for joining CFRP are highly demanded. Adhesive bonding is a promising method because it relieves stress concentration, reduces weight and provides smooth surfaces. Additionally, it is a low-cost alternative to the co-cured method which is currently used to manufacture components of aircraft fuselage. Adhesive defects, disbonds at the interface between adherend and adhesive layer, are focused on in this thesis because they can be initialized by either poor surface preparation during the manufacturing or fatigue loads during service. Aircraft need structural health monitoring (SHM) systems to increase safety and reduce loss, and adhesive bonds usually represent the hotspots of the assembled structure. There are many nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods for bond inspection. However, these methods cannot be readily integrated into an SHM system because of the bulk size and weight of the equipment and requirement of accessibility to one side of the bonded joint. The first objective of this work is to develop instruments, actuators, sensors and a data acquisition system for SHM of bond lines using ultrasonic guided waves which are well known to be able to cover large volume of the structure and inaccessible regions. Different from widely used guided wave sensors like PZT disks, the new actuators, piezoelectric fiber composite (PFC) phased array transducers0 (PAT), can control the modal content of the excited waves and the new sensors, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF

  16. Using Ultrasonic Lamb Waves To Measure Moduli Of Composites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kautz, Harold E.

    1995-01-01

    Measurements of broad-band ultrasonic Lamb waves in plate specimens of ceramic-matrix/fiber and metal-matrix/fiber composite materials used to determine moduli of elasticity of materials. In one class of potential applications of concept, Lamb-wave responses of specimens measured and analyzed at various stages of thermal and/or mechanical processing to determine effects of processing, without having to dissect specimens. In another class, structural components having shapes supporting propagation of Lamb waves monitored ultrasonically to identify signs of deterioration and impending failure.

  17. 3D Modeling of Ultrasonic Wave Interaction with Disbonds and Weak Bonds

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Leckey, C.; Hinders, M.

    2011-01-01

    Ultrasonic techniques, such as the use of guided waves, can be ideal for finding damage in the plate and pipe-like structures used in aerospace applications. However, the interaction of waves with real flaw types and geometries can lead to experimental signals that are difficult to interpret. 3-dimensional (3D) elastic wave simulations can be a powerful tool in understanding the complicated wave scattering involved in flaw detection and for optimizing experimental techniques. We have developed and implemented parallel 3D elastodynamic finite integration technique (3D EFIT) code to investigate Lamb wave scattering from realistic flaws. This paper discusses simulation results for an aluminum-aluminum diffusion disbond and an aluminum-epoxy disbond and compares results from the disbond case to the common artificial flaw type of a flat-bottom hole. The paper also discusses the potential for extending the 3D EFIT equations to incorporate physics-based weak bond models for simulating wave scattering from weak adhesive bonds.

  18. Investigation of guided waves propagation in pipe buried in sand

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

    Leinov, Eli; Cawley, Peter; Lowe, Michael J.S.

    The inspection of pipelines by guided wave testing is a well-established method for the detection of corrosion defects in pipelines, and is currently used routinely in a variety of industries, e.g. petrochemical and energy. When the method is applied to pipes buried in soil, test ranges tend to be significantly compromised because of attenuation of the waves caused by energy radiating into the soil. Moreover, the variability of soil conditions dictates different attenuation characteristics, which in-turn results in different, unpredictable, test ranges. We investigate experimentally the propagation and attenuation characteristics of guided waves in pipes buried in fine sand usingmore » a well characterized full scale experimental apparatus. The apparatus consists of an 8 inch-diameter, 5.6-meters long steel pipe embedded over 3 meters of its length in a rectangular container filled with fine sand, and an air-bladder for the application of overburden pressure. Longitudinal and torsional guided waves are excited in the pipe and recorded using a transducer ring (Guided Ultrasonics Ltd). Acoustic properties of the sand are measured independently in-situ and used to make model predictions of wave behavior in the buried pipe. We present the methodology and the systematic measurements of the guided waves under a range of conditions, including loose and compacted sand. It is found that the application of overburden pressure modifies the compaction of the sand and increases the attenuation, and that the measurement of the acoustic properties of sand allows model prediction of the attenuation of guided waves in buried pipes with a high level of confidence.« less

  19. Effective isolation of primo vessels in lymph using sound- and ultrasonic-wave stimulation.

    PubMed

    Park, Do-Young; Lee, Hye-Rie; Rho, Min-Suk; Lee, Sang-Suk

    2014-12-01

    The effects of stimulation with sound and ultrasonic waves of a specific bandwidth on the microdissection of primo vessels in lymphatic vessels of rabbit were investigated. The primo vessels stained with alcian-blue dye injected in the lymph nodes were definitely visualized and more easily isolated by sound-wave vibration and ultrasonic stimulation applied to rabbits at various frequencies and intensities. With sound wave at 7 Hz and ultrasonic waves at 2 MHz, the probability of detecting the primo vessels was improved to 90%; however, without wave stimulation the probability of discovering primo vessels was about 50% only. Sound and ultrasonic waves at specific frequency bands should be effective for microdissection of the primo vessels in the abdominal lymph of rabbit. We suggest that oscillation of the primo vessels by sound and ultrasonic waves may be useful to visualize specific primo structure, and wave vibration can be a very supportive process for observation and isolation of the primo vessels of rabbits. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  20. Modelling ultrasound guided wave propagation for plate thickness measurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malladi, Rakesh; Dabak, Anand; Murthy, Nitish Krishna

    2014-03-01

    Structural Health monitoring refers to monitoring the health of plate-like walls of large reactors, pipelines and other structures in terms of corrosion detection and thickness estimation. The objective of this work is modeling the ultrasonic guided waves generated in a plate. The piezoelectric is excited by an input pulse to generate ultrasonic guided lamb waves in the plate that are received by another piezoelectric transducer. In contrast with existing methods, we develop a mathematical model of the direct component of the signal (DCS) recorded at the terminals of the piezoelectric transducer. The DCS model uses maximum likelihood technique to estimate the different parameters, namely the time delay of the signal due to the transducer delay and amplitude scaling of all the lamb wave modes due to attenuation, while taking into account the received signal spreading in time due to dispersion. The maximum likelihood estimate minimizes the energy difference between the experimental and the DCS model-generated signal. We demonstrate that the DCS model matches closely with experimentally recorded signals and show it can be used to estimate thickness of the plate. The main idea of the thickness estimation algorithm is to generate a bank of DCS model-generated signals, each corresponding to a different thickness of the plate and then find the closest match among these signals to the received signal, resulting in an estimate of the thickness of the plate. Therefore our approach provides a complementary suite of analytics to the existing thickness monitoring approaches.

  1. Cavitation Bubble Streaming in Ultrasonic-Standing-Wave Field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nomura, Shinfuku; Mukasa, Shinobu; Kuroiwa, Masaya; Okada, Yasuyuki; Murakami, Koichi

    2005-05-01

    The mechanism of cavitation bubble streaming by ultrasonic vibration in a water tank was experimentally investigated. A standard ultrasonic cleaner unit with a resonant frequency of 40 kHz was used as an ultrasonic generator. The behavior of the streaming was visualized by the schlieren method and sonochemical luminescence, and the velocity of the streaming was measured by laser Doppler velocity measurement equipment (LDV). The cavitation bubble streaming has two structures. A cavitation cloud, which consists of many cavitation bubbles, is shaped like a facing pair of bowls with a diameter of approximately 1/3 the wavelength of the standing wave, and moves inside the standing-wave field with a velocity of 30 to 60 mm/s. The cavitation bubbles move intensely in the cloud with a velocity of 5 m/s at an ultrasonic output power of 75 W. The streaming is completely different from conventional acoustic streaming. Also the cavitation bubble is generated neither at the pressure node nor at the antinode.

  2. Guided wave crack detection and size estimation in stiffened structures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bhuiyan, Md Yeasin; Faisal Haider, Mohammad; Poddar, Banibrata; Giurgiutiu, Victor

    2018-03-01

    Structural health monitoring (SHM) and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) deals with the nondestructive inspection of defects, corrosion, leaks in engineering structures by using ultrasonic guided waves. In the past, simplistic structures were often considered for analyzing the guided wave interaction with the defects. In this study, we focused on more realistic and relatively complicated structure for detecting any defect by using a non-contact sensing approach. A plate with a stiffener was considered for analyzing the guided wave interactions. Piezoelectric wafer active transducers were used to produce excitation in the structures. The excitation generated the multimodal guided waves (aka Lamb waves) that propagate in the plate with stiffener. The presence of stiffener in the plate generated scattered waves. The direct wave and the additional scattered waves from the stiffener were experimentally recorded and studied. These waves were considered as a pristine case in this research. A fine horizontal semi-circular crack was manufactured by using electric discharge machining in the same stiffener. The presence of crack in the stiffener produces additional scattered waves as well as trapped waves. These scattered waves and trapped wave modes from the cracked stiffener were experimentally measured by using a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (SLDV). These waves were analyzed and compared with that from the pristine case. The analyses suggested that both size and shape of the horizontal crack may be predicted from the pattern of the scattered waves. Different features (reflection, transmission, and mode-conversion) of the scattered wave signals are analyzed. We found direct transmission feature for incident A0 wave mode and modeconversion feature for incident S0 mode are most suitable for detecting the crack in the stiffener. The reflection feature may give a better idea of sizing the crack.

  3. Experimental assessment of the influence of welding process parameters on Lamb wave transmission across ultrasonically welded thermoplastic composite joints

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ochôa, Pedro; Fernandez Villegas, Irene; Groves, Roger M.; Benedictus, Rinze

    2018-01-01

    One of the advantages of thermoplastic composites relative to their thermoset counterparts is the possibility of assembling components through welding. Ultrasonic welding in particular is very promising for industrialization. However, uncertainty in the fatigue and fracture behaviour of composites is still an obstacle to the full utilisation of these materials. Health monitoring is then of vital importance, and Lamb wave techniques have been widely recognised as some of the most promising approaches for that end. This paper presents the first experimental study about the influence of welding travel on the transmission of Lamb waves across ultrasonically welded thermoplastic composite joints in single-lap configuration. The main aim of this research is to start to understand how guided waves interact with the internal structure of ultrasonic welds, so that benign, manufacturing-related structural features can be distinguished from damaging ones in signal interpretation. The power transmission coefficient and the correlation coefficient proved to be suitable for analysing the wave propagation phenomena, allowing quantitative identification of small variations of weld-line thickness and intermolecular diffusion at the weld interface. The conclusions are used to develop a tentative damage detection criterion which can later on assist the design of a Lamb wave based structural health monitoring system for thermoplastic composite structures. The Lamb wave test results are backed up by phased-array inspections, which also provide some extra insight on the internal structure of ultrasonic welds.

  4. Estimation of in vivo cortical bone thickness using ultrasonic waves.

    PubMed

    Mano, Isao; Horii, Kaoru; Hagino, Hiroshi; Miki, Takami; Matsukawa, Mami; Otani, Takahiko

    2015-07-01

    To verify the measurement of cortical bone thickness at the distal radius in vivo using an ultrasonic method. The method for estimating cortical bone thickness was derived from experiments with in vitro bovine specimens. Propagation time of echo waves and propagation time of slow waves were used for the estimation. The outside diameter of cortical bone and the cortical bone thickness at the distal 5.5 % site of radius were measured with the new ultrasonic bone measurement system, and the results were compared with X-ray pQCT clinical measurements. There was a high positive correlation (r: 0.76) between the cortical bone thickness measured by the new ultrasonic system and the X-ray pQCT results. We will be able to measure not only cancellous bone density but also cortical bone thickness in vivo using ultrasonic waves (without X-ray) safely and repeatedly.

  5. Study of guided wave transmission through complex junction in sodium cooled reactor

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

    Elie, Q.; Le Bourdais, F.; Jezzine, K.

    2015-07-01

    Ultrasonic guided wave techniques are seen as suitable candidates for the inspection of welded structures within sodium cooled fast reactors (SFR), as the long range propagation of guided waves without amplitude attenuation can overcome the accessibility problem due to the liquid sodium. In the context of the development of the Advanced Sodium Test Reactor for Industrial Demonstration (ASTRID), the French Atomic Commission (CEA) investigates non-destructive testing techniques based on guided wave propagation. In this work, guided wave NDT methods are applied to control the integrity of welds located in a junction-type structure welded to the main vessel. The method presentedmore » in this paper is based on the analysis of scattering matrices peculiar to each expected defect, and takes advantage of the multi-modal and dispersive characteristics of guided wave generation. In a simulation study, an algorithm developed using the CIVA software is presented. It permits selecting appropriate incident modes to optimize detection and identification of expected flawed configurations. In the second part of this paper, experimental results corresponding to a first validation step of the simulation results are presented. The goal of the experiments is to estimate the effectiveness of the incident mode selection in plates. The results show good agreement between experience and simulation. (authors)« less

  6. Guided ultrasonic waves for determining effective orthotropic material parameters of continuous-fiber reinforced thermoplastic plates.

    PubMed

    Webersen, Manuel; Johannesmann, Sarah; Düchting, Julia; Claes, Leander; Henning, Bernd

    2018-03-01

    Ultrasonic methods are widely established in the NDE/NDT community, where they are mostly used for the detection of flaws and structural damage in various components. A different goal, despite the similar technological approach, is non-destructive material characterization, i.e. the determination of parameters like Young's modulus. Only few works on this topic have considered materials with high damping and strong anisotropy, such as continuous-fiber reinforced plastics, but due to the increasing demand in the industry, appropriate methods are needed. In this contribution, we demonstrate the application of laser-induced ultrasonic Lamb waves for the characterization of fiber-reinforced plastic plates, providing effective parameters for a homogeneous, orthotropic material model. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. 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.

  8. WAVE DELAYING STRUCTURE FOR RECTANGULAR WAVE-GUIDES

    DOEpatents

    Robertson-Shersby-Harvie, R.B.; Dain, J.

    1956-11-13

    This patent relates to wave-guides and in particular describes wave delaying structure located within a wave-guide. The disclosed wave-guide has an elongated fiat metal sheet arranged in a central plane of the guide and formed with a series of transverse inductive slots such that each face presents an inductive impedance to the guide. The sheet is thickened in the area between slots to increase the self capacity of the slots. Experimental results indicate that in a wave-guide loaded in accordance with the invention the guided wavelength changes more slowly as the air wavelength is changed than the guided wavelength does in wave-guides loaded by means of corrugations.

  9. WAVE DELAYING STRUCTURE FOR RECTANGULAR WAVE-GUIDES

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

    Robertson-Shersby-Harvie, R.B.; Dain, J.

    1956-11-13

    This patent relates to wave-guides and in particular describes wave delaying structure located within a wave-guide. The disclosed wave-guide has an elongated fiat metal sheet arranged in a central plane of the guide and formed with a series of transverse inductive slots such that each face presents an inductive impedance to the guide. The sheet is thickened in the area between slots to increase the self capacity of the slots. Experimental results indicate that in a wave-guide loaded in accordance with the invention the guided wavelength changes more slowly as the air wavelength is changed than the guided wavelength doesmore » in wave-guides loaded by means of corrugations.« less

  10. Experimental Validation of a Fast Forward Model for Guided Wave Tomography of Pipe Elbows.

    PubMed

    Brath, Alex J; Simonetti, Francesco; Nagy, Peter B; Instanes, Geir

    2017-05-01

    Ultrasonic guided wave tomography (GWT) methods for the detection of corrosion and erosion damage in straight pipe sections are now well advanced. However, successful application of GWT to pipe bends has not yet been demonstrated due to the computational burden associated with the complex forward model required to simulate guided wave propagation through the bend. In a previous paper [Brath et al., IEEE Trans. Ultrason., Ferroelectr., Freq. Control, vol. 61, pp. 815-829, 2014], we have shown that the speed of the forward model can be increased by replacing the 3-D pipe bend with a 2-D rectangular domain in which guided wave propagation is formulated based on an artificially inhomogeneous and elliptically anisotropic (INELAN) acoustic model. This paper provides further experimental validation of the INLEAN model by studying the traveltime shifts caused by the introduction of shallow defects on the elbow of a pipe bend. Comparison between experiments and simulations confirms that a defect can be modeled as a phase velocity perturbation to the INLEAN velocity field with accuracy that is within the experimental error of the measurements. In addition, it is found that the sensitivity of traveltime measurements to the presence of damage decreases as the damage position moves from the interior side of the bend (intrados) to the exterior one (extrados). This effect is due to the nonuniform ray coverage obtainable when transmitting the guided wave signals with one ring array of sources on one side of the elbow and receiving with a second array on the other side.

  11. Nondestructive assessment of waveguides using an integrated electromechanical impedance and ultrasonic waves approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nasrollahi, Amir; Ma, Zhaoyun; Rizzo, Piervincenzo

    2017-04-01

    In this paper we present a structural health monitoring (SHM) paradigm based on the simultaneous use of ultrasounds and electromechanical impedance (EMI) to monitor waveguides. The paradigm uses guided ultrasonic waves (GUWs) in pitch-catch mode and EMI simultaneously. The two methodologies are driven by the same sensing/hardware/software unit. To assess the feasibility of this unified system an aluminum plate was monitored for varying damage location. Damage was simulated by adding small masses to the plate. The results associated with pitch-catch GUW testing mode were used in ultrasonic tomography, and statistical analysis was used to detect the damages using the EMI measurements. The results of GUW and EMI monitoring show that the proposed system is robust and can be developed further to address the challenges associated with the SHM of complex structures.

  12. Automated Guided-Wave Scanning Developed to Characterize Materials and Detect Defects

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Martin, Richard E.; Gyekenyeski, Andrew L.; Roth, Don J.

    2004-01-01

    The Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Group of the Optical Instrumentation Technology Branch at the NASA Glenn Research Center has developed a scanning system that uses guided waves to characterize materials and detect defects. The technique uses two ultrasonic transducers to interrogate the condition of a material. The sending transducer introduces an ultrasonic pulse at a point on the surface of the specimen, and the receiving transducer detects the signal after it has passed through the material. The aim of the method is to correlate certain parameters in both the time and frequency domains of the detected waveform to characteristics of the material between the two transducers. The scanning system is shown. The waveform parameters of interest include the attenuation due to internal damping, waveform shape parameters, and frequency shifts due to material changes. For the most part, guided waves are used to gauge the damage state and defect growth of materials subjected to various mechanical or environmental loads. The technique has been applied to polymer matrix composites, ceramic matrix composites, and metal matrix composites as well as metallic alloys. Historically, guided wave analysis has been a point-by-point, manual technique with waveforms collected at discrete locations and postprocessed. Data collection and analysis of this type limits the amount of detail that can be obtained. Also, the manual movement of the sensors is prone to user error and is time consuming. The development of an automated guided-wave scanning system has allowed the method to be applied to a wide variety of materials in a consistent, repeatable manner. Experimental studies have been conducted to determine the repeatability of the system as well as compare the results obtained using more traditional NDE methods. The following screen capture shows guided-wave scan results for a ceramic matrix composite plate, including images for each of nine calculated parameters. The system can

  13. Dynamic behaviour of a two-microbubble system under ultrasonic wave excitation.

    PubMed

    Huang, Xiao; Wang, Qian-Xi; Zhang, A-Man; Su, Jian

    2018-05-01

    Acoustic bubbles have wide and important applications in ultrasonic cleaning, sonochemistry and medical ultrasonics. A two-microbubble system (TMS) under ultrasonic wave excitation is explored in the present study, by using the boundary element method (BEM) based on the potential flow theory. A parametric study of the behaviour of a TMS has been carried out in terms of the amplitude and direction of ultrasound as well as the sizes and separation distance of the two bubbles. Three regimes of the dynamic behaviour of the TMS have been identified in terms of the pressure amplitude of the ultrasonic wave. When subject to a strong wave with the pressure amplitude of 1 atm or larger, the two microbubbles become non-spherical during the first cycle of oscillation, with two counter liquid jets formed. When subject to a weak wave with the pressure amplitude of less than 0.5 atm, two microbubbles may be attracted, repelled, or translate along the wave direction with periodic stable separation distance, depending on their size ratio. However, for the TMS under moderate waves, bubbles undergo both non-spherical oscillation and translation as well as liquid jet rebounding. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. 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

  15. 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

  16. 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.

  17. Discrimination of Mixed Taste Solutions using Ultrasonic Wave and Soft Computing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kojima, Yohichiro; Kimura, Futoshi; Mikami, Tsuyoshi; Kitama, Masataka

    In this study, ultrasonic wave acoustic properties of mixed taste solutions were investigated, and the possibility of taste sensing based on the acoustical properties obtained was examined. In previous studies, properties of solutions were discriminated based on sound velocity, amplitude and frequency characteristics of ultrasonic waves propagating through the five basic taste solutions and marketed beverages. However, to make this method applicable to beverages that contain many taste substances, further studies are required. In this paper, the waveform of an ultrasonic wave with frequency of approximately 5 MHz propagating through mixed solutions composed of sweet and salty substance was measured. As a result, differences among solutions were clearly observed as differences in their properties. Furthermore, these mixed solutions were discriminated by a self-organizing neural network. The ratio of volume in their mixed solutions was estimated by a distance-type fuzzy reasoning method. Therefore, the possibility of taste sensing was shown by using ultrasonic wave acoustic properties and the soft computing, such as the self-organizing neural network and the distance-type fuzzy reasoning method.

  18. Plate Wave Resonance with Air-Coupled Ultrasonics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bar, H. N.; Dayal, V.; Barnard, D.; Hsu, D. K.

    2010-02-01

    Air-coupled ultrasonic transducers can excite plate waves in metals and composites. The coincidence effect, i.e., the wave vector of plate wave coincides with projection of exciting airborne sound vector, leads to a resonance which strongly amplifies the sound transmission through the plate. The resonance depends on the angle of incidence and the frequency. In the present study, the incidence angle for maximum transmission (θmax) is measured in plates of steel, aluminum, carbon fiber reinforced composites and honeycomb sandwich panels. The variations of (θmax) with plate thickness are compared with theoretical values in steel, aluminum and quasi-isotropic carbon fiber composites. The enhanced transmission of air-coupled ultrasound at oblique incidence can substantially improve the probability of flaw detection in plates and especially in honeycomb structures. Experimental air-coupled ultrasonic scan of subtle flaws in CFRP laminates showed definite improvement of signal-to-noise ratio with oblique incidence at θmax.

  19. PLATE WAVE RESONANCE WITH AIR-COUPLED ULTRASONICS

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

    Bar, H. N.; Dayal, V.; Barnard, D.

    2010-02-22

    Air-coupled ultrasonic transducers can excite plate waves in metals and composites. The coincidence effect, i.e., the wave vector of plate wave coincides with projection of exciting airborne sound vector, leads to a resonance which strongly amplifies the sound transmission through the plate. The resonance depends on the angle of incidence and the frequency. In the present study, the incidence angle for maximum transmission (theta{sub max}) is measured in plates of steel, aluminum, carbon fiber reinforced composites and honeycomb sandwich panels. The variations of (theta{sub max}) with plate thickness are compared with theoretical values in steel, aluminum and quasi-isotropic carbon fibermore » composites. The enhanced transmission of air-coupled ultrasound at oblique incidence can substantially improve the probability of flaw detection in plates and especially in honeycomb structures. Experimental air-coupled ultrasonic scan of subtle flaws in CFRP laminates showed definite improvement of signal-to-noise ratio with oblique incidence at theta{sub max}.« less

  20. Guided wave phased array sensor tuning for improved defect detection and characterization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Philtron, Jason H.; Rose, Joseph L.

    2014-03-01

    Ultrasonic guided waves are finding increased use in a variety of Nondestructive Evaluation and Structural Health Monitoring applications due to their efficiency in defect detection using a sensor at a single location to inspect a large area of a structure and an ability to inspect hidden and coated areas for example. With a thorough understanding of guided wave mechanics, researchers can predict which guided wave modes will have a high probability of success in a particular nondestructive evaluation application. For example, in a sample problem presented here to access bond integrity, researchers may choose to use a guided wave mode which has high in-plane displacement, stress, or other feature at the interface. However, since material properties used for modeling work may not be precise for the development of dispersion curves, in many cases guided wave mode and frequency selection should be adjusted for increased inspection efficiency in the field. In this work, a phased array comb transducer is used to sweep over phase velocity - frequency space to tune mode excitation for improved defect characterization performance. A thin polycarbonate layer bonded to a thick metal plate is considered with a contaminated surface prior to bonding. Physicallybased features are used to correlate wave signals with defect detection. Features assessed include arrival time and the frequency of maximum amplitude. A pseudo C-scan plot is presented which can be used to simplify data analysis. Excellent results are obtained.

  1. 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.

  2. [Treatment of kidney calculi using shock-wave lithotripsy with ultrasonic guidance].

    PubMed

    Benes, J; Chmel, J; Simon, V; Stuka, C; Flejsar, P

    1991-01-01

    Lithotripsy by means of an extracorporeal shock-wave was performed in 128 patients with urolithiasis. In this group for the first time in Czechoslovakia ultrasound control of kidney stones was used in 44 patients; in the remainder X-ray control was used. The authors used equipment designed and manufactured locally. The ultrasonic probe is laterally connected with the shock-wave applicator. Disappearance of the fragments after lithotripsy was achieved in 39 patients where ultrasonic control was used. The paper presents the results, discusses the advantages and limitations of ultrasonic control in extracorporeal lithotripsy of urolithiasis.

  3. A traveling wave ultrasonic motor of high torque.

    PubMed

    Chen, Y; Liu, Q L; Zhou, T Y

    2006-12-22

    A traveling wave ultrasonic motor of high torque with a new configuration is proposed in this paper. In the new design, a part of the motor serves as the stator. The rotor is the vibrator consisting of a toothed metal ring with piezoelectric ceramic bonded, which generates ultrasonic vibration. The rotor is in contact with the shell of motor and is driven by the friction between the rotor and the stator. This configuration not only removes the rotor in a conventional type of traveling wave ultrasonic motor but also changes the interaction between the rotor and the stator of the motor so that it improves the output performance of the motor. Although an electric brush is added to the ultrasonic motor, it is easy to be fabricated because of the low speed of motor. The finite element method was used to compute the vibration modes of an ultrasonic motor with a diameter of 100mm to optimize the design of the motor. A 9th mode was chosen as the operation mode with a resonance frequency about 25 kHz. According to the design, a prototype was fabricated. Its performance was measured. The rotation speed-torque curves for various frequencies were obtained. The result shows that its stall torque is greater than 4 Nm within a range of 400 Hz. This ultrasonic motor was used to drive the window glass of a mobile car and the result was satisfactory. In the further the research on the friction material between the stator and the rotor is under way to improve the efficiency of the ultrasonic motor.

  4. 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.

  5. Nonlinear ultrasonic wave modulation for online fatigue crack detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sohn, Hoon; Lim, Hyung Jin; DeSimio, Martin P.; Brown, Kevin; Derriso, Mark

    2014-02-01

    This study presents a fatigue crack detection technique using nonlinear ultrasonic wave modulation. Ultrasonic waves at two distinctive driving frequencies are generated and corresponding ultrasonic responses are measured using permanently installed lead zirconate titanate (PZT) transducers with a potential for continuous monitoring. Here, the input signal at the lower driving frequency is often referred to as a 'pumping' signal, and the higher frequency input is referred to as a 'probing' signal. The presence of a system nonlinearity, such as a crack formation, can provide a mechanism for nonlinear wave modulation, and create spectral sidebands around the frequency of the probing signal. A signal processing technique combining linear response subtraction (LRS) and synchronous demodulation (SD) is developed specifically to extract the crack-induced spectral sidebands. The proposed crack detection method is successfully applied to identify actual fatigue cracks grown in metallic plate and complex fitting-lug specimens. Finally, the effect of pumping and probing frequencies on the amplitude of the first spectral sideband is investigated using the first sideband spectrogram (FSS) obtained by sweeping both pumping and probing signals over specified frequency ranges.

  6. A New Approach for Quantitative Evaluation of Ultrasonic Wave Attenuation in Composites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ni, Qing-Qing; Li, Ran; Xia, Hong

    2017-02-01

    When ultrasonic waves propagate in composite materials, the propagation behaviors result from the combination effects of various factors, such as material anisotropy and viscoelastic property, internal microstructure and defects, incident wave characteristics and interface condition between composite components. It is essential to make it clear how these factors affect the ultrasonic wave propagation and attenuation characteristics, and how they mutually interact on each other. In the present paper, based on a newly developed time-domain finite element analysis code, PZflex, a unique approach for clarifying the detailed influence mechanism of aforementioned factors is proposed, in which each attenuation component can be extracted from the overall attenuation and analyzed respectively. By taking into consideration the interrelation between each individual attenuation component, the variation behaviors of each component and internal dynamic stress distribution against material anisotropy and matrix viscosity are separately and quantitatively evaluated. From the detailed analysis results of each attenuation component, the energy dissipation at interface is a major component in ultrasonic wave attenuation characteristics, which can provide a maximum contribution rate of 68.2 % to the overall attenuation, and each attenuation component is closely related to the material anisotropy and viscoelasticity. The results clarify the correlation between ultrasonic wave propagation characteristics and material viscoelastic properties, which will be useful in the further development of ultrasonic technology in defect detection.

  7. Full-field ultrasonic inspection for a composite sandwich plate skin-core debonding detection using laser-based ultrasonics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chong, See Yenn; Victor, Jared J.; Todd, Michael D.

    2017-04-01

    In this paper, a full-field ultrasonic guided wave method is proposed to inspect a composite sandwich specimen made for an aircraft engine nacelle. The back skin/core interface of the specimen is built with two fabricated disbond defects (diameters of 12.7 mm and 25.4 mm) by removing areas of the adhesive used to bond the back skin to the core. A laser ultrasonic interrogation system (LUIS) incorporated with a disbond detection algorithm is developed. The system consists of a 1-kHz laser ultrasonic scanning system and a single fixed ultrasonic sensor to interrogate ultrasonic guided waves in the sandwich specimen. The interest area of 400 mm × 400 mm is scanned at a 0.5 mm scan interval. The corresponding full-field ultrasonic data is obtained and generated in the three-dimensional (3-D) space-time domain. Then, the 3-D full-field ultrasonic data is Fourier transformed and the ultrasonic frequency spectra are analyzed to determine the dominant frequency that is sensitive to the disbond defects. Continuous wavelet transform (CWT) based on fast Fourier transform (FFT) is implemented as a single-frequency bandpass filter to filter the full-field ultrasonic data in the 3-D space-time domain at the selected dominant frequency. The LUIS has shown the ability to detect the disbond with diameters of 11 mm and 23 mm which match to the pre-determined disbond sizes well. For future research, a robust signal processing algorithm and a model-based matched filter will be investigated to make the detection process autonomous and improve detectability

  8. Micromachined ultrasonic transducers for air-coupled nondestructive evaluation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hansen, Sean T.; Degertekin, F. Levent; Khuri-Yakub, Butrus T.

    1999-01-01

    Conventional methods of ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation (NDE) use liquids to couple sound waves into the test samples. This either requires immersion of the parts to be examined or the use of complex and bulky water squirting systems that must be scanned over the structure. Air-coupled ultrasonic systems eliminate these requirements if the losses at air-solid interfaces are tolerable. Micromachined capacitive ultrasonic transducers (cMUTs) have been shown to have more than 100 dB dynamic range when used in the bistatic transmission mode. In this paper, we present results of a pitch-catch transmission system using cMUTs that achieves a 103 dB dynamic range. Each transducer consists of 10,000 silicon nitride membranes of 100 micrometers diameter connected in parallel. This geometry result in transducers with a resonant frequency around 2.3 MHz. These transducers can be used in transmission experiments at normal incident to the sample or to excite and detect guided waves in aluminum and composite plates. In this paper we present ultrasonic defect detection results from both through transmission and guided Lamb wave experiments in aluminum and composite plates, such as those used in aircraft.

  9. Measurement of airborne ultrasonic slow waves in calcaneal cancellous bone.

    PubMed

    Strelitzki, R; Paech, V; Nicholson, P H

    1999-05-01

    Measurements of an airborne ultrasonic wave were made in defatted cancellous bone from the human calcaneus using standard ultrasonic equipment. The wave propagating under these conditions was consistent with a decoupled Biot slow wave travelling in the air alone, as previously reported in gas-saturated foams. Reproducible measurements of phase velocity and attenuation coefficient were possible, and an estimate of the tortuosity of the trabecular framework was derived from the high frequency limit of the phase velocity. Thus the method offers a new approach to the acoustic characterisation of bone in vitro which, in contrast to existing techniques, has the potential to yield information directly characterising the trabecular structure.

  10. Lamb Wave Multitouch Ultrasonic Touchscreen.

    PubMed

    Firouzi, Kamyar; Nikoozadeh, Amin; Carver, Thomas E; Khuri-Yakub, Butrus Pierre T

    2016-12-01

    Touchscreen sensors are widely used in many devices such as smart phones, tablets, and laptops with diverse applications. We present the design, analysis, and implementation of an ultrasonic touchscreen system that utilizes the interaction of transient Lamb waves with objects in contact with the screen. It attempts to improve on the existing ultrasound technologies, with the potential of addressing some of the weaknesses of the dominant technologies, such as the capacitive or resistive ones. Compared with the existing ultrasonic and acoustic modalities, among other advantages, it provides the capability of detecting several simultaneous touch points and also a more robust performance. The localization algorithm, given the hardware design, can detect several touch points with a very limited number of measurements (one or two). This in turn can significantly reduce the manufacturing cost.

  11. 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.

  12. Chaotic operation and chaos control of travelling wave ultrasonic motor.

    PubMed

    Shi, Jingzhuo; Zhao, Fujie; Shen, Xiaoxi; Wang, Xiaojie

    2013-08-01

    The travelling wave ultrasonic motor, which is a nonlinear dynamic system, has complex chaotic phenomenon with some certain choices of system parameters and external inputs, and its chaotic characteristics have not been studied until now. In this paper, the preliminary study of the chaos phenomenon in ultrasonic motor driving system has been done. The experiment of speed closed-loop control is designed to obtain several groups of time sampling data sequence of the amplitude of driving voltage, and phase-space reconstruction is used to analyze the chaos characteristics of these time sequences. The largest Lyapunov index is calculated and the result is positive, which shows that the travelling wave ultrasonic motor has chaotic characteristics in a certain working condition Then, the nonlinear characteristics of travelling wave ultrasonic motor are analyzed which includes Lyapunov exponent map, the bifurcation diagram and the locus of voltage relative to speed based on the nonlinear chaos model of a travelling wave ultrasonic motor. After that, two kinds of adaptive delay feedback controllers are designed in this paper to control and suppress chaos in USM speed control system. Simulation results show that the method can control unstable periodic orbits, suppress chaos in USM control system. Proportion-delayed feedback controller was designed following and arithmetic of fuzzy logic was used to adaptively adjust the delay time online. Simulation results show that this method could fast and effectively change the chaos movement into periodic or fixed-point movement and make the system enter into stable state from chaos state. Finally the chaos behavior was controlled. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. 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.

  14. An ultrasonically levitated noncontact stage using traveling vibrations on precision ceramic guide rails.

    PubMed

    Koyama, Daisuke; Ide, Takeshi; Friend, James R; Nakamura, Kentaro; Ueha, Sadayuki

    2007-03-01

    This paper presents a noncontact sliding table design and measurements of its performance via ultrasonic levitation. A slider placed atop two vibrating guide rails is levitated by an acoustic radiation force emitted from the rails. A flexural traveling wave propagating along the guide rails allows noncontact transportation of the slider. Permitting a transport mechanism that reduces abrasion and dust generation with an inexpensive and simple structure. The profile of the sliding table was designed using the finite-element analysis (FEA) for high levitation and transportation efficiency. The prototype sliding table was made of alumina ceramic (Al2O3) to increase machining accuracy and rigidity using a structure composed of a pair of guide rails with a triangular cross section and piezoelectric transducers. Two types of transducers were used: bolt-clamped Langevin transducers and bimorph transducers. A 40-mm long slider was designed to fit atop the two rail guides. Flexural standing waves and torsional standing waves were observed along the guide rails at resonance, and the levitation of the slider was obtained using the flexural mode even while the levitation distance was less than 10 microm. The levitation distance of the slider was measured while increasing the slider's weight. The levitation pressure, rigidity, and vertical displacement amplitude of the levitating slider thus were measured to be 6.7 kN/m2, 3.0 kN/microm/m2, and less than 1 microm, respectively. Noncontact transport of the slider was achieved using phased drive of the two transducers at either end of the vibrating guide rail. By controlling the phase difference, the slider transportation direction could be switched, and a maximum thrust of 13 mN was obtained.

  15. Multiple-frequency continuous wave ultrasonic system for accurate distance measurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, C. F.; Young, M. S.; Li, Y. C.

    1999-02-01

    A highly accurate multiple-frequency continuous wave ultrasonic range-measuring system for use in air is described. The proposed system uses a method heretofore applied to radio frequency distance measurement but not to air-based ultrasonic systems. The method presented here is based upon the comparative phase shifts generated by three continuous ultrasonic waves of different but closely spaced frequencies. In the test embodiment to confirm concept feasibility, two low cost 40 kHz ultrasonic transducers are set face to face and used to transmit and receive ultrasound. Individual frequencies are transmitted serially, each generating its own phase shift. For any given frequency, the transmitter/receiver distance modulates the phase shift between the transmitted and received signals. Comparison of the phase shifts allows a highly accurate evaluation of target distance. A single-chip microcomputer-based multiple-frequency continuous wave generator and phase detector was designed to record and compute the phase shift information and the resulting distance, which is then sent to either a LCD or a PC. The PC is necessary only for calibration of the system, which can be run independently after calibration. Experiments were conducted to test the performance of the whole system. Experimentally, ranging accuracy was found to be within ±0.05 mm, with a range of over 1.5 m. The main advantages of this ultrasonic range measurement system are high resolution, low cost, narrow bandwidth requirements, and ease of implementation.

  16. In Situ Guided Wave Structural Health Monitoring System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zhao, George; Tittmann, Bernhard R.

    2011-01-01

    Aircraft engine rotating equipment operates at high temperatures and stresses. Noninvasive inspection of microcracks in those components poses a challenge for nondestructive evaluation. A low-cost, low-profile, high-temperature ultrasonic guided wave sensor was developed that detects cracks in situ. The transducer design provides nondestructive evaluation of structures and materials. A key feature of the sensor is that it withstands high temperatures and excites strong surface wave energy to inspect surface and subsurface cracks. The sol-gel bismuth titanate-based surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor can generate efficient SAWs for crack inspection. The sensor is very thin (submillimeter) and can generate surface waves up to 540 C. Finite element analysis of the SAW transducer design was performed to predict the sensor behavior, and experimental studies confirmed the results. The sensor can be implemented on structures of various shapes. With a spray-coating process, the sensor can be applied to the surface of large curvatures. It has minimal effect on airflow or rotating equipment imbalance, and provides good sensitivity.

  17. 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.

  18. Sterilizing effects of high-intensity airborne sonic and ultrasonic waves.

    PubMed

    Pisano, M A; Boucher, M G; Alcamo, I E

    1966-09-01

    The lethal effects of high-intensity airborne sonic (9.9 kc/sec) and ultrasonic waves (30.4 kc/sec) on spores of Bacillus subtilis var. niger ATCC 9372 were determined. The spores, which were deposited on filter-paper strips, were exposed to sound waves for periods varying from 1 to 8 hr, at a temperature of 40 C and a relative humidity of 40%. Significant reductions in the viable counts of spores exposed to airborne sonic or ultrasonic irradiations were obtained. The antibacterial activity of airborne sound waves varied with the sound intensity level, the period of irradiation, and the distance of the sample from the sound source. At similar intensity levels, the amplitude of motion of the sound waves appeared to be a factor in acoustic sterilization.

  19. Lamb wave propagation in monocrystalline silicon wafers.

    PubMed

    Fromme, Paul; Pizzolato, Marco; Robyr, Jean-Luc; Masserey, Bernard

    2018-01-01

    Monocrystalline silicon wafers are widely used in the photovoltaic industry for solar panels with high conversion efficiency. Guided ultrasonic waves offer the potential to efficiently detect micro-cracks in the thin wafers. Previous studies of ultrasonic wave propagation in silicon focused on effects of material anisotropy on bulk ultrasonic waves, but the dependence of the wave propagation characteristics on the material anisotropy is not well understood for Lamb waves. The phase slowness and beam skewing of the two fundamental Lamb wave modes A 0 and S 0 were investigated. Experimental measurements using contact wedge transducer excitation and laser measurement were conducted. Good agreement was found between the theoretically calculated angular dependency of the phase slowness and measurements for different propagation directions relative to the crystal orientation. Significant wave skew and beam widening was observed experimentally due to the anisotropy, especially for the S 0 mode. Explicit finite element simulations were conducted to visualize and quantify the guided wave beam skew. Good agreement was found for the A 0 mode, but a systematic discrepancy was observed for the S 0 mode. These effects need to be considered for the non-destructive testing of wafers using guided waves.

  20. Apparatus for checking the direction of polarization of shear-wave ultrasonic transducers

    DOEpatents

    Karplus, Henry H. B.

    1980-01-01

    An apparatus for checking the direction of polarization of shear-wave ultrasonic transducers comprises a first planar surface for mounting the shear-wave transducer, a second planar surface inclined at a predetermined angle to the first surface to generate longitudinal waves by mode conversion, and a third planar surface disposed at a second predetermined angle to the first for mounting a longitudinal-wave ultrasonic transducer. In an alternate embodiment, two second planar surfaces at the predetermined angle are placed at an angle to each other. The magnitude of the shear wave is a function of the angle between the direction of polarization of the transducer and the mode-conversion surface.

  1. An adaptive sparse deconvolution method for distinguishing the overlapping echoes of ultrasonic guided waves for pipeline crack inspection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, Yong; Zi, Yanyang; Zhao, Jiyuan; Yang, Zhe; He, Wangpeng; Sun, Hailiang

    2017-03-01

    In guided wave pipeline inspection, echoes reflected from closely spaced reflectors generally overlap, meaning useful information is lost. To solve the overlapping problem, sparse deconvolution methods have been developed in the past decade. However, conventional sparse deconvolution methods have limitations in handling guided wave signals, because the input signal is directly used as the prototype of the convolution matrix, without considering the waveform change caused by the dispersion properties of the guided wave. In this paper, an adaptive sparse deconvolution (ASD) method is proposed to overcome these limitations. First, the Gaussian echo model is employed to adaptively estimate the column prototype of the convolution matrix instead of directly using the input signal as the prototype. Then, the convolution matrix is constructed upon the estimated results. Third, the split augmented Lagrangian shrinkage (SALSA) algorithm is introduced to solve the deconvolution problem with high computational efficiency. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, guided wave signals obtained from pipeline inspection are investigated numerically and experimentally. Compared to conventional sparse deconvolution methods, e.g. the {{l}1} -norm deconvolution method, the proposed method shows better performance in handling the echo overlap problem in the guided wave signal.

  2. Guided wave propagation in single and double layer hollow cylinders embedded in infinite media.

    PubMed

    Jia, Hua; Jing, Mu; Joseph, L Rose

    2011-02-01

    Millions of miles of pipes are being used for the transportation, distribution, and local use of petroleum products, gas, water, and chemicals. Most of the pipes are buried in soil, leading to the significance of the study on the subject of guided wave propagation in pipes with soil influence. Previous investigations of ultrasonic guided wave propagation in an elastic hollow cylinder and in an elastic hollow cylinder coated with a viscoelastic material have led to the development of inspection techniques for bare and coated pipes. However, the lack of investigation on guided wave propagation in hollow cylinders embedded in infinite media like soil has hindered the development of pipe inspection methods. Therefore the influence of infinite media on wave propagation is explored in this paper. Dispersion curves and wave structures of both axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric wave modes are developed. Due to the importance of the convergence of numerical calculations, the requirements of thickness and element number of the finite soil layer between hollow cylinder and infinite element layer are discussed, and an optimal combination is obtained in this paper. Wave structures are used for the mode identification in the non-monotonic region caused by the viscoelastic properties of coating and infinite media.

  3. Investigation of the reconstruction accuracy of guided wave tomography using full waveform inversion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rao, Jing; Ratassepp, Madis; Fan, Zheng

    2017-07-01

    Guided wave tomography is a promising tool to accurately determine the remaining wall thicknesses of corrosion damages, which are among the major concerns for many industries. Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) algorithm is an attractive guided wave tomography method, which uses a numerical forward model to predict the waveform of guided waves when propagating through corrosion defects, and an inverse model to reconstruct the thickness map from the ultrasonic signals captured by transducers around the defect. This paper discusses the reconstruction accuracy of the FWI algorithm on plate-like structures by using simulations as well as experiments. It was shown that this algorithm can obtain a resolution of around 0.7 wavelengths for defects with smooth depth variations from the acoustic modeling data, and about 1.5-2 wavelengths from the elastic modeling data. Further analysis showed that the reconstruction accuracy is also dependent on the shape of the defect. It was demonstrated that the algorithm maintains the accuracy in the case of multiple defects compared to conventional algorithms based on Born approximation.

  4. Predicting bone strength with ultrasonic guided waves

    PubMed Central

    Bochud, Nicolas; Vallet, Quentin; Minonzio, Jean-Gabriel; Laugier, Pascal

    2017-01-01

    Recent bone quantitative ultrasound approaches exploit the multimode waveguide response of long bones for assessing properties such as cortical thickness and stiffness. Clinical applications remain, however, challenging, as the impact of soft tissue on guided waves characteristics is not fully understood yet. In particular, it must be clarified whether soft tissue must be incorporated in waveguide models needed to infer reliable cortical bone properties. We hypothesize that an inverse procedure using a free plate model can be applied to retrieve the thickness and stiffness of cortical bone from experimental data. This approach is first validated on a series of laboratory-controlled measurements performed on assemblies of bone- and soft tissue mimicking phantoms and then on in vivo measurements. The accuracy of the estimates is evaluated by comparison with reference values. To further support our hypothesis, these estimates are subsequently inserted into a bilayer model to test its accuracy. Our results show that the free plate model allows retrieving reliable waveguide properties, despite the presence of soft tissue. They also suggest that the more sophisticated bilayer model, although it is more precise to predict experimental data in the forward problem, could turn out to be hardly manageable for solving the inverse problem. PMID:28256568

  5. An optical fiber guided ultrasonic excitation and sensing system for online monitoring of nuclear power plants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, J.; Lee, H.; Sohn, H.

    2012-05-01

    This study presents an embedded laser ultrasonic system for pipeline monitoring under high temperature environment. Recently, laser ultrasonics is becoming popular because of their advantageous characteristics such as (a) noncontact inspection, (b) immunity against electromagnetic interference (EMI), and (c) applicability under high temperature. However, the performance of conventional laser ultrasonic techniques for pipeline monitoring has been limited because many pipelines are covered by insulating materials and target surfaces are inaccessible. To overcome the problem, this study designs an embeddable optical fibers and fixing devices that deliver laser beams from laser sources to a target pipe using embedded optical fibers. For guided wave generation, an optical fiber is furnished with a beam collimator for irradiating a laser beam onto a target structure. The corresponding response is measured based on the principle of laser interferometry. Light from a monochromatic source is colliminated and delivered to a target surface by another optical with a focusing module, and reflected light is transmitted back to the interferometer through the same fiber. The feasibility of the proposed system for embedded ultrasonic measurement has been experimentally verified using a pipe specimen under high temperature.

  6. Simulation of guided-wave ultrasound propagation in composite laminates: Benchmark comparisons of numerical codes and experiment.

    PubMed

    Leckey, Cara A C; Wheeler, Kevin R; Hafiychuk, Vasyl N; Hafiychuk, Halyna; Timuçin, Doğan A

    2018-03-01

    Ultrasonic wave methods constitute the leading physical mechanism for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and structural health monitoring (SHM) of solid composite materials, such as carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates. Computational models of ultrasonic wave excitation, propagation, and scattering in CFRP composites can be extremely valuable in designing practicable NDE and SHM hardware, software, and methodologies that accomplish the desired accuracy, reliability, efficiency, and coverage. The development and application of ultrasonic simulation approaches for composite materials is an active area of research in the field of NDE. This paper presents comparisons of guided wave simulations for CFRP composites implemented using four different simulation codes: the commercial finite element modeling (FEM) packages ABAQUS, ANSYS, and COMSOL, and a custom code executing the Elastodynamic Finite Integration Technique (EFIT). Benchmark comparisons are made between the simulation tools and both experimental laser Doppler vibrometry data and theoretical dispersion curves. A pristine and a delamination type case (Teflon insert in the experimental specimen) is studied. A summary is given of the accuracy of simulation results and the respective computational performance of the four different simulation tools. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  7. Non-contact ultrasonic gas flow metering using air-coupled leaky Lamb waves.

    PubMed

    Fan, Zichuan; Jiang, Wentao; Wright, William M D

    2018-04-23

    This paper describes a completely non-contact ultrasonic method of gas flow metering using air-coupled leaky Lamb waves. To show proof of principle, a simplified representation of gas flow in a duct, comprising two separated thin isotropic plates with a gas flowing between them, has been modelled and investigated experimentally. An airborne compression wave emitted from an air-coupled capacitive ultrasonic transducer excited a leaky Lamb wave in the first plate in a non-contact manner. The leakage of this Lamb wave crossed the gas flow at an angle between the two plates as a compression wave, and excited a leaky Lamb wave in the second plate. An air-coupled capacitive ultrasonic transducer on the opposite side of this second plate then detected the airborne compression wave leakage from the second Lamb wave. As the gas flow shifted the wave field between the two plates, the point of Lamb wave excitation in the second plate was displaced in proportion to the gas flow rate. Two such measurements, in opposite directions, formed a completely non-contact contra-propagating Lamb wave flow meter, allowing measurement of the flow velocity between the plates. A COMSOL Multiphysics® model was used to visualize the wave fields, and accurately predicted the time differences that were then measured experimentally. Experiments using different Lamb wave frequencies and plate materials were also similarly verified. This entirely non-contact airborne approach to Lamb wave flow metering could be applied in place of clamp-on techniques in thin-walled ducts or pipes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Effect of Stress on Energy Flux Deviation of Ultrasonic Waves in Ultrasonic Waves in GR/EP Composites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Prosser, William H.; Kriz, R. D.; Fitting, Dale W.

    1990-01-01

    Ultrasonic waves suffer energy flux deviation in graphite/epoxy because of the large anisotropy. The angle of deviation is a function of the elastic coefficients. For nonlinear solids, these coefficients and thus the angle of deviation is a function of stress. Acoustoelastic theory was used to model the effect of stress on flux deviation for unidirectional T300/5208 using previously measured elastic coefficients. Computations were made for uniaxial stress along the x3 axis fiber axis) and the x1 axis for waves propagating in the x1x3 plane. These results predict a shift as large as three degrees for the quasi-transverse wave. The shift in energy flux offers new nondestructive technique of evaluating stress in composites.

  9. Improved ultrasonic TV images achieved by use of Lamb-wave orientation technique

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Berger, H.

    1967-01-01

    Lamb-wave sample orientation technique minimizes the interference from standing waves in continuous wave ultrasonic television imaging techniques used with thin metallic samples. The sample under investigation is oriented such that the wave incident upon it is not normal, but slightly angled.

  10. Wave envelope technique for multimode wave guide problems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hariharan, S. I.; Sudharsanan, S. I.

    1986-01-01

    A fast method for solving wave guide problems is proposed. In particular, the guide is considered to be inhomogeneous allowing propagation of waves of higher order modes. Such problems have been handled successfully for acoustic wave propagation problems with single mode and finite length. This paper extends this concept to electromagnetic wave guides with several modes and infinite length. The method is described and results of computations are presented.

  11. Nondestructive Testing Residual Stress Using Ultrasonic Critical Refracted Longitudinal Wave

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Chunguang; Song, Wentao; Pan, Qinxue; Li, Huanxin; Liu, Shuai

    Residual stress has significant impacts on the performance of the mechanical components, especially on its strength, fatigue life and corrosion resistance and dimensional stability. Based on theory of acoustoelasticity, the testing principle of ultrasonic LCR wave method is analyzed. The testing system of residual stress is build. The method of calibration of stress coefficient is proposed in order to improve the detection precision. At last, through experiments and applications on residual stress testing of oil pipeline weld joint, vehicle's torsion shaft, glass and ceramics, gear tooth root, and so on, the result show that it deserved to be studied deeply on application and popularization of ultrasonic LCR wave method.

  12. Light-scattering analysis of ultrasonic wave's influence on the RBC agglutination in vitro

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Doubrovski, Valeri A.; Dvoretski, Costanten N.

    1999-04-01

    Elastic light scattering is one of the most often used optical methods to analyze the cells agglutination reaction - the base of a great number of medical diagnostic test and biomedical investigations. The increase of the resolution of methods and apparatus towards the induced cells aggregation - the foundation of the reaction of agglutination, is quite an actual problem. The solution of this problem increases the reliability of the diagnostic test and gives an opportunity to achieve the diagnostic information in the cases when the traditional approaches do not lead to the diagnostic results. The attempt to increase the resolution of the immune reaction analyzer by means of ultrasonic waves action on the reagent mixture in vitro is taken in this paper. The RBC agglutination reaction which is usually used for the blood group type examination is chosen as an example of an object of the investigation. Different laser optical trains of the devices based on the turbidimetric and nephelometric methods and their combination are analyzed here. The influence of the ultrasonic wave time interval action and of the features of the sample preparation procedure on the resolution towards the agglutination process was investigated in this work. It is shown that the ultrasonic wave action on the reagent mixture leads to a large gain in the resolution of the device towards the RBC agglutination process. The experiments showed that the resolution of the device was enough to register the agglutination process even for the erythrocytes with weak agglutination ability when the reaction was invisible without ultrasonic action. It occurred that the diagnostic test time was more than by an order shortened due to the ultrasonic wave action. The optimal ultrasonic time interval action, the sample preparation technology and experimental technique were defined. The principle of the ultrasonic wave action on the cells agglutination process suggested here can be spread out on the immune

  13. Tunable damper for an acoustic wave guide

    DOEpatents

    Rogers, Samuel C.

    1984-01-01

    A damper for tunably damping acoustic waves in an ultrasonic waveguide is provided which may be used in a hostile environment such as a nuclear reactor. The area of the waveguide, which may be a selected size metal rod in which acoustic waves are to be damped, is wrapped, or surrounded, by a mass of stainless steel wool. The wool wrapped portion is then sandwiched between tuning plates, which may also be stainless steel, by means of clamping screws which may be adjusted to change the clamping force of the sandwiched assembly along the waveguide section. The plates are preformed along their length in a sinusoidally bent pattern with a period approximately equal to the acoustic wavelength which is to be damped. The bent pattern of the opposing plates are in phase along their length relative to their sinusoidal patterns so that as the clamping screws are tightened a bending stress is applied to the waveguide at 180.degree. intervals along the damping section to oppose the acoustic wave motions in the waveguide and provide good coupling of the wool to the guide. The damper is tuned by selectively tightening the clamping screws while monitoring the amplitude of the acoustic waves launched in the waveguide. It may be selectively tuned to damp particular acoustic wave modes (torsional or extensional, for example) and/or frequencies while allowing others to pass unattenuated.

  14. Tunable damper for an acoustic wave guide

    DOEpatents

    Rogers, S.C.

    1982-10-21

    A damper for tunably damping acoustic waves in an ultrasonic waveguide is provided which may be used in a hostile environment such as a nuclear reactor. The area of the waveguide, which may be a selected size metal rod in which acoustic waves are to be damped, is wrapped, or surrounded, by a mass of stainless steel wool. The wool wrapped portion is then sandwiched between tuning plates, which may also be stainless steel, by means of clamping screws which may be adjusted to change the clamping force of the sandwiched assembly along the waveguide section. The plates are preformed along their length in a sinusoidally bent pattern with a period approximately equal to the acoustic wavelength which is to be damped. The bent pattern of the opposing plates are in phase along their length relative to their sinusoidal patterns so that as the clamping screws are tightened a bending stress is applied to the waveguide at 180/sup 0/ intervals along the damping section to oppose the acoustic wave motions in the waveguide and provide good coupling of the wool to the guide. The damper is tuned by selectively tightening the clamping screws while monitoring the amplitude of the acoustic waves launched in the waveguide. It may be selectively tuned to damp particular acoustic wave modes (torsional or extensional, for example) and/or frequencies while allowing others to pass unattenuated.

  15. Optical fiber interferometer for the study of ultrasonic waves in composite materials

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Claus, R. O.; Zewekh, P. S.; Turner, T. M.; Wade, J. C.; Rogers, R. T.; Garg, A. O.

    1981-01-01

    The possibility of acoustic emission detection in composites using embedded optical fibers as sensing elements was investigated. Optical fiber interferometry, fiber acoustic sensitivity, fiber interferometer calibration, and acoustic emission detection are reported. Adhesive bond layer dynamical properties using ultrasonic interface waves, the design and construction of an ultrasonic transducer with a two dimensional Gaussian pressure profile, and the development of an optical differential technique for the measurement of surface acoustic wave particle displacements and propagation direction are also examined.

  16. Monitoring of Soft Deposition Layers in Liquid-Filled Tubes with Guided Acoustic Waves Excited by Clamp-on Transducers.

    PubMed

    Tietze, Sabrina; Singer, Ferdinand; Lasota, Sandra; Ebert, Sandra; Landskron, Johannes; Schwuchow, Katrin; Drese, Klaus Stefan; Lindner, Gerhard

    2018-02-09

    The monitoring of liquid-filled tubes with respect to the formation of soft deposition layers such as biofilms on the inner walls calls for non-invasive and long-term stable sensors, which can be attached to existing pipe structures. For this task a method is developed, which uses an ultrasonic clamp-on device. This method is based on the impact of such deposition layers on the propagation of circumferential guided waves on the pipe wall. Such waves are partly converted into longitudinal compressional waves in the liquid, which are back-converted to guided waves in a circular cross section of the pipe. Validating this approach, laboratory experiments with gelatin deposition layers on steel tubes exhibited a distinguishable sensitivity of both wave branches with respect to the thickness of such layers. This allows the monitoring of the layer growth.

  17. Lamb mode selection for accurate wall loss estimation via guided wave tomography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huthwaite, P.; Ribichini, R.; Lowe, M. J. S.; Cawley, P.

    2014-02-01

    Guided wave tomography offers a method to accurately quantify wall thickness losses in pipes and vessels caused by corrosion. This is achieved using ultrasonic waves transmitted over distances of approximately 1-2m, which are measured by an array of transducers and then used to reconstruct a map of wall thickness throughout the inspected region. To achieve accurate estimations of remnant wall thickness, it is vital that a suitable Lamb mode is chosen. This paper presents a detailed evaluation of the fundamental modes, S0 and A0, which are of primary interest in guided wave tomography thickness estimates since the higher order modes do not exist at all thicknesses, to compare their performance using both numerical and experimental data while considering a range of challenging phenomena. The sensitivity of A0 to thickness variations was shown to be superior to S0, however, the attenuation from A0 when a liquid loading was present was much higher than S0. A0 was less sensitive to the presence of coatings on the surface of than S0.

  18. Reflective SOA-based fiber Bragg grating ultrasonic sensing system with two wave mixing interferometric demodulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, Heming; Krishnaswamy, Sridhar

    2017-04-01

    Damages such as cracking or impact loading in civil, aerospace, and mechanical structures generate transient ultrasonic waves, which can be used to reveal the structural health condition. Hence, it is necessary to find a practical tool based on ultrasonic detection for structural health monitoring. In this work, we describe an intelligent fiber-optic ultrasonic sensing system, which is designed based on a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and a reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA) used as an adaptive source, and demodulated by an adaptive photorefractive two wave mixing (TWM) technique without any active compensation of quasi-static strains and temperature. As the wavelength of the FBG shifts due to the excited ultrasonic waves, the wavelength of the optical output from the fiber cavity laser shifts accordingly. With regard to the shift of the FBG reflective spectrum, the adaptivity of the RSOA-based laser is analyzed theoretically and verified by the TWM demodulator. Additionally, due to the response time of the photorefractive crystal, the TWM demodulator is insensitive to low frequency-FBG spectral shift. The results demonstrate that this proposed FBG ultrasonic sensing system has high sensitivity and can respond the ultrasonic waves into the megahertz frequency range, which shows a potential for acoustic emission detection in practical applications.

  19. Effect of ultrasonic waves on the freezing rates of potatoes in degassed coolant and untreated coolant.

    PubMed

    Yu, D Y; Liu, B L

    2014-01-01

    Ultrasonic waves are shown to enhance the rate of freezing. To elucidate the mechanism of immersion freezing of potatos with ultrasonic waves. Ultrasound is applied to potato samples immersed in degassed coolant and untreated coolant. Sonic waves were intermittently applied at temperature below -1 degree C. The freezing rates were measured under different experimental conditions. The use of ultrasonic waves increased the freezing rates of potatoes immersed in both degassed coolant and untreated coolant. However, the freezing rate in the degassed coolant was less than that in the untreated coolant. Heat transfer on the interface between the potato sample and sonicated degassed coolant appears to be less than that within the sample in the absence of cavitation. The interface heat transfer between the potato sample and untreated coolant is likely improved due to ultrasonic cavitation.

  20. Propogation loss with frequency of ultrasound guided waves in a composite metal-honeycomb structure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saxena, Indu F.; Baid, Harsh K.; Guzman, Narciso; Kempen, Lothar U.; Mal, Ajit

    2009-05-01

    Non-destructive testing of critical structural components is time consuming, while necessary for maintaining safe operation. Large aerospace structures, such as the vertical stabilizers of aircraft undergo inspection at regular intervals for damage diagnostics. However, conventional techniques for damage detection and identification before repair can be scheduled are conducted off-line and therefore can take weeks. The use of guided ultrasound waves is being investigated to expedite damage detection in composites. We measure the frequency dependent loss of ultrasonic guided waves for a structure comprising a boron-nitride composite skin sandwiching an aluminum honeycomb. A wide range of ultrasound frequencies propagate as measured using PZTs, with the lowest attenuation observed about 200-250 kHz. These measurements are confirmed using optical fiber Bragg grating arrays used as ultrasound transducers.

  1. Determination of Residual Stress in Composite Materials Using Ultrasonic Waves

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rokhlin, S. I.

    1997-01-01

    The performance of high temperature composites can be significantly affected by the presence of residual stresses. These stresses arise during cooling processes from fabrication to room temperature due to mismatch of thermal expansion coefficients between matrix and fiber materials. This effect is especially pronounced in metal matrix and intermetallic composites. It can lead to plastic deformations, matrix cracking and fiber/matrix interface debonding. In this work the feasibility of ultrasonic techniques for residual stress assessment in composites is addressed. A novel technique for absolute stress determination in orthotropic materials from angular dependencies of ultrasonic velocities is described. The technique is applicable for determination of both applied and residual stresses and does not require calibration measurements on a reference sample. The important advantage of this method is that stress is determined simultaneously with stress-dependent elastic constants and is thus decoupled from the material texture. It is demonstrated that when the principal plane stress directions coincide with acoustical axes, the angular velocity data in the plane perpendicular to the stress plane may be used to determine both stress components. When the stress is off the acoustical axes, the shear and the difference of the normal stress components may be determined from the angular dependence of group velocities in the plane of stresses. Synthetic sets of experimental data corresponding to materials with different anisotropy and stress levels are used to check the applicability of the technique. The method is also verified experimentally. A high precision ultrasonic wave transmission technique is developed to measure angular dependence of ultrasonic velocities. Examples of stress determination from experimental velocity data are given. A method is presented for determination of velocities of ultrasonic waves propagating through the composite material with residual

  2. Nonlinear ultrasonic imaging with X wave

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Du, Hongwei; Lu, Wei; Feng, Huanqing

    2009-10-01

    X wave has a large depth of field and may have important application in ultrasonic imaging to provide high frame rate (HFR). However, the HFR system suffers from lower spatial resolution. In this paper, a study of nonlinear imaging with X wave is presented to improve the resolution. A theoretical description of realizable nonlinear X wave is reported. The nonlinear field is simulated by solving the KZK nonlinear wave equation with a time-domain difference method. The results show that the second harmonic field of X wave has narrower mainlobe and lower sidelobes than the fundamental field. In order to evaluate the imaging effect with X wave, an imaging model involving numerical calculation of the KZK equation, Rayleigh-Sommerfeld integral, band-pass filtering and envelope detection is constructed to obtain 2D fundamental and second harmonic images of scatters in tissue-like medium. The results indicate that if X wave is used, the harmonic image has higher spatial resolution throughout the entire imaging region than the fundamental image, but higher sidelobes occur as compared to conventional focus imaging. A HFR imaging method with higher spatial resolution is thus feasible provided an apodization method is used to suppress sidelobes.

  3. 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.

  4. 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).

  5. Monitoring and modeling of ultrasonic wave propagation in crystallizing mixtures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marshall, T.; Challis, R. E.; Tebbutt, J. S.

    2002-05-01

    The utility of ultrasonic compression wave techniques for monitoring crystallization processes is investigated in a study of the seeded crystallization of copper II sulfate pentahydrate from aqueous solution. Simple models are applied to predict crystal yield, crystal size distribution and the changing nature of the continuous phase. A scattering model is used to predict the ultrasonic attenuation as crystallization proceeds. Experiments confirm that modeled attenuation is in agreement with measured results.

  6. Analysis of superimposed ultrasonic guided waves in long bones by the joint approximate diagonalization of eigen-matrices algorithm.

    PubMed

    Song, Xiaojun; Ta, Dean; Wang, Weiqi

    2011-10-01

    The parameters of ultrasonic guided waves (GWs) are very sensitive to mechanical and structural changes in long cortical bones. However, it is a challenge to obtain the group velocity and other parameters of GWs because of the presence of mixed multiple modes. This paper proposes a blind identification algorithm using the joint approximate diagonalization of eigen-matrices (JADE) and applies it to the separation of superimposed GWs in long bones. For the simulation case, the velocity of the single mode was calculated after separation. A strong agreement was obtained between the estimated velocity and the theoretical expectation. For the experiments in bovine long bones, by using the calculated velocity and a theoretical model, the cortical thickness (CTh) was obtained. For comparison with the JADE approach, an adaptive Gaussian chirplet time-frequency (ACGTF) method was also used to estimate the CTh. The results showed that the mean error of the CTh acquired by the JADE approach was 4.3%, which was smaller than that of the ACGTF method (13.6%). This suggested that the JADE algorithm may be used to separate the superimposed GWs and that the JADE algorithm could potentially be used to evaluate long bones. Copyright © 2011 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Piezoelectric parametric effects on wave vibration and contact mechanics of traveling wave ultrasonic motor.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Dongsheng; Wang, Shiyu; Xiu, Jie

    2017-11-01

    Elastic wave quality determines the operating performance of traveling wave ultrasonic motor (TWUM). The time-variant circumferential force from the shrink of piezoelectric ceramic is one of the factors that distort the elastic wave. The distorted waveshape deviates from the ideal standard sinusoidal fashion and affects the contact mechanics and driving performance. An analytical dynamic model of ring ultrasonic motor is developed. Based on this model, the piezoelectric parametric effects on the wave distortion and contact mechanics are examined. Multi-scale method is employed to obtain unstable regions and distorted wave response. The unstable region is verified by Floquét theory. Since the waveshape affects the contact mechanism, a contact model involving the distorted waveshape and normal stiffness of the contact layer is established. The contact model is solved by numerical calculation. The results verify that the deformation of the contact layer deviates from sinusoidal waveshape and the pressure distribution is changed, which influences the output characteristics directly. The surface speed within the contact region is averaged such that the rotor speed decreases for lower torque and increases for larger torque. The effects from different parametric strengths, excitation frequencies and pre-pressures on pressure distribution and torque-speed relation are compared. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Development of a fiber-guided laser ultrasonic system resilient to high temperature and gamma radiation for nuclear power plant pipe monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Jinyeol; Lee, Hyeonseok; Lim, Hyung Jin; Kim, Nakhyeon; Yeo, Hwasoo; Sohn, Hoon

    2013-08-01

    This study develops an embeddable optical fiber-guided laser ultrasonic system for structural health monitoring (SHM) of pipelines exposed to high temperature and gamma radiation inside nuclear power plants (NPPs). Recently, noncontact laser ultrasonics is gaining popularity among the SHM community because of its advantageous characteristics such as (a) scanning capability, (b) immunity against electromagnetic interference (EMI) and (c) applicability to high-temperature surfaces. However, its application to NPP pipelines has been hampered because pipes inside NPPs are often covered by insulators and/or target surfaces are not easily accessible. To overcome this problem, this study designs embeddable optical fibers and fixtures so that laser beams used for ultrasonic inspection can be transmitted between the laser sources and the target pipe. For guided-wave generation, an Nd:Yag pulsed laser coupled with an optical fiber is used. A high-power pulsed laser beam is guided through the optical fiber onto a target structure. Based on the principle of laser interferometry, the corresponding response is measured using a different type of laser beam guided by another optical fiber. All devices are especially designed to sustain high temperature and gamma radiation. The robustness/resilience of the proposed measurement system installed on a stainless steel pipe specimen has been experimentally verified by exposing the specimen to high temperature of up to 350 °C and optical fibers to gamma radiation of up to 125 kGy (20 kGy h-1).

  9. Direct measurement of optoacoustic induced ultrasonic waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuo, C.-Y.; Patel, C. K. N.

    1984-04-01

    A two-beam optically induced photoacoustic grating and its low frequency ultrasonic waves are measured with a thin film transducer in low concentration dye solution. The acoustic power generated is measured for a weakly absorbing medium to be equal to about 5 W sq cm, indicating high conversion efficiency. Application of this direct detection as a laser beam profiler is also discussed.

  10. Effects of sonication radiation on oil recovery by ultrasonic waves stimulated water-flooding.

    PubMed

    Mohammadian, Erfan; Junin, Radzuan; Rahmani, Omeid; Idris, Ahmad Kamal

    2013-02-01

    Due to partial understanding of mechanisms involved in application of ultrasonic waves as enhanced oil recovery method, series of straight (normal), and ultrasonic stimulated water-flooding experiments were conducted on a long unconsolidated sand pack using ultrasonic transducers. Kerosene, vaseline, and SAE-10 (engine oil) were used as non-wet phase in the system. In addition, a series of fluid flow and temperature rise experiments were conducted using ultrasonic bath in order to enhance the understanding about contributing mechanisms. 3-16% increase in the recovery of water-flooding was observed. Emulsification, viscosity reduction, and cavitation were identified as contributing mechanisms. The findings of this study are expected to increase the insight to involving mechanisms which lead to improving the recovery of oil as a result of application of ultrasound waves. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. 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.

  12. Modeling guided wave propagation in curved thick composites with ply drops and marcelling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hakoda, Christopher; Choi, Gloria; Lissenden, Clifford

    2018-04-01

    Setting the process parameters for fabrication of thick composites having complex geometries is a challenging endeavor, with the best result being a high-quality part and less desirable results being parts that contain voids or fiber marcelling. An equal challenge is the nondestructive testing of these parts. Consider a U-shaped portion of a more complex part. The straight segments of the U-shape are approximately 10-mm thick, but a series of ply-drops reduce the thickness by one half at the center portion. Ultrasonic guided waves that have the potential to nondestructively test this part can be actuated by coupling transducers to the straight segments if and only if wave modes that are sensitive to the defects of interest can propagate through the ply drops, the curve, and the attenuation due to internal damping. A frequency domain finite element approach proposed in recent years for guided wave analysis is applied to this inhomogeneous waveguide problem in order to select modes and frequencies that are sensitive to marcelling.

  13. Using the analysis of stress waves to build research for experimentation on ultrasonic film measurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, Shi-Shing; Wu, John H.

    1993-09-01

    After the 2th world war, although the application of ultrasonic wave in industries is becoming more and more popular. But due to the restriction of the precise equivelent , experimental method and the support of the basic theoremsetc. Ultrasonic wave is not applied in precise measurement. Nowadays due to many conditions - the improvement in the production technic, the precise of the equivelent, causes to increase the application of ultrasonic wave. But it's still limited due to the lack of measurement and analysis theorem. In this paper, first we caculate translation of the stress wave (elastic wave) in material for the free surface of material by a normal impulse load. as the theorem analysis base in real application. It is applied to an experiment of film measurement. We can find the partical motion in material and the arriving time of wave front. Then we can estimate the thickness of layers and can prove the actual condition with the result of experiment. This resarch is not only in the theoretical investigation but also in setting overall the measurement system, and excutes the following three experiments: the thickness measurement of two layers, the thickness measurement of film material. the thickness measurement of air propagation. About the data processing, we relied on the frequency analysis to evalute the time difference of two overlapped ultrasonic wave signal. in the meanwhile. we also designed several computer programs to assist the sonic wave identification and signal analysis.

  14. Effect of skew angle on second harmonic guided wave measurement in composite plates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cho, Hwanjeong; Choi, Sungho; Lissenden, Cliff J.

    2017-02-01

    Waves propagating in anisotropic media are subject to skewing effects due to the media having directional wave speed dependence, which is characterized by slowness curves. Likewise, the generation of second harmonics is sensitive to micro-scale damage that is generally not detectable from linear features of ultrasonic waves. Here, the effect of skew angle on second harmonic guided wave measurement in a transversely isotropic lamina and a quasi-isotropic laminate are numerically studied. The strain energy density function for a nonlinear transversely isotropic material is formulated in terms of the Green-Lagrange strain invariants. The guided wave mode pairs for cumulative second harmonic generation in the plate are selected in accordance with the internal resonance criteria - i.e., phase matching and non-zero power flux. Moreover, the skew angle dispersion curves for the mode pairs are obtained from the semi-analytical finite element method using the derivative of the slowness curve. The skew angles of the primary and secondary wave modes are calculated and wave propagation simulations are carried out using COMSOL. Numerical simulations revealed that the effect of skew angle mismatch can be significant for second harmonic generation in anisotropic media. The importance of skew angle matching on cumulative second harmonic generation is emphasized and the accompanying issue of the selection of internally resonant mode pairs for both a unidirectional transversely isotropic lamina and a quasi-isotropic laminate is demonstrated.

  15. Guided acoustic wave inspection system

    DOEpatents

    Chinn, Diane J.

    2004-10-05

    A system for inspecting a conduit for undesirable characteristics. A transducer system induces guided acoustic waves onto said conduit. The transducer system detects the undesirable characteristics of the conduit by receiving guided acoustic waves that contain information about the undesirable characteristics. The conduit has at least two sides and the transducer system utilizes flexural modes of propagation to provide inspection using access from only the one side of the conduit. Cracking is detected with pulse-echo testing using one transducer to both send and receive the guided acoustic waves. Thinning is detected in through-transmission testing where one transducer sends and another transducer receives the guided acoustic waves.

  16. MR-guided adaptive focusing of ultrasound

    PubMed Central

    Larrat, Benoît; Pernot, Mathieu; Montaldo, Gabriel; Fink, Mathias; Tanter, Mickaël

    2010-01-01

    Adaptive focusing of ultrasonic waves under the guidance of a Magnetic Resonance (MR) system is demonstrated for medical applications. This technique is based on the maximization of the ultrasonic wave intensity at one targeted point in space. The wave intensity is indirectly estimated from the local tissue displacement induced at the chosen focus by the acoustic radiation force of ultrasonic beams. Coded ultrasonic waves are transmitted by an ultrasonic array and an MRI scanner is used to measure the resulting local displacements through a motion sensitive MR sequence. After the transmission of a set of spatially encoded ultrasonic waves, a non iterative inversion process is employed to accurately estimate the spatial-temporal aberration induced by the propagation medium and to maximize the acoustical intensity at the target. Both programmable and physical aberrating layers introducing strong distortions (up to 2π radians) were recovered within acceptable errors (<0.8 rad). This non invasive technique is shown to accurately correct phase aberrations in a phantom gel with negligible heat deposition and limited acquisition time. These refocusing performances demonstrate a major potential in the field of MR-Guided Ultrasound Therapy in particular for transcranial brain HIFU. PMID:20704061

  17. On-Line Corrosion Monitoring of Plate Structures Based on Guided Wave Tomography Using Piezoelectric Sensors.

    PubMed

    Rao, Jing; Ratassepp, Madis; Lisevych, Danylo; Hamzah Caffoor, Mahadhir; Fan, Zheng

    2017-12-12

    Corrosion is a major safety and economic concern to various industries. In this paper, a novel ultrasonic guided wave tomography (GWT) system based on self-designed piezoelectric sensors is presented for on-line corrosion monitoring of large plate-like structures. Accurate thickness reconstruction of corrosion damages is achieved by using the dispersive regimes of selected guided waves and a reconstruction algorithm based on full waveform inversion (FWI). The system makes use of an array of miniaturised piezoelectric transducers that are capable of exciting and receiving highly dispersive A0 Lamb wave mode at low frequencies. The scattering from transducer array has been found to have a small effect on the thickness reconstruction. The efficiency and the accuracy of the new system have been demonstrated through continuous forced corrosion experiments. The FWI reconstructed thicknesses show good agreement with analytical predictions obtained by Faraday's law and laser measurements, and more importantly, the thickness images closely resemble the actual corrosion sites.

  18. 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.

  19. Torsional ultrasonic wave based level measurement system

    DOEpatents

    Holcomb, David E [Oak Ridge, TN; Kisner, Roger A [Knoxville, TN

    2012-07-10

    A level measurement system suitable for use in a high temperature and pressure environment to measure the level of coolant fluid within the environment, the system including a volume of coolant fluid located in a coolant region of the high temperature and pressure environment and having a level therein; an ultrasonic waveguide blade that is positioned within the desired coolant region of the high temperature and pressure environment; a magnetostrictive electrical assembly located within the high temperature and pressure environment and configured to operate in the environment and cooperate with the waveguide blade to launch and receive ultrasonic waves; and an external signal processing system located outside of the high temperature and pressure environment and configured for communicating with the electrical assembly located within the high temperature and pressure environment.

  20. 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.

  1. Ultrasonic guided wave tomography of pipes: A development of new techniques for the nondestructive evaluation of cylindrical geometries and guided wave multi-mode analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leonard, Kevin Raymond

    This dissertation concentrates on the development of two new tomographic techniques that enable wide-area inspection of pipe-like structures. By envisioning a pipe as a plate wrapped around upon itself, the previous Lamb Wave Tomography (LWT) techniques are adapted to cylindrical structures. Helical Ultrasound Tomography (HUT) uses Lamb-like guided wave modes transmitted and received by two circumferential arrays in a single crosshole geometry. Meridional Ultrasound Tomography (MUT) creates the same crosshole geometry with a linear array of transducers along the axis of the cylinder. However, even though these new scanning geometries are similar to plates, additional complexities arise because they are cylindrical structures. First, because it is a single crosshole geometry, the wave vector coverage is poorer than in the full LWT system. Second, since waves can travel in both directions around the circumference of the pipe, modes can also constructively and destructively interfere with each other. These complexities necessitate improved signal processing algorithms to produce accurate and unambiguous tomographic reconstructions. Consequently, this work also describes a new algorithm for improving the extraction of multi-mode arrivals from guided wave signals. Previous work has relied solely on the first arriving mode for the time-of-flight measurements. In order to improve the LWT, HUT and MUT systems reconstructions, improved signal processing methods are needed to extract information about the arrival times of the later arriving modes. Because each mode has different through-thickness displacement values, they are sensitive to different types of flaws, and the information gained from the multi-mode analysis improves understanding of the structural integrity of the inspected material. Both tomographic frequency compounding and mode sorting algorithms are introduced. It is also shown that each of these methods improve the reconstructed images both qualitatively and

  2. Design and performance of optimal detectors for guided wave structural health monitoring

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

    Dib, G.; Udpa, L.

    2016-01-01

    Ultrasonic guided wave measurements in a long term structural health monitoring system are affected by measurement noise, environmental conditions, transducer aging and malfunction. This results in measurement variability which affects detection performance, especially in complex structures where baseline data comparison is required. This paper derives the optimal detector structure, within the framework of detection theory, where a guided wave signal at the sensor is represented by a single feature value that can be used for comparison with a threshold. Three different types of detectors are derived depending on the underlying structure’s complexity: (i) Simple structures where defect reflections can bemore » identified without the need for baseline data; (ii) Simple structures that require baseline data due to overlap of defect scatter with scatter from structural features; (iii) Complex structure with dense structural features that require baseline data. The detectors are derived by modeling the effects of variabilities and uncertainties as random processes. Analytical solutions for the performance of detectors in terms of the probability of detection and false alarm are derived. A finite element model is used to generate guided wave signals and the performance results of a Monte-Carlo simulation are compared with the theoretical performance. initial results demonstrate that the problems of signal complexity and environmental variability can in fact be exploited to improve detection performance.« less

  3. Performances estimation of a rotary traveling wave ultrasonic motor based on two-dimension analytical model.

    PubMed

    Ming, Y; Peiwen, Q

    2001-03-01

    The understanding of ultrasonic motor performances as a function of input parameters, such as the voltage amplitude, driving frequency, the preload on the rotor, is a key to many applications and control of ultrasonic motor. This paper presents performances estimation of the piezoelectric rotary traveling wave ultrasonic motor as a function of input voltage amplitude and driving frequency and preload. The Love equation is used to derive the traveling wave amplitude on the stator surface. With the contact model of the distributed spring-rigid body between the stator and rotor, a two-dimension analytical model of the rotary traveling wave ultrasonic motor is constructed. Then the performances of stead rotation speed and stall torque are deduced. With MATLAB computational language and iteration algorithm, we estimate the performances of rotation speed and stall torque versus input parameters respectively. The same experiments are completed with the optoelectronic tachometer and stand weight. Both estimation and experiment results reveal the pattern of performance variation as a function of its input parameters.

  4. Digital core based transmitted ultrasonic wave simulation and velocity accuracy analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Wei; Shan, Rui

    2016-06-01

    Transmitted ultrasonic wave simulation (TUWS) in a digital core is one of the important elements of digital rock physics and is used to study wave propagation in porous cores and calculate equivalent velocity. When simulating wave propagates in a 3D digital core, two additional layers are attached to its two surfaces vertical to the wave-direction and one planar wave source and two receiver-arrays are properly installed. After source excitation, the two receivers then record incident and transmitted waves of the digital rock. Wave propagating velocity, which is the velocity of the digital core, is computed by the picked peak-time difference between the two recorded waves. To evaluate the accuracy of TUWS, a digital core is fully saturated with gas, oil, and water to calculate the corresponding velocities. The velocities increase with decreasing wave frequencies in the simulation frequency band, and this is considered to be the result of scattering. When the pore fluids are varied from gas to oil and finally to water, the velocity-variation characteristics between the different frequencies are similar, thereby approximately following the variation law of velocities obtained from linear elastic statics simulation (LESS), although their absolute values are different. However, LESS has been widely used. The results of this paper show that the transmission ultrasonic simulation has high relative precision.

  5. Study of the Effects of Ultrasonic Waves on the Reproductive Integrity of Mammalian Cells Cultured in Vitro

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Martins, B. I.

    1971-01-01

    The effects of monochromatic ultrasonic waves of 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and, 3.3 MHz frequency on the colony-forming ability of mammalian cells (M3-1,V79, Chang's and T-1) cultured in vitro have been studied to determine the nature of the action of ultrasonic energy on biological systems at the cellular level. The combined effect of ultrasound and X-rays has also been studied. It is concluded: (1) Ultrasonic irradiation causes both lethal and sublethal damage. (2) There is a threshold dose rate for lethal effects. (3) The effectiveness of ultrasonic waves in causing cell death probably depends on the frequency and the amplitude of the waves for a given cell line, indicating a possible resonance phenomenon.

  6. A fractional Fourier transform analysis of the scattering of ultrasonic waves.

    PubMed

    Tant, Katherine M M; Mulholland, Anthony J; Langer, Matthias; Gachagan, Anthony

    2015-03-08

    Many safety critical structures, such as those found in nuclear plants, oil pipelines and in the aerospace industry, rely on key components that are constructed from heterogeneous materials. Ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT) uses high-frequency mechanical waves to inspect these parts, ensuring they operate reliably without compromising their integrity. It is possible to employ mathematical models to develop a deeper understanding of the acquired ultrasonic data and enhance defect imaging algorithms. In this paper, a model for the scattering of ultrasonic waves by a crack is derived in the time-frequency domain. The fractional Fourier transform (FrFT) is applied to an inhomogeneous wave equation where the forcing function is prescribed as a linear chirp, modulated by a Gaussian envelope. The homogeneous solution is found via the Born approximation which encapsulates information regarding the flaw geometry. The inhomogeneous solution is obtained via the inverse Fourier transform of a Gaussian-windowed linear chirp excitation. It is observed that, although the scattering profile of the flaw does not change, it is amplified. Thus, the theory demonstrates the enhanced signal-to-noise ratio permitted by the use of coded excitation, as well as establishing a time-frequency domain framework to assist in flaw identification and classification.

  7. A fractional Fourier transform analysis of the scattering of ultrasonic waves

    PubMed Central

    Tant, Katherine M.M.; Mulholland, Anthony J.; Langer, Matthias; Gachagan, Anthony

    2015-01-01

    Many safety critical structures, such as those found in nuclear plants, oil pipelines and in the aerospace industry, rely on key components that are constructed from heterogeneous materials. Ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT) uses high-frequency mechanical waves to inspect these parts, ensuring they operate reliably without compromising their integrity. It is possible to employ mathematical models to develop a deeper understanding of the acquired ultrasonic data and enhance defect imaging algorithms. In this paper, a model for the scattering of ultrasonic waves by a crack is derived in the time–frequency domain. The fractional Fourier transform (FrFT) is applied to an inhomogeneous wave equation where the forcing function is prescribed as a linear chirp, modulated by a Gaussian envelope. The homogeneous solution is found via the Born approximation which encapsulates information regarding the flaw geometry. The inhomogeneous solution is obtained via the inverse Fourier transform of a Gaussian-windowed linear chirp excitation. It is observed that, although the scattering profile of the flaw does not change, it is amplified. Thus, the theory demonstrates the enhanced signal-to-noise ratio permitted by the use of coded excitation, as well as establishing a time–frequency domain framework to assist in flaw identification and classification. PMID:25792967

  8. A case study of application of guided waves for detecting corrosion in pipelines

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rostami, Javad; Safizadeh, Mir Saeed

    2012-05-01

    Every year noticeable amount of money is spent on fixing and replacing the damaged pipes which carry gas and fuel. Since there is a possibility for a catastrophic failure, knowing the proper time of this repair is of great importance. Because significant proportion of failures is due to wall thinning of pipes because of the corrosion, detecting the wall thinning has been a main part of nondestructive testing of pipes. There are wide variety of NDT techniques to detect this kind of defect such as conventional ultrasonic, eddy current, radiography etc. but some of these techniques, for example conventional ultrasonic needs the insulation of pipes removed and in some other cases such as radiography the test is not done at a reasonable speed. A new method of nondestructive testing of pipes which has the potential to test a long distance in a short period of time and does not need the whole insulation removed, has drawn a lot of attention. In this paper, the ability of ultrasonic guided waves for detecting corrosion in gas pipelines is experimentally investigated.

  9. 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.

  10. Compensating effect of ultrasonic waves on retarding action of nanoparticles in drops liquid-liquid extraction.

    PubMed

    Saien, Javad; Daneshamoz, Sana

    2018-03-01

    The influence of ultrasonic waves on liquid-liquid extraction of circulating drops and in the presence of magnetite nanoparticles was investigated. Experiments were conducted in a column equipped with an ultrasound transducer. The frequency and intensity of received waves, measured by the hydrophone standard method, were 35.40 kHz and 0.37 mW/cm 2 , respectively. The recommended chemical system of cumene-isobutyric acid-water was used in which mass transfer resistance lies in the aqueous phase. Nanoparticles, within concentration range of (0.0003-0.0030) wt%, were added to the aqueous continuous phase. The presence of nanoparticles and ultrasonic waves provided no sensible change in drop size (within 2.49-4.17 mm) and measured terminal velocities were close to Grace model. However, presence of nanoparticles, caused mass transfer to decrease. This undesired effect was significantly diminished by using ultrasonic waves so that mass transfer coefficient increased from (73.0-178.2) to (130.2-240.2) µm/s, providing a 55.6% average enhancement. It is presumably due to disturbing the accumulated nanoparticles around the drops. The current innovative study highlights the fact that using ultrasonic waves is an interesting way to improve liquid-liquid extraction in the presence and absence of nanoparticles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Estimating state of charge and health of lithium-ion batteries with guided waves using built-in piezoelectric sensors/actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ladpli, Purim; Kopsaftopoulos, Fotis; Chang, Fu-Kuo

    2018-04-01

    This work presents the feasibility of monitoring state of charge (SoC) and state of health (SoH) of lithium-ion pouch batteries with acousto-ultrasonic guided waves. The guided waves are propagated and sensed using low-profile, built-in piezoelectric disc transducers that can be retrofitted onto off-the-shelf batteries. Both experimental and analytical studies are performed to understand the relationship between guided waves generated in a pitch-catch mode and battery SoC/SoH. The preliminary experiments on representative pouch cells show that the changes in time of flight (ToF) and signal amplitude (SA) resulting from shifts in the guided wave signals correlate strongly with the electrochemical charge-discharge cycling and aging. An analytical acoustic model is developed to simulate the variations in electrode moduli and densities during cycling, which correctly validates the absolute values and range of experimental ToF. It is further illustrated via a statistical study that ToF and SA can be used in a prediction model to accurately estimate SoC/SoH. Additionally, by using multiple sensors in a network configuration on the same battery, a significantly more reliable and accurate SoC/SoH prediction is achieved. The indicative results from this study can be extended to develop a unified guided-wave-based framework for SoC/SoH monitoring of many lithium-ion battery applications.

  12. High temperature integrated ultrasonic shear and longitudinal wave probes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ono, Y.; Jen, C.-K.; Kobayashi, M.

    2007-02-01

    Integrated ultrasonic shear wave probes have been designed and developed using a mode conversion theory for nondestructive testing and characterization at elevated temperatures. The probes consisted of metallic substrates and high temperature piezoelectric thick (>40μm) films through a paint-on method. Shear waves are generated due to mode conversion from longitudinal to shear waves because of reflection inside the substrate having a specific shape. A novel design scheme is proposed to reduce the machining time of substrates and thick film fabrication difficulty. A probe simultaneously generating and receiving both longitudinal and shear waves is also developed and demonstrated. In addition, a shear wave probe using a clad buffer rod consisting of an aluminum core and stainless steel cladding has been developed. All the probes were tested and successfully operated at 150°C.

  13. Evaluation of barely visible indentation damage (BVID) in CF/EP sandwich composites using guided wave signals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mustapha, Samir; Ye, Lin; Dong, Xingjian; Alamdari, Mehrisadat Makki

    2016-08-01

    Barely visible indentation damage after quasi-static indentation in sandwich CF/EP composites was assessed using ultrasonic guided wave signals. Finite element analyses were conducted to investigate the interaction between guided waves and damage, further to assist in the selection process of the Lamb wave sensitive modes for debonding identification. Composite sandwich beams and panels structures were investigated. Using the beam structure, a damage index was defined based on the change in the peak magnitude of the captured wave signals before and after the indentation, and the damage index was correlated with the residual deformation (defined as the depth of the dent), that was further correlated with the amount of crushing within the core. Both A0 and S0 Lamb wave modes showed high sensitivity to the presence of barely visible indentation damage with residual deformation of 0.2 mm. Furthermore, barely visible indentation damage was assessed in composite sandwich panels after indenting to 3 and 5 mm, and the damage index was defined, based on (a) the peak magnitude of the wave signals before and after indentation or (b) the mismatch between the original and reconstructed wave signals based on a time-reversal algorithm, and was subsequently applied to locate the position of indentation.

  14. Actuating mechanism and design of a cylindrical traveling wave ultrasonic motor using cantilever type composite transducer.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yingxiang; Chen, Weishan; Liu, Junkao; Shi, Shengjun

    2010-04-02

    Ultrasonic motors (USM) are based on the concept of driving the rotor by a mechanical vibration excited on the stator via piezoelectric effect. USM exhibit merits such as simple structure, quick response, quiet operation, self-locking when power off, nonelectromagnetic radiation and higher position accuracy. A cylindrical type traveling wave ultrasonic motor using cantilever type composite transducer was proposed in this paper. There are two cantilevers on the outside surface of cylinder, four longitudinal PZT ceramics are set between the cantilevers, and four bending PZT ceramics are set on each outside surface of cantilevers. Two degenerate flexural vibration modes spatially and temporally orthogonal to each other in the cylinder are excited by the composite transducer. In this new design, a single transducer can excite a flexural traveling wave in the cylinder. Thus, elliptical motions are achieved on the teeth. The actuating mechanism of proposed motor was analyzed. The stator was designed with FEM. The two vibration modes of stator were degenerated. Transient analysis was developed to gain the vibration characteristic of stator, and results indicate the motion trajectories of nodes on the teeth are nearly ellipses. The study results verify the feasibility of the proposed design. The wave excited in the cylinder isn't an ideal traveling wave, and the vibration amplitudes are inconsistent. The distortion of traveling wave is generated by the deformation of bending vibration mode of cylinder, which is caused by the coupling effect between the cylinder and transducer. Analysis results also prove that the objective motions of nodes on the teeth are three-dimensional vibrations. But, the vibration in axial direction is minute compared with the vibrations in circumferential and radial direction. The results of this paper can guide the development of this new type of motor.

  15. Actuating Mechanism and Design of a Cylindrical Traveling Wave Ultrasonic Motor Using Cantilever Type Composite Transducer

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Yingxiang; Chen, Weishan; Liu, Junkao; Shi, Shengjun

    2010-01-01

    Background Ultrasonic motors (USM) are based on the concept of driving the rotor by a mechanical vibration excited on the stator via piezoelectric effect. USM exhibit merits such as simple structure, quick response, quiet operation, self-locking when power off, nonelectromagnetic radiation and higher position accuracy. Principal Findings A cylindrical type traveling wave ultrasonic motor using cantilever type composite transducer was proposed in this paper. There are two cantilevers on the outside surface of cylinder, four longitudinal PZT ceramics are set between the cantilevers, and four bending PZT ceramics are set on each outside surface of cantilevers. Two degenerate flexural vibration modes spatially and temporally orthogonal to each other in the cylinder are excited by the composite transducer. In this new design, a single transducer can excite a flexural traveling wave in the cylinder. Thus, elliptical motions are achieved on the teeth. The actuating mechanism of proposed motor was analyzed. The stator was designed with FEM. The two vibration modes of stator were degenerated. Transient analysis was developed to gain the vibration characteristic of stator, and results indicate the motion trajectories of nodes on the teeth are nearly ellipses. Conclusions The study results verify the feasibility of the proposed design. The wave excited in the cylinder isn't an ideal traveling wave, and the vibration amplitudes are inconsistent. The distortion of traveling wave is generated by the deformation of bending vibration mode of cylinder, which is caused by the coupling effect between the cylinder and transducer. Analysis results also prove that the objective motions of nodes on the teeth are three-dimensional vibrations. But, the vibration in axial direction is minute compared with the vibrations in circumferential and radial direction. The results of this paper can guide the development of this new type of motor. PMID:20368809

  16. Estimation of in-situ stresses in concrete members using polarized ultrasonic shear waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Andrew; Schumacher, Thomas

    2014-02-01

    Ultrasonic testing is commonly used to detect flaws, estimate geometries, and characterize properties of materials and structures. Acoustoelasticity refers to the dependency of stress wave velocity with applied stresses and is a phenomenon that has been known by geophysicists since the 1960s. A way to capitalize on this effect for concrete applications is by using ultrasonic shear waves which are particularly sensitive to applied stresses when polarized in the direction of the applied stress. The authors conducted an experiment on a 150 mm (6 in.) diameter concrete cylinder specimen with a length of 305 mm (12 in.) that was loaded in discrete load steps to failure. At each load step two ultrasonic shear waves were transmitted through the specimen, one with the polarization perpendicular and the other transverse to the applied stress. The velocity difference between the two sets of polarized shear waves was found to correlate with the applied stress in the specimen. Two potential applications for this methodology include estimation of stresses in pre-stressed concrete bridge girders and investigation of load redistribution in structural support elements after extreme events. This paper introduces the background of the methodology, presents an analysis of the collected data, and discusses the relationship between the recorded signals and the applied stress.

  17. Ultrasonic isolation of buried pipes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leinov, Eli; Lowe, Michael J. S.; Cawley, Peter

    2016-02-01

    Long-range guided wave testing (GWT) is used routinely for the monitoring and detection of corrosion defects in above ground pipelines. The GWT test range in buried, coated pipelines is greatly reduced compared to above ground configurations due to energy leakage into the embedding soil. In this paper, the effect of pipe coatings on the guided wave attenuation is investigated with the aim of increasing test ranges for buried pipelines. The attenuation of the T(0,1) and L(0,2) guided wave modes is measured using a full-scale experimental apparatus in a fusion-bonded epoxy (FBE)-coated 8 in. pipe, buried in loose and compacted sand. Tests are performed over a frequency range typically used in GWT of 10-35 kHz and compared with model predictions. It is shown that the application of a low impedance coating between the FBE layer and the sand effectively decouples the influence of the sand on the ultrasound leakage from the buried pipe. Ultrasonic isolation of a buried pipe is demonstrated by coating the pipe with a Polyethylene (PE)-foam layer that has a smaller impedance than both the pipe and sand, and has the ability to withstand the overburden load from the sand. The measured attenuation in the buried PE-foam-FBE-coated pipe is found to be substantially reduced, in the range of 0.3-1.2 dB m-1 for loose and compacted sand conditions, compared to measured attenuation of 1.7-4.7 dB m-1 in the buried FBE-coated pipe without the PE-foam. The acoustic properties of the PE-foam are measured independently using ultrasonic interferometry and incorporated into model predictions of guided wave propagation in buried coated pipe. Good agreement is found between the experimental measurements and model predictions. The attenuation exhibits periodic peaks in the frequency domain corresponding to the through-thickness resonance frequencies of the coating layer. The large reduction in guided wave attenuation for PE-coated pipes would lead to greatly increased GWT test ranges; such

  18. On possible plume-guided seismic waves

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Julian, B.R.; Evans, J.R.

    2010-01-01

    Hypothetical thermal plumes in the Earth's mantle are expected to have low seismic-wave speeds and thus would support the propagation of guided elastic waves analogous to fault-zone guided seismic waves, fiber-optic waves, and acoustic waves in the oceanic SOund Fixing And Ranging channel. Plume-guided waves would be insensitive to geometric complexities in the wave guide, and their dispersion would make them distinctive on seismograms and would provide information about wave-guide structure that would complement seismic tomography. Detecting such waves would constitute strong evidence of a new kind for the existence of plumes. A cylindrical channel embedded in an infinite medium supports two classes of axially symmetric elastic-wave modes, torsional and longitudinal-radial. Torsional modes have rectilinear particle motion tangent to the cylinder surface. Longitudinal-radial modes have elliptical particle motion in planes that include the cylinder axis, with retrograde motion near the axis. The direction of elliptical particle motion reverses with distance from the axis: once for the fundamental mode, twice for the first overtone, and so on. Each mode exists only above its cut-off frequency, where the phase and group speeds equal the shear-wave speed in the infinite medium. At high frequencies, both speeds approach the shear-wave speed in the channel. All modes have minima in their group speeds, which produce Airy phases on seismograms. For shear wave-speed contrasts of a few percent, thought to be realistic for thermal plumes in the Earth, the largest signals are inversely dispersed and have dominant frequencies of about 0.1-1 Hz and durations of 15-30 sec. There are at least two possible sources of observable plume waves: (1) the intersection of mantle plumes with high-amplitude core-phase caustics in the deep mantle; and (2) ScS-like reflection at the core-mantle boundary of downward-propagating guided waves. The widespread recent deployment of broadband

  19. Direct-current nanogenerator driven by ultrasonic waves.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xudong; Song, Jinhui; Liu, Jin; Wang, Zhong Lin

    2007-04-06

    We have developed a nanowire nanogenerator that is driven by an ultrasonic wave to produce continuous direct-current output. The nanogenerator was fabricated with vertically aligned zinc oxide nanowire arrays that were placed beneath a zigzag metal electrode with a small gap. The wave drives the electrode up and down to bend and/or vibrate the nanowires. A piezoelectric-semiconducting coupling process converts mechanical energy into electricity. The zigzag electrode acts as an array of parallel integrated metal tips that simultaneously and continuously create, collect, and output electricity from all of the nanowires. The approach presents an adaptable, mobile, and cost-effective technology for harvesting energy from the environment, and it offers a potential solution for powering nanodevices and nanosystems.

  20. Ultrasonic Imaging in Solids Using Wave Mode Beamforming.

    PubMed

    di Scalea, Francesco Lanza; Sternini, Simone; Nguyen, Thompson Vu

    2017-03-01

    This paper discusses some improvements to ultrasonic synthetic imaging in solids with primary applications to nondestructive testing of materials and structures. Specifically, the study proposes new adaptive weights applied to the beamforming array that are based on the physics of the propagating waves, specifically the displacement structure of the propagating longitudinal (L) mode and shear (S) mode that are naturally coexisting in a solid. The wave mode structures can be combined with the wave geometrical spreading to better filter the array (in a matched filter approach) and improve its focusing ability compared to static array weights. This paper also proposes compounding, or summing, images obtained from the different wave modes to further improve the array gain without increasing its physical aperture. The wave mode compounding can be performed either incoherently or coherently, in analogy with compounding multiple frequencies or multiple excitations. Numerical simulations and experimental testing demonstrate the potential improvements obtainable by the wave structure adaptive weights compared to either static weights in conventional delay-and-sum focusing, or adaptive weights based on geometrical spreading alone in minimum-variance distortionless response focusing.

  1. Defect induced guided waves mode conversion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wandowski, Tomasz; Kudela, Pawel; Malinowski, Pawel; Ostachowicz, Wieslaw

    2016-04-01

    This paper deals with analysis of guided waves mode conversion phenomenon in fiber reinforced composite materials. Mode conversion phenomenon may take place when propagating elastic guided waves interact with discontinuities in the composite waveguide. The examples of such discontinuities are sudden thickness change or delamination between layers in composite material. In this paper, analysis of mode conversion phenomenon is based on full wave-field signals. In the full wave-field approach signals representing propagation of elastic waves are gathered from dense mesh of points that span over investigated area of composite part. This allow to animate the guided wave propagation. The reported analysis is based on signals resulting from numerical calculations and experimental measurements. In both cases defect in the form of delamination is considered. In the case of numerical research, Spectral Element Method (SEM) is utilized, in which a mesh is composed of 3D elements. Numerical model includes also piezoelectric transducer. Full wave-field experimental measurements are conducted by using piezoelectric transducer for guided wave excitation and Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer (SLDV) for sensing.

  2. Bi-directional ultrasonic wave coupling to FBGs in continuously bonded optical fiber sensing.

    PubMed

    Wee, Junghyun; Hackney, Drew; Bradford, Philip; Peters, Kara

    2017-09-01

    Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are typically spot-bonded onto the surface of a structure to detect ultrasonic waves in laboratory demonstrations. However, to protect the rest of the optical fiber from any environmental damage during real applications, bonding the entire length of fiber, called continuous bonding, is commonly done. In this paper, we investigate the impact of continuously bonding FBGs on the measured Lamb wave signal. In theory, the ultrasonic wave signal can bi-directionally transfer between the optical fiber and the plate at any adhered location, which could potentially produce output signal distortion for the continuous bonding case. Therefore, an experiment is performed to investigate the plate-to-fiber and fiber-to-plate signal transfer, from which the signal coupling coefficient of each case is theoretically estimated based on the experimental data. We demonstrate that the two coupling coefficients are comparable, with the plate-to-fiber case approximately 19% larger than the fiber-to-plate case. Finally, the signal waveform and arrival time of the output FBG responses are compared between the continuous and spot bonding cases. The results indicate that the resulting Lamb wave signal output is only that directly detected at the FBG location; however, a slight difference in signal waveform is observed between the two bonding configurations. This paper demonstrates the practicality of using continuously bonded FBGs for ultrasonic wave detection in structural health monitoring (SHM) applications.

  3. DIELECTRIC-LOADED WAVE-GUIDES

    DOEpatents

    Robertson-Shersby-Harvie, R.B.; Mullett, L.B.

    1957-04-23

    This patent presents a particular arrangement for delectric loading of a wave-guide carrying an electromagnetic wave in the E or TM mode of at least the second order, to reduce the power dissipated as the result of conduction loss in the wave-guide walls. To achieve this desirabie result, the effective dielectric constants in the radial direction of adjacent coaxial tubular regions bounded approximateiy by successive nodai surfaces within the electromagnetic field are of two different values alternating in the radial direction, the intermost and outermost regions being of the lower value, and the dielectric constants between nodes are uniform.

  4. On guided circumferential waves in soft electroactive tubes under radially inhomogeneous biasing fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Bin; Su, Yipin; Chen, Weiqiu; Zhang, Chuanzeng

    2017-02-01

    Soft electroactive (EA) tube actuators and many other cylindrical devices have been proposed recently in literature, which show great advantages over those made from conventional hard solid materials. However, their practical applications may be limited because these soft EA devices are prone to various failure modes. In this paper, we present an analysis of the guided circumferential elastic waves in soft EA tube actuators, which has potential applications in the in-situ nondestructive evaluation (NDE) or online structural health monitoring (SHM) to detect structural defects or fatigue cracks in soft EA tube actuators and in the self-sensing of soft EA tube actuators based on the concept of guided circumferential elastic waves. Both circumferential SH and Lamb-type waves in an incompressible soft EA cylindrical tube under inhomogeneous biasing fields are considered. The biasing fields, induced by the application of an electric voltage difference to the electrodes on the inner and outer cylindrical surfaces of the EA tube in addition to an axial pre-stretch, are inhomogeneous in the radial direction. Dorfmann and Ogden's theory of nonlinear electroelasticity and the associated linear theory for small incremental motion constitute the basis of our analysis. By means of the state-space formalism for the incremental wave motion along with the approximate laminate technique, dispersion relations are derived in a particularly efficient way. For a neo-Hookean ideal dielectric model, the proposed approach is first validated numerically. Numerical examples are then given to show that the guided circumferential wave propagation characteristics are significantly affected by the inhomogeneous biasing fields and the geometrical parameters. Some particular phenomena such as the frequency veering and the nonlinear dependence of the phase velocity on the radial electric voltage are discussed. Our numerical findings demonstrate that it is feasible to use guided circumferential

  5. 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.

  6. 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

  7. 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.

  8. 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).

  9. Design and analysis of ultrasonic monaural audio guiding device for the visually impaired.

    PubMed

    Kim, Keonwook; Kim, Hyunjai; Yun, Gihun; Kim, Myungsoo

    2009-01-01

    The novel Audio Guiding Device (AGD) based on the ultrasonic, which is named as SonicID, has been developed in order to localize point of interest for the visually impaired. The SonicID requires the infrastructure of the transmitters for broadcasting the location information over the ultrasonic carrier. The user with ultrasonic headset receives the information with variable amplitude upon the location and direction of the user due to the ultrasonic characteristic and modulation method. This paper proposes the monaural headset form factor of the SonicID which improves the daily life of the beneficiary compare to the previous version which uses the both ears. Experimental results from SonicID, Bluetooth, and audible sound show that the SonicID demonstrates comparable localization performance to the audible sound with silence to others.

  10. High temperature ultrasonic transducers for the generation of guided waves for non-destructive evaluation of pipes

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

    Sinding, K.; Searfass, C.; Malarich, N.

    2014-02-18

    Applications for non-destructive evaluation and structural health monitoring of steam generators require ultrasonic transducers capable of withstanding the high temperatures of the pipes and heat exchangers. These applications require a strong coupling of the transducer to the heat exchanger’s complex geometry at the elevated temperatures. Our objective is to use spray-on piezo-electrics for depositing comb transducers onto the curved surfaces. This paper shows results for composite transducers such as lead zirconate titanate/ bismuth titanate and bismuth titanate/ lithium niobate. The comb transducers were prepared by precision laser ablation. The feasibility of producing second harmonic waves in rods with these spay-onmore » comb transducers was demonstrated and paves the way toward measuring material degradation early-on before crack initiation occurs.« less

  11. Physics of ultrasonic wave propagation in bone and heart characterized using Bayesian parameter estimation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anderson, Christian Carl

    This Dissertation explores the physics underlying the propagation of ultrasonic waves in bone and in heart tissue through the use of Bayesian probability theory. Quantitative ultrasound is a noninvasive modality used for clinical detection, characterization, and evaluation of bone quality and cardiovascular disease. Approaches that extend the state of knowledge of the physics underpinning the interaction of ultrasound with inherently inhomogeneous and isotropic tissue have the potential to enhance its clinical utility. Simulations of fast and slow compressional wave propagation in cancellous bone were carried out to demonstrate the plausibility of a proposed explanation for the widely reported anomalous negative dispersion in cancellous bone. The results showed that negative dispersion could arise from analysis that proceeded under the assumption that the data consist of only a single ultrasonic wave, when in fact two overlapping and interfering waves are present. The confounding effect of overlapping fast and slow waves was addressed by applying Bayesian parameter estimation to simulated data, to experimental data acquired on bone-mimicking phantoms, and to data acquired in vitro on cancellous bone. The Bayesian approach successfully estimated the properties of the individual fast and slow waves even when they strongly overlapped in the acquired data. The Bayesian parameter estimation technique was further applied to an investigation of the anisotropy of ultrasonic properties in cancellous bone. The degree to which fast and slow waves overlap is partially determined by the angle of insonation of ultrasound relative to the predominant direction of trabecular orientation. In the past, studies of anisotropy have been limited by interference between fast and slow waves over a portion of the range of insonation angles. Bayesian analysis estimated attenuation, velocity, and amplitude parameters over the entire range of insonation angles, allowing a more complete

  12. On approximating guided waves in plates with thin anisotropic coatings by means of effective boundary conditions

    PubMed

    Niklasson; Datta; Dunn

    2000-09-01

    In this paper, effective boundary conditions for elastic wave propagation in plates with thin coatings are derived. These effective boundary conditions are used to obtain an approximate dispersion relation for guided waves in an isotropic plate with thin anisotropic coating layers. The accuracy of the effective boundary conditions is investigated numerically by comparison with exact solutions for two different material systems. The systems considered consist of a metallic core with thin superconducting coatings. It is shown that for wavelengths long compared to the coating thickness there is excellent agreement between the approximate and exact solutions for both systems. Furthermore, numerical results presented might be used to characterize coating properties by ultrasonic techniques.

  13. 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

  14. 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.

  15. Simulation of ultrasonic wave propagation in anisotropic poroelastic bone plate using hybrid spectral/finite element method.

    PubMed

    Nguyen, Vu-Hieu; Naili, Salah

    2012-08-01

    This paper deals with the modeling of guided waves propagation in in vivo cortical long bone, which is known to be anisotropic medium with functionally graded porosity. The bone is modeled as an anisotropic poroelastic material by using Biot's theory formulated in high frequency domain. A hybrid spectral/finite element formulation has been developed to find the time-domain solution of ultrasonic waves propagating in a poroelastic plate immersed in two fluid halfspaces. The numerical technique is based on a combined Laplace-Fourier transform, which allows to obtain a reduced dimension problem in the frequency-wavenumber domain. In the spectral domain, as radiation conditions representing infinite fluid halfspaces may be exactly introduced, only the heterogeneous solid layer needs to be analyzed by using finite element method. Several numerical tests are presented showing very good performance of the proposed procedure. A preliminary study on the first arrived signal velocities computed by using equivalent elastic and poroelastic models will be presented. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. Thin Wall Pipe Ultrasonic Inspection through Paint Coating

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Predoi, Mihai Valentin; Petre, Cristian Cătălin

    Classical ultrasonic inspection of welds is currently done for plates thicker than 8 mm. The inspection of but welds in thin walled pipes has considerable implementation difficulties, due to guided waves dominating ultrasonic pulses propagation. Generation of purely symmetric modes, either torsional or longitudinal, requires a circumferential uniform distribution of transducers and dedicated inspection equipment, which are increasing the inspection costs. Moreover, if the surface is paint coated, the received signals are close to the detection level. The present work implies a single transducer, coupled to the painted surface. The proper choice of the guided mode and frequency range, allows the detection of a standard, small diameter through thickness hole. In this way, the inspection of pipe welds can use the same equipment as for thick materials, with only wedge adaptation.

  17. Faraday Waves-Based Integrated Ultrasonic Micro-Droplet Generator and Applications

    PubMed Central

    Tsai, Chen S.; Mao, Rong W.; Tsai, Shirley C.; Shahverdi, Kaveh; Zhu, Yun; Lin, Shih K.; Hsu, Yu-Hsiang; Boss, Gerry; Brenner, Matt; Mahon, Sari; Smaldone, Gerald C.

    2017-01-01

    An in-depth review on a new ultrasonic micro-droplet generator which utilizes megahertz (MHz) Faraday waves excited by silicon-based multiple Fourier horn ultrasonic nozzles (MFHUNs) and its potential applications is presented. The new droplet generator has demonstrated capability for producing micro droplets of controllable size and size distribution and desirable throughput at very low electrical drive power. For comparison, the serious deficiencies of current commercial droplet generators (nebulizers) and the other ultrasonic droplet generators explored in recent years are first discussed. The architecture, working principle, simulation, and design of the multiple Fourier horns (MFH) in resonance aimed at the amplified longitudinal vibration amplitude on the end face of nozzle tip, and the fabrication and characterization of the nozzles are then described in detail. Subsequently, a linear theory on the temporal instability of Faraday waves on a liquid layer resting on the planar end face of the MFHUN and the detailed experimental verifications are presented. The linear theory serves to elucidate the dynamics of droplet ejection from the free liquid surface and predict the vibration amplitude onset threshold for droplet ejection and the droplet diameters. A battery-run pocket-size clogging-free integrated micro droplet generator realized using the MFHUN is then described. The subsequent report on the successful nebulization of a variety of commercial pulmonary medicines against common diseases and on the experimental antidote solutions to cyanide poisoning using the new droplet generator serves to support its imminent application to inhalation drug delivery. PMID:29250438

  18. Faraday Waves-Based Integrated Ultrasonic Micro-Droplet Generator and Applications.

    PubMed

    Tsai, Chen S; Mao, Rong W; Tsai, Shirley C; Shahverdi, Kaveh; Zhu, Yun; Lin, Shih K; Hsu, Yu-Hsiang; Boss, Gerry; Brenner, Matt; Mahon, Sari; Smaldone, Gerald C

    2017-01-01

    An in-depth review on a new ultrasonic micro-droplet generator which utilizes megahertz (MHz) Faraday waves excited by silicon-based multiple Fourier horn ultrasonic nozzles (MFHUNs) and its potential applications is presented. The new droplet generator has demonstrated capability for producing micro droplets of controllable size and size distribution and desirable throughput at very low electrical drive power. For comparison, the serious deficiencies of current commercial droplet generators (nebulizers) and the other ultrasonic droplet generators explored in recent years are first discussed. The architecture, working principle, simulation, and design of the multiple Fourier horns (MFH) in resonance aimed at the amplified longitudinal vibration amplitude on the end face of nozzle tip, and the fabrication and characterization of the nozzles are then described in detail. Subsequently, a linear theory on the temporal instability of Faraday waves on a liquid layer resting on the planar end face of the MFHUN and the detailed experimental verifications are presented. The linear theory serves to elucidate the dynamics of droplet ejection from the free liquid surface and predict the vibration amplitude onset threshold for droplet ejection and the droplet diameters. A battery-run pocket-size clogging-free integrated micro droplet generator realized using the MFHUN is then described. The subsequent report on the successful nebulization of a variety of commercial pulmonary medicines against common diseases and on the experimental antidote solutions to cyanide poisoning using the new droplet generator serves to support its imminent application to inhalation drug delivery.

  19. Using PVDF for wavenumber-frequency analysis and excitation of guided waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ren, Baiyang; Cho, Hwanjeong; Lissenden, Cliff J.

    2018-04-01

    The role of transducers in nondestructive evaluation using ultrasonic guided waves cannot be overstated. Energy conversion from electrical to mechanical for actuation and then back to electrical for signal processing broadly describes transduction, but there are many other aspects of transducers that determine their effectiveness. Recently we have reported on polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) array sensors that enable determination of the wavenumber spectrum, which enables modal content in the received signal to be characterized. Modal content is an important damage indicator because, for example, mode conversion is a frequent consequence of wave interaction with defects. Some of the positive attributes of PVDF sensors are: broad frequency bandwidth, compliance for use on curved surfaces, limited influence on the passing wave, minimal cross-talk between elements, low profile, low mass, and inexpensive. The anisotropy of PVDF films also enables them to receive either Lamb waves or shear horizontal waves by proper alignment of the material principal coordinate axes. Placing a patterned set of electrodes on the PVDF film provides data from an array of elements. A linear array of elements is used to enable a 2D fast Fourier transform to determine the wavenumber spectrum of both Lamb waves and shear horizontal waves in an aluminum plate. Moreover, since PVDF film can sustain high voltage excitation, high power pulsers can be used to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. The capability of PVDF as a transmitter has been demonstrated with high voltage excitation.

  20. Guided-Wave Optical Biosensors

    PubMed Central

    Passaro, Vittorio M. N.; Dell'Olio, Francesco; Casamassima, Biagio; De Leonardis, Francesco

    2007-01-01

    Guided-wave optical biosensors are reviewed in this paper. Advantages related to optical technologies are presented and integrated architectures are investigated in detail. Main classes of bio receptors and the most attractive optical transduction mechanisms are discussed. The possibility to use Mach-Zehnder and Young interferometers, microdisk and microring resonators, surface plasmon resonance, hollow and antiresonant waveguides, and Bragg gratings to realize very sensitive and selective, ultra-compact and fast biosensors is discussed. Finally, CMOS-compatible technologies are proved to be the most attractive for fabrication of guided-wave photonic biosensors.

  1. In-line inspection of unpiggable buried live gas pipes using circumferential EMAT guided waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ren, Baiyang; Xin, Junjun

    2018-04-01

    Unpiggable buried gas pipes need to be inspected to ensure their structural integrity and safe operation. The CIRRIS XITM robot, developed and operated by ULC Robotics, conducts in-line nondestructive inspection of live gas pipes. With the no-blow launching system, the inspection operation has reduced disruption to the public and by eliminating the need to dig trenches, has minimized the site footprint. This provides a highly time and cost effective solution for gas pipe maintenance. However, the current sensor on the robot performs a point-by-point measurement of the pipe wall thickness which cannot cover the whole volume of the pipe in a reasonable timeframe. The study of ultrasonic guided wave technique is discussed to improve the volume coverage as well as the scanning speed. Circumferential guided wave is employed to perform axial scanning. Mode selection is discussed in terms of sensitivity to different defects and defect characterization capability. To assist with the mode selection, finite element analysis is performed to evaluate the wave-defect interaction and to identify potential defect features. Pulse-echo and through-transmission mode are evaluated and compared for their pros and cons in axial scanning. Experiments are also conducted to verify the mode selection and detect and characterize artificial defects introduced into pipe samples.

  2. Detecting Lamb waves with broadband acousto-ultrasonic signals in composite structures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kautz, Harold E.

    1992-01-01

    Lamb waves can be produced and detected in ceramic matrix composites (CMC) and metal matrix composites (MMC) plates using the acousto-ultrasonic configuration employing broadband transducers. Experimental dispersion curves of lowest symmetric and lowest antisymmetric modes behave in a manner analogous to the graphite/polymer theoretical curves. In this study a basis has been established for analyzing Lamb wave velocities for characterizing composite plates. Lamb wave disperison curves and group velocities were correlated with variations in axial stiffness and shear stiffness in MMC and CMC. For CMCs, interfacial shear strength was also correlated with the first antisymmetric Lamb mode.

  3. Apparatus for checking the direction of polarization of shear-wave ultrasonic transducers

    DOEpatents

    Karplus, H.H.B.; Forster, G.A.

    An apparatus for checking the direction of polarization of shear-wave ultrasonic transducers comprises a first planar surface for mounting the shear-wave transducer, a second planar surface inclined at a predetermined angle to the first surface to generate longitudinal waves by mode conversion, and a third planar surface disposed at a second predetermined angle to the first for mounting a longitudinal-wave ultransonic transducer. In an alternate embodiment, two second planar surfaces at the predetermined angle are placed at an angle to each other. The magnitude of the shear wave is a function of the angle between the direction of polarization of the transducer and the mode-conversion surface.

  4. Electron wind in strong wave guide fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krienen, F.

    1985-03-01

    The X-ray activity observed near highly powered waveguide structures is usually caused by local electric discharges originating from discontinuities such as couplers, tuners or bends. In traveling waves electrons move in the direction of the power flow. Seed electrons can multipactor in a traveling wave, the moving charge pattern is different from the multipactor in a resonant structure and is self-extinguishing. The charge density in the wave guide will modify impedance and propagation constant of the wave guide. The radiation level inside the output wave guide of the SLAC, 50 MW, S-band, klystron is estimated. Possible contributions of radiation to window failure are discussed.

  5. Novel Imaging Method of Continuous Shear Wave by Ultrasonic Color Flow Mapping

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamakoshi, Yoshiki; Yamamoto, Atsushi; Yuminaka, Yasushi

    Shear wave velocity measurement is a promising method in evaluation of tissue stiffness. Several methods have been developed to measure the shear wave velocity, however, it is difficult to obtain quantitative shear wave image in real-time by low cost system. In this paper, a novel shear wave imaging method for continuous shear wave is proposed. This method uses a color flow imaging which is used in ultrasonic imaging system to obtain shear wave's wavefront map. Two conditions, shear wave frequency condition and shear wave displacement amplitude condition, are required, however, these conditions are not severe restrictions in most applications. Using the proposed method, shear wave velocity of trapezius muscle is measured. The result is consistent with the velocity which is calculated from shear elastic modulus measured by ARFI method.

  6. Measurement of mechanical properties of homogeneous tissue with ultrasonically induced shear waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Greenleaf, James F.; Chen, Shigao

    2007-03-01

    Fundamental mechanical properties of tissue are altered by many diseases. Regional and systemic diseases can cause changes in tissue properties. Liver stiffness is caused by cirrhosis and fibrosis. Vascular wall stiffness and tone are altered by smoking, diabetes and other diseases. Measurement of tissue mechanical properties has historically been done with palpation. However palpation is subjective, relative, and not quantitative or reproducible. Elastography in which strain is measured due to stress application gives a qualitative estimate of Young's modulus at low frequency. We have developed a method that takes advantage of the fact that the wave equation is local and shear wave propagation depends only on storage and loss moduli in addition to density, which does not vary much in soft tissues. Our method is called shearwave dispersion ultrasonic velocity measurement (SDUV). The method uses ultrasonic radiation force to produce repeated motion in tissue that induces shear waves to propagate. The shear wave propagation speed is measured with pulse echo ultrasound as a function of frequency of the shear wave. The resulting velocity dispersion curve is fit with a Voight model to determine the elastic and viscous moduli of the tissue. Results indicate accurate and precise measurements are possible using this "noninvasive biopsy" method. Measurements in beef along and across the fibers are consistent with the literature values.

  7. Second order harmonic guided wave mutual interactions in plate: Vector analysis, numerical simulation, and experimental results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hasanian, Mostafa; Lissenden, Cliff J.

    2017-08-01

    The extraordinary sensitivity of nonlinear ultrasonic waves to the early stages of material degradation makes them excellent candidates for nondestructive material characterization. However, distinguishing weak material nonlinearity from instrumentation nonlinearity remains problematic for second harmonic generation approaches. A solution to this problem is to mix waves having different frequencies and to let their mutual interaction generate sum and difference harmonics at frequencies far from those of the instrumentation. Mixing of bulk waves and surface waves has been researched for some time, but mixing of guided waves has not yet been investigated in depth. A unique aspect of guided waves is their dispersive nature, which means we need to assure that a wave can propagate at the sum or difference frequency. A wave vector analysis is conducted that enables selection of primary waves traveling in any direction that generate phase matched secondary waves. We have tabulated many sets of primary waves and phase matched sum and difference harmonics. An example wave mode triplet of two counter-propagating collinear shear horizontal waves that interact to generate a symmetric Lamb wave at the sum frequency is simulated using finite element analysis and then laboratory experiments are conducted. The finite element simulation eliminates issues associated with instrumentation nonlinearities and signal-to-noise ratio. A straightforward subtraction method is used in the experiments to identify the material nonlinearity induced mutual interaction and show that the generated Lamb wave propagates on its own and is large enough to measure. Since the Lamb wave has different polarity than the shear horizontal waves the material nonlinearity is clearly identifiable. Thus, the mutual interactions of shear horizontal waves in plates could enable volumetric characterization of material in remote regions from transducers mounted on just one side of the plate.

  8. Optical fiber having wave-guiding rings

    DOEpatents

    Messerly, Michael J [Danville, CA; Dawson, Jay W [Livermore, CA; Beach, Raymond J [Livermore, CA; Barty, Christopher P. J. [Hayward, CA

    2011-03-15

    A waveguide includes a cladding region that has a refractive index that is substantially uniform and surrounds a wave-guiding region that has an average index that is close to the index of the cladding. The wave-guiding region also contains a thin ring or series of rings that have an index or indices that differ significantly from the index of the cladding. The ring or rings enable the structure to guide light.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. Optimal design of a piezoelectric transducer for exciting guided wave ultrasound in rails

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramatlo, Dineo A.; Wilke, Daniel N.; Loveday, Philip W.

    2017-02-01

    An existing Ultrasonic Broken Rail Detection System installed in South Africa on a heavy duty railway line is currently being upgraded to include defect detection and location. To accomplish this, an ultrasonic piezoelectric transducer to strongly excite a guided wave mode with energy concentrated in the web (web mode) of a rail is required. A previous study demonstrated that the recently developed SAFE-3D (Semi-Analytical Finite Element - 3 Dimensional) method can effectively predict the guided waves excited by a resonant piezoelectric transducer. In this study, the SAFE-3D model is used in the design optimization of a rail web transducer. A bound-constrained optimization problem was formulated to maximize the energy transmitted by the transducer in the web mode when driven by a pre-defined excitation signal. Dimensions of the transducer components were selected as the three design variables. A Latin hypercube sampled design of experiments that required a total of 500 SAFE-3D analyses in the design space was employed in a response surface-based optimization approach. The Nelder-Mead optimization algorithm was then used to find an optimal transducer design on the constructed response surface. The radial basis function response surface was first verified by comparing a number of predicted responses against the computed SAFE-3D responses. The performance of the optimal transducer predicted by the optimization algorithm on the response surface was also verified to be sufficiently accurate using SAFE-3D. The computational advantages of SAFE-3D in optimal transducer design are noteworthy as more than 500 analyses were performed. The optimal design was then manufactured and experimental measurements were used to validate the predicted performance. The adopted design method has demonstrated the capability to automate the design of transducers for a particular rail cross-section and frequency range.

  12. A rod type linear ultrasonic motor utilizing longitudinal traveling waves: proof of concept

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Liang; Wielert, Tim; Twiefel, Jens; Jin, Jiamei; Wallaschek, Jörg

    2017-08-01

    This paper proposes a non-resonant linear ultrasonic motor utilizing longitudinal traveling waves. The longitudinal traveling waves in the rod type stator are generated by inducing longitudinal vibrations at one end of the waveguide and eliminating reflections at the opposite end by a passive damper. Considering the Poisson’s effect, the stator surface points move on elliptic trajectories and the slider is driven forward by friction. In contrast to many other flexural traveling wave linear ultrasonic motors, the driving direction of the proposed motor is identical to the wave propagation direction. The feasibility of the motor concept is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally. First, the design and operation principle of the motor are presented in detail. Then, the stator is modeled utilizing the transfer matrix method and verified by experimental studies. In addition, experimental parameter studies are carried out to identify the motor characteristics. Finally, the performance of the proposed motor is investigated. Overall, the results indicate very dynamic drive characteristics. The motor prototype achieves a maximum mean velocity of 115 mm s-1 and a maximum load of 0.25 N. Thereby, the start-up and shutdown times from the maximum speed are lower than 5 ms.

  13. Prediction of Building Limestone Physical and Mechanical Properties by Means of Ultrasonic P-Wave Velocity

    PubMed Central

    Concu, Giovanna; De Nicolo, Barbara; Valdes, Monica

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate ultrasonic P-wave velocity as a feature for predicting some physical and mechanical properties that describe the behavior of local building limestone. To this end, both ultrasonic testing and compressive tests were carried out on several limestone specimens and statistical correlation between ultrasonic velocity and density, compressive strength, and modulus of elasticity was studied. The effectiveness of ultrasonic velocity was evaluated by regression, with the aim of observing the coefficient of determination r 2 between ultrasonic velocity and the aforementioned parameters, and the mathematical expressions of the correlations were found and discussed. The strong relations that were established between ultrasonic velocity and limestone properties indicate that these parameters can be reasonably estimated by means of this nondestructive parameter. This may be of great value in a preliminary phase of the diagnosis and inspection of stone masonry conditions, especially when the possibility of sampling material cores is reduced. PMID:24511286

  14. Prediction of building limestone physical and mechanical properties by means of ultrasonic P-wave velocity.

    PubMed

    Concu, Giovanna; De Nicolo, Barbara; Valdes, Monica

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate ultrasonic P-wave velocity as a feature for predicting some physical and mechanical properties that describe the behavior of local building limestone. To this end, both ultrasonic testing and compressive tests were carried out on several limestone specimens and statistical correlation between ultrasonic velocity and density, compressive strength, and modulus of elasticity was studied. The effectiveness of ultrasonic velocity was evaluated by regression, with the aim of observing the coefficient of determination r(2) between ultrasonic velocity and the aforementioned parameters, and the mathematical expressions of the correlations were found and discussed. The strong relations that were established between ultrasonic velocity and limestone properties indicate that these parameters can be reasonably estimated by means of this nondestructive parameter. This may be of great value in a preliminary phase of the diagnosis and inspection of stone masonry conditions, especially when the possibility of sampling material cores is reduced.

  15. 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

  16. Nonlinear dynamic analysis of traveling wave-type ultrasonic motors.

    PubMed

    Nakagawa, Yosuke; Saito, Akira; Maeno, Takashi

    2008-03-01

    In this paper, nonlinear dynamic response of a traveling wave-type ultrasonic motor was investigated. In particular, understanding the transient dynamics of a bar-type ultrasonic motor, such as starting up and stopping, is of primary interest. First, the transient response of the bar-type ultrasonic motor at starting up and stopping was measured using a laser Doppler velocimeter, and its driving characteristics are discussed in detail. The motor is shown to possess amplitude-dependent nonlinearity that greatly influences the transient dynamics of the motor. Second, a dynamical model of the motor was constructed as a second-order nonlinear oscillator, which represents the dynamics of the piezoelectric ceramic, stator, and rotor. The model features nonlinearities caused by the frictional interface between the stator and the rotor, and cubic nonlinearity in the dynamics of the stator. Coulomb's friction model was employed for the interface model, and a stick-slip phenomenon is considered. Lastly, it was shown that the model is capable of representing the transient dynamics of the motor accurately. The critical parameters in the model were identified from measured results, and numerical simulations were conducted using the model with the identified parameters. Good agreement between the results of measurements and numerical simulations is observed.

  17. Detecting Lamb waves with broad-band acousto-ultrasonic signals in composite structures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kautz, Harold E.

    1992-01-01

    Lamb waves can be produced and detected in ceramic matrix composites (CMC) and metal matrix composites (MMC) plates using the acousto-ultrasonic configuration employing broadband transducers. Experimental dispersion curves of lowest symmetric and antisymmetric modes behave in a manner analogous to the graphite/polymer theoretical curves. In this study a basis has been established for analyzing Lamb wave velocities for characterizing composite plates. Lamb wave dispersion curves and group velocities were correlated with variations in axial stiffness and shear stiffness in MMC and CMC. For CMC, interfacial shear strength was also correlated with the first antisymmetric Lamb mode.

  18. Development and preliminary evaluation of an ultrasonic motor actuated needle guide for 3T MRI-guided transperineal prostate interventions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Sang-Eun; Tokuda, Junichi; Tuncali, Kemal; Tempany, Clare; Hata, Nobuhiko

    2012-02-01

    Image guided prostate interventions have been accelerated by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and robotic technologies in the past few years. However, transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided procedure still remains as vast majority in clinical practice due to engineering and clinical complexity of the MRI-guided robotic interventions. Subsequently, great advantages and increasing availability of MRI have not been utilized at its maximum capacity in clinic. To benefit patients from the advantages of MRI, we developed an MRI-compatible motorized needle guide device "Smart Template" that resembles a conventional prostate template to perform MRI-guided prostate interventions with minimal changes in the clinical procedure. The requirements and specifications of the Smart Template were identified from our latest MRI-guided intervention system that has been clinically used in manual mode for prostate biopsy. Smart Template consists of vertical and horizontal crossbars that are driven by two ultrasonic motors via timing-belt and mitergear transmissions. Navigation software that controls the crossbar position to provide needle insertion positions was also developed. The software can be operated independently or interactively with an open-source navigation software, 3D Slicer, that has been developed for prostate intervention. As preliminary evaluation, MRI distortion and SNR test were conducted. Significant MRI distortion was found close to the threaded brass alloy components of the template. However, the affected volume was limited outside the clinical region of interest. SNR values over routine MRI scan sequences for prostate biopsy indicated insignificant image degradation during the presence of the robotic system and actuation of the ultrasonic motors.

  19. Shear horizontal feature guided ultrasonic waves in plate structures with 90° transverse bends.

    PubMed

    Yu, Xudong; Manogharan, Prabhakaran; Fan, Zheng; Rajagopal, Prabhu

    2016-02-01

    Antisymmetric and symmetric Lamb-type feature guided waves (FGW) have recently been shown to exist in small angle plate bends. This paper reports Semi-Analytical Finite Element (SAFE) method simulations revealing the existence of a new family of Shear Horizontal (SHB) type of FGW mode in 90° bends in plate structures. Mode shapes and velocity dispersion curves are extracted, demonstrating the SH-like nature of a bend-confined mode identified in studies of power flow across the bend. The SHB mode is shown to have reduced attenuation in the higher frequency range, making it an ideal choice for high-resolution inspection of such bends. Further modal studies examine the physical basis for mode confinement, and argue that this is strongly related to FGW phenomena reported earlier, and also linked to the curvature at the bend region. Wedge acoustic waves discussed widely in literature are shown as arising from surface-limiting of the SHB mode at higher frequencies. The results are validated by experiments and supported by 3D Finite Element (FE) simulations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Distributed temperature sensing using a SPIRAL configuration ultrasonic waveguide

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Periyannan, Suresh; Balasubramaniam, Krishnan

    2017-02-01

    Distributed temperature sensing has important applications in the long term monitoring of critical enclosures such as containment vessels, flue gas stacks, furnaces, underground storage tanks and buildings for fire risk. This paper presents novel techniques for such measurements, using wire in a spiral configuration and having special embodiments such a notch for obtaining wave reflections from desired locations. Transduction is performed using commercially available Piezo-electric crystal that is bonded to one end of the waveguide. Lower order axisymmetric guided ultrasonic modes were employed. Time of fight (TOF) differences between predefined reflectors located on the waveguides are used to infer temperature profile in a chamber with different temperatures. The L(0,1) wave mode (pulse echo approach) was generated/received in a spiral waveguide at different temperatures for this work. The ultrasonic measurements were compared with commercially available thermocouples.

  1. Multiple temperature sensors embedded in an ultrasonic "spiral-like" waveguide

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Periyannan, Suresh; Rajagopal, Prabhu; Balasubramaniam, Krishnan

    2017-03-01

    This paper studies the propagation of ultrasound in spiral waveguides, towards distributed temperature measurements on a plane. Finite Element (FE) approach was used for understanding the velocity behaviour and consequently designing the spiral waveguide. Temperature measurements were experimentally carried out on planar surface inside a hot chamber. Transduction was performed using a piezo-electric crystal that is attached to one end of the waveguide. Lower order axisymmetric guided ultrasonic modes L(0,1) and T(0,1) were employed. Notches were introduced along the waveguide to obtain ultrasonic wave reflections. Time of fight (TOF) differences between the pre-defined reflectors (notches) located on the waveguides were used to infer local temperatures. The ultrasonic temperature measurements were compared with commercially available thermocouples.

  2. Enhancing Variable Friction Tactile Display Using an Ultrasonic Travelling Wave.

    PubMed

    Ghenna, Sofiane; Vezzoli, Eric; Giraud-Audine, Christophe; Giraud, Frederic; Amberg, Michel; Lemaire-Semail, Betty

    2017-01-01

    In Variable Friction Tactile Displays, an ultrasonic standing wave can be used to reduce the friction coefficient between a user's finger sliding and a vibrating surface. However, by principle, the effect is limited by a saturation due to the contact mechanics, and very low friction levels require very high vibration amplitudes. Besides, to be effective, the user's finger has to move. We present a device which uses a travelling wave rather than a standing wave. We present a control that allows to realize such a travelling wave in a robust way, and thus can be implemented on various plane surfaces. We show experimentally that the force produced by the travelling wave has two superimposed contributions. The first one is equal to the friction reduction produced by a standing of the same vibration amplitude. The second produces a driving force in the opposite direction of the travelling wave. As a result, the modulation range of the tangential force on the finger can be extended to zero and even negative values. Moreover, the effect is dependant on the relative direction of exploration with regards to the travelling wave, which is perceivable and confirmed by a psycho-physical study.

  3. Simulation tools for guided wave based structural health monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mesnil, Olivier; Imperiale, Alexandre; Demaldent, Edouard; Baronian, Vahan; Chapuis, Bastien

    2018-04-01

    Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is a thematic derived from Non Destructive Evaluation (NDE) based on the integration of sensors onto or into a structure in order to monitor its health without disturbing its regular operating cycle. Guided wave based SHM relies on the propagation of guided waves in plate-like or extruded structures. Using piezoelectric transducers to generate and receive guided waves is one of the most widely accepted paradigms due to the low cost and low weight of those sensors. A wide range of techniques for flaw detection based on the aforementioned setup is available in the literature but very few of these techniques have found industrial applications yet. A major difficulty comes from the sensitivity of guided waves to a substantial number of parameters such as the temperature or geometrical singularities, making guided wave measurement difficult to analyze. In order to apply guided wave based SHM techniques to a wider spectrum of applications and to transfer those techniques to the industry, the CEA LIST develops novel numerical methods. These methods facilitate the evaluation of the robustness of SHM techniques for multiple applicative cases and ease the analysis of the influence of various parameters, such as sensors positioning or environmental conditions. The first numerical tool is the guided wave module integrated to the commercial software CIVA, relying on a hybrid modal-finite element formulation to compute the guided wave response of perturbations (cavities, flaws…) in extruded structures of arbitrary cross section such as rails or pipes. The second numerical tool is based on the spectral element method [2] and simulates guided waves in both isotropic (metals) and orthotropic (composites) plate like-structures. This tool is designed to match the widely accepted sparse piezoelectric transducer array SHM configuration in which each embedded sensor acts as both emitter and receiver of guided waves. This tool is under development and

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. Scattering of circumferential waves in a cracked annulus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Valle, Christine; Qu, Jianmin; Jacobs, Laurence J.

    2000-05-01

    This paper considers guided waves propagating in the circumferential direction of an annulus with a radial crack, with the objective of developing an ultrasonic technique that can detect and characterize these cracks. Specifically, the finite element method is used to simulate the propagation and scattering of guided circumferential waves in a cracked annulus. This method fosters a better understanding of the wave fields, so that a transducer configuration used in the field can be optimized for crack detection/characterization. Both a point source (simulating laser generated ultrasound) and a distributed source (simulating a PZT transducer) are modeled and compared to corresponding experimental results. Animations (snapshots at different instants in time) of the strain energy field in the annulus are given for various combinations of load profiles, incident angles, and incident frequencies. Results of this paper provide the necessary design guidelines for developing nondestructive ultrasonic techniques for the detection/characterization of radial cracks in cylindrical pressure vessels, gas/oil pipes, and shaft/bearing systems.

  7. Non-contact measurements of ultrasonic waves on paper webs using a photorefractive interferometer

    DOEpatents

    Brodeur, Pierre H.; Lafond, Emmanuel F.

    2000-01-01

    An apparatus and method for non-contact measurement of ultrasonic waves on moving paper webs employs a photorefractive interferometer. The photorefractive interferometer employs an optical head in which the incident beam and reflected beam are coaxial, thus enabling detection of both in-plane and out-of-plane waves with a single apparatus. The incident beam and reference beams are focused into a line enabling greater power to be used without damaging the paper.

  8. Utilization of ultrasonic waves (Acheta domesticus) as a biocontrol of mosquito in Malang Agricultural Institute

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tito, Sama'Iradat

    2017-11-01

    Malang Agricultural Institute is a college located in the residential area Griyasanta Malang. The environment around the Institute of Agriculture Malang has moist soil conditions so that mosquito species insects easily reproduce. It is feared that this problem can potentially cause many diseases caused by mosquitoes such as dengue fever, malaria, chikungunya, elephant legs and much more. Nowadays there has been considerable research on ultrasound waves against mosquitoes. Many studies have been done to determine the effect of ultrasonic waves on mosquitoes. Crickets have frequencies between 0.2 kHz-50 kHz so it has the potential to control mosquito pests. Existing studies indicate that mosquito pests can be expelled with the frequency of 18-48 kHz. But this still cannot eliminate mosquito larvae that require a wave of 85 kHz. The effects of ultrasound waves on mosquitoes are (1) erection of the antenna which shows the stress on the nervous system to physical injury and fatigue so as to increase the percentage of fall and the death of mosquitoes. (2) ultrasonic waves can make the antenna function in the mosquito as the receiver of excitatory disturbed. The ultrasonic wave can be defined as a threat so that the mosquito will be expelled. Based on this, a simple study was conducted at the campus of the Institute of Agriculture of Malang by taking 10 different locations with randomly assigned respondents with a maximum of 5 people per location. The results show that the effectiveness of the use of crickets in the morning reached 60% and in the afternoon reached 80% starting on the first day since the installation of crickets. So the use of these crickets in the campus environment of the Institute of Agriculture Malang is quite effective.

  9. Correlation of Fiber Composite Tensile Strength with the Ultrasonic Stress Wave Factor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Vary, A.; Lark, R. F.

    1978-01-01

    An ultrasonic-acoustic technique was used to indicate the strength variations of tensile specimens of a graphite-epoxy composite. A stress wave factor was determined and its value was found to depend on variations of the fiber-resin bonding as well as fiber orientation. The fiber orientations studied were 0 deg (longitudinal), 10 deg (off-axis), 90 deg (transverse), 0 deg + or - 45 deg/0 deg symmetrical, and + or - 45 deg] symmetrical. The stress wave factor can indicate variations of the tensile and shear strengths of composite materials. The stress wave factor was also found to be sensitive to strength variations associated with microporosity and differences in fiber-resin ratio.

  10. Quasi-Rayleigh waves in butt-welded thick steel plate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kamas, Tuncay; Giurgiutiu, Victor; Lin, Bin

    2015-03-01

    This paper discusses theoretical and experimental analyses of weld guided surface acoustic waves (SAW) through the guided wave propagation (GWP) analyses. The GWP analyses have been carried out by utilizing piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) for in situ structural inspection of a thick steel plate with butt weld as the weld bead is ground flush. Ultrasonic techniques are commonly used for validation of welded structures in many in-situ monitoring applications, e.g. in off-shore structures, in nuclear and pressure vessel industries and in a range of naval applications. PWAS is recently employed in such ultrasonic applications as a resonator as well as a transducer. Quasi-Rayleigh waves a.k.a. SAW can be generated in relatively thick isotropic elastic plate having the same phase velocity as Rayleigh waves whereas Rayleigh waves are a high frequency approximation of the first symmetric (S0) and anti-symmetric (A0) Lamb wave modes. As the frequency becomes very high the S0 and the A0 wave speeds coalesce, and both have the same value. This value is exactly the Rayleigh wave speed and becomes constant along the frequency i.e. Rayleigh waves are non-dispersive guided surface acoustic waves. The study is followed with weld-GWP tests through the pitch-catch method along the butt weld line. The tuning curves of quasi-Rayleigh wave are determined to show the tuning and trapping effect of the weld bead that has higher thickness than the adjacent plates on producing a dominant quasi-Rayleigh wave mode. The significant usage of the weld tuned and guided quasi-Rayleigh wave mode is essentially discussed for the applications in the in-situ inspection of relatively thick structures with butt weld such as naval offshore structures. The paper ends with summary, conclusions and suggestions for future work.

  11. Quasi-Rayleigh waves in butt-welded thick steel plate

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

    Kamas, Tuncay, E-mail: kamas@email.sc.edu, E-mail: victorg@sc.edu, E-mail: linbin@cec.sc.edu; Giurgiutiu, Victor, E-mail: kamas@email.sc.edu, E-mail: victorg@sc.edu, E-mail: linbin@cec.sc.edu; Lin, Bin, E-mail: kamas@email.sc.edu, E-mail: victorg@sc.edu, E-mail: linbin@cec.sc.edu

    2015-03-31

    This paper discusses theoretical and experimental analyses of weld guided surface acoustic waves (SAW) through the guided wave propagation (GWP) analyses. The GWP analyses have been carried out by utilizing piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) for in situ structural inspection of a thick steel plate with butt weld as the weld bead is ground flush. Ultrasonic techniques are commonly used for validation of welded structures in many in-situ monitoring applications, e.g. in off-shore structures, in nuclear and pressure vessel industries and in a range of naval applications. PWAS is recently employed in such ultrasonic applications as a resonator as wellmore » as a transducer. Quasi-Rayleigh waves a.k.a. SAW can be generated in relatively thick isotropic elastic plate having the same phase velocity as Rayleigh waves whereas Rayleigh waves are a high frequency approximation of the first symmetric (S0) and anti-symmetric (A0) Lamb wave modes. As the frequency becomes very high the S0 and the A0 wave speeds coalesce, and both have the same value. This value is exactly the Rayleigh wave speed and becomes constant along the frequency i.e. Rayleigh waves are non-dispersive guided surface acoustic waves. The study is followed with weld-GWP tests through the pitch-catch method along the butt weld line. The tuning curves of quasi-Rayleigh wave are determined to show the tuning and trapping effect of the weld bead that has higher thickness than the adjacent plates on producing a dominant quasi-Rayleigh wave mode. The significant usage of the weld tuned and guided quasi-Rayleigh wave mode is essentially discussed for the applications in the in-situ inspection of relatively thick structures with butt weld such as naval offshore structures. The paper ends with summary, conclusions and suggestions for future work.« less

  12. Correction of ultrasonic wave aberration with a time delay and amplitude filter.

    PubMed

    Måsøy, Svein-Erik; Johansen, Tonni F; Angelsen, Bjørn

    2003-04-01

    Two-dimensional simulations with propagation through two different heterogeneous human body wall models have been performed to analyze different correction filters for ultrasonic wave aberration due to forward wave propagation. The different models each produce most of the characteristic aberration effects such as phase aberration, relatively strong amplitude aberration, and waveform deformation. Simulations of wave propagation from a point source in the focus (60 mm) of a 20 mm transducer through the body wall models were performed. Center frequency of the pulse was 2.5 MHz. Corrections of the aberrations introduced by the two body wall models were evaluated with reference to the corrections obtained with the optimal filter: a generalized frequency-dependent phase and amplitude correction filter [Angelsen, Ultrasonic Imaging (Emantec, Norway, 2000), Vol. II]. Two correction filters were applied, a time delay filter, and a time delay and amplitude filter. Results showed that correction with a time delay filter produced substantial reduction of the aberration in both cases. A time delay and amplitude correction filter performed even better in both cases, and gave correction close to the ideal situation (no aberration). The results also indicated that the effect of the correction was very sensitive to the accuracy of the arrival time fluctuations estimate, i.e., the time delay correction filter.

  13. Ultrasonic Nondestructive Characterization of Adhesive Bonds

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Qu, Jianmin

    1999-01-01

    interface binding force, a quantitative method was presented. Recently, a comparison between the experimental and simulated results based on a similar theoretical model was presented. A through-transmission setup for water immersion mode-converted shear waves was used to analyze the ultrasonic nonlinear parameter of an adhesive bond. In addition, ultrasonic guided waves have been used to analyze adhesive or diffusion bonded joints. In this paper, the ultrasonic nonlinear parameter is used to characterize the curing state of a polymer/aluminum adhesive joint. Ultrasonic through-transmission tests were conducted on samples cured under various conditions. The magnitude of the second order harmonic was measured and the corresponding ultrasonic nonlinear parameter was evaluated. A fairly good correlation between the curing condition and the nonlinear parameter is observed. The results show that the nonlinear parameter might be used as a good indicator of the cure state for adhesive joints.

  14. Wave guide impedance matching method and apparatus

    DOEpatents

    Kronberg, James W.

    1990-01-01

    A technique for modifying the end portion of a wave guide, whether hollow or solid, carrying electromagnetic, acoustic or optical energy, to produce a gradual impedance change over the length of the end portion, comprising the cutting of longitudinal, V-shaped grooves that increase in width and depth from beginning of the end portion of the wave guide to the end of the guide so that, at the end of the guide, no guide material remains and no surfaces of the guide as modified are perpendicular to the direction of energy flow. For hollow guides, the grooves are cut beginning on the interior surface; for solid guides, the grooves are cut beginning on the exterior surface. One or more resistive, partially conductive or nonconductive sleeves can be placed over the exterior of the guide and through which the grooves are cut to smooth the transition to free space.

  15. Ultrasonic wave-based structural health monitoring embedded instrument.

    PubMed

    Aranguren, G; Monje, P M; Cokonaj, Valerijan; Barrera, Eduardo; Ruiz, Mariano

    2013-12-01

    Piezoelectric sensors and actuators are the bridge between electronic and mechanical systems in structures. This type of sensor is a key element in the integrity monitoring of aeronautic structures, bridges, pressure vessels, wind turbine blades, and gas pipelines. In this paper, an all-in-one system for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) based on ultrasonic waves is presented, called Phased Array Monitoring for Enhanced Life Assessment. This integrated instrument is able to generate excitation signals that are sent through piezoelectric actuators, acquire the received signals in the piezoelectric sensors, and carry out signal processing to check the health of structures. To accomplish this task, the instrument uses a piezoelectric phased-array transducer that performs the actuation and sensing of the signals. The flexibility and strength of the instrument allow the user to develop and implement a substantial part of the SHM technique using Lamb waves. The entire system is controlled using configuration software and has been validated through functional, electrical loading, mechanical loading, and thermal loading resistance tests.

  16. 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.

  17. Development of an ultrasonic inspection robot using an electromagnetic acoustic transducer for a Lamb wave and an SH-plate wave.

    PubMed

    Murayama, Riichi; Makiyama, Shunnichi; Kodama, Mitutoshi; Taniguchi, Yasutoshi

    2004-04-01

    For inspection of a storage tank and pipeline in service, the application of an automatic inspection system (nondestructive inspection robot) is desirable, because manual inspection is difficult to perfectly and exactly perform due to the enormous amount of inspection needed. However, an ultrasonic nondestructive inspection robot with a piezoelectric oscillator needs to touch only the material surface to be directly inspected using a coupling medium. That is, the material surface and the sensor must always be held by constant pressure in the vertical direction on the material side. Actually, it is difficult to overcome these problems; thus an ultrasonic inspection robot could not be widely applied. We then tried to develop an ultrasonic inspection robot with an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) which did not require a coupling medium to inspect the circumferential pipe parts. We developed a special EMAT that could transmit and receive alternately a Lamb wave with high sensitivity and a SH-plate wave without influence by the welded part. The method by which the inspection robot turned around the direction of the steel pipe surroundings was executed by observing the tape pasted in the direction of the steel pipe surroundings with an installed CCD camera. In this report, the basic mechanism of this inspection robot and an examination of results are described.

  18. Differentiate low impedance media in closed steel tank using ultrasonic wave tunneling.

    PubMed

    Wang, Chunying; Chen, Zhaojiang; Cao, Wenwu

    2018-01-01

    Ultrasonic wave tunneling through seriously mismatched media, such as steel and water, is possible only when the frequency matches the resonance of the steel plate. But it is nearly impossible to realize continuous wave tunneling if the low acoustic impedance media is air because the transducer frequency cannot be made so accurate. The issue might be resolved using tone-burst signals. Using finite element simulations, we found that for air media when the cycle number is 20, the -6dB bandwidth of energy transmission increased from 0.001% to 5.9% compared with that of continuous waves. We show that the tunneling waves can give us enough information to distinguish low acoustic impedance media inside a steel tank. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Recycling of indium from waste LCD: A promising non-crushing leaching with the aid of ultrasonic wave.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Kaihua; Li, Bin; Wu, Yufeng; Wang, Wei; Li, Rubing; Zhang, Yi-Nan; Zuo, Tieyong

    2017-06-01

    The tremendous amount of end-of-life liquid crystal displays (LCDs) has become one of the prominent sources of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in recent years. Despite the necessity of safe treatment, recycling indium is also a focus of waste LCD treatment because of the scarcity of indium. Based on the analyses of the structure of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) glass, crushing is demonstrated to be not required. In the present research, a complete non-crushing leaching method was firstly adopted to recycle indium from waste LCDs, and the ultrasonic waves was applied in the leaching process. The results demonstrated that indium can be leached efficiently with even a low concentration of chloride acid (HCl) without extra heating. About 96.80% can be recovered in 60mins, when the ITO glass was leached by 0.8MHCl with an enhancement of 300W ultrasonic waves. The indium leaching process is abridged free from crushing, and proves to be of higher efficiency. In addition, the ultrasonic wave influence on leaching process was also explained combing with micron-scale structure of ITO glass. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Monitoring ice thickness and elastic properties from the measurement of leaky guided waves: A laboratory experiment.

    PubMed

    Moreau, Ludovic; Lachaud, Cédric; Théry, Romain; Predoi, Mihai V; Marsan, David; Larose, Eric; Weiss, Jérôme; Montagnat, Maurine

    2017-11-01

    The decline of Arctic sea ice extent is one of the most spectacular signatures of global warming, and studies converge to show that this decline has been accelerating over the last four decades, with a rate that is not reproduced by climate models. To improve these models, relying on comprehensive and accurate field data is essential. While sea ice extent and concentration are accurately monitored from microwave imagery, an accurate measure of its thickness is still lacking. Moreover, measuring observables related to the mechanical behavior of the ice (such as Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, etc.) could provide better insights in the understanding of sea ice decline, by completing current knowledge so far acquired mostly from radar and sonar data. This paper aims at demonstrating on the laboratory scale that these can all be estimated simultaneously by measuring seismic waves guided in the ice layer. The experiment consisted of leaving a water tank in a cold room in order to grow an ice layer at its surface. While its thickness was increasing, ultrasonic guided waves were generated with a piezoelectric source, and measurements were subsequently inverted to infer the thickness and mechanical properties of the ice with very good accuracy.

  1. A Signal Processing Approach with a Smooth Empirical Mode Decomposition to Reveal Hidden Trace of Corrosion in Highly Contaminated Guided Wave Signals for Concrete-Covered Pipes.

    PubMed

    Rostami, Javad; Chen, Jingming; Tse, Peter W

    2017-02-07

    Ultrasonic guided waves have been extensively applied for non-destructive testing of plate-like structures particularly pipes in past two decades. In this regard, if a structure has a simple geometry, obtained guided waves' signals are easy to explain. However, any small degree of complexity in the geometry such as contacting with other materials may cause an extra amount of complication in the interpretation of guided wave signals. The problem deepens if defects have irregular shapes such as natural corrosion. Signal processing techniques that have been proposed for guided wave signals' analysis are generally good for simple signals obtained in a highly controlled experimental environment. In fact, guided wave signals in a real situation such as the existence of natural corrosion in wall-covered pipes are much more complicated. Considering pipes in residential buildings that pass through concrete walls, in this paper we introduced Smooth Empirical Mode Decomposition (SEMD) to efficiently separate overlapped guided waves. As empirical mode decomposition (EMD) which is a good candidate for analyzing non-stationary signals, suffers from some shortcomings, wavelet transform was adopted in the sifting stage of EMD to improve its outcome in SEMD. However, selection of mother wavelet that suits best for our purpose plays an important role. Since in guided wave inspection, the incident waves are well known and are usually tone-burst signals, we tailored a complex tone-burst signal to be used as our mother wavelet. In the sifting stage of EMD, wavelet de-noising was applied to eliminate unwanted frequency components from each IMF. SEMD greatly enhances the performance of EMD in guided wave analysis for highly contaminated signals. In our experiment on concrete covered pipes with natural corrosion, this method not only separates the concrete wall indication clearly in time domain signal, a natural corrosion with complex geometry that was hidden and located inside the

  2. A permanently installed guided wave system for pipe monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Galvagni, Andrea; Cawley, Peter

    2012-04-01

    Ultrasonic guided waves are routinely used to inspect pipes. The advantage of this technique is that it enables a fullyvolumetric screening of several metres of pipe from a single transducer location, resulting in substantial time and cost savings. However, it suffers from limitations such as relatively low damage sensitivity and difficulties in dealing with intricate pipe networks; furthermore, for a pipe that is buried, submerged or high up in a plant, access to even a single point can be prohibitively expensive. The use of permanently attached sensors can overcome these limitations since access needs to be obtained only once during installation and they enable the use of baseline subtraction, so that any reading from a sensor can be compared to previous readings. This paper discusses the advantages of baseline subtraction and the challenge of compensating for signal changes due to effects other than the growth of damage. It is shown that the use of baseline subtraction allows significant damage sensitivity improvements, particularly in the vicinity of large reflectors. Data from four years of field experience is backed up by accelerated laboratory testing.

  3. Evaluation of interlayer interfacial stiffness and layer wave velocity of multilayered structures by ultrasonic spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Ishii, Yosuke; Biwa, Shiro

    2014-07-01

    An ultrasonic evaluation procedure for the interlayer interfacial normal stiffness and the intralayer longitudinal wave velocity of multilayered plate-like structures is proposed. Based on the characteristics of the amplitude reflection spectrum of ultrasonic wave at normal incidence to a layered structure with spring-type interlayer interfaces, it is shown that the interfacial normal stiffness and the longitudinal wave velocity in the layers can be simultaneously evaluated from the frequencies of local maxima and minima of the spectrum provided that all interfaces and layers have the same properties. The effectiveness of the proposed procedure is investigated from the perspective of the sensitivity of local extremal frequencies of the reflection spectrum. The feasibility of the proposed procedure is also investigated when the stiffness of each interface is subjected to small random fluctuations about a certain average value. The proposed procedure is applied to a 16-layered cross-ply carbon-fiber-reinforced composite laminate. The normal stiffness of resin-rich interfaces and the longitudinal wave velocity of plies in the thickness direction evaluated from the experimental reflection spectrum are shown to be consistent with simple theoretical estimations.

  4. The effect of ultrasonic waves on the nucleation of pure water and degassed water.

    PubMed

    Yu, Deyang; Liu, Baolin; Wang, Bochun

    2012-05-01

    In order to clarify the mechanism of nucleation of ice induced by ultrasound, ultrasonic waves have been applied to supercooled pure water and degassed water, respectively. For each experiment, water sample is cooled at a constant cooling rate of 0.15 °C/min and the ultrasonic waves are applied from the water temperature of 0 °C until the water in a sample vessel nucleates. This nucleation temperature is measured. The use of ultrasound increased the nucleation temperature of both degassed water and pure water. However, the undercooling temperature for pure water to nucleate is less than that of degassed water. It is concluded that cavitation and fluctuations of density, energy and temperature induced by ultrasound are factors that affect the nucleation of water. Cavitation is a major factor for sonocrystallisation of ice. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. A high-performance wave guide cryogenic thermal break

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Melhuish, S. J.; McCulloch, M. A.; Piccirillo, L.; Stott, C.

    2016-10-01

    We describe a high-performance wave guide cryogenic thermal break. This has been constructed both for Ka band, using WR28 wave guide, and Q band, using WR22 wave guide. The mechanical structure consists of a hexapod (Stewart platform) made from pultruded carbon fibre tubing. We present a tentative examination of the cryogenic Young's modulus of this material. The thermal conductivity is measured at temperatures above the range explored by Runyan and Jones, resulting in predicted conductive loads through our thermal breaks of 3.7 mW to 3 K and 17 μK to 1 K.

  6. Modeling ultrasonic compression wave absorption during the seeded crystallization of copper (II) sulphate pentahydrate from aqueous solution.

    PubMed

    Marshall, Thomas; Challis, Richard E; Holmes, Andrew K; Tebbutt, John S

    2002-11-01

    Ultrasonic compression wave absorption is investigated as a means to monitor the seeded crystallization of copper (II) sulphate pentahydrate from aqueous solution. Simple models are applied to predict crystal yield, crystal size distribution, and the changing nature of the continuous phase. The Allegra-Hawley scattering formulation is used to simulate ultrasonic absorption as crystallization proceeds. Experiments confirm that simulated attenuation is in agreement with measured results.

  7. 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.

  8. Dispersed Sensing Networks in Nano-Engineered Polymer Composites: From Static Strain Measurement to Ultrasonic Wave Acquisition

    PubMed Central

    Li, Yehai; Wang, Kai

    2018-01-01

    Self-sensing capability of composite materials has been the core of intensive research over the years and particularly boosted up by the recent quantum leap in nanotechnology. The capacity of most existing self-sensing approaches is restricted to static strains or low-frequency structural vibration. In this study, a new breed of functionalized epoxy-based composites is developed and fabricated, with a graphene nanoparticle-enriched, dispersed sensing network, whereby to self-perceive broadband elastic disturbance from static strains, through low-frequency vibration to guided waves in an ultrasonic regime. Owing to the dispersed and networked sensing capability, signals can be captured at any desired part of the composites. Experimental validation has demonstrated that the functionalized composites can self-sense strains, outperforming conventional metal foil strain sensors with a significantly enhanced gauge factor and a much broader response bandwidth. Precise and fast self-response of the composites to broadband ultrasonic signals (up to 440 kHz) has revealed that the composite structure itself can serve as ultrasound sensors, comparable to piezoceramic sensors in performance, whereas avoiding the use of bulky cables and wires as used in a piezoceramic sensor network. This study has spotlighted promising potentials of the developed approach to functionalize conventional composites with a self-sensing capability of high-sensitivity yet minimized intrusion to original structures. PMID:29724032

  9. 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.

  10. Coherent transmission of an ultrasonic shock wave through a multiple scattering medium.

    PubMed

    Viard, Nicolas; Giammarinaro, Bruno; Derode, Arnaud; Barrière, Christophe

    2013-08-01

    We report measurements of the transmitted coherent (ensemble-averaged) wave resulting from the interaction of an ultrasonic shock wave with a two-dimensional random medium. Despite multiple scattering, the coherent waveform clearly shows the steepening that is typical of nonlinear harmonic generation. This is taken advantage of to measure the elastic mean free path and group velocity over a broad frequency range (2-15 MHz) in only one experiment. Experimental results are found to be in good agreement with a linear theoretical model taking into account spatial correlations between scatterers. These results show that nonlinearity and multiple scattering are both present, yet uncoupled.

  11. Inspection Correlation Study of Ultrasonic-Based In Situ Structural Health Monitoring Monthly Report for December 2014-January 2015

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-05-01

    fatigue an induced ultrasonic elastic vibration (via piezoelectric transducers [ PZTs ]) propagates through the dogbone specimen. A receiver PZT picks up...inspection of fatigue crack growth in aluminum 7075-T6 dogbone specimens. Acellent Technologies, Inc., is supporting this project through providing...January 2015. 15. SUBJECT TERMS structural health monitoring, probabilistics, fatigue damage, guided waves, Lamb waves 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF

  12. A Signal Processing Approach with a Smooth Empirical Mode Decomposition to Reveal Hidden Trace of Corrosion in Highly Contaminated Guided Wave Signals for Concrete-Covered Pipes

    PubMed Central

    Rostami, Javad; Chen, Jingming; Tse, Peter W.

    2017-01-01

    Ultrasonic guided waves have been extensively applied for non-destructive testing of plate-like structures particularly pipes in past two decades. In this regard, if a structure has a simple geometry, obtained guided waves’ signals are easy to explain. However, any small degree of complexity in the geometry such as contacting with other materials may cause an extra amount of complication in the interpretation of guided wave signals. The problem deepens if defects have irregular shapes such as natural corrosion. Signal processing techniques that have been proposed for guided wave signals’ analysis are generally good for simple signals obtained in a highly controlled experimental environment. In fact, guided wave signals in a real situation such as the existence of natural corrosion in wall-covered pipes are much more complicated. Considering pipes in residential buildings that pass through concrete walls, in this paper we introduced Smooth Empirical Mode Decomposition (SEMD) to efficiently separate overlapped guided waves. As empirical mode decomposition (EMD) which is a good candidate for analyzing non-stationary signals, suffers from some shortcomings, wavelet transform was adopted in the sifting stage of EMD to improve its outcome in SEMD. However, selection of mother wavelet that suits best for our purpose plays an important role. Since in guided wave inspection, the incident waves are well known and are usually tone-burst signals, we tailored a complex tone-burst signal to be used as our mother wavelet. In the sifting stage of EMD, wavelet de-noising was applied to eliminate unwanted frequency components from each IMF. SEMD greatly enhances the performance of EMD in guided wave analysis for highly contaminated signals. In our experiment on concrete covered pipes with natural corrosion, this method not only separates the concrete wall indication clearly in time domain signal, a natural corrosion with complex geometry that was hidden and located inside the

  13. Flaw characterization through nonlinear ultrasonics and wavelet cross-correlation algorithms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bunget, Gheorghe; Yee, Andrew; Stewart, Dylan; Rogers, James; Henley, Stanley; Bugg, Chris; Cline, John; Webster, Matthew; Farinholt, Kevin; Friedersdorf, Fritz

    2018-04-01

    Ultrasonic measurements have become increasingly important non-destructive techniques to characterize flaws found within various in-service industrial components. The prediction of remaining useful life based on fracture analysis depends on the accurate estimation of flaw size and orientation. However, amplitude-based ultrasonic measurements are not able to estimate the plastic zones that exist ahead of crack tips. Estimating the size of the plastic zone is an advantage since some flaws may propagate faster than others. This paper presents a wavelet cross-correlation (WCC) algorithm that was applied to nonlinear analysis of ultrasonically guided waves (GW). By using this algorithm, harmonics present in the waveforms were extracted and nonlinearity parameters were used to indicate both the tip of the cracks and size of the plastic zone. B-scans performed with the quadratic nonlinearities were sensitive to micro-damage specific to plastic zones.

  14. Standing wave brass-PZT square tubular ultrasonic motor.

    PubMed

    Park, Soonho; He, Siyuan

    2012-09-01

    This paper reports a standing wave brass-PZT tubular ultrasonic motor. The motor is composed of a brass square tube with two teeth on each tube end. Four PZT plates are attached to the outside walls of the brass tube. The motor requires only one driving signal to excite vibration in a single bending mode to generate reciprocating diagonal trajectories of teeth on the brass tube ends, which drive the motor to rotate. Bi-directional rotation is achieved by exciting different pairs of PZT plates to switch the bending vibration direction. Through using the brass-PZT tube structure, the motor can take high magnitude vibration to achieve a high output power in comparison to PZT tube based ultrasonic motors. Prototypes are fabricated and tested. The dimension of the brass-PZT tube is 3.975mm×3.975mm×16mm. Measured performance is a no-load speed of >1000RPM, a stall torque of 370μNm and a maximum output power of 16 mW when a sinusoidal driving voltage of 50V is applied. The working frequencies of the motor are 46,050Hz (clockwise) and 46,200Hz (counter-clockwise). Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  15. 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

  16. Acoustic Wave Guiding by Reconfigurable Tessellated Arrays

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zou, Chengzhe; Lynd, Danielle T.; Harne, Ryan L.

    2018-01-01

    The reconfiguration of origami tessellations is a prime vehicle to harness for adapting system properties governed by a structural form. While the knowledge of mechanical property changes associated with origami tessellation folding has been extensively built up, the opportunities to integrate other physics into a framework of tessellated, adaptive structures remain to be fully exploited. Acoustics appears to be a prime domain to marry with origami science. Specifically, deep technical analogies are revealed between wave-guiding properties achieved via digital methods that virtually reposition array elements and the actual repositioning of facets by folding origami-inspired tessellations. Here we capitalize on this analogy to investigate acoustic arrays established upon facet layouts of origami-inspired tessellations. We show that a concept of reconfigurable tessellated arrays may guide waves more effectively than traditional digitally phased arrays using fewer transducer elements. Moreover, we show that the refinement of tessellated arrays trends to the ideal case of classical wave radiators or receivers grounded in principles of geometrical acoustics. By linear wave physics shared among myriad scientific disciplines and across orders of magnitude in length scale, these discoveries may cultivate numerous opportunities for wave-guiding adaptive structures inspired by low-dimensional origami tessellations.

  17. 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.

  18. Design, fabrication, and testing of an ultrasonic de-icing system for helicopter rotor blades

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Palacios, Jose Luis

    A low-power, non-thermal ultrasonic de-icing system is introduced as a possible substitute for current electro-thermal systems. The system generates delaminating ultrasonic transverse shear stresses at the interface of accreted ice. A PZT-4 disk driven at 28.5 KHz (radial resonance of the disk) instantaneously de-bonds 2 mm thick freezer ice layers. The ice layers are accreted to a 0.7 mm thick, 30.4 cm x 30.4 cm steel plate at an environment temperature of -20°C. A power input of 50 Watts is applied to the actuator (50 V, 19.6 KV/m), which translates to a de-icing power of 0.07 W/cm2. A finite element model of the actuator bonded to the isotropic plate is used to guide the design of the system, and predicts the transverse shear stresses at the ice interface. Wind tunnel icing tests were conducted to demonstrate the potential use of the proposed system under impact icing conditions. Both glaze ice and rime ice were generated on steel and composite plates by changing the cloud conditions of the wind tunnel. Continuous ultrasonic vibration prevented impact ice formation around the actuator location at an input power not exceeding 0.18 W/cm 2 (1.2 W/in2). As ice thickness reached a critical thickness of approximately 1.2 mm, shedding occurred on those locations where ultrasonic transverse shear stresses exceeded the shear adhesion strength of the ice. Finite element transverse shear stress predictions correlate with observed experimental impact ice de-bonding behavior. To increase the traveling distance of propagating ultrasonic waves, ultrasonic shear horizontal wave modes are studied. Wave modes providing large modal interface transverse shear stress concentration coefficients (ISCC) between the host structure (0.7 mm thick steel plate) and accreted ice (2.5 mm thick ice layer) are identified and investigated for a potential increase in the wave propagation distance. Ultrasonic actuators able to trigger these optimum wave modes are designed and fabricated. Despite

  19. 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.

  20. 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.

  1. Quantitative ultrasonic coda wave (diffuse field) NDE of carbon-fiber reinforced polymer plates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Livings, Richard A.

    The increasing presence and applications of composite materials in aerospace structures precipitates the need for improved Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) techniques to move from simple damage detection to damage diagnosis and structural prognosis. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) with advanced ultrasonic (UT) inspection methods can potentially address these issues. Ultrasonic coda wave NDE is one of the advanced methods currently under investigation. Coda wave NDE has been applied to concrete and metallic specimens to assess damage with some success, but currently the method is not fully mature or ready to be applied for SHM. Additionally, the damage diagnosis capabilities and limitations of coda wave NDE applied to fibrous composite materials have not been widely addressed in literature. The central objective of this work, therefore, is to develop a quantitative foundation for the use of coda wave NDE for the inspection and evaluation of fibrous composite materials. Coda waves are defined as the superposition of late arriving wave modes that have been scattered or reflected multiple times. This results in long, complex signals where individual wave modes cannot be discriminated. One method of interpreting the changes in such signals caused by the introduction or growth of damage is to isolate and quantify the difference between baseline and damage signals. Several differential signal features are used in this work to quantify changes in the coda waves which can then be correlated to damage size and growth. Experimental results show that coda wave differential features are effective in detecting drilled through-holes as small as 0.4 mm in a 50x100x6 mm plate and discriminating between increasing hole diameter and increasing number of holes. The differential features are also shown to have an underlying basis function that is dependent on the hole volume and can be scaled by a material dependent coefficient to estimate the feature amplitude and size holes. The

  2. Nonlinear ultrasonics for material state awareness

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jacobs, L. J.

    2014-02-01

    Predictive health monitoring of structural components will require the development of advanced sensing techniques capable of providing quantitative information on the damage state of structural materials. By focusing on nonlinear acoustic techniques, it is possible to measure absolute, strength based material parameters that can then be coupled with uncertainty models to enable accurate and quantitative life prediction. Starting at the material level, this review will present current research that involves a combination of sensing techniques and physics-based models to characterize damage in metallic materials. In metals, these nonlinear ultrasonic measurements can sense material state, before the formation of micro- and macro-cracks. Typically, cracks of a measurable size appear quite late in a component's total life, while the material's integrity in terms of toughness and strength gradually decreases due to the microplasticity (dislocations) and associated change in the material's microstructure. This review focuses on second harmonic generation techniques. Since these nonlinear acoustic techniques are acoustic wave based, component interrogation can be performed with bulk, surface and guided waves using the same underlying material physics; these nonlinear ultrasonic techniques provide results which are independent of the wave type used. Recent physics-based models consider the evolution of damage due to dislocations, slip bands, interstitials, and precipitates in the lattice structure, which can lead to localized damage.

  3. 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.

  4. Ultrasonic Apparatus and Method to Assess Compartment Syndrome

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yost, William T. (Inventor); Ueno, Toshiaki (Inventor); Hargens, Alan R. (Inventor)

    2009-01-01

    A process and apparatus for measuring pressure buildup in a body compartment that encases muscular tissue. The method includes assessing the body compartment configuration and identifying the effect of pulsatible components on compartment dimensions and muscle tissue characteristics. This process is used in preventing tissue necrosis, and in decisions of whether to perform surgery on the body compartment for prevention of Compartment Syndrome. An apparatus is used for measuring pressure build-up in the body compartment having components for imparting ultrasonic waves such as a transducer, placing the transducer to impart the ultrasonic waves, capturing the imparted ultrasonic waves, mathematically manipulating the captured ultrasonic waves and categorizing pressure build-up in the body compartment from the mathematical manipulations.

  5. Preparation and characterization of CNTs/UHMWPE nanocomposites via a novel mixer under synergy of ultrasonic wave and extensional deformation.

    PubMed

    Yin, Xiaochun; Li, Sai; He, Guangjian; Feng, Yanhong; Wen, Jingsong

    2018-05-01

    In this work, design and development of a new melt mixing method and corresponding mixer for polymer materials were reported. Effects of ultrasonic power and sonication time on the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) filled ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) nanocomposites were experimentally studied. Transmission Electron Microscopy images showed that homogeneous dispersion of CNTs in intractable UHMWPE matrix is successfully realized due to the synergetic effect of ultrasonic wave and extensional deformation without any aid of other additives or solvents. Differential scanning calorimetry results revealed an increase in crystallinity and crystallization rate due to the finer dispersion of the CNTs in the matrix which act as nucleating point. Composites' complex viscosity and storage modulus decreased sharply at first and then leveled off with the increase of sonication time or the ultrasonic power. The thermal stability and the tensile strength of the CNTs/UHMWPE nanocomposites improved by using this novel mixing method. This is the first method that combined the ultrasonic wave and the extensional deformation in which the elongation rate, sonication time and ultrasonic power can be adjusted simultaneously during mixing. The novel mixer offers several advantages such as environment-friendly, high mixing efficiency, self-cleaning and wide adaptability to materials. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Subduction zone guided waves in Northern Chile

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garth, Thomas; Rietbrock, Andreas

    2016-04-01

    Guided wave dispersion is observed in subduction zones as high frequency energy is retained and delayed by low velocity structure in the subducting slab, while lower frequency energy is able to travel at the faster velocities associated with the surrounding mantle material. As subduction zone guided waves spend longer interacting with the low velocity structure of the slab than any other seismic phase, they have a unique capability to resolve these low velocity structures. In Northern Chile, guided wave arrivals are clearly observed on two stations in the Chilean fore-arc on permanent stations of the IPOC network. High frequency (> 5 Hz) P-wave arrivals are delayed by approximately 2 seconds compared to the low frequency (< 2 Hz) P-wave arrivals. Full waveform finite difference modelling is used to test the low velocity slab structure that cause this P-wave dispersion. The synthetic waveforms produced by these models are compared to the recorded waveforms. Spectrograms are used to compare the relative arrival times of different frequencies, while the velocity spectra is used to constrain the relative amplitude of the arrivals. Constraining the waveform in these two ways means that the full waveform is also matched, and the low pass filtered observed and synthetic waveforms can be compared. A combined misfit between synthetic and observed waveforms is then calculated following Garth & Rietbrock (2014). Based on this misfit criterion we constrain the velocity model by using a grid search approach. Modelling the guided wave arrivals suggest that the observed dispersion cannot be solely accounted for by a single low velocity layer as suggested by previous guided wave studies. Including dipping low velocity normal fault structures in the synthetic model not only accounts for the observed strong P-wave coda, but also produces a clear first motion dispersion. We therefore propose that the lithospheric mantle of the subducting Nazca plate is highly hydrated at intermediate

  7. Traveling wave ultrasonic motor: coupling effects in free stator.

    PubMed

    Frayssignes, H; Briot, R

    2003-03-01

    Generally a stator of traveling wave ultrasonic motor (TWUM) consists of piezoelectric transducers (annular plate or rods) coupled by the way of a metallic ring. These transducers divided into halves are excited independently by two electrical signals with different phases of about 90 degrees. So an elastic traveling wave propagates along the circumference of the ring and a rotor pressed on this vibrating surface is then driven by the stator via contact forces. Many difficulties appear in developing TWUM because the contact between the stator and the rotor via a frictional material is very important. However that may be, the first stage consists in obtaining a vibrating stator with optimum characteristics with two symmetrical phases. The aim of this paper is to discuss some coupling effects in a free stator through an enhanced equivalent circuit model. A simple experimental method based on impedance measurements is performed to estimate the coupling characteristics at a low driving voltage. This paper reports results obtained with the free stator of the well known piezoelectric ultrasonic motor "USR60" by Shinsei Co. Ltd. Since the stator behaves as an elastic body, interactions between the two electrical inputs might be described by the introduction of a coupling oscillator. The comparison of experimental and theoretical results leads to validate the new equivalent circuit of the free stator. The presence of coupling impedance could imply a change of electrical supply condition to optimize the TWUM efficiency. The effects of unbalanced features for each electrical input and the applicability of the proposed model to actual operating condition are discussed in the paper. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V.

  8. Numerical investigations of internal stresses on carbon steel based on ultrasonic LCR waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramasamy, R.; Ibrahim, Z.; Chai, H. K.

    2017-10-01

    Internal stresses or residual stresses in the structural elements are very crucial in carrying out in-service evaluations and fitness-for-purpose assessments. The generation of these internal stresses can occur as result of the fabrication of the steel members, installation sequence or other ad-hoc events such as accidents or impact. The accurate prediction of the internal stresses will contribute towards estimating the integrity state of the structural elements, with respect to their material allowable stresses. This paper investigates the explicit FE based numerical modelling of the ultrasonic based non-destructive technique, utilising the measurable longitudinal critical refracted wave (LCR) and relating these to the internal stresses within the structural elements by the evaluation of the material dependent acoustoelastic factors. The subsurface travel path of the LCR wave inside the structural elements makes it a sub-surface stress measurement technique and the linearised relationship with corresponding internal stresses can be systematically applied repeatedly. The numerical results are compared against laboratory tests data to correlate the findings and to establish modelling feasibility for future proof-of-concepts. It can be concluded from this numerical investigation, that the subsurface ultrasonic LCR wave has great potential to be implemented for in-situ structural residual stress measurements, as compared to other available surface measurements such as strain gauges or x-ray diffraction.

  9. Ultrasonic Device for Assessing the Quality of a Wire Crimp

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yost, William T. (Inventor); Perey, Daniel F. (Inventor); Cramer, Karl E. (Inventor)

    2015-01-01

    A system for determining the quality of an electrical wire crimp between a wire and ferrule includes an ultrasonically equipped crimp tool (UECT) configured to transmit an ultrasonic acoustic wave through a wire and ferrule, and a signal processor in communication with the UECT. The signal processor includes a signal transmitting module configured to transmit the ultrasonic acoustic wave via an ultrasonic transducer, signal receiving module configured to receive the ultrasonic acoustic wave after it passes through the wire and ferrule, and a signal analysis module configured to identify signal differences between the ultrasonic waves. The signal analysis module is then configured to compare the signal differences attributable to the wire crimp to a baseline, and to provide an output signal if the signal differences deviate from the baseline.

  10. Local Guided Wavefield Analysis for Characterization of Delaminations in Composites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rogge, Matthew D.; Campbell Leckey, Cara A.

    2012-01-01

    Delaminations in composite laminates resulting from impact events may be accompanied by minimal indication of damage at the surface. As such, inspection techniques are required to ensure defects are within allowable limits. Conventional ultrasonic scanning techniques have been shown to effectively characterize the size and depth of delaminations but require physical contact with the structure. Alternatively, a noncontact scanning laser vibrometer may be used to measure guided wave propagation in the laminate structure. A local Fourier domain analysis method is presented for processing guided wavefield data to estimate spatially-dependent wavenumber values, which can be used to determine delamination depth. The technique is applied to simulated wavefields and results are analyzed to determine limitations of the technique with regards to determining defect size and depth. Finally, experimental wavefield data obtained in quasi-isotropic carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates with impact damage is analyzed and wavenumber is measured to an accuracy of 8.5% in the region of shallow delaminations. Keywords: Ultrasonic wavefield imaging, Windowed Fourier transforms, Guided waves, Structural health monitoring, Nondestructive evaluation

  11. Characteristics of ring type traveling wave ultrasonic motor in vacuum.

    PubMed

    Qu, Jianjun; Zhou, Ningning; Tian, Xiu; Jin, Long; Xu, Zhike

    2009-03-01

    The characteristics of ultrasonic motor strongly depend on the properties of stator/rotor contact interface which are affected by ambient environment. With the developed apparatus, load properties of two ring type traveling wave ultrasonic motors in atmosphere, low vacuum and high vacuum were studied, respectively. Wear of friction material, variations of vacuum degree and the temperature of motor during the experiment were also measured. The results show that load properties of motor A in vacuum were poorer than those in atmosphere, when load torque M(f) was less than 0.55 N m. Compared to motor A, load properties of motor B were affected a little by environmental pressure. Wear of friction material in vacuum was more severe than wear in atmosphere. The temperature of motor in vacuum rose more quickly than it in atmosphere and had not reached equilibrium in 2 h experiment. However, the temperature of motor in atmosphere had reached equilibrium in about forth minutes. Furthermore, outgas was also observed during experiment under vacuum conditions.

  12. Guided waves propagating in sandwich structures made of anisotropic, viscoelastic, composite materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Castaings, Michel; Hosten, Bernard

    2003-05-01

    The propagation of Lamb-like waves in sandwich plates made of anisotropic and viscoelastic material layers is studied. A semi-analytical model is described and used for predicting the dispersion curves (phase velocity, energy velocity, and complex wave-number) and the through-thickness distribution fields (displacement, stress, and energy flow). Guided modes propagating along a test-sandwich plate are shown to be quite different than classical Lamb modes, because this structure does not have the mirror symmetry, contrary to most of composite material plates. Moreover, the viscoelastic material properties imply complex roots of the dispersion equation to be found that lead to connections between some of the dispersion curves, meaning that some of the modes get coupled together. Gradual variation from zero to nominal values of the imaginary parts of the viscoelastic moduli shows that the mode coupling depends on the level of material viscoelasticity, except for one particular case where this phenomenon exists whether the medium is viscoelastic or not. The model is used to quantify the sensitivity of both the dispersion curves and the through-thickness mode shapes to the level of material viscoelasticity, and to physically explain the mode-coupling phenomenon. Finite element software is also used to confirm results obtained for the purely elastic structure. Finally, experiments are made using ultrasonic, air-coupled transducers for generating and detecting guided modes in the test-sandwich structure. The mode-coupling phenomenon is then confirmed, and the potential of the air-coupled system for developing single-sided, contactless, NDT applications of such structures is discussed.

  13. Lamb wave detection of limpet mines on ship hulls.

    PubMed

    Bingham, Jill; Hinders, Mark; Friedman, Adam

    2009-12-01

    This paper describes the use of ultrasonic guided waves for identifying the mass loading due to underwater limpet mines on ship hulls. The Dynamic Wavelet Fingerprint Technique (DFWT) is used to render the guided wave mode information in two-dimensional binary images because the waveform features of interest are too subtle to identify in time domain. The use of wavelets allows both time and scale features from the original signals to be retained, and image processing can be used to automatically extract features that correspond to the arrival times of the guided wave modes. For further understanding of how the guided wave modes propagate through the real structures, a parallel processing, 3D elastic wave simulation is developed using the finite integration technique (EFIT). This full field, technique models situations that are too complex for analytical solutions, such as built up 3D structures. The simulations have produced informative visualizations of the guided wave modes in the structures as well as mimicking directly the output from sensors placed in the simulation space for direct comparison to experiments. Results from both drydock and in-water experiments with dummy mines are also shown.

  14. Travelling wave ultrasonic motors, Part I: Working principle and mathematical modelling of the stator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hagedorn, P.; Wallaschek, J.

    1992-05-01

    Travelling wave ultrasonic motors have recently been attracting considerable attention: they may possibly soon replace—at least in certain areas—small electromagnetic motors. This development has been made possible by recent advances in power electronics, material research and digital control, which allow utilization of the piezoelectric effect for low power motors. In these motors the mechanical energy is generated with frequencies of the order of 40 kHz via piezo-elements producing bending waves in a stator, which has approximately the form of a circular plate. The rotor is then driven by the stator via contact forces, and with an extremely simple mechanism frequency reductions of 1:40 000 and more are obtained between the stator vibration and the rotor motion. As a consequence, one can work in the 40 kHz range on the electrical side, while a low frequency rotation is obtained on the mechanical side, as is desirable for many applications. In the present paper, which is the first of a series, the working principle of travelling wave ultrasonic motors is reviewed, and the main phenomena are mathematically modelled. In further papers a detailed mathematical description of the stator vibration and a first model of the contact problem will be given.

  15. An experimental evaluation of two effective medium theories for ultrasonic wave propagation in concrete.

    PubMed

    Chaix, Jean-François; Rossat, Mathieu; Garnier, Vincent; Corneloup, Gilles

    2012-06-01

    This study compares ultrasonic wave propagation modeling and experimental data in concrete. As a consequence of its composition and manufacturing process, this material has a high elastic scattering (sand and aggregates) and air (microcracks and porosities) content. The behavior of the "Waterman-Truell" and "Generalized Self Consistent Method" dynamic homogenization models are analyzed in the context of an application for strong heterogeneous solid materials, in which the scatterers are of various concentrations and types. The experimental validations of results predicted by the models are carried out by making use of the phase velocity and the attenuation of longitudinal waves, as measured by an immersed transmission setup. The test specimen material has a cement-like matrix containing spherical inclusions of air or glass, with radius close to the ultrasonic wavelength. The models are adapted to the case of materials presenting several types of scattering particle, and allow the propagation of longitudinal waves to be described at the scale of materials such as concrete. The validity limits for frequency and for particle volume ratio can be approached through a comparison with experimental data. The potential of these homogenization models for the prediction of phase velocity and attenuation in strongly heterogeneous solids is demonstrated.

  16. 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.

  17. A reprogrammable multifunctional chalcogenide guided-wave lens.

    PubMed

    Cao, Tun; Wei, Chen-Wei; Cen, Meng-Jia; Guo, Bao; Kim, Yong-June; Zhang, Shuang; Qiu, Cheng-Wei

    2018-06-05

    The transformation optics (TO) technique, which establishes an equivalence between a curved space and a spatial distribution of inhomogeneous constitutive parameters, has enabled an extraordinary paradigm for manipulating wave propagation. However, extreme constitutive parameters, as well as a static nature, inherently limit the simultaneous achievement of broadband performance, ultrafast reconfigurability and versatile reprogrammable functions. Here, we integrate the TO technique with an active phase-change chalcogenide to achieve a reconfigurable multi-mode guided-wave lens. The lens is made of a Rinehart-shaped curved waveguide with an effective refractive index gradient profile through partially crystallizing Ge2Sb2Te5. Upon changing the bias time of the external voltage imparted to the Ge2Sb2Te5 segments, the refractive index gradient profile can be tuned with a transformative platform for various functions for visible light. The electrically reprogrammable multi-mode guided-wave lens is capable of dynamically acquiring various functionalities with an ultrafast response time. Our findings may offer a significant step forward by providing a universal method to obtain ultrafast and highly versatile guided-wave manipulation, such as in Einstein rings, cloaking, Maxwell fish-eye lenses and Luneburg lenses.

  18. Modeling stick-slip-separation dynamics in a bimodal standing wave ultrasonic motor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xiang; Yao, Zhiyuan; Lv, Qibao; Liu, Zhen

    2016-11-01

    Ultrasonic motor (USM) is an electromechanical coupling system with ultrasonic vibration, which is driven by the frictional contact force between the stator (vibrating body) and the rotor/slider (driven body). Stick-slip motion can occur at the contact interface when USM is operating, which may affect the performance of the motor. This paper develops a physically-based model to investigate the complex stick-slip-separation dynamics in a bimodal standing wave ultrasonic motor. The model includes both friction nonlinearity and intermittent separation nonlinearity of the system. Utilizing Hamilton's principle and assumed mode method, the dynamic equations of the stator are deduced. Based on the dynamics of the stator and the slider, sticking force during the stick phase is derived, which is used to examine the stick-to-slip transition. Furthermore, the stick-slip-separation kinematics is analyzed by establishing analytical criteria that predict the transition between stick, slip and separation of the interface. Stick-slip-separation motion is observed in the resulting model, and numerical simulations are performed to study the influence of parameters on the range of possible motions. Results show that stick-slip motion can occur with greater preload and smaller voltage amplitude. Furthermore, a dimensionless parameter is proposed to predict the occurrence of stick-slip versus slip-separation motions, and its role in designing ultrasonic motors is discussed. It is shown that slip-separation motion is favorable for the slider velocity.

  19. High-pressure ultrasonic study of the commensurate-incommensurate spin-density-wave transition in an antiferromagnetic Cr-0.3 at. % Ru alloy single crystal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cankurtaran, M.; Saunders, G. A.; Wang, Q.; Ford, P. J.; Alberts, H. L.

    1992-12-01

    A comprehensive experimental study has been made of the elastic and nonlinear acoustic behavior of a dilute Cr alloy as it undergoes a commensurate (C)-incommensurate (I) spin-density-wave transition. Simultaneous measurements of the temperature dependence of ultrasonic wave velocity and attenuation of longitudinal and shear 10-MHz ultrasonic waves propagated along both the [100] and the [110] direction of Cr-0.3 at. % Ru alloy single crystal have been made in the temperature range 200-300 K. The temperature dependence of ultrasonic attenuation for each mode is characterized by a spikelike peak centered at TCI (=238.6 K) (on cooling) and at TIC (=255.6 K) (on warming). The velocities of both longitudinal and shear ultrasonic waves exhibit a large and steep increase at TCI on cooling and a similar drop at TIC on warming with a pronounced hysteresis between TIC and TCI. These observations show that the transition between the commensurate and incommensurate phases is first order. Measurements of the effects of hydrostatic pressure (up to 0.15 GPa) on the velocities of ultrasonic waves, which were made at several fixed temperatures between 248 and 297 K, show similar features: a steep increase at PCI (increasing pressure) and a similar drop at PIC (decreasing pressure) with a well-defined hysteresis. Both TCI and TIC increase strongly and approximately linearly with pressure, the mean values of dTCI/dP and dTIC/dP being (333+/-3) K/GPa and (277+/-5) K/GPa, respectively. The pressure and temperature dependencies of the anomalies in the ultrasonic wave velocity have been used to locate both the C-I and I-C boundaries on the magnetic P-T phase diagram. There is a triple point (at about 315 K and 0.22 GPa) where the paramagnetic, commensurate, and incommensurate spin-density-wave phases coexist. Results for the complete sets of the elastic stiffness tensor components and their hydrostatic pressure derivatives have been used to evaluate the acoustic-mode Gr

  20. Numerical and Experimental Characterization of a Composite Secondary Bonded Adhesive Lap Joint Using the Ultrasonics method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, M. R.; Ghosh, A.; Karuppannan, D.

    2018-05-01

    The construction of aircraft using advanced composites have become very popular during the past two decades, in which many innovative manufacturing processes, such as cocuring, cobonding, and secondary bonding processes, have been adopted. The secondary bonding process has become less popular than the other two ones because of nonavailability of process database and certification issues. In this article, an attempt is made to classify the quality of bonding using nondestructive ultrasonic inspection methods. Specimens were prepared and tested using the nondestructive ultrasonic Through Transmission (TT), Pulse Echo (PE), and air coupled guided wave techniques. It is concluded that the ultrasonic pulse echo technique is the best one for inspecting composite secondary bonded adhesive joints.

  1. Ultrasonic image analysis and image-guided interventions.

    PubMed

    Noble, J Alison; Navab, Nassir; Becher, H

    2011-08-06

    The fields of medical image analysis and computer-aided interventions deal with reducing the large volume of digital images (X-ray, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography and ultrasound (US)) to more meaningful clinical information using software algorithms. US is a core imaging modality employed in these areas, both in its own right and used in conjunction with the other imaging modalities. It is receiving increased interest owing to the recent introduction of three-dimensional US, significant improvements in US image quality, and better understanding of how to design algorithms which exploit the unique strengths and properties of this real-time imaging modality. This article reviews the current state of art in US image analysis and its application in image-guided interventions. The article concludes by giving a perspective from clinical cardiology which is one of the most advanced areas of clinical application of US image analysis and describing some probable future trends in this important area of ultrasonic imaging research.

  2. 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.

  3. Improved formula for continuous-wave measurements of ultrasonic phase velocity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chern, E. J.; Cantrell, J. H., Jr.; Heyman, J. S.

    1981-01-01

    An improved formula for continuous-wave ultrasonic phase velocity measurements using contact transducers is derived from the transmission line theory. The effect of transducer-sample coupling bonds is considered for measurements of solid samples even though it is often neglected because of the difficulty of accurately determining the bond thickness. Computer models show that the present formula is more accurate than previous expressions. Laboratory measurements using contacting transducers with the present formula are compared to measurements using noncontacting (hence effectively correction-free) capacitive transducers. The results of the experiments verify the validity and accuracy of the new formula.

  4. Slab anisotropy from subduction zone guided waves in Taiwan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, K. H.; Tseng, Y. L.; Hu, J. C.

    2014-12-01

    Frozen-in anisotropic structure in the oceanic lithosphere and faulting/hydration in the upper layer of the slab are expected to play an important role in anisotropic signature of the subducted slab. Over the past several decades, despite the advances in characterizing anisotropy using shear wave splitting method and its developments, the character of slab anisotropy remains poorly understood. In this study we investigate the slab anisotropy using subduction zone guided waves characterized by long path length in the slab. In the southernmost Ryukyu subduction zone, seismic waves from events deeper than 100 km offshore northern Taiwan reveal wave guide behavior: (1) a low-frequency (< 1 Hz) first arrival recognized on vertical and radial components but not transverse component (2) large, sustained high-frequency (3-10 Hz) signal in P and S wave trains. The depth dependent high-frequency content (3-10Hz) confirms the association with a waveguide effect in the subducting slab rather than localized site amplification effects. Using the selected subduction zone guided wave events, we further analyzed the shear wave splitting for intermediate-depth earthquakes in different frequency bands, to provide the statistically meaningful shear wave splitting parameters. We determine shear wave splitting parameters from the 34 PSP guided events that are deeper than 100 km with ray path traveling along the subducted slab. From shear wave splitting analysis, the slab and crust effects reveal consistent polarization pattern of fast directions of EN-WS and delay time of 0.13 - 0.27 sec. This implies that slab anisotropy is stronger than the crust effect (<0.1 s) but weaker than the mantle wedge and sub-slab mantle effect (0.3-1.3 s) in Taiwan.

  5. Finite element analysis of electromagnetic propagation in an absorbing wave guide

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baumeister, Kenneth J.

    1986-01-01

    Wave guides play a significant role in microwave space communication systems. The attenuation per unit length of the guide depends on its construction and design frequency range. A finite element Galerkin formulation has been developed to study TM electromagnetic propagation in complex two-dimensional absorbing wave guides. The analysis models the electromagnetic absorptive characteristics of a general wave guide which could be used to determine wall losses or simulate resistive terminations fitted into the ends of a guide. It is believed that the general conclusions drawn by using this simpler two-dimensional geometry will be fundamentally the same for other geometries.

  6. Pipe wall damage detection by electromagnetic acoustic transducer generated guided waves in absence of defect signals.

    PubMed

    Vasiljevic, Milos; Kundu, Tribikram; Grill, Wolfgang; Twerdowski, Evgeny

    2008-05-01

    Most investigators emphasize the importance of detecting the reflected signal from the defect to determine if the pipe wall has any damage and to predict the damage location. However, often the small signal from the defect is hidden behind the other arriving wave modes and signal noise. To overcome the difficulties associated with the identification of the small defect signal in the time history plots, in this paper the time history is analyzed well after the arrival of the first defect signal, and after different wave modes have propagated multiple times through the pipe. It is shown that the defective pipe can be clearly identified by analyzing these late arriving diffuse ultrasonic signals. Multiple reflections and scattering of the propagating wave modes by the defect and pipe ends do not hamper the defect detection capability; on the contrary, it apparently stabilizes the signal and makes it easier to distinguish the defective pipe from the defect-free pipe. This paper also highlights difficulties associated with the interpretation of the recorded time histories due to mode conversion by the defect. The design of electro-magnetic acoustic transducers used to generate and receive the guided waves in the pipe is briefly described in the paper.

  7. Laser generated guided waves and finite element modeling for the thickness gauging of thin layers.

    PubMed

    Lefevre, F; Jenot, F; Ouaftouh, M; Duquennoy, M; Ourak, M

    2010-03-01

    In this paper, nondestructive testing has been performed on a thin gold layer deposited on a 2 in. silicon wafer. Guided waves were generated and studied using a laser ultrasonic setup and a two-dimensional fast Fourier transform technique was employed to obtain the dispersion curves. A gold layer thickness of 1.33 microm has been determined with a +/-5% margin of error using the shape of the two first propagating modes, assuming for the substrate and the layer an uncertainty on the elastic parameters of +/-2.5%. A finite element model has been implemented to validate the data post-treatment and the experimental results. A good agreement between the numerical simulation, the analytical modeling and the experimentations has been observed. This method was considered suitable for thickness layer higher than 0.7 microm.

  8. 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.

  9. Theory and application of laser ultrasonic shear wave birefringence measurements to the determination of microstructure orientation in transversely isotropic, polycrystalline graphite materials

    DOE PAGES

    Zeng, Fan W.; Contescu, Cristian I.; Gallego, Nidia C.; ...

    2016-12-18

    Laser ultrasonic line source methods have been used to study elastic anisotropy in nuclear graphites by measuring shear wave birefringence. Depending on the manufacturing processes used during production, nuclear graphites can exhibit various degrees of material anisotropy related to preferred crystallite orientation and to microcracking. In this paper, laser ultrasonic line source measurements of shear wave birefringence on NBG-25 have been performed to assess elastic anisotropy. Laser line sources allow specific polarizations for shear waves to be transmitted – the corresponding wavespeeds can be used to compute bulk, elastic moduli that serve to quantify anisotropy. These modulus values can bemore » interpreted using physical property models based on orientation distribution coefficients and microcrack-modified, single crystal moduli to represent the combined effects of crystallite orientation and microcracking on material anisotropy. Finally, ultrasonic results are compared to and contrasted with measurements of anisotropy based on the coefficient of thermal expansion to show the relationship of results from these techniques.« less

  10. 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

  11. An experimental study on the coalescence process of binary droplets in oil under ultrasonic standing waves.

    PubMed

    Luo, Xiaoming; Cao, Juhang; He, Limin; Wang, Hongping; Yan, Haipeng; Qin, Yahua

    2017-01-01

    The coalescence process of binary droplets in oil under ultrasonic standing waves was investigated with high-speed photography. Three motion models of binary droplets in coalescence process were illustrated: (1) slight translational oscillation; (2) sinusoidal translational oscillation; (3) migration along with acoustic streaming. To reveal the droplets coalescence mechanisms, the influence of main factors (such as acoustic intensity, droplet size, viscosity and interfacial tension, etc) on the motion and coalescence of binary droplets was studied under ultrasonic standing waves. Results indicate that the shortest coalescence time is achieved when binary droplets show sinusoidal translational oscillation. The corresponding acoustic intensity in this case is the optimum acoustic intensity. Under the optimum acoustic intensity, drop size decrease will bring about coalescence time decrease by enhancing the binary droplets oscillation. Moreover, there is an optimum interfacial tension to achieve the shortest coalescence time. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. An ultrasonic technique for measuring stress in fasteners

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

    Stevens, K. J.; Day, P.; Byron, D.

    1999-12-02

    High temperature bolting alloys are extensively used in the thermal power generation industry as for example, reheat ESV and Governor valve studs. Remnant life assessment methodologies and plant maintenance procedures require the monitoring of the operational stress levels in these fasteners. Some conventional ultrasonic techniques require longitudinal wave measurements to be undertaken when the nut on the bolt is loosened and then re-tightened. Other techniques use a combination of shear waves and longitudinal waves. In this paper, the problems and pitfalls associated with various ultrasonic techniques for measuring stress in bolts, is discussed. An ultrasonic technique developed for measuring themore » stress in Durehete 1055 bolts is presented. Material from a textured rolled bar has been used as a test bed in the development work. The technique uses shear wave birefringence and compression waves at several frequencies to measure texture, fastener length and the average stress. The technique was developed by making ultrasonic measurements on bolts tensioned in universal testing machines and a hydraulic nut. The ultrasonic measurements of residual stress have been checked against strain gauge measurements. The Durehete bolts have a hollow cylinder geometry of restricted dimensions, which significantly alters compression and shear wave velocities from bulk values and introduces hoop stresses which can be measured by rotating the polarization of the shear wave probe. Modelling of the experimental results has been undertaken using theories for the elastic wave propagation through waveguides. The dispersion equations allow the velocity and length of the fastener to be measured ultrasonically in some situations where the length of the fastener can not be measured directly with a vernier caliper or micrometer and/or where it is undesirable to loosen nuts to take calibration readings of the shear and compression wave velocities.« less

  13. Propagation of ultrasonic Love waves in nonhomogeneous elastic functionally graded materials.

    PubMed

    Kiełczyński, P; Szalewski, M; Balcerzak, A; Wieja, K

    2016-02-01

    This paper presents a theoretical study of the propagation behavior of ultrasonic Love waves in nonhomogeneous functionally graded elastic materials, which is a vital problem in the mechanics of solids. The elastic properties (shear modulus) of a semi-infinite elastic half-space vary monotonically with the depth (distance from the surface of the material). The Direct Sturm-Liouville Problem that describes the propagation of Love waves in nonhomogeneous elastic functionally graded materials is formulated and solved by using two methods: i.e., (1) Finite Difference Method, and (2) Haskell-Thompson Transfer Matrix Method. The dispersion curves of phase and group velocity of surface Love waves in inhomogeneous elastic graded materials are evaluated. The integral formula for the group velocity of Love waves in nonhomogeneous elastic graded materials has been established. The effect of elastic non-homogeneities on the dispersion curves of Love waves is discussed. Two Love wave waveguide structures are analyzed: (1) a nonhomogeneous elastic surface layer deposited on a homogeneous elastic substrate, and (2) a semi-infinite nonhomogeneous elastic half-space. Obtained in this work, the phase and group velocity dispersion curves of Love waves propagating in the considered nonhomogeneous elastic waveguides have not previously been reported in the scientific literature. The results of this paper may give a deeper insight into the nature of Love waves propagation in elastic nonhomogeneous functionally graded materials, and can provide theoretical guidance for the design and optimization of Love wave based devices. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. 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.

  15. Ultrasonic Characterization of Aerospace Composites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Leckey, Cara; Johnston, Patrick; Haldren, Harold; Perey, Daniel

    2015-01-01

    Composite materials have seen an increased use in aerospace in recent years and it is expected that this trend will continue due to the benefits of reduced weight, increased strength, and other factors. Ongoing work at NASA involves the investigation of the large-scale use of composites for spacecraft structures (SLS components, Orion Composite Crew Module, etc). NASA is also involved in work to enable the use of composites in advanced aircraft structures through the Advanced Composites Project (ACP). In both areas (space and aeronautics) there is a need for new nondestructive evaluation and materials characterization techniques that are appropriate for characterizing composite materials. This paper will present an overview of NASA's needs for characterizing aerospace composites, including a description of planned and ongoing work under ACP for the detection of composite defects such as fiber waviness, reduced bond strength, delamination damage, and microcracking. The research approaches include investigation of angle array, guided wave, and phase sensitive ultrasonic methods. The use of ultrasonic simulation tools for optimizing and developing methods will also be discussed.

  16. Ultrasonic standing wave preparation of a liquid cell for glucose measurements in urine by midinfrared spectroscopy and potential application to smart toilets.

    PubMed

    Yamamoto, Naoyuki; Kawashima, Natsumi; Kitazaki, Tomoya; Mori, Keita; Kang, Hanyue; Nishiyama, Akira; Wada, Kenji; Ishimaru, Ichiro

    2018-05-01

    Smart toilets could be used to monitor different components of urine in daily life for early detection of lifestyle-related diseases and prompt provision of treatment. For analysis of biological samples such as urine by midinfrared spectroscopy, thin-film samples like liquid cells are needed because of the strong absorption of midinfrared light by water. Conventional liquid cells or fixed cells are prepared based on the liquid membrane method and solution technique, but these are not quantitative and are difficult to set up and clean. We generated an ultrasonic standing wave reflection plane in a sample and produced an ultrasonic liquid cell. In this cell, the thickness of the optical path length was adjustable, as in the conventional method. The reflection plane could be generated at an arbitrary depth and internal reflected light could be detected by changing the frequency of the ultrasonic wave. We could generate refractive index boundaries using the density difference created by the ultrasonic standing wave. Creation of the reflection plane in the sample was confirmed by optical coherence tomography. Using the proposed method and midinfrared spectroscopy, we discriminated between normal urine samples spiked with glucose at different concentrations and obtained a high correlation coefficient. (2018) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

  17. Elastic guided waves in a layered plate with rectangular cross section.

    PubMed

    Mukdadi, O M; Desai, Y M; Datta, S K; Shah, A H; Niklasson, A J

    2002-11-01

    Guided waves in a layered elastic plate of rectangular cross section (finite width and thickness) has been studied in this paper. A semianalytical finite element method in which the deformation of the cross section is modeled by two-dimensional finite elements and analytical representation of propagating waves along the length of the plate has been used. The method is applicable to arbitrary number of layers and general anisotropic material properties of each layer, and is similar to the stiffness method used earlier to study guided waves in a laminated composite plate of infinite width. Numerical results showing the effect of varying the width of the plate on the dispersion of guided waves are presented and are compared with those for an infinite plate. In addition, effect of thin anisotropic coating or interface layers on the guided waves is investigated.

  18. Coded excitation speeds up the detection of the fundamental flexural guided wave in coated tubes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Xiaojun; Moilanen, Petro; Zhao, Zuomin; Ta, Dean; Pirhonen, Jalmari; Salmi, Ari; Hæeggström, Edward; Myllylä, Risto; Timonen, Jussi; Wang, Weiqi

    2016-09-01

    The fundamental flexural guided wave (FFGW) permits ultrasonic assessment of the wall thickness of solid waveguides, such as tubes or, e.g., long cortical bones. Recently, an optical non-contact method was proposed for ultrasound excitation and detection with the aim of facilitating the FFGW reception by suppressing the interfering modes from the soft coating. This technique suffers from low SNR and requires iterative physical scanning across the source-receiver distance for 2D-FFT analysis. This means that SNR improvement achieved by temporal averaging becomes time-consuming (several minutes) which reduces the applicability of the technique, especially in time-critical applications such as clinical quantitative ultrasound. To achieve sufficient SNR faster, an ultrasonic excitation by a base-sequence-modulated Golay code (BSGC, 64-bit code pair) on coated tube samples (1-5 mm wall thickness and 5 mm soft coating layer) was used. This approach improved SNR by 21 dB and speeded up the measurement by a factor of 100 compared to using a classical pulse excitation with temporal averaging. The measurement now took seconds instead of minutes, while the ability to determine the wall thickness of the phantoms was maintained. The technique thus allows rapid noncontacting assessment of the wall thickness in coated solid tubes, such as the human bone.

  19. Guided Seismic Waves: Possible Diagnostics for Hot Plumes in the Mantle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Evans, J. R.; Julian, B. R.; Foulger, G. R.

    2005-12-01

    Seismic waves potentially provide by far the highest resolution view of the three-dimensional structure of the mantle, and the hope of detecting wave-speed anomalies caused by hot or compositionally buoyant mantle plumes has been a major incentive to the development of tomographic seismic techniques. Seismic tomography is limited, however, by the uneven geographical distribution of earthquakes and seismometers, which can produce artificial tomographic wave-speed anomalies that are difficult to distinguish from real structures in the mantle. An alternate approach may be possible, because hot plumes and possibly some compositional upwellings would have low seismic-wave speeds and would act as efficient waveguides over great depth ranges in the mantle. Plume-guided waves would be little affected by bends or other geometric complexities in the waveguides (analogously to French horns and fiber-optic cables), and their dispersion would make them distinctive on seismograms and would provide information on the size and structure of the waveguide. The main unanswered question is whether guided waves in plumes could be excited sufficiently to be observable. Earthquakes do not occur in the deep mantle, but at least two other possible sources of excitation can be imagined: (1) shallow earthquakes at or near plume-fed hotspots; and (2) coupling of plume-guided waves to seismic body waves near the bottom of the mantle. In the first case, downward-traveling guided waves transformed to seismic body waves at the bottom of the waveguide would have to be detected at teleseismic distances. In the second case, upward-traveling guided waves generated by teleseismic body waves would be detected on seismometers at hotspots. Qualitative reasoning based on considerations of reciprocity suggests that the signals in these two situations should be similar in size and appearance. The focusing of seismic core phases at caustics would amplify plume waves excited by either mechanism (1) or (2) at

  20. Classification of Low Velocity Impactors Using Spiral Sensing of Acousto-Ultrasonic Waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Agbasi, Chijioke Raphael

    The non-linear elastodynamics of a flat plate subjected to low velocity foreign body impacts is studied, resembling the space debris impacts on the space structure. The work is based on a central hypothesis that in addition to identifying the impact locations, the material properties of the foreign objects can also be classified using acousto-ultrasonic signals (AUS). Simultaneous localization of impact point and classification of impact object is quite challenging using existing state-of-the-art structural health monitoring (SHM) approaches. Available techniques seek to report the exact location of impact on the structure, however, the reported information is likely to have errors from nonlinearity and variability in the AUS signals due to materials, geometry, boundary conditions, wave dispersion, environmental conditions, sensor and hardware calibration etc. It is found that the frequency and speed of the guided wave generated in the plate can be quantized based on the impactor's relationship with the plate (i.e. the wave speed and the impactor's mechanical properties are coupled). In this work, in order to characterize the impact location and mechanical properties of imapctors, nonlinear transient phenomenon is empirically studied to decouple the understanding using the dominant frequency band (DFB) and Lag Index (LI) of the acousto-ultrasonic signals. Next the understanding was correlated with the elastic modulus of the impactor to predict transmitted force histories. The proposed method presented in this thesis is especially applicable for SHM where sensors cannot be widely or randomly distributed. Thus a strategic organization and localization of the sensors is achieved by implementing the geometric configuration of Theodorous Spiral Sensor Cluster (TSSC). The performance of TSSC in characterizing the impactor types are compared with other conventional sensor clusters (e.g. square, circular, random etc.) and it is shown that the TSSC is advantageous over

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  3. Traveling wave ultrasonic motor using polymer-based vibrator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Jiang; Mizuno, Yosuke; Tabaru, Marie; Nakamura, Kentaro

    2016-01-01

    With the characteristics of low density, low elastic modulus, and low mechanical loss, poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) is a promising material for fabricating lightweight ultrasonic motors (USMs). For the first time, we used PPS to fabricate an annular elastomer with teeth and glued a piece of piezoelectric-ceramic annular disk to the bottom of the elastomer to form a vibrator. To explore for a material suitable for the rotor surface coming in contact with the PPS-based vibrator, several disk-shaped rotors made of different materials were fabricated to form traveling wave USMs. The polymer-based USM rotates successfully as the conventional metal-based USMs. The experimental results show that the USM with the aluminum rotor has the largest torque, which indicates that aluminum is the most suitable for the rotor surface among the tested materials.

  4. 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.

  5. Effect of stress on energy flux deviation of ultrasonic waves in GR/EP composites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Prosser, William H.; Kriz, R. D.; Fitting, Dale W.

    1990-01-01

    Ultrasonic waves suffer energy flux deviation in graphite/epoxy because of the large anisotropy. The angle of deviation is a function of the elastic coefficients. For nonlinear solids, these coefficients and thus the angle of deviation is a function of stress. Acoustoelastic theory was used to model the effect of stress on flux deviation for unidirectional T300/5208 using previously measured elastic coefficients. Computations were made for uniaxial stress along the x3 axis (fiber axis) and the x1 for waves propagating in the x1x3 plane. These results predict a shift as large as three degrees for the quasi-transverse wave. The shift in energy flux offers a new nondestructive technique of evaluating stress in composites.

  6. Novel modeling technique for the stator of traveling wave ultrasonic motors.

    PubMed

    Pons, José L; Rodríguez, Humberto; Ceres, Ramón; Calderón, Leopoldo

    2003-11-01

    Traveling wave ultrasonic motors (TWUM) are a promising type of piezoelectric transducers, which are based on the friction transmission of mechanical propagating waves. These waves are excited on the stator by using high Q piezoelectric ceramics. This article presents a modeling strategy, which allows for a quick and precise modal and forced analysis of the stator of TWUM. First-order shear deformation laminated plate theory is applied to annular subdomains (super-elements) of the stator. In addition to shear deformations, the model takes into account the effect of rotary inertia, the stiffness contribution of the teeth, and the linear varying thickness of the stator. Moreover, the formulation considers a more realistic function for the electric field inside the piezoelectric ceramic, i.e., a linear function, instead of the generally assumed constant electric field. The Ritz method is used to find an approximated solution for the dynamic equations. Finally, the modal response is obtained and compared against the results from classical simplified models and the finite element method. Thus, the high accuracy and short computation times of the novel strategy were demonstrated.

  7. Picosecond ultrasonic study of surface acoustic waves on periodically patterned layered nanostructures.

    PubMed

    Colletta, Michael; Gachuhi, Wanjiru; Gartenstein, Samuel A; James, Molly M; Szwed, Erik A; Daly, Brian C; Cui, Weili; Antonelli, George A

    2018-07-01

    We have used the ultrafast pump-probe technique known as picosecond ultrasonics to generate and detect surface acoustic waves on a structure consisting of nanoscale Al lines on SiO 2 on Si. We report results from ten samples with varying pitch (1000-140 nm) and SiO 2 film thickness (112 nm or 60 nm), and compare our results to an isotropic elastic calculation and a coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation. In all cases we are able to detect and identify a Rayleigh-like surface acoustic wave with wavelength equal to the pitch of the lines and frequency in the range of 5-24 GHz. In some samples, we are able to detect additional, higher frequency surface acoustic waves or independent modes of the Al lines with frequencies close to 50 GHz. We also describe the effects of probe beam polarization on the measurement's sensitivity to the different surface modes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Energy-based adaptive focusing of waves: application to noninvasive aberration correction of ultrasonic wavefields

    PubMed Central

    Herbert, Eric; Pernot, Mathieu; Montaldo, Gabriel; Fink, Mathias; Tanter, Mickael

    2009-01-01

    An aberration correction method based on the maximization of the wave intensity at the focus of an emitting array is presented. The potential of this new adaptive focusing technique is investigated for ultrasonic focusing in biological tissues. The acoustic intensity is maximized non invasively through the direct measurement or indirect estimation of the beam energy at the focus for a series of spatially coded emissions. For ultrasonic waves, the acoustic energy at the desired focus can be indirectly estimated from the local displacements induced in tissues by the ultrasonic radiation force of the beam. Based on the measurement of these displacements, this method allows the precise estimation of the phase and amplitude aberrations and consequently the correction of aberrations along the beam travel path. The proof of concept is first performed experimentally using a large therapeutic array with strong electronic phase aberrations (up to 2π). Displacements induced by the ultrasonic radiation force at the desired focus are indirectly estimated using the time shift of backscattered echoes recorded on the array. The phase estimation is deduced accurately using a direct inversion algorithm which reduces the standard deviation of the phase distribution from σ = 1.89 before correction to σ = 0.53 following correction. The corrected beam focusing quality is verified using a needle hydrophone. The peak intensity obtained through the aberrator is found to be −7.69 dB below the reference intensity obtained without any aberration. Using the phase correction, a sharp focus is restored through the aberrator with a relative peak intensity of −0.89 dB. The technique is tested experimentally using a linear transmit/receive array through a real aberrating layer. The array is used to automatically correct its beam quality, as it both generates the radiation force with coded excitations and indirectly estimates the acoustic intensity at the focus with speckle tracking. This

  9. Damage characterization in dimension limestone cladding using noncollinear ultrasonic wave mixing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McGovern, Megan; Reis, Henrique

    2016-01-01

    A method capable of characterizing artificial weathering damage in dimension stone cladding using access to one side only is presented. Dolomitic limestone test samples with increasing levels of damage were created artificially by exposing undamaged samples to increasing temperature levels of 100°C, 200°C, 300°C, 400°C, 500°C, 600°C, and 700°C for a 90 min period of time. Using access to one side only, these test samples were nondestructively evaluated using a nonlinear approach based upon noncollinear wave mixing, which involves mixing two critically refracted dilatational ultrasonic waves. Criteria were used to assure that the detected scattered wave originated via wave interaction in the limestone and not from nonlinearities in the testing equipment. Bending tests were used to evaluate the flexure strength of beam samples extracted from the artificially weathered samples. It was observed that the percentage of strength reduction is linearly correlated (R2=98) with the temperature to which the specimens were exposed; it was noted that samples exposed to 400°C and 600°C had a strength reduction of 60% and 90%, respectively. It was also observed that results from the noncollinear wave mixing approach correlated well (R2=0.98) with the destructively obtained percentage of strength reduction.

  10. Method of noncontacting ultrasonic process monitoring

    DOEpatents

    Garcia, Gabriel V.; Walter, John B.; Telschow, Kenneth L.

    1992-01-01

    A method of monitoring a material during processing comprising the steps of (a) shining a detection light on the surface of a material; (b) generating ultrasonic waves at the surface of the material to cause a change in frequency of the detection light; (c) detecting a change in the frequency of the detection light at the surface of the material; (d) detecting said ultrasonic waves at the surface point of detection of the material; (e) measuring a change in the time elapsed from generating the ultrasonic waves at the surface of the material and return to the surface point of detection of the material, to determine the transit time; and (f) comparing the transit time to predetermined values to determine properties such as, density and the elastic quality of the material.

  11. Non-destructive ultrasonic measurements of case depth. [in steel

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Flambard, C.; Lambert, A.

    1978-01-01

    Two ultrasonic methods for nondestructive measurements of the depth of a case-hardened layer in steel are described. One method involves analysis of ultrasonic waves diffused back from the bulk of the workpiece. The other method involves finding the speed of propagation of ultrasonic waves launched on the surface of the work. Procedures followed in the two methods for measuring case depth are described.

  12. Theoretical, Experimental, and Computational Evaluation of Disk-Loaded Circular Wave Guides

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wallett, Thomas M.; Qureshi, A. Haq

    1994-01-01

    A disk-loaded circular wave guide structure and test fixture were fabricated. The dispersion characteristics were found by theoretical analysis, experimental testing, and computer simulation using the codes ARGUS and SOS. Interaction impedances were computed based on the corresponding dispersion characteristics. Finally, an equivalent circuit model for one period of the structure was chosen using equivalent circuit models for cylindrical wave guides of different radii. Optimum values for the discrete capacitors and inductors describing discontinuities between cylindrical wave guides were found using the computer code TOUCHSTONE.

  13. Relation between hardness and ultrasonic velocity on pipeline steel welded joints

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carreón, H.; Barrera, G.; Natividad, C.; Salazar, M.; Contreras, A.

    2016-04-01

    In general, the ultrasonic techniques have been used to determine the mechanical properties of materials based on their relationship with metallurgical characteristics. In this research work, the relationship between ultrasonic wave velocity, hardness 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 performed 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, 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. This technique is proposed to assist pipeline operators in estimating the hardness through ultrasonic measures to evaluate the susceptibility to stress sulphide cracking and hydrogen-induced cracking due to hard spots in steel pipeline welded joints in service. Sound wave velocity and hardness measurements have been carried out on a steel welded joint. For each section of the welding, weld bead, fusion zone, heat affected zone and base metal were found to correspond particular values of the ultrasound velocity. These results were correlated with electron microscopy observations of the microstructure and sectorial scan view of welded joints by ultrasonic phased array.

  14. 3D simulation of an audible ultrasonic electrolarynx using difference waves.

    PubMed

    Mills, Patrick; Zara, Jason

    2014-01-01

    A total laryngectomy removes the vocal folds which are fundamental in forming voiced sounds that make speech possible. Although implanted prosthetics are commonly used in developed countries, simple handheld vibrating electrolarynxes are still common worldwide. These devices are easy to use but suffer from many drawbacks including dedication of a hand, mechanical sounding voice, and sound leakage. To address some of these drawbacks, we introduce a novel electrolarynx that uses vibro-acoustic interference of dual ultrasonic waves to generate an audible fundamental frequency. A 3D simulation of the principles of the device is presented in this paper.

  15. Frictional response of simulated faults to normal stresses perturbations probed with ultrasonic waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shreedharan, S.; Riviere, J.; Marone, C.

    2017-12-01

    We report on a suite of laboratory friction experiments conducted on saw-cut Westerly Granite surfaces to probe frictional response to step changes in normal stress and loading rate. The experiments are conducted to illuminate the fundamental processes that yield friction rate and state dependence. We quantify the microphysical frictional response of the simulated fault surfaces to normal stress steps, in the range of 1% - 600% step increases and decreases from a nominal baseline normal stress. We measure directly the fault slip rate and account for changes in slip rate with changes in normal stress and complement mechanical data acquisition by continuously probing the faults with ultrasonic pulses. We conduct the experiments at room temperature and humidity conditions in a servo controlled biaxial testing apparatus in the double direct shear configuration. The samples are sheared over a range of velocities, from 0.02 - 100 μm/s. We report observations of a transient shear stress and friction evolution with step increases and decreases in normal stress. Specifically, we show that, at low shear velocities and small increases in normal stress (<5% increase), the shear stress on the fault does not increase instantaneously with the normal stress step while the ultrasonic wave amplitude and normal displacement do. In other words, the shear stress does not follow the load point stiffness curve. At high shear velocities and larger normal stress steps (> 5% increases), the shear stress evolves immediately with normal stress. We show that the excursions in slip rate resulting from the changes in normal stress must be accounted for in order to predict fault strength evolution. Ultrasonic wave amplitudes which first increase immediately in response to normal stress steps, then decrease approximately linearly to a new steady state value, in part due to changes in fault slip rate. Previous descriptions of frictional state evolution during normal stress perturbations have not

  16. Ultrasonic power transfer from a spherical acoustic wave source to a free-free piezoelectric receiver: Modeling and experiment

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

    Shahab, S.; Gray, M.; Erturk, A., E-mail: alper.erturk@me.gatech.edu

    2015-03-14

    Contactless powering of small electronic components has lately received growing attention for wireless applications in which battery replacement or tethered charging is undesired or simply impossible, and ambient energy harvesting is not a viable solution. As an alternative to well-studied methods of contactless energy transfer, such as the inductive coupling method, the use of ultrasonic waves transmitted and received by piezoelectric devices enables larger power transmission distances, which is critical especially for deep-implanted electronic devices. Moreover, energy transfer by means of acoustic waves is well suited in situations where no electromagnetic fields are allowed. The limited literature of ultrasonic acousticmore » energy transfer is mainly centered on proof-of-concept experiments demonstrating the feasibility of this method, lacking experimentally validated modeling efforts for the resulting multiphysics problem that couples the source and receiver dynamics with domain acoustics. In this work, we present fully coupled analytical, numerical, and experimental multiphysics investigations for ultrasonic acoustic energy transfer from a spherical wave source to a piezoelectric receiver bar that operates in the 33-mode of piezoelectricity. The fluid-loaded piezoelectric receiver under free-free mechanical boundary conditions is shunted to an electrical load for quantifying the electrical power output for a given acoustic source strength of the transmitter. The analytical acoustic-piezoelectric structure interaction modeling framework is validated experimentally, and the effects of system parameters are reported along with optimal electrical loading and frequency conditions of the receiver.« less

  17. 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.

  18. Guided wave radiation from a point source in the proximity of a pipe bend

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

    Brath, A. J.; Nagy, P. B.; Simonetti, F.

    Throughout the oil and gas industry corrosion and erosion damage monitoring play a central role in managing asset integrity. Recently, the use of guided wave technology in conjunction with tomography techniques has provided the possibility of obtaining point-by-point maps of wall thickness loss over the entire volume of a pipeline section between two ring arrays of ultrasonic transducers. However, current research has focused on straight pipes while little work has been done on pipe bends which are also the most susceptible to developing damage. Tomography of the bend is challenging due to the complexity and computational cost of the 3-Dmore » elastic model required to accurately describe guided wave propagation. To overcome this limitation, we introduce a 2-D anisotropic inhomogeneous acoustic model which represents a generalization of the conventional unwrapping used for straight pipes. The shortest-path ray-tracing method is then applied to the 2-D model to compute ray paths and predict the arrival times of the fundamental flexural mode, A0, excited by a point source on the straight section of pipe entering the bend and detected on the opposite side. Good agreement is found between predictions and experiments performed on an 8” diameter (D) pipe with 1.5 D bend radius. The 2-D model also reveals the existence of an acoustic lensing effect which leads to a focusing phenomenon also confirmed by the experiments. The computational efficiency of the 2-D model makes it ideally suited for tomography algorithms.« less

  19. Lower sintering temperature of nanostructured dense ceramics compacted from dry nanopowders using powerful ultrasonic action

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khasanov, O.; Reichel, U.; Dvilis, E.; Khasanov, A.

    2011-10-01

    Nanostructured high dense zirconia ceramics have been sintered from dry nanopowders compacted by uniaxial pressing with simultaneous powerful ultrasonic action (PUA). Powerful ultrasound with frequency of 21 kHz was supplied from ultrasonic generator to the mold, which was the ultrasonic wave-guide. Previously the mold was filled by non-agglomerated zirconia nanopowder having average particle size of 40 nm. Any binders or plasticizers were excluded at nanopowder processing. Compaction pressure was 240 MPa, power of ultrasonic generator at PUA was 1 kW and 3 kW. The fully dense zirconia ceramics has been sintered at 1345°C and high-dense ceramics with a density of 99.1%, the most grains of which had the sizes Dgr <= 200 nm, has been sintered at low sintering temperature (1325°C). Applied approach prevents essential grain growth owing to uniform packing of nanoparticles under vibrating PU-action at pressing, which provides the friction forces control during dry nanopowder compaction without contaminating binders or plasticizers.

  20. Guided-waves technique for inspecting the health of wall-covered building risers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tse, Peter W.; Chen, J. M.; Wan, X.

    2015-03-01

    The inspection technique uses guided ultrasonic waves (GW) has been proven effective in detecting pipes' defects. However, as of today, the technique has not attracted much market attention because of insufficient field tests and lack of traceable records with proven results in commercial applications. In this paper, it presents the results obtained by using GW to inspect the defects occurred in real gas risers that are commonly installed in tall buildings. The purpose of having risers is to deliver gas from any building external piping system to each household unit of the building. The risers extend from the external wall of the building, penetrate thorough the concrete wall, into the kitchen or bathroom of each household unit. Similar to in-service pipes, risers are prone to corrosion due to water leaks into the concrete wall. However, the corrosion occurs in the section of riser, which is covered by the concrete wall, is difficult to be inspected by conventional techniques. Hence, GW technique was employed. The effectiveness of GW technique was tested by laboratory and on-site experiments using real risers gathered from tall buildings. The experimental results show that GW can partially penetrate thorough the riser's section that is covered by wall. The integrity of the wall-covered section of a riser can be determined by the reflected wave signals generated by the corroded area that may exit inside the wall-covered section. Based on the reflected wave signal, one can determine the health of the wall-covered riser.

  1. Guided waves by axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric surface loading on hollow cylinders

    PubMed

    Shin; Rose

    1999-06-01

    Guided waves generated by axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric surface loading on a hollow cylinder are studied. For the theoretical analysis of the superposed guided waves, a normal mode concept is employed. The amplitude factors of individual guided wave modes are studied with respect to varying surface pressure loading profiles. Both theoretical and experimental focus is given to the guided waves generated by both axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric excitation. For the experiments, a comb transducer and high power tone burst function generator system are used on a sample Inconel tube. Surface loading conditions, such as circumferential loading angles and axial loading lengths, are used with the frequency and phase velocity to control the axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric mode excitations. The experimental study demonstrates the use of a practical non-axisymmetric partial loading technique in generating axisymmetric modes, particularly useful in the inspection of tubing and piping with limited circumferential access. From both theoretical and experimental studies, it also could be said that the amount of flexural modes reflected from a defect contains information on the reflector's circumferential angle, as well as potentially other classification and sizing feature information. The axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric guided wave modes should both be carefully considered for improvement of the overall analysis of guided waves generated in hollow cylinders.

  2. Stress measurement in thick plates using nonlinear ultrasonics

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

    Abbasi, Zeynab, E-mail: zabbas5@uic.edu, E-mail: dozevin@uic.edu; Ozevin, Didem, E-mail: zabbas5@uic.edu, E-mail: dozevin@uic.edu

    2015-03-31

    In this paper the interaction between nonlinear ultrasonic characteristics and stress state of complex loaded thick steel plates using fundamental theory of nonlinear ultrasonics is investigated in order to measure the stress state at a given cross section. The measurement concept is based on phased array placement of ultrasonic transmitter-receiver to scan three angles of a given cross section using Rayleigh waves. The change in the ultrasonic data in thick steel plates is influenced by normal and shear stresses; therefore, three measurements are needed to solve the equations simultaneously. Different thickness plates are studied in order to understand the interactionmore » of Rayleigh wave penetration depth and shear stress. The purpose is that as the thickness becomes smaller, the shear stress becomes negligible at the angled measurement. For thicker cross section, shear stress becomes influential if the depth of penetration of Rayleigh wave is greater than the half of the thickness. The influences of plate thickness and ultrasonic frequency on the identification of stress tensor are numerically studied in 3D structural geometry and Murnaghan material model. The experimental component of this study includes uniaxial loading of the plate while measuring ultrasonic wave at three directions (perpendicular, parallel and angled to the loading direction). Instead of rotating transmitter-receiver pair for each test, a device capable of measuring the three angles is designed.« less

  3. Mid-IR laser ultrasonic testing for fiber reinforced plastics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kusano, Masahiro; Hatano, Hideki; Oguchi, Kanae; Yamawaki, Hisashi; Watanabe, Makoto; Enoki, Manabu

    2018-04-01

    Ultrasonic testing is the most common method to detect defects in materials and evaluate their sizes and locations. Since piezo-electric transducers are manually handled from point to point, it takes more costs for huge products such as airplanes. Laser ultrasonic testing (LUT) is a breakthrough technique. A pulsed laser generates ultrasonic waves on a material surface due to thermoelastic effect or ablation. The ultrasonic waves can be detected by another laser with an interferometer. Thus, LUT can realize instantaneous inspection without contacting a sample. A pulse laser with around 3.2 μm wavelength (in the mid-IR range) is more suitable to generate ultrasonic waves for fiber reinforced plastics (FRPs) because the light is well absorbed by the polymeric matrix. On the other hand, such a laser is not available in the market. In order to emit the mid-IR laser pulse, we came up with the application of an optical parametric oscillator and developed an efficient wavelength conversion device by pumping a compact Nd:YAG solid-state laser. Our mid-IR LUT system is most suitable for inspection of FRPs. The signal-to-noise ratio of ultrasonic waves generated by the mid-IR laser is higher than that by the Nd:YAG laser. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the performance of the mid-IR LUT system in reflection mode. We investigated the effects of the material properties and the laser properties on the generated ultrasonic waves. In addition, C-scan images by the system were also presented.

  4. 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.

  5. Load Measurement in Structural Members Using Guided Acoustic Waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Feng; Wilcox, Paul D.

    2006-03-01

    A non-destructive technique to measure load in structures such as rails and bridge cables by using guided acoustic waves is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Robust finite element models for predicting the effect of load on guided wave propagation are developed and example results are presented for rods. Reasonably good agreement of experimental results with modelling prediction is obtained. The measurement technique has been developed to perform tests on larger specimens.

  6. Phased Array Beamforming and Imaging in Composite Laminates Using Guided Waves

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tian, Zhenhua; Leckey, Cara A. C.; Yu, Lingyu

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents the phased array beamforming and imaging using guided waves in anisotropic composite laminates. A generic phased array beamforming formula is presented, based on the classic delay-and-sum principle. The generic formula considers direction-dependent guided wave properties induced by the anisotropic material properties of composites. Moreover, the array beamforming and imaging are performed in frequency domain where the guided wave dispersion effect has been considered. The presented phased array method is implemented with a non-contact scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (SLDV) to detect multiple defects at different locations in an anisotropic composite plate. The array is constructed of scan points in a small area rapidly scanned by the SLDV. Using the phased array method, multiple defects at different locations are successfully detected. Our study shows that the guided wave phased array method is a potential effective method for rapid inspection of large composite structures.

  7. Characterization of Infrastructure Materials using Nonlinear Ultrasonics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Minghe

    In order to improve the safety, reliability, cost, and performance of civil and mechanical structures/components, it is necessary to develop techniques that are capable of characterizing and quantifying the amount of distributed damage in engineering materials before any detectable discontinuities (cracks, delaminations, voids, etc.) appear. In this dissertation, novel nonlinear ultrasonic NDE methods are developed and applied to characterize cumulative damage such as fatigue damage in metallic materials and degradation of cement-based materials due to chemical reactions. First, nonlinear Rayleigh surface waves are used to measure the near-surface residual stresses in shot-peened aluminum alloy (AA 7075) samples. Results show that the nonlinear Rayleigh wave is very sensitive to near-surface residual stresses, and has the potential to quantitatively detect them. Second, a novel two-wave mixing method is theoretically developed and numerically verified. This method is then successfully applied to detect the fatigue damage in aluminum alloy (AA 6061) samples subjected to monotonic compression. In addition to its high sensitivity to fatigue damage, this collinear wave mixing method allows the measurement over a specific region of interest in the specimen, and this capability makes it possible to obtain spatial distribution of fatigue damage through the thickness direction of the sample by simply timing the transducers. Third, the nonlinear wave mixing method is used to characterize the degradation of cement-based materials caused by alkali-silica reaction (ASR). It is found that the nonlinear ultrasonic method is sensitive to detect ASR damage at very early stage, and has the potential to identify the different damage stages. Finally, a micromechanics-based chemo-mechanical model is developed which relates the acoustic nonlinearity parameter to ASR damage. This model provides a way to quantitatively predict the changes in the acoustic nonlinearity parameter due to ASR

  8. Study on internal flow and surface deformation of large droplet levitated by ultrasonic wave.

    PubMed

    Abe, Yutaka; Hyuga, Daisuke; Yamada, Shogo; Aoki, Kazuyoshi

    2006-09-01

    It is expected that new materials will be manufactured with containerless processing under the microgravity environment in space. Under the microgravity environment, handling technology of molten metal is important for such processes. There are a lot of previous studies about droplet levitation technologies, including the use of acoustic waves, as the holding technology. However, experimental and analytical information about the relationship between surface deformation and internal flow of a large levitated droplet is still unknown. The purpose of this study is to experimentally investigate the large droplet behavior levitated by the acoustic wave field and its internal flow. To achieve this, first, numerical simulation is conducted to clarify the characteristics of acoustic wave field. Second, the levitation characteristic and the internal flow of the levitated droplet are investigated by the ultrasonic standing wave under normal gravity environment. Finally, the levitation characteristic and internal flow of levitated droplet are observed under microgravity in an aircraft to compare results with the experiment performed under the normal gravity environment.

  9. A new traveling wave ultrasonic motor using thick ring stator with nested PZT excitation.

    PubMed

    Chen, Weishan; Shi, Shengjun; Liu, Yingxiang; Li, Pei

    2010-05-01

    To avoid the disadvantages of conventional traveling wave ultrasonic motors--lower efficiency PZT working mode of d(31), fragility of the PZT element under strong excitation, fatigue of the adhesive layer under harsh environmental conditions, and low volume of the PZT material in the stator--a new type of traveling wave ultrasonic motor is presented in this paper. Here we implement the stator by nesting 64 PZT stacks in 64 slots specifically cut in a thick metal ring and 64 block springs nested within another 64 slots to produce preloading on the PZT stacks. In this new design, the d33 mode of the PZT is used to excite the flexural vibrations of the stator, and fragility of the PZT ceramics and fatigue of the adhesive layer are no longer an issue. The working principle, FEM simulation, fabrication, and performance measurements of a prototype motor were demonstrated to validate the proposed ideas. Typical output of the prototype motor is no-load speed of 15 rpm and maximum torque of 7.96 N x m. Further improvement will potentially enhance its features by increasing the accuracy in fabrication and adopting appropriate frictional material into the interface between the stator and the rotor.

  10. Guided-Wave TeO2 Acousto-Optic Devices

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-01-12

    In this research program, Guided-wave TeO2 Acousto - Optic Devices, the properties of surface acoustic waves on tellurium dioxide single crystal...surfaces has been studied for its potential applications as acousto - optic signal processing devices. Personal computer based numerical method has been...interaction with laser beams. Use of the acousto - optic probe, the surface acoustic wave velocity and field distribution have been obtained and compared

  11. Modelling guided waves in the Alaskan-Aleutian subduction zone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Coulson, Sophie; Garth, Thomas; Reitbrock, Andreas

    2016-04-01

    Subduction zone guided wave arrivals from intermediate depth earthquakes (70-300 km depth) have a huge potential to tell us about the velocity structure of the subducting oceanic crust as it dehydrates at these depths. We see guided waves as the oceanic crust has a slower seismic velocity than the surrounding material, and so high frequency energy is retained and delayed in the crustal material. Lower frequency energy is not retained in this crustal waveguide and so travels at faster velocities of the surrounding material. This gives a unique observation at the surface with low frequency energy arriving before the higher frequencies. We constrain this guided wave dispersion by comparing the waveforms recorded in real subduction zones with simulated waveforms, produced using finite difference full waveform modelling techniques. This method has been used to show that hydrated minerals in the oceanic crust persist to much greater depths than accepted thermal petrological subduction zone models would suggest in Northern Japan (Garth & Rietbrock, 2014a), and South America (Garth & Rietbrock, in prep). These observations also suggest that the subducting oceanic mantle may be highly hydrated at intermediate depth by dipping normal faults (Garth & Rietbrock 2014b). We use this guided wave analysis technique to constrain the velocity structure of the down going ~45 Ma Pacific plate beneath Alaska. Dispersion analysis is primarily carried out on guided wave arrivals recorded on the Alaskan regional seismic network. Earthquake locations from global earthquake catalogues (ISC and PDE) and regional earthquake locations from the AEIC (Alaskan Earthquake Information Centre) catalogue are used to constrain the slab geometry and to identify potentially dispersive events. Dispersed arrivals are seen at stations close to the trench, with high frequency (>2 Hz) arrivals delayed by 2 - 4 seconds. This dispersion is analysed to constrain the velocity and width of the proposed waveguide

  12. On the measurement of guided wavefields via air-coupled ultrasonic transducers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Michaels, Jennifer E.; Michaels, Thomas E.

    2015-03-01

    Guided wavefields are now routinely measured with scanning laser vibrometers for both characterization of guided wave propagation and damage assessment. However, these measurements are usually time-consuming, particularly for imaging of large areas, primarily because of the degree of signal averaging required to reduce incoherent noise. A scanned air-coupled transducer is an alternative wavefield acquisition method that is based upon recording the very small amplitude pressure waves that leak into air from the out-of-plane motion of the guided wavefield. Air-coupled methods are attractive because they are not sensitive to small variations in surface optical reflectivity and special surface preparations are thus not necessary. In addition, not as much averaging is needed, making the acquisition process much faster. Unlike laser vibrometry, the recorded signals are not a direct measure of the wave motion, but experiments have shown that the acquired wavefields resemble those obtained from laser-based systems. For the work presented here, wavefield data were recorded with both methods for the same aluminum plate and composite panel specimens. Data are qualitatively compared in several domains to assess differences in temporal characteristics and modal content. Although signals are not identical, it is shown that the air-coupled transducer data exhibits similar modal content to that of the laser vibrometry data and may provide a reasonable alternative for some applications.

  13. The Influence of Finite-size Sources in Acousto-ultrasonics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pavlakovic, Brian N.; Rose, Joseph L.

    1994-01-01

    This work explores the effects that the finite normal axisymmetric traction loading of an infinite isotropic plate has on wave propagation in acousto-ultrasonics (AU), in which guided waves are created using two normal incidence transducers. Although the work also addresses the effects of the transducer pressure distribution and pulse shape, this thesis concentrates on two main questions: how does the transducer's diameter control the phase velocity and frequency spectrum of the response, and how does the plate thickness relate to the plate's excitability? The mathematics of the time-harmonic solution and the physical principles and the practical considerations for AU wave generation are explained. Transient sources are modeled by the linear superposition of the time-harmonic solutions found using the Hankel transform and they are then compared to experimental data to provide insight into the relation between the size of the transducer and the preferred phase velocity.

  14. Ultrasonic bulk wave measurements on composite using fiber from recycled CFRP

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Paterson, David; Ijomah, Winifred L.; Windmill, James F. C.; Kao, Chih-Chuan; Smillie, Grant

    2018-04-01

    This study investigates the velocity profile for both a virgin carbon fiber reinforced plastic (v-CFRP) and a reused fiber CFRP (rf-CFRP) which exhibit quasi-isotropy; all samples have 3 iterations of symmetry type [0, -45, +45, 90]s. An isotropic virgin CFRP (v-CFRP), produced by using a hand layup process, is presented along with a pyrolysis recycling process (at 600°C) designed to extract the carbon fibers. A virgin carbon fiber mat with a similar architecture was also thermally conditioned under the same pyrolysis conditions. Both resultant carbon fiber mats were used to produce the rf-CFRPs. Ultrasonic wave velocities at different angles of incidence for both v-CFRP and rf-CFRP were recorded. In the case of v-CFRP, two samples were studied, and it was recorded that the velocity for both a longitudinal wave and transverse wave remained relatively constant up until these waves completely attenuated at observed angles, indicating what would be expected from an isotropic sample. A close relationship in terms of waves speed was also recorded for the two v-CFRP samples. In the case of rf-CFRP, the longitudinal wave velocities were generally less closely related when compared to the v-CFRP, with a maximum of approximately 32% difference being recorded. The transverse wave velocity was also found to decrease incident angle indicating sample anisotropy. The authors suggest that the more severe decreasing velocity with increasing incident angle, when compared to v-CFRP, may be caused by resin impregnation issues and not by changes that occur during the recycling process. Therefore, a hypothesis that both the rf-CFRP and the V-CFRP will return a similar wave profile given an identical resin fiber content is put forward.

  15. Resonance scattering in quantum wave guides

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

    Arsen'ev, A A

    2003-02-28

    The interaction of a quantum wave guide with a resonator is studied within the frame of the Birman-Kato scattering theory. The existence of poles of the scattering matrix is proved and the jump of the scattering amplitude near a resonance is calculated.

  16. 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

  17. 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.

  18. 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.

  19. Stress wave attenuation in thin structures by ultrasonic through-transmission

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lee, S. S.; Williams, J. H., Jr.

    1980-01-01

    The steady state amplitude of the output of an ultrasonic through transmission measurement is analyzed and the result is given in closed form. Provided that the product of the input and output transduction ratios; the specimen-transducer reflection coefficient; the specimen-transducer phase shift parameter; and the material phase velocity are known, this analysis gives a means for determining the through-thickness attenuation of an individual thin sample. Multiple stress wave reflections are taken into account and so signal echoes do not represent a difficulty. An example is presented for a graphite fiber epoxy composite (Hercules AS/3501-6). A direct method for continuous or intermittent monitoring of through thickness attenuation of plate structures which may be subject to service structural degradation is provided.

  20. Fatigue Crack Detection via Load-Differential Guided Wave Methods (Preprint)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-11-01

    AFRL-RX-WP-TP-2011-4362 FATIGUE CRACK DETECTION VIA LOAD- DIFFERENTIAL GUIDED WAVE METHODS (PREPRINT) Jennifer E. Michaels, Sang Jun Lee...November 2011 Technical Paper 1 November 2011 – 1 November 2011 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE FATIGUE CRACK DETECTION VIA LOAD-DIFFERENTIAL GUIDED WAVE...document contains color. 14. ABSTRACT Detection of fatigue cracks originating from fastener holes is an important application for structural health

  1. Guided wave localization of damage via sparse reconstruction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Levine, Ross M.; Michaels, Jennifer E.; Lee, Sang Jun

    2012-05-01

    Ultrasonic guided waves are frequently applied for structural health monitoring and nondestructive evaluation of plate-like metallic and composite structures. Spatially distributed arrays of fixed piezoelectric transducers can be used to detect damage by recording and analyzing all pairwise signal combinations. By subtracting pre-recorded baseline signals, the effects due to scatterer interactions can be isolated. Given these residual signals, techniques such as delay-and-sum imaging are capable of detecting flaws, but do not exploit the expected sparse nature of damage. It is desired to determine the location of a possible flaw by leveraging the anticipated sparsity of damage; i.e., most of the structure is assumed to be damage-free. Unlike least-squares methods, L1-norm minimization techniques favor sparse solutions to inverse problems such as the one considered here of locating damage. Using this type of method, it is possible to exploit sparsity of damage by formulating the imaging process as an optimization problem. A model-based damage localization method is presented that simultaneously decomposes all scattered signals into location-based signal components. The method is first applied to simulated data to investigate sensitivity to both model mismatch and additive noise, and then to experimental data recorded from an aluminum plate with artificial damage. Compared to delay-and-sum imaging, results exhibit a significant reduction in both spot size and imaging artifacts when the model is reasonably well-matched to the data.

  2. 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...

  3. 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

  4. Fault-zone guided waves from explosions in the San Andreas fault at Parkfield and Cienega Valley, California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Li, Y.-G.; Ellsworth, W.L.; Thurber, C.H.; Malin, P.E.; Aki, K.

    1997-01-01

    Fault-zone guided waves were successfully excited by near-surface explosions in the San Andreas fault zone both at Parkfield and Cienega Valley, central California. The guided waves were observed on linear, three-component seismic arrays deployed across the fault trace. These waves were not excited by explosions located outside the fault zone. The amplitude spectra of guided waves show a maximum peak at 2 Hz at Parkfield and 3 Hz at Cienega Valley. The guided wave amplitude decays sharply with observation distance from the fault trace. The explosion-excited fault-zone guided waves are similar to those generated by earthquakes at Parkfield but have lower frequencies and travel more slowly. These observations suggest that the fault-zone wave guide has lower seismic velocities as it approaches the surface at Parkfield. We have modeled the waveforms as S waves trapped in a low-velocity wave guide sandwiched between high-velocity wall rocks, resulting in Love-type fault-zone guided waves. While the results are nonunique, the Parkfield data are adequately fit by a shallow wave guide 170 m wide with an S velocity 0.85 km/sec and an apparent Q ??? 30 to 40. At Cienega Valley, the fault-zone wave guide appears to be about 120 m wide with an S velocity 0.7 km/sec and a Q ??? 30.

  5. An electric contact method to measure contact state between stator and rotor in a traveling wave ultrasonic motor.

    PubMed

    Qu, Jianjun; Zhou, Tieying

    2003-09-01

    Performances of ultrasonic motor (USM) depend considerably on contact state between stator and rotor. To measure the contact state in a traveling wave ultrasonic motor (TWUSM), a special test method is necessary. This paper develops a new method named electric contact method to measure contact state of stator and rotor in traveling wave type USM. The effects of pre-load and exciting voltage (amplitude) of stator on contact state between stator and rotor are studied with this method. By a simulating tester of friction properties of TWUSM, the variations of stalling torque and no-load speed against the pre-load and the exciting voltage have been measured. The relative contact length that describes the contact characteristic of stator and rotor is proposed. The relation between the properties of TWUSM and the contact state of stator and rotor are presented. Additionally, according to a theoretical contact model of stator and rotor in TWUSM, the contact lengths at given conditions are calculated and compared with the experimental results.

  6. Nuclear Containment Inspection Using AN Array of Guided Wave Sensors for Damage Localization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cobb, A. C.; Fisher, J. L.

    2010-02-01

    Nuclear power plant containments are typically both the last line of defense against the release of radioactivity to the environment and the first line of defense to protect against intrusion from external objects. As such, it is important to be able to locate any damage that would limit the integrity of the containment itself. Typically, a portion of the containment consists of a metallic pressure boundary that encloses the reactor primary circuit. It is made of thick steel plates welded together, lined with concrete and partially buried, limiting areas that can be visually inspected for corrosion damage. This study presents a strategy using low frequency (<50 kHz) guided waves to find corrosion-like damage several meters from the probe in a mock-up of the containment vessel. A magnetostrictive sensor (MsS) is scanned across the width of the vessel, acquiring waveforms at a fixed interval. A beam forming strategy is used to localize the defects. Experimental results are presented for a variety of damage configurations, demonstrating the efficacy of this technique for detecting damage smaller than the ultrasonic wavelength.

  7. Studying the effect of cracks on the ultrasonic wave propagation in a two dimensional gearbox finite element model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ozevin, Didem; Fazel, Hossein; Cox, Justin; Hardman, William; Kessler, Seth S.; Timmons, Alan

    2014-04-01

    Gearbox components of aerospace structures are typically made of brittle materials with high fracture toughness, but susceptible to fatigue failure due to continuous cyclic loading. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) methods are used to monitor the crack growth in gearbox components. Damage detection methodologies developed in laboratory-scale experiments may not represent the actual gearbox structural configuration, and are usually not applicable to real application as the vibration and wave properties depend on the material, structural layers and thicknesses. Also, the sensor types and locations are key factors for frequency content of ultrasonic waves, which are essential features for pattern recognition algorithm development in noisy environments. Therefore, a deterministic damage detection methodology that considers all the variables influencing the waveform signature should be considered in the preliminary computation before any experimental test matrix. In order to achieve this goal, we developed two dimensional finite element models of a gearbox cross section from front view and shaft section. The cross section model consists of steel revolving teeth, a thin layer of oil, and retention plate. An ultrasonic wave up to 1 MHz frequency is generated, and waveform histories along the gearbox are recorded. The received waveforms under pristine and cracked conditions are compared in order to analyze the crack influence on the wave propagation in gearbox, which can be utilized by both active and passive SHM methods.

  8. Vibration analysis and sound field characteristics of a tubular ultrasonic radiator.

    PubMed

    Liang, Zhaofeng; Zhou, Guangping; Zhang, Yihui; Li, Zhengzhong; Lin, Shuyu

    2006-12-01

    A sort of tubular ultrasonic radiator used in ultrasonic liquid processing is studied. The frequency equation of the tubular radiator is derived, and its radiated sound field in cylindrical reactor is calculated using finite element method and recorded by means of aluminum foil erosion. The results indicate that sound field of tubular ultrasonic radiator in cylindrical reactor appears standing waves along both its radial direction and axial direction, and amplitudes of standing waves decrease gradually along its radial direction, and the numbers of standing waves along its axial direction are equal to the axial wave numbers of tubular radiator. The experimental results are in good agreement with calculated results.

  9. Effect of pressurization on helical guided wave energy velocity in fluid-filled pipes.

    PubMed

    Dubuc, Brennan; Ebrahimkhanlou, Arvin; Salamone, Salvatore

    2017-03-01

    The effect of pressurization stresses on helical guided waves in a thin-walled fluid-filled pipe is studied by modeling leaky Lamb waves in a stressed plate bordered by fluid. Fluid pressurization produces hoop and longitudinal stresses in a thin-walled pipe, which corresponds to biaxial in-plane stress in a plate waveguide model. The effect of stress on guided wave propagation is accounted for through nonlinear elasticity and finite deformation theory. Emphasis is placed on the stress dependence of the energy velocity of the guided wave modes. For this purpose, an expression for the energy velocity of leaky Lamb waves in a stressed plate is derived. Theoretical results are presented for the mode, frequency, and directional dependent variations in energy velocity with respect to stress. An experimental setup is designed for measuring variations in helical wave energy velocity in a thin-walled water-filled steel pipe at different levels of pressure. Good agreement is achieved between the experimental variations in energy velocity for the helical guided waves and the theoretical leaky Lamb wave solutions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Design and characterization of an ultrasonic lamb-wave power delivery system.

    PubMed

    Kural, Aleksander; Pullin, Rhys; Holford, Karen; Lees, Jonathan; Naylon, Jack; Paget, Christophe; Featherston, Carol

    2013-06-01

    In this paper, a novel design for an ultrasonic power transmission system designed for use in aircraft structural monitoring systems is described. The prototype system uses ultrasonic Lamb waves to carry energy along plates, such as those used in aircraft structures, and commercially available piezoelectric patch transducers as the transmitter and receiver. This sets it apart from other acoustic power transmission systems reported to date. The optimum configuration transmitted 12.7 mW of power across a distance of 54 cm in a 1.5-mm-thick aluminum plate, while being driven by a 20-Vpp, 35-kHz sinusoidal electric signal. This is in the same order of magnitude as the power required by the wireless sensors nodes of a structural health monitoring system currently being developed by Cardiff University and its partners. Thus, the power transmission system can be considered a viable component of the power source combination considered for the sensor nodes, which will also include vibration and thermal energy harvesting. The paper describes the design and optimization of the transmission and reception circuits with the use of inductive compensation. The use of laser vibrometry to characterize the transducers and to understand the signal propagation between them is also reported.

  11. In silico simulation of liver crack detection using ultrasonic shear wave imaging.

    PubMed

    Nie, Erwei; Yu, Jiao; Dutta, Debaditya; Zhu, Yanying

    2018-05-16

    Liver trauma is an important source of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A timely detection and precise evaluation of traumatic liver injury and the bleeding site is necessary. There is a need to develop better imaging modalities of hepatic injuries to increase the sensitivity of ultrasonic imaging techniques for sites of hemorrhage caused by cracks. In this study, we conduct an in silico simulation of liver crack detection and delineation using an ultrasonic shear wave imaging (USWI) based method. We simulate the generation and propagation of the shear wave in a liver tissue medium having a crack using COMSOL. Ultrasound radio frequency (RF) signal synthesis and the two-dimensional speckle tracking algorithm are applied to simulate USWI in a medium with randomly distributed scatterers. Crack detection is performed using the directional filter and the edge detection algorithm rather than the conventional inversion algorithm. Cracks with varied sizes and locations are studied with our method and the crack localization results are compared with the given crack. Our pilot simulation study shows that, by using USWI combined with a directional filter cum edge detection technique, the near-end edge of the crack can be detected in all the three cracks that we studied. The detection errors are within 5%. For a crack of 1.6 mm thickness, little shear wave can pass through it and the far-end edge of the crack cannot be detected. The detected crack lengths using USWI are all slightly shorter than the actual crack length. The robustness of our method in detecting a straight crack, a curved crack and a subtle crack of 0.5 mm thickness is demonstrated. In this paper, we simulate the use of a USWI based method for the detection and delineation of the crack in liver. The in silico simulation helps to improve understanding and interpretation of USWI measurements in a physical scattered liver medium with a crack. This pilot study provides a basis for improved insights in future

  12. Inversion of residual stress profiles from ultrasonic Rayleigh wave dispersion data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mora, P.; Spies, M.

    2018-05-01

    We investigate theoretically and with synthetic data the performance of several inversion methods to infer a residual stress state from ultrasonic surface wave dispersion data. We show that this particular problem may reveal in relevant materials undesired behaviors for some methods that could be reliably applied to infer other properties. We focus on two methods, one based on a Taylor-expansion, and another one based on a piecewise linear expansion regularized by a singular value decomposition. We explain the instabilities of the Taylor-based method by highlighting singularities in the series of coefficients. At the same time, we show that the other method can successfully provide performances which only weakly depend on the material.

  13. 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.

  14. 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

  15. Guided elastic waves in a pre-stressed compressible interlayer

    PubMed

    Sotiropoulos

    2000-03-01

    The propagation of guided elastic waves in a pre-stressed elastic compressible layer embedded in a different compressible material is examined. The waves propagate parallel to the planar layer interfaces as a superposed dynamic stress state on the statically pre-stressed layer and host material. The underlying stress condition in the two materials is characterized by equibiaxial in-plane deformations with common principal axes of strain, one of the axes being perpendicular to the layering. Both materials have arbitrary strain energy functions. The dispersion equation is derived in explicit form. Analysis of the dispersion equation reveals the propagation characteristics and their dependence on frequency, material parameters and stress parameters. Combinations of these parameters are also defined for which guided waves cannot propagate.

  16. Spin wave filtering and guiding in Permalloy/iron nanowires

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Silvani, R.; Kostylev, M.; Adeyeye, A. O.; Gubbiotti, G.

    2018-03-01

    We have investigated the spin wave filtering and guiding properties of periodic array of single (Permalloy and Fe) and bi-layer (Py/Fe) nanowires (NWs) by means of Brillouin light scattering measurements and micromagnetic simulations. For all the nanowire arrays, the thickness of the layers is 10 nm while all NWs have the same width of 340 nm and edge-to-edge separation of 100 nm. Spin wave dispersion has been measured in the Damon-Eshbach configuration for wave vector either parallel or perpendicular to the nanowire length. This study reveals the filtering property of the spin waves when the wave vector is perpendicular to the NW length, with frequency ranges where the spin wave propagation is permitted separated by frequency band gaps, and the guiding property of NW when the wave vector is oriented parallel to the NW, with spin wave modes propagating in parallel channels in the central and edge regions of the NW. The measured dispersions were well reproduced by micromagnetic simulations, which also deliver the spatial profiles for the modes at zero wave vector. To reproduce the dispersion of the modes localized close to the NW edges, uniaxial anisotropy has been introduced. In the case of Permalloy/iron NWs, the obtained results have been compared with those for a 20 nm thick effective NW having average magnetic properties of the two materials.

  17. Prediction and near-field observation of skull-guided acoustic waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Estrada, Héctor; Rebling, Johannes; Razansky, Daniel

    2017-06-01

    Ultrasound waves propagating in water or soft biological tissue are strongly reflected when encountering the skull, which limits the use of ultrasound-based techniques in transcranial imaging and therapeutic applications. Current knowledge on the acoustic properties of the cranial bone is restricted to far-field observations, leaving its near-field unexplored. We report on the existence of skull-guided acoustic waves, which was herein confirmed by near-field measurements of optoacoustically-induced responses in ex-vivo murine skulls immersed in water. Dispersion of the guided waves was found to reasonably agree with the prediction of a multilayered flat plate model. We observed a skull-guided wave propagation over a lateral distance of at least 3 mm, with a half-decay length in the direction perpendicular to the skull ranging from 35 to 300 μm at 6 and 0.5 MHz, respectively. Propagation losses are mostly attributed to the heterogenous acoustic properties of the skull. It is generally anticipated that our findings may facilitate and broaden the application of ultrasound-mediated techniques in brain diagnostics and therapy.

  18. Prediction and near-field observation of skull-guided acoustic waves.

    PubMed

    Estrada, Héctor; Rebling, Johannes; Razansky, Daniel

    2017-06-21

    Ultrasound waves propagating in water or soft biological tissue are strongly reflected when encountering the skull, which limits the use of ultrasound-based techniques in transcranial imaging and therapeutic applications. Current knowledge on the acoustic properties of the cranial bone is restricted to far-field observations, leaving its near-field unexplored. We report on the existence of skull-guided acoustic waves, which was herein confirmed by near-field measurements of optoacoustically-induced responses in ex-vivo murine skulls immersed in water. Dispersion of the guided waves was found to reasonably agree with the prediction of a multilayered flat plate model. We observed a skull-guided wave propagation over a lateral distance of at least 3 mm, with a half-decay length in the direction perpendicular to the skull ranging from 35 to 300 μm at 6 and 0.5 MHz, respectively. Propagation losses are mostly attributed to the heterogenous acoustic properties of the skull. It is generally anticipated that our findings may facilitate and broaden the application of ultrasound-mediated techniques in brain diagnostics and therapy.

  19. Ultrasonic wave velocity measurement in small polymeric and cortical bone specimens

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kohles, S. S.; Bowers, J. R.; Vailas, A. C.; Vanderby, R. Jr

    1997-01-01

    A system was refined for the determination of the bulk ultrasonic wave propagation velocity in small cortical bone specimens. Longitudinal and shear wave propagations were measured using ceramic, piezoelectric 20 and 5 MHz transducers, respectively. Results of the pulse transmission technique were refined via the measurement of the system delay time. The precision and accuracy of the system were quantified using small specimens of polyoxymethylene, polystyrene-butadiene, and high-density polyethylene. These polymeric materials had known acoustic properties, similarity of propagation velocities to cortical bone, and minimal sample inhomogeneity. Dependence of longitudinal and transverse specimen dimensions upon propagation times was quantified. To confirm the consistency of longitudinal wave propagation in small cortical bone specimens (< 1.0 mm), cut-down specimens were prepared from a normal rat femur. Finally, cortical samples were prepared from each of ten normal rat femora, and Young's moduli (Eii), shear moduli (Gij), and Poisson ratios (Vij) were measured. For all specimens (bone, polyoxymethylene, polystyrene-butadiene, and high-density polyethylene), strong linear correlations (R2 > 0.997) were maintained between propagation time and distance throughout the size ranges down to less than 0.4 mm. Results for polyoxymethylene, polystyrene-butadiene, and high-density polyethylene were accurate to within 5 percent of reported literature values. Measurement repeatability (precision) improved with an increase in the wave transmission distance (propagating dimension). No statistically significant effect due to the transverse dimension was detected.

  20. Nonlinear focusing of ultrasonic waves by an axisymmetric diffraction grating embedded in water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiménez, N.; Romero-García, V.; Picó, R.; Garcia-Raffi, L. M.; Staliunas, K.

    2015-11-01

    We report the nonlinear focusing of ultrasonic waves by an axisymmetric diffraction grating immersed in water. In the linear regime, the system presents high focal gain (32 dB), with a narrow beam-width and intense side lobes as it is common in focusing by Fresnel-like lenses. Activating the nonlinearity of the host medium by using high amplitude incident waves, the focusing properties of the lens dramatically change. Theoretical predictions show that the focal gain of the system extraordinary increases in the strongly nonlinear regime (Mach number of 6.1 × 10-4). Particularly, the harmonic generation is locally activated at the focal spot, and the second harmonic beam is characterized by strongly reduced side-lobes and an excellent beam profile as experiments show in agreement with theory. The results can motivate applications in medical therapy or second harmonic imaging.

  1. A study on pseudo interface wave technique for CRDM weld defects in nuclear power plants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Jaesun; Park, Junpil; Cho, Younho; Huh, Hyung; Park, Keun-Bae; Kim, Dong-Ok

    2015-03-01

    The nuclear power plant inspection is very important for the safety issue. However due to some radiation and geometric problems, the detection of CRDM(Control Rod Drive Mechanism) can be very difficult by using conventional Ultrasonic Testing method. Also the shrink fit boundary condition can also be an obstacle for the inspection in this paper, instead of conventional Ultrasonic Testing, guided wave was used for the detection of some complicated structures. The CRDM nozzle was installed in reactor head with perfect shrink fit condition by using stainless steel. The wave amplitude distribution on the circumferential direction was calculated with various boundary conditions and the experimental result shows a possibility of the defect detection on J-groove weld.

  2. Texture in steel plates revealed by laser ultrasonic surface acoustic waves velocity dispersion analysis.

    PubMed

    Yin, Anmin; Wang, Xiaochen; Glorieux, Christ; Yang, Quan; Dong, Feng; He, Fei; Wang, Yanlong; Sermeus, Jan; Van der Donck, Tom; Shu, Xuedao

    2017-07-01

    A photoacoustic, laser ultrasonics based approach in an Impulsive Stimulated Scattering (ISS) implementation was used to investigate the texture in polycrystalline metal plates. The angular dependence of the 'polycrystalline' surface acoustic wave (SAW) velocity measured along regions containing many grains was experimentally determined and compared with simulated results that were based on the angular dependence of the 'single grain' SAW velocity within single grains and the grain orientation distribution. The polycrystalline SAW velocities turn out to vary with texture. The SAW velocities and their angular variations for {110} texture were found to be larger than that the ones for {111} texture or the strong γ fiber texture. The SAW velocities for {001} texture were larger than for {111} texture, but with almost the same angular dependence. The results infer the feasibility to apply angular SAW angular dispersion measurements by laser ultrasonics for on-line texture monitoring. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Ultrasonic control of ceramic membrane fouling by particles: effect of ultrasonic factors.

    PubMed

    Chen, Dong; Weavers, Linda K; Walker, Harold W

    2006-07-01

    Ultrasound at 20 kHz was applied to a cross-flow ultrafiltration system with gamma-alumina membranes in the presence of colloidal silica particles to systematically investigate how ultrasonic factors affect membrane cleaning. Based on imaging of the ultrasonic cavitation region, optimal cleaning occurred when the membrane was outside but close to the cavitation region. Increasing the filtration pressure increased the compressive forces driving cavitation collapse and resulted in fewer cavitation bubbles absorbing and scattering sound waves and increasing sound wave penetration. However, an increased filtration pressure also resulted in greater permeation drag, and subsequently less improvement in permeate flux compared to low filtration pressure. Finally, pulsed ultrasound with short pulse intervals resulted in permeate flux improvement close to that of continuous sonication.

  4. Development of Integrated and Flexible Ultrasonic Transducers for Aerospace Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Kuo-Ting

    2011-12-01

    High temperature (HT) integrated (IUTs) and flexible ultrasonic transducers (FUTs) for potential aerospace applications in the area of nondestructive testing (NDT) and structural health monitoring (SHM) are developed. The main merits are that IUTs can be fabricated on-site and FUTs are feasible and attractive for on-site installation. The piezoelectric composite films of these HT ultrasonic transducers (HTUTs) are made by sol-gel spray fabrication. Lead-zirconate titanate composite (PZT-c), bismuth titanate composite (BIT-c), or lithium niobate composite (LiNbO3-c) films were coated onto metallic substrates with planar and curved surfaces and investigated as IUTs. Their maximum operating temperatures were demonstrated at up to 150°C, 400°C, and 800°C, respectively. PZT-c or BIT-c films were coated onto 75 mum or 38 mum thick metallic membranes and were investigated as FUTs. They can be bonded onto flat or curved surfaces for NDT and SHM. An FUT made of BIT-c film coated onto a stainless steel membrane glued onto a steel plate was performed at up to 300°C. Besides being coated onto metallic materials, sol-gel sprayed composite films were also coated onto graphite/epoxy (Gr/Ep) plates as IUTs and 50 mum thick polyimide films as FUTs for the thickness and delamination evaluation. Using acoustic mode conversion techniques, HTUTs for shear (S) wave, surface acoustic wave (SAW), and plate acoustic wave (PAW), have been developed. HT ultrasonic probes simultaneously producing one longitudinal (L) and two orthogonally polarized S waves were demonstrated in metallic and Plexiglas probes. The potential applications of these probes were discussed. Also applying mode conversion approaches, HT symmetrical, anti-symmetrical, and shear horizontal (SH) PAWs UTs for NDT and SHM were developed. The results showed that the SH PAWs may be the best candidate for NDT and SHM purposes for plate structures. Generation and detection of guided acoustic waves for NDT were demonstrated by

  5. A traveling wave ultrasonic motor with a metal/polymer-matrix material compound stator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jinbang; Liu, Shuo; Zhou, Ningning; Yu, Aibing; Cui, Yuguo; Chen, Pengfei

    2018-01-01

    This study proposes a traveling wave ultrasonic motor with a metal/polymer-matrix material compound stator. The stator is composed of a metal ring and polymer-matrix teeth. The resonance frequency of the stator with different structural dimensions was analyzed by the finite element method. From the results, the structure parameters of the metal ring were obtained. The effects of the density and elastic modulus of the tooth material on the resonance frequency were also investigated. A viscoelastic contact model was built to explore the contact state between the compound stator and rotor. Considering the density, elastic modulus and tribological properties, the tooth material was prepared by a molding process. The load-torque and efficiency-torque characteristics of the motor with different tooth thicknesses were measured under different preloads using a preload controlled ultrasonic motor test device. The maximum no-load speed of the motor was about 85 r min-1 with a tooth thickness of 3 mm and a preload of 100 N, the maximum stall torque of the motor was about 0.5 N · m with a tooth thickness of 4 mm and a preload of 125 N, and a maximum efficiency of about 5.5% occurred with a tooth thickness of 4 mm, a preload of 100 N and a torque of 0.3 N · m. The main merits of the proposed ultrasonic motor are low cost, light weight, high processing efficiency and long life.

  6. 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.

  7. Understanding of Materials State and its Degradation using Non-Linear Ultrasound Approaches for Lamb Wave Propagation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-05-31

    Institution : Indian Institute of Technology Madras - Mailing Address : MDS 301, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Campus, Chennia INDIA 600036...in ceramic composites using an ultrasonic guided wave scan system”, 30th Annual Rev. of Quan. NDE, 2003; NASA /TM-2003-212518. [15] J Y Kim, J Qu

  8. An EMAT-based shear horizontal (SH) wave technique for adhesive bond inspection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arun, K.; Dhayalan, R.; Balasubramaniam, Krishnan; Maxfield, Bruce; Peres, Patrick; Barnoncel, David

    2012-05-01

    The evaluation of adhesively bonded structures has been a challenge over the several decades that these structures have been used. Applications within the aerospace industry often call for particularly high performance adhesive bonds. Several techniques have been proposed for the detection of disbonds and cohesive weakness but a reliable NDE method for detecting interfacial weakness (also sometimes called a kissing bond) has been elusive. Different techniques, including ultrasonic, thermal imaging and shearographic methods, have been proposed; all have had some degree of success. In particular, ultrasonic methods, including those based upon shear and guided waves, have been explored for the assessment of interfacial bond quality. Since 3-D guided shear horizontal (SH) waves in plates have predominantly shear displacement at the plate surfaces, we conjectured that SH guided waves should be influenced by interfacial conditions when they propagate between adhesively bonded plates of comparable thickness. This paper describes a new technique based on SH guided waves that propagate within and through a lap joint. Through mechanisms we have yet to fully understand, the propagation of an SH wave through a lap joint gives rise to a reverberation signal that is due to one or more reflections of an SH guided wave mode within that lap joint. Based upon a combination of numerical simulations and measurements, this method shows promise for detecting and classifying interfacial bonds. It is also apparent from our measurements that the SH wave modes can discriminate between adhesive and cohesive bond weakness in both Aluminum-Epoxy-Aluminum and Composite-Epoxy-Composite lap joints. All measurements reported here used periodic permanent magnet (PPM) Electro-Magnetic Acoustic Transducers (EMATs) to generate either or both of the two lowest order SH modes in the plates that comprise the lap joint. This exact configuration has been simulated using finite element (FE) models to

  9. Hybrid Signal Processing Technique to Improve the Defect Estimation in Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing of Composite Structures

    PubMed Central

    Raisutis, Renaldas; Samaitis, Vykintas

    2017-01-01

    This work proposes a novel hybrid signal processing technique to extract information on disbond-type defects from a single B-scan in the process of non-destructive testing (NDT) of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) material using ultrasonic guided waves (GW). The selected GFRP sample has been a segment of wind turbine blade, which possessed an aerodynamic shape. Two disbond type defects having diameters of 15 mm and 25 mm were artificially constructed on its trailing edge. The experiment has been performed using the low-frequency ultrasonic system developed at the Ultrasound Institute of Kaunas University of Technology and only one side of the sample was accessed. A special configuration of the transmitting and receiving transducers fixed on a movable panel with a separation distance of 50 mm was proposed for recording the ultrasonic guided wave signals at each one-millimeter step along the scanning distance up to 500 mm. Finally, the hybrid signal processing technique comprising the valuable features of the three most promising signal processing techniques: cross-correlation, wavelet transform, and Hilbert–Huang transform has been applied to the received signals for the extraction of defects information from a single B-scan image. The wavelet transform and cross-correlation techniques have been combined in order to extract the approximated size and location of the defects and measurements of time delays. Thereafter, Hilbert–Huang transform has been applied to the wavelet transformed signal to compare the variation of instantaneous frequencies and instantaneous amplitudes of the defect-free and defective signals. PMID:29232845

  10. Effect of particle-particle interactions on the acoustic radiation force in an ultrasonic standing wave

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lipkens, Bart; Ilinskii, Yurii A.; Zabolotskaya, Evgenia A.

    2015-10-01

    Ultrasonic standing waves are widely used for separation applications. In MEMS applications, a half wavelength standing wave field is generated perpendicular to a laminar flow. The acoustic radiation force exerted on the particle drives the particle to the center of the MEMS channel, where concentrated particles are harvested. In macro-scale applications, the ultrasonic standing wave spans multiple wavelengths. Examples of such applications are oil/water emulsion splitting [1], and blood/lipid separation [2]. In macro-scale applications, particles are typically trapped in the standing wave, resulting in clumping or coalescence of particles/droplets. Subsequent gravitational settling results in separation of the secondary phase. An often used expression for the radiation force on a particle is that derived by Gorkov [3]. The assumptions are that the particle size is small relative to the wavelength, and therefore, only monopole and dipole scattering contributions are used to calculate the radiation force. This framework seems satisfactory for MEMS scale applications where each particle is treated separately by the standing wave, and concentrations are typically low. In macro-scale applications, particle concentration is high, and particle clumping or droplet coalescence results in particle sizes not necessarily small relative to the wavelength. Ilinskii et al. developed a framework for calculation of the acoustic radiation force valid for any size particle [4]. However, this model does not take into account particle to particle effects, which can become important as particle concentration increases. It is known that an acoustic radiation force on a particle or a droplet is determined by the local field. An acoustic radiation force expression is developed that includes the effect of particle to particle interaction. The case of two neighboring particles is considered. The approach is based on sound scattering by the particles. The acoustic field at the location of

  11. Effect of particle-particle interactions on the acoustic radiation force in an ultrasonic standing wave

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

    Lipkens, Bart, E-mail: blipkens@wne.edu; Ilinskii, Yurii A., E-mail: ilinskii@gmail.com; Zabolotskaya, Evgenia A., E-mail: zheniazabolotskaya@gmail.com

    Ultrasonic standing waves are widely used for separation applications. In MEMS applications, a half wavelength standing wave field is generated perpendicular to a laminar flow. The acoustic radiation force exerted on the particle drives the particle to the center of the MEMS channel, where concentrated particles are harvested. In macro-scale applications, the ultrasonic standing wave spans multiple wavelengths. Examples of such applications are oil/water emulsion splitting [1], and blood/lipid separation [2]. In macro-scale applications, particles are typically trapped in the standing wave, resulting in clumping or coalescence of particles/droplets. Subsequent gravitational settling results in separation of the secondary phase. Anmore » often used expression for the radiation force on a particle is that derived by Gorkov [3]. The assumptions are that the particle size is small relative to the wavelength, and therefore, only monopole and dipole scattering contributions are used to calculate the radiation force. This framework seems satisfactory for MEMS scale applications where each particle is treated separately by the standing wave, and concentrations are typically low. In macro-scale applications, particle concentration is high, and particle clumping or droplet coalescence results in particle sizes not necessarily small relative to the wavelength. Ilinskii et al. developed a framework for calculation of the acoustic radiation force valid for any size particle [4]. However, this model does not take into account particle to particle effects, which can become important as particle concentration increases. It is known that an acoustic radiation force on a particle or a droplet is determined by the local field. An acoustic radiation force expression is developed that includes the effect of particle to particle interaction. The case of two neighboring particles is considered. The approach is based on sound scattering by the particles. The acoustic field at the

  12. Mode-converted diffuse ultrasonic backscatter.

    PubMed

    Hu, Ping; Kube, Christopher M; Koester, Lucas W; Turner, Joseph A

    2013-08-01

    Diffuse ultrasonic backscatter describes the scattering of elastic waves from interfaces within heterogeneous materials. Previously, theoretical models have been developed for the diffuse backscatter of longitudinal-to-longitudinal (L-L) wave scattering within polycrystalline materials. Following a similar formalism, a mode-conversion scattering model is presented here to quantify the component of an incident longitudinal wave that scatters and is converted to a transverse (shear) wave within a polycrystalline sample. The model is then used to fit experimental measurements associated with a pitch-catch transducer configuration performed using a sample of 1040 steel. From these measurements, an average material correlation length is determined. This value is found to be in agreement with results from L-L scattering measurements and is on the order of the grain size as determined from optical micrographs. Mode-converted ultrasonic backscatter is influenced much less by the front-wall reflection than an L-L measurement and it provides additional microstructural information that is not accessible in any other manner.

  13. Ultrasonic Method for Measuring Internal Temperature Profile in Heated Materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ihara, I.; Takahashi, M.

    2008-02-01

    A new ultrasonic method for internal temperature measurement is presented. The principle of the method is based on temperature dependence of the velocity of the ultrasonic wave propagating through the material. An inverse analysis to determine the temperature profile in a heated material is developed and an experiment is carried out to verify the validity of the developed method. A single side of a silicone rubber plate of 30 mm thickness is heated and ultrasonic pulse-echo measurements are then performed during heating. A change in transit time of ultrasonic wave in the heated rubber plate is monitored and used to determine the transient variation in internal temperature distribution of the rubber. The internal temperature distribution determined ultrasonically agrees well with both obtained using commercial thermocouples installed in the rubber and estimated theoretically.

  14. Longitudinal wave propagation in multi cylindrical viscoelastic matching layers of airborne ultrasonic transducer: new method to consider the matching layer's diameter (frequency <100 kHz).

    PubMed

    Saffar, Saber; Abdullah, Amir

    2013-08-01

    Wave propagation in viscoelastic disk layers is encountered in many applications including studies of airborne ultrasonic transducers. For viscoelastic materials, both material and geometric dispersion are possible when the diameter of the matching layer is of the same order as the wavelength. Lateral motions of the matching layer(s) that result from the Poisson effect are accounted by using a new concept called the "effective-density". A new wave equation is derived for both metallic and non-metallic (polymeric) materials, usually employed for the matching layers of airborne ultrasonic transducer. The material properties are modeled by using the Kelvin model for metals and Linear Solid Standard model for non-metallic (polymeric) matching layers. The utilized model of the material of the matching layers has influence on amount and trend of variation in speed ratio. In this regard, 60% reduction in speed ratio is observed for Kelvin model for aluminum with diameter of 80 mm at 100 kHz while for a similar diameter but Standard Linear Model, the speed ratio increase to twice value at 15 kHz, and then reduced until 70% at 67 kHz for Polypropylene. The new wave theory simplifies to the one-dimensional solution for waves in metallic or polymeric matching layers if the Poisson ratio is set to zero. The predictions simplify to Love's equation for stress waves in elastic disks when loss term is removed from equations for both models. Afterwards, the new wave theory is employed to determine the airborne ultrasonic matching layers to maximize the energy transmission to the air. The optimal matching layers are determined by using genetic algorithm theory for 1, 2 and 3 airborne matching layers. It has been shown that 1-D equation is useless at frequencies less than 100 kHz and the effect of diameter of the matching layers must be considered to determine the acoustic impedances (matching layers) to design airborne ultrasonic transducers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All

  15. Focusing guided waves using surface bonded elastic metamaterials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yan, Xiang; Zhu, Rui; Huang, Guoliang; Yuan, Fuh-Gwo

    2013-09-01

    Bonding a two-dimensional planar array of small lead discs on an aluminum plate with silicone rubber is shown numerically to focus low-frequency flexural guided waves. The "effective mass density profile" of this type of elastic metamaterials (EMMs), perpendicular to wave propagation direction, is carefully tailored and designed, which allows rays of flexural A0 mode Lamb waves to bend in succession and then focus through a 7 × 9 planar array. Numerical simulations show that Lamb waves can be focused beyond EMMs region with amplified displacement and yet largely retained narrow banded waveform, which may have potential application in structural health monitoring.

  16. Modeling of fatigue crack induced nonlinear ultrasonics using a highly parallelized explicit local interaction simulation approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, Yanfeng; Cesnik, Carlos E. S.

    2016-04-01

    This paper presents a parallelized modeling technique for the efficient simulation of nonlinear ultrasonics introduced by the wave interaction with fatigue cracks. The elastodynamic wave equations with contact effects are formulated using an explicit Local Interaction Simulation Approach (LISA). The LISA formulation is extended to capture the contact-impact phenomena during the wave damage interaction based on the penalty method. A Coulomb friction model is integrated into the computation procedure to capture the stick-slip contact shear motion. The LISA procedure is coded using the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA), which enables the highly parallelized supercomputing on powerful graphic cards. Both the explicit contact formulation and the parallel feature facilitates LISA's superb computational efficiency over the conventional finite element method (FEM). The theoretical formulations based on the penalty method is introduced and a guideline for the proper choice of the contact stiffness is given. The convergence behavior of the solution under various contact stiffness values is examined. A numerical benchmark problem is used to investigate the new LISA formulation and results are compared with a conventional contact finite element solution. Various nonlinear ultrasonic phenomena are successfully captured using this contact LISA formulation, including the generation of nonlinear higher harmonic responses. Nonlinear mode conversion of guided waves at fatigue cracks is also studied.

  17. Lamb Wave Tomography for Corrosion Mapping

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hinders, Mark K.; McKeon, James C. P.

    1999-01-01

    As the world-wide civil aviation fleet continues to age, methods for accurately predicting the presence of structural flaws-such as hidden corrosion-that compromise airworthiness become increasingly necessary. Ultrasonic guided waves, Lamb waves, allow large sections of aircraft structures to be rapidly inspected. However, extracting quantitative information from Lamb wave data has always involved highly trained personnel with a detailed knowledge of mechanical-waveguide physics. Our work focuses on using a variety of different tomographic reconstruction techniques to graphically represent the Lamb wave data in images that can be easily interpreted by technicians. Because the velocity of Lamb waves depends on thickness, we can convert the travel times of the fundamental Lamb modes into a thickness map of the inspection region. In this paper we show results for the identification of single or multiple back-surface corrosion areas in typical aluminum aircraft skin structures.

  18. Ultrasonic airborne insertion loss measurements at normal incidence (L).

    PubMed

    Farley, Jayrin; Anderson, Brian E

    2010-12-01

    Transmission loss and insertion loss measurements of building materials at audible frequencies are commonly made using plane wave tubes or as a panel between reverberant rooms. These measurements provide information for noise isolation control in architectural acoustics and in product development. Airborne ultrasonic sound transmission through common building materials has not been fully explored. Technologies and products that utilize ultrasonic frequencies are becoming increasingly more common, hence the need to conduct such measurements. This letter presents preliminary measurements of the ultrasonic insertion loss levels for common building materials over a frequency range of 28-90 kHz using continuous-wave excitation.

  19. Application of laser ultrasonic method for on-line monitoring of friction stir spot welding process.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Kuanshuang; Zhou, Zhenggan; Zhou, Jianghua

    2015-09-01

    Application of a laser ultrasonic method is developed for on-line monitoring of the friction stir spot welding (FSSW) process. Based on the technology of FSSW, laser-generated ultrasonic waves in a good weld and nonweld area are simulated by a finite element method. The reflected and transmitted waves are analyzed to disclose the properties of the welded interface. The noncontact-laser ultrasonic-inspection system was established to verify the numerical results. The reflected waves in the good-weld and nonweld area can be distinguished by time-of-flight. The transmitted waves evidently attenuate in the nonweld area in contrast to signal amplitude in the good weld area because of interfacial impedance difference. Laser ultrasonic C-scan images can sufficiently evaluate the intrinsic character of the weld area in comparison with traditional water-immersion ultrasonic testing results. The research results confirm that laser ultrasonics would be an effective method to realize the characterization of FSSW defects.

  20. A magnetic flux leakage and magnetostrictive guided wave hybrid transducer for detecting bridge cables.

    PubMed

    Xu, Jiang; Wu, Xinjun; Cheng, Cheng; Ben, Anran

    2012-01-01

    Condition assessment of cables has gained considerable attention for the bridge safety. A magnetic flux leakage and magnetostrictive guided wave hybrid transducer is provided to inspect bridge cables. The similarities and differences between the two methods are investigated. The hybrid transducer for bridge cables consists of an aluminum framework, climbing modules, embedded magnetizers and a ribbon coil. The static axial magnetic field provided by the magnetizers meets the needs of the magnetic flux leakage testing and the magnetostrictive guided wave testing. The magnetizers also provide the attraction for the climbing modules. In the magnetic flux leakage testing for the free length of cable, the coil induces the axial leakage magnetic field. In the magnetostrictive guided wave testing for the anchorage zone, the coil provides a pulse high power variational magnetic field for generating guided waves; the coil induces the magnetic field variation for receiving guided waves. The experimental results show that the transducer with the corresponding inspection system could be applied to detect the broken wires in the free length and in the anchorage zone of bridge cables.

  1. A Magnetic Flux Leakage and Magnetostrictive Guided Wave Hybrid Transducer for Detecting Bridge Cables

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Jiang; Wu, Xinjun; Cheng, Cheng; Ben, Anran

    2012-01-01

    Condition assessment of cables has gained considerable attention for the bridge safety. A magnetic flux leakage and magnetostrictive guided wave hybrid transducer is provided to inspect bridge cables. The similarities and differences between the two methods are investigated. The hybrid transducer for bridge cables consists of an aluminum framework, climbing modules, embedded magnetizers and a ribbon coil. The static axial magnetic field provided by the magnetizers meets the needs of the magnetic flux leakage testing and the magnetostrictive guided wave testing. The magnetizers also provide the attraction for the climbing modules. In the magnetic flux leakage testing for the free length of cable, the coil induces the axial leakage magnetic field. In the magnetostrictive guided wave testing for the anchorage zone, the coil provides a pulse high power variational magnetic field for generating guided waves; the coil induces the magnetic field variation for receiving guided waves. The experimental results show that the transducer with the corresponding inspection system could be applied to detect the broken wires in the free length and in the anchorage zone of bridge cables. PMID:22368483

  2. Using guided ultrasonic wave inspection to quantify the length of delaminations in composite laminates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Feng, Bo; Ribeiro, Artur Lopes; Ramos, Helena Geirinhas

    2018-04-01

    This paper presents a study of the characteristics of Lamb wave (S0 mode) testing signals in carbon fiber composite laminates containing delaminations. The study was implemented by using commercial finite element simulation software - ANSYS. The delamination signal is proven to be the superposition of the two waves travelling from upper and lower sub-laminates. Dispersion curves for the two sub-laminates were calculated to show the difference between phase velocities of the waves in the sub-laminates. Two models are specifically designed to get the phase difference between the waves that travel in each of the two sub-laminates. From the simulation results, it was found that the phase difference increases with the delamination length. Furthermore, the amplitude of delamination signal decreases first, then it starts to increase after reaching the minimum value. The minimum is reached when the waves from the two sub-laminates are 180° out of phase.

  3. A method for the measurement of dispersion curves of circumferential guided waves radiating from curved shells: experimental validation and application to a femoral neck mimicking phantom

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nauleau, Pierre; Minonzio, Jean-Gabriel; Chekroun, Mathieu; Cassereau, Didier; Laugier, Pascal; Prada, Claire; Grimal, Quentin

    2016-07-01

    Our long-term goal is to develop an ultrasonic method to characterize the thickness, stiffness and porosity of the cortical shell of the femoral neck, which could enhance hip fracture risk prediction. To this purpose, we proposed to adapt a technique based on the measurement of guided waves. We previously evidenced the feasibility of measuring circumferential guided waves in a bone-mimicking phantom of a circular cross-section of even thickness. The goal of this study is to investigate the impact of the complex geometry of the femoral neck on the measurement of guided waves. Two phantoms of an elliptical cross-section and one phantom of a realistic cross-section were investigated. A 128-element array was used to record the inter-element response matrix of these waveguides. This experiment was simulated using a custom-made hybrid code. The response matrices were analyzed using a technique based on the physics of wave propagation. This method yields portions of dispersion curves of the waveguides which were compared to reference dispersion curves. For the elliptical phantoms, three portions of dispersion curves were determined with a good agreement between experiment, simulation and theory. The method was thus validated. The characteristic dimensions of the shell were found to influence the identification of the circumferential wave signals. The method was then applied to the signals backscattered by the superior half of constant thickness of the realistic phantom. A cut-off frequency and some portions of modes were measured, with a good agreement with the theoretical curves of a plate waveguide. We also observed that the method cannot be applied directly to the signals backscattered by the lower half of varying thicknesses of the phantom. The proposed approach could then be considered to evaluate the properties of the superior part of the femoral neck, which is known to be a clinically relevant site.

  4. 21 CFR 892.1540 - Nonfetal ultrasonic monitor.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ...) Identification. A nonfetal ultrasonic monitor is a device that projects a continuous high-frequency sound wave... wave and is intended for use in the investigation of nonfetal blood flow and other nonfetal body...

  5. 21 CFR 892.1540 - Nonfetal ultrasonic monitor.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ...) Identification. A nonfetal ultrasonic monitor is a device that projects a continuous high-frequency sound wave... wave and is intended for use in the investigation of nonfetal blood flow and other nonfetal body...

  6. Damage evaluation by a guided wave-hidden Markov model based method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mei, Hanfei; Yuan, Shenfang; Qiu, Lei; Zhang, Jinjin

    2016-02-01

    Guided wave based structural health monitoring has shown great potential in aerospace applications. However, one of the key challenges of practical engineering applications is the accurate interpretation of the guided wave signals under time-varying environmental and operational conditions. This paper presents a guided wave-hidden Markov model based method to improve the damage evaluation reliability of real aircraft structures under time-varying conditions. In the proposed approach, an HMM based unweighted moving average trend estimation method, which can capture the trend of damage propagation from the posterior probability obtained by HMM modeling is used to achieve a probabilistic evaluation of the structural damage. To validate the developed method, experiments are performed on a hole-edge crack specimen under fatigue loading condition and a real aircraft wing spar under changing structural boundary conditions. Experimental results show the advantage of the proposed method.

  7. Guided Wave Propagation Study on Laminated Composites by Frequency-Wavenumber Technique

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tian, Zhenhua; Yu, Lingyu; Leckey, Cara A. C.

    2014-01-01

    Toward the goal of delamination detection and quantification in laminated composites, this paper examines guided wave propagation and wave interaction with delamination damage in laminated carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites using frequency-wavenumber (f-kappa) analysis. Three-dimensional elastodynamic finite integration technique (EFIT) is used to acquire simulated time-space wavefields for a CFRP composite. The time-space wavefields show trapped waves in the delamination region. To unveil the wave propagation physics, the time-space wavefields are further analyzed by using two-dimensional (2D) Fourier transforms (FT). In the analysis results, new f-k components are observed when the incident guided waves interact with the delamination damage. These new f-kappa components in the simulations are experimentally verified through data obtained from scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (SLDV) tests. By filtering the new f-kappa components, delamination damage is detected and quantified.

  8. 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.

  9. A Model for Measured Traveling Waves at End-Diastole in Human Heart Wall by Ultrasonic Imaging Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bekki, Naoaki; Shintani, Seine A.; Ishiwata, Shin'ichi; Kanai, Hiroshi

    2016-04-01

    We observe traveling waves, measured by the ultrasonic noninvasive imaging method, in a longitudinal beam direction from the apex to the base side on the interventricular septum (IVS) during the period from the end-diastole to the beginning of systole for a healthy human heart wall. We present a possible phenomenological model to explain part of one-dimensional cardiac behaviors for the observed traveling waves around the time of R-wave of echocardiography (ECG) in the human heart. Although the observed two-dimensional patterns of traveling waves are extremely complex and no one knows yet the exact solutions for the traveling homoclinic plane wave in the one-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau equation (CGLE), we numerically find that part of the one-dimensional homoclinic dynamics of the phase and amplitude patterns in the observed traveling waves is similar to that of the numerical homoclinic plane-wave solutions in the CGLE with periodic boundary condition in a certain parameter space. It is suggested that part of the cardiac dynamics of the traveling waves on the IVS can be qualitatively described by the CGLE model as a paradigm for understanding biophysical nonlinear phenomena.

  10. 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.

  11. 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.

  12. Finite Element Simulation of the Shear Effect of Ultrasonic on Heat Exchanger Descaling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, Shaolv; Wang, Zhihua; Wang, Hehui

    2018-03-01

    The shear effect on the interface of metal plate and its attached scale is an important mechanism of ultrasonic descaling, which is caused by the different propagation speed of ultrasonic wave in two different mediums. The propagating of ultrasonic wave on the shell is simulated based on the ANSYS/LS-DYNA explicit dynamic analysis. The distribution of shear stress in different paths under ultrasonic vibration is obtained through the finite element analysis and it reveals the main descaling mechanism of shear effect. The simulation result is helpful and enlightening to the reasonable design and the application of the ultrasonic scaling technology on heat exchanger.

  13. Generation mechanism of nonlinear ultrasonic Lamb waves in thin plates with randomly distributed micro-cracks.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Youxuan; Li, Feilong; Cao, Peng; Liu, Yaolu; Zhang, Jianyu; Fu, Shaoyun; Zhang, Jun; Hu, Ning

    2017-08-01

    Since the identification of micro-cracks in engineering materials is very valuable in understanding the initial and slight changes in mechanical properties of materials under complex working environments, numerical simulations on the propagation of the low frequency S 0 Lamb wave in thin plates with randomly distributed micro-cracks were performed to study the behavior of nonlinear Lamb waves. The results showed that while the influence of the randomly distributed micro-cracks on the phase velocity of the low frequency S 0 fundamental waves could be neglected, significant ultrasonic nonlinear effects caused by the randomly distributed micro-cracks was discovered, which mainly presented as a second harmonic generation. By using a Monte Carlo simulation method, we found that the acoustic nonlinear parameter increased linearly with the micro-crack density and the size of micro-crack zone, and it was also related to the excitation frequency and friction coefficient of the micro-crack surfaces. In addition, it was found that the nonlinear effect of waves reflected by the micro-cracks was more noticeable than that of the transmitted waves. This study theoretically reveals that the low frequency S 0 mode of Lamb waves can be used as the fundamental waves to quantitatively identify micro-cracks in thin plates. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Application of RMS for damage detection by guided elastic waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Radzieński, M.; Doliński, Ł.; Krawczuk, M.; dot Zak, A.; Ostachowicz, W.

    2011-07-01

    This paper presents certain results of an experimental study related with a damage detection in structural elements based on deviations in guided elastic wave propagation patterns. In order to excite guided elastic waves within specimens tested piezoelectric transducers have been applied. As excitation signals 5 sine cycles modulated by Hanning window have been used. Propagation of guided elastic waves has been monitored by a scanning Doppler laser vibrometer. The time signals recorded during measurement have been utilised to calculate the values of RMS. It has turned out that the values of RMS differed significantly in damaged areas from the values calculated for the healthy ones. In this way it has become possible to pinpoint precisely the locations of damage over the entire measured surface. All experimental investigations have been carried out for thin aluminium or composite plates. Damage has been simulated by a small additional mass attached on the plate surface or by a narrow notch cut. It has been shown that proposed method allows one to localise damage of various shapes and sizes within structural elements over the whole area under investigation.

  15. Nonlinear Elastic Effects on the Energy Flux Deviation of Ultrasonic Waves in GR/EP Composites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Prosser, William H.; Kriz, R. D.; Fitting, Dale W.

    1992-01-01

    In isotropic materials, the direction of the energy flux (energy per unit time per unit area) of an ultrasonic plane wave is always along the same direction as the normal to the wave front. In anisotropic materials, however, this is true only along symmetry directions. Along other directions, the energy flux of the wave deviates from the intended direction of propagation. This phenomenon is known as energy flux deviation and is illustrated. The direction of the energy flux is dependent on the elastic coefficients of the material. This effect has been demonstrated in many anisotropic crystalline materials. In transparent quartz crystals, Schlieren photographs have been obtained which allow visualization of the ultrasonic waves and the energy flux deviation. The energy flux deviation in graphite/epoxy (gr/ep) composite materials can be quite large because of their high anisotropy. The flux deviation angle has been calculated for unidirectional gr/ep composites as a function of both fiber orientation and fiber volume content. Experimental measurements have also been made in unidirectional composites. It has been further demonstrated that changes in composite materials which alter the elastic properties such as moisture absorption by the matrix or fiber degradation, can be detected nondestructively by measurements of the energy flux shift. In this research, the effects of nonlinear elasticity on energy flux deviation in unidirectional gr/ep composites were studied. Because of elastic nonlinearity, the angle of the energy flux deviation was shown to be a function of applied stress. This shift in flux deviation was modeled using acoustoelastic theory and the previously measured second and third order elastic stiffness coefficients for T300/5208 gr/ep. Two conditions of applied uniaxial stress were considered. In the first case, the direction of applied uniaxial stress was along the fiber axis (x3) while in the second case it was perpendicular to the fiber axis along the

  16. Shear wave mapping of skeletal muscle using shear wave wavefront reconstruction based on ultrasound color flow imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamakoshi, Yoshiki; Yamamoto, Atsushi; Kasahara, Toshihiro; Iijima, Tomohiro; Yuminaka, Yasushi

    2015-07-01

    We have proposed a quantitative shear wave imaging technique for continuous shear wave excitation. Shear wave wavefront is observed directly by color flow imaging using a general-purpose ultrasonic imaging system. In this study, the proposed method is applied to experiments in vivo, and shear wave maps, namely, the shear wave phase map, which shows the shear wave propagation inside the medium, and the shear wave velocity map, are observed for the skeletal muscle in the shoulder. To excite the shear wave inside the skeletal muscle of the shoulder, a hybrid ultrasonic wave transducer, which combines a small vibrator with an ultrasonic wave probe, is adopted. The shear wave velocity of supraspinatus muscle, which is measured by the proposed method, is 4.11 ± 0.06 m/s (N = 4). This value is consistent with those obtained by the acoustic radiation force impulse method.

  17. Detection of cystic structures using pulsed ultrasonically induced resonant cavitation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bar-Cohen, Yoseph (Inventor); Kovach, John S. (Inventor)

    2002-01-01

    Apparatus and method for early detection of cystic structures indicative of ovarian and breast cancers uses ultrasonic wave energy at a unique resonance frequency for inducing cavitation in cystic fluid characteristic of cystic structures in the ovaries associated with ovarian cancer, and in cystic structures in the breast associated with breast cancer. Induced cavitation bubbles in the cystic fluid implode, creating implosion waves which are detected by ultrasonic receiving transducers attached to the abdomen of the patient. Triangulation of the ultrasonic receiving transducers enables the received signals to be processed and analyzed to identify the location and structure of the cyst.

  18. Guided waves and defect scattering in metal matrix composite plates

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Datta, Subhendu K.; Bratton, Robert L.; Shah, Arvind H.

    1989-01-01

    Guided Rayleigh-Lamb waves in a continuous graphite fiber reinforced magnesium plate has been studied. The interest in this material arises from its high thermal stability and because it provides high strength-to-weight ratio. Previous studies have shown that for wavelengths much larger than the fiber diameters and spacing, the material can be characterized as transversely isotropic with the symmetry axis aligned with the fiber direction. Because of the high longitudinal stiffness of the graphite fibers, the material shows strong anisotropy, with very high modulus in the fiber direction. For this reason, dispersion of guided waves is strongly influenced by the deviation of the direction of propagation from the symmetry axis. Results are given for propagation in different directions and for scattering of antiplane shear waves by surface-breaking cracks and delaminations.

  19. A Method For The Verification Of Wire Crimp Compression Using Ultrasonic Inspection

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cramer, K. E.; Perey, Daniel F.; Yost, William t.

    2010-01-01

    The development of a new ultrasonic measurement technique to assess quantitatively wire crimp terminations is discussed. The amplitude change of a compressional ultrasonic wave propagating at right angles to the wire axis and through the junction of a crimp termination is shown to correlate with the results of a destructive pull test, which is a standard for assessing crimp wire junction quality. To demonstrate the technique, the case of incomplete compression of crimped connections is ultrasonically tested, and the results are correlated with pull tests. Results show that the nondestructive ultrasonic measurement technique consistently predicts good crimps when the ultrasonic transmission is above a certain threshold amplitude level. A quantitative measure of the quality of the crimped connection based on the ultrasonic energy transmitted is shown to respond accurately to crimp quality. A wave propagation 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. A comparison of the results of two different instruments is presented and shows reproducibility between instruments within a 95% confidence bound.

  20. 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.

  1. Separation of metal ions in nitrate solution by ultrasonic atomization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sato, Masanori; Ikeno, Masayuki; Fujii, Toshitaka

    2004-11-01

    In the ultrasonic atomization of metal nitrate solutions, the molar ratio of metal ions is changed between solution and mist. Small molar metal ions tend to be transferred to mist by ultrasonic wave acceleration, while large molar ions tend to remain in solution. As a result, metal ions can be separated by ultrasonic atomization. We show experimental data and propose a conceptual mechanism for the ultrasonic separation of metal ions.

  2. 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.

  3. A standing wave linear ultrasonic motor operating in in-plane expanding and bending modes.

    PubMed

    Chen, Zhijiang; Li, Xiaotian; Ci, Penghong; Liu, Guoxi; Dong, Shuxiang

    2015-03-01

    A novel standing wave linear ultrasonic motor operating in in-plane expanding and bending modes was proposed in this study. The stator (or actuator) of the linear motor was made of a simple single Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) ceramic square plate (15 × 15 × 2 mm(3)) with a circular hole (D = 6.7 mm) in the center. The geometric parameters of the stator were computed with the finite element analysis to produce in-plane bi-mode standing wave vibration. The calculated results predicted that a driving tip attached at midpoint of one edge of the stator can produce two orthogonal, approximate straight-line trajectories, which can be used to move a slider in linear motion via frictional forces in forward or reverse direction. The investigations showed that the proposed linear motor can produce a six times higher power density than that of a previously reported square plate motor.

  4. Measurement of physical characteristics of materials by ultrasonic methods

    DOEpatents

    Lu, Wei-yang; Min, Shermann

    1998-01-01

    A method is described for determining and evaluating physical characteristics of a material. In particular, the present invention provides for determining and evaluating the anisotropic characteristics of materials, especially those resulting from such manufacturing processes as rolling, forming, extruding, drawing, forging, etc. In operation, a complex ultrasonic wave is created in the material of interest by any method. The wave form may be any combination of wave types and modes and is not limited to fundamental plate modes. The velocity of propagation of selected components which make up the complex ultrasonic wave are measured and evaluated to determine the physical characteristics of the material including, texture, strain/stress, grain size, crystal structure, etc.

  5. Measurement of physical characteristics of materials by ultrasonic methods

    DOEpatents

    Lu, W.Y.; Min, S.

    1998-09-08

    A method is described for determining and evaluating physical characteristics of a material. In particular, the present invention provides for determining and evaluating the anisotropic characteristics of materials, especially those resulting from such manufacturing processes as rolling, forming, extruding, drawing, forging, etc. In operation, a complex ultrasonic wave is created in the material of interest by any method. The wave form may be any combination of wave types and modes and is not limited to fundamental plate modes. The velocity of propagation of selected components which make up the complex ultrasonic wave are measured and evaluated to determine the physical characteristics of the material including, texture, strain/stress, grain size, crystal structure, etc. 14 figs.

  6. 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

  7. Evaluation of multilayered pavement structures from measurements of surface waves

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ryden, N.; Lowe, M.J.S.; Cawley, P.; Park, C.B.

    2006-01-01

    A method is presented for evaluating the thickness and stiffness of multilayered pavement structures from guided waves measured at the surface. Data is collected with a light hammer as the source and an accelerometer as receiver, generating a synthetic receiver array. The top layer properties are evaluated with a Lamb wave analysis. Multiple layers are evaluated by matching a theoretical phase velocity spectrum to the measured spectrum. So far the method has been applied to the testing of pavements, but it may also be applicable in other fields such as ultrasonic testing of coated materials. ?? 2006 American Institute of Physics.

  8. Nondestructive testing of thin films using surface acoustic waves and laser ultrasonics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jenot, Frédéric; Fourez, Sabrina; Ouaftouh, Mohammadi; Duquennoy, Marc

    2018-04-01

    Thin films are widely used in many fields such as electronics, optics or materials science. For example, they find applications in thermal or mechanical sensors design. They are also very useful as protective or reinforcement layers for many structures. However, some coating defects such as thickness variations, microfissuring or poor adhesion are common problems. Therefore, nondestructive testing of these structures using acoustic waves generated and detected by lasers represents a major interest. Indeed, in comparison with conventional methods based on the use of piezoelectric transducers, laser ultrasonics leads to non-contact investigations with a large bandwidth. Usually, bulk acoustic waves are used and a pulse-echo technique is considered that needs high frequencies and implies local measurements. In order to avoid this limitation, we propose to use surface acoustic waves in a frequency range up to 45 MHz. The samples consist of a micrometric gold layer deposited on silicon substrates. In a first part, using dispersion analysis, theoretical and experimental results clearly reveal that the first Rayleigh mode allows the detection of film thickness variations and open cracks. In a second part, a localized adhesion defect is introduced in a similar sample. The effects of such a flaw on the Rayleigh modes dispersion curves are theoretically described. Finally, we experimentally show that the first Rayleigh mode allows the defect detection only under specific conditions.

  9. Real-time Cure Monitoring of Composites Using a Guided wave-based System with High Temperature Piezoelectric Transducers, Fiber Bragg Gratings, and Phase-shifted Fiber Bragg Gratings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hudson, Tyler Blake

    An in-process, in-situ cure monitoring technique utilizing a guided wave-based concept for carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites was investigated. Two automated cure monitoring systems using guided-wave ultrasonics were developed for characterizing the state of the cure. In the first system, surface mounted high-temperature piezoelectric transducer arrays were employed for actuation and sensing. The second system motivated by the success of the first system includes a single piezoelectric disc, bonded onto the surface of the composite for excitation; fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) and/or phase-shifted fiber Bragg gratings (PSFBGs) were embedded in the composite for distributed cure sensing. Composite material properties (viscosity and degree of cure) evolved during cure of the panels fabricated from HexcelRTM IM7/8552 prepreg correlated well to the amplitude, time of arrival, and group velocity of the guided wave-based measurements during the cure cycle. In addition, key phase transitions (gelation and vitrification) were clearly identified from the experimental data during the same cure cycle. The material properties and phase transitions were validated using cure process modeling software (e.g., RAVENRTM). The high-temperature piezoelectric transducer array system demonstrated the feasibility of a guided wave-based, in-process, cure monitoring and provided the framework for defect detection during cure. Ultimately, this system could provide a traceable data stream for non-compliance investigations during serial production and perform closed-loop process control to maximize composite panel quality and consistency. In addition, this system could be deployed as a "smart" caul/tool plate to existing production lines without changing the design of the aircraft/structure. With the second system, strain in low frequency (quasi-static) and the guided wavebased signals in several hundred kilohertz range were measured almost simultaneously using the same FBG or PS

  10. Anisotropic determination and correction for ultrasonic flaw detection by spectral analysis

    DOEpatents

    Adler, Laszlo; Von Cook, K.; Simpson, Jr., William A.; Lewis, D. Kent

    1978-01-01

    The anisotropic nature of a material is determined by measuring the velocity of an ultrasonic longitudinal wave and a pair of perpendicular ultrasonic shear waves through a sample of the material each at a plurality of different angles in three planes orthogonal to each other. The determined anisotropic nature is used as a correction factor in a spectral analyzing system of flaw determination.

  11. Experimental Investigation on Acousto-Ultrasonic Sensing Using Polarization-Maintaining Fiber Bragg Gratings

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wang, Gang; Banks, Curtis E.

    2015-01-01

    This report discusses the guided Lamb wave sensing using polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber Bragg grating (PM-FBG) sensor. The goal is to apply the PM-FBG sensor system to composite structural health monitoring (SHM) applications in order to realize directivity and multi-axis strain sensing capabilities while using reduced number of sensors. Comprehensive experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of the PM-FBG sensor in a composite panel structure under different actuation frequencies and locations. Three Macro-Fiber-Composite (MFC) piezoelectric actuators were used to generate guided Lamb waves and they are oriented at 0, 45, and 90 degrees with respect to PM-FBG axial direction, respectively. The actuation frequency was varied from 20kHz to 200kHz. It is shown that the PM-FBG sensor system is able to detect high-speed ultrasound waves and capture the characteristics under different actuation conditions. Both longitudinal and lateral strain components in the order of nano-strain were determined based on the reflective intensity measurement data from fast and slow axis of the PM fiber. It must be emphasized that this is the first attempt to investigate acousto-ultrasonic sensing using PM-FBG sensor. This could lead to a new sensing approach in the SHM applications.

  12. Experimental Investigation on Acousto-ultrasonic Sensing Using Polarization-Maintaining Fiber Bragg Gratings

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wang, Gag; Banks, Curtis E.

    2016-01-01

    This report discusses the guided Lamb wave sensing using polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber Bragg grating (PM-FBG) sensor. The goal is to apply the PM-FBG sensor system to composite structural health monitoring (SHM) applications in order to realize directivity and multi-axis strain sensing capabilities while reducing the number of sensors. Comprehensive experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of the PM-FBG sensor attached to a composite panel structure under different actuation frequencies and locations. Three Macro-Fiber-Composite (MFC) piezoelectric actuators were used to generate guided Lamb waves that were oriented at 0, 45, and 90 degrees with respect to PM-FBG axial direction, respectively. The actuation frequency was varied from 20kHz to 200kHz. It was shown that the PM-FBG sensor system was able to detect high-speed ultrasound waves and capture the characteristics under different actuation conditions. Both longitudinal and lateral strain components in the order of nano-strain were determined based on the reflective intensity measurement data from fast and slow axis of the PM fiber. It must be emphasized that this is the first attempt to investigate acouto-ultrasonic sensing using PM-FBG sensor. This could lead to a new sensing approach in the SHM applications. Nomenclature.

  13. Numerical modeling of the load effect on PZT-induced guided wave for load compensation of damage detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Hu; Zhang, Aijia; Wang, Yishou; Qing, Xinlin P.

    2017-04-01

    Guided wave-based structural health monitoring (SHM) has been given considerable attention and widely studied for large-scale aircraft structures. Nevertheless, it is difficult to apply SHM systems on board or online, for which one of the most serious reasons is the environmental influence. Load is one fact that affects not only the host structure, in which guided wave propagates, but also the PZT, by which guided wave is transmitted and received. In this paper, numerical analysis using finite element method is used to study the load effect on guided wave acquired by PZT. The static loads with different grades are considered to analyze its effect on guided wave signals that PZT transmits and receives. Based on the variation trend of guided waves versus load, a load compensation method is developed to eliminate effects of load in the process of damage detection. The probabilistic reconstruction algorithm based on the signal variation of transmitter-receiver path is employed to identify the damage. Numerical tests is conducted to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the given method.

  14. Laser ultrasonic investigations of vertical Bridgman crystal growth

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Queheillalt, Douglas Ted

    The many difficulties associated with the growth of premium quality CdTe and (Cd,Zn)Te alloys has stimulated an interest in the development of a non-invasive ultrasonic approach to monitor critical growth parameters such as the solid-liquid interface position and shape during vertical Bridgman growth. This sensor methodology is based upon the recognition that in most materials, the ultrasonic velocity (and the elastic stiffness constants that control it) of the solid and liquid phases are temperature dependent and an abrupt increase of the longitudinal wave velocity occurs upon solidification. The laser ultrasonic approach has also been used to measure the ultrasonic velocity of solid and liquid Cd0.96Zn0.04Te as a function of temperature up to 1140°C. Using longitudinal and shear wave velocity values together with data for the temperature dependent density allowed a complete evaluation of the temperature dependent single crystal elastic stiffness constants for solid and the adiabatic bulk modulus for liquid Cd0.96Zn0.04 Te. It was found that the ultrasonic velocities exhibited a strong monotonically decreasing function of temperature in the solid and liquid phases and the longitudinal wave indicated an abrupt almost 50% decrease upon melting. Because ray propagation in partially solidified bodies is complex and defines the sensing methodology, a ray tracing algorithm has been developed to analyze two-dimensional wave propagation in the diametral plane of cylindrical solid-liquid interfaces. Ray path, wavefront and time-of-flight (TOF) projections for rays that travel from a source to an arbitrarily positioned receiver on the diametral plane have been calculated and compared to experimentally measured data on a model liquid-solid interface. The simulations and the experimental results reveal that the interfacial region can be identified from transmission TOF data and when used in conjunction with a nonlinear least squares reconstruction algorithm, the interface

  15. Ultrasonic wave propagation in trabecular bone predicted by the stratified model

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lin, W.; Qin, Y. X.; Rubin, C.

    2001-01-01

    The objective of this study was to investigate ultrasound propagation in trabecular bone by considering the wave reflection and transmission in a multilayered medium. The use of ultrasound to identify those at risk of osteoporosis is a promising diagnostic method providing a measure of bone mineral density (BMD). A stratified model was proposed to study the effect of transmission and reflection of ultrasound wave within the trabecular architecture on the relationship between ultrasound and BMD. The results demonstrated that ultrasound velocity in trabecular bone was highly correlated with the bone apparent density (r=0.97). Moreover, a consistent pattern of the frequency dependence of ultrasound attenuation coefficient has been observed between simulation using this model and experimental measurement of trabecular bone. The normalized broadband ultrasound attenuation (nBUA) derived from the simulation results revealed that nBUA was nonlinear with respect to trabecular porosity and BMD. The curve of the relationship between nBUA and BMD was parabolic in shape, and the peak magnitude of nBUA was observed at approximately 60% of bone porosity. These results agreed with the published experimental data and demonstrated that according to the stratified model, reflection and transmission were important factors in the ultrasonic propagation through the trabecular bone.

  16. 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

  17. A finite volume method and experimental study of a stator of a piezoelectric traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motor.

    PubMed

    Bolborici, V; Dawson, F P; Pugh, M C

    2014-03-01

    Piezoelectric traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motors are motors that generate torque by using the friction force between a piezoelectric composite ring (or disk-shaped stator) and a metallic ring (or disk-shaped rotor) when a traveling wave is excited in the stator. The motor speed is proportional to the amplitude of the traveling wave and, in order to obtain large amplitudes, the stator is excited at frequencies close to its resonance frequency. This paper presents a non-empirical partial differential equations model for the stator, which is discretized using the finite volume method. The fundamental frequency of the discretized model is computed and compared to the experimentally-measured operating frequency of the stator of Shinsei USR60 piezoelectric motor. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Influence of Guided Waves in Tibia on Non-linear Scattering of Contrast Agents.

    PubMed

    Wang, Diya; Zhong, Hui; Zhai, Yu; Hu, Hong; Jin, Bowen; Wan, Mingxi

    2016-02-01

    The aim of this study was to elucidate the linear and non-linear responses of ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) to frequency-dispersive guided waves from the tibia cortex, particularly two individual modes, S0 (1.23 MHz) and A1 (2.06 MHz). The UCA responses to guided waves were illustrated through the Marmottant model derived from measured guided waves, and then verified by continuous infusion experiments in a vessel-tibia flow phantom. These UCA responses were further evaluated by the enhanced ratio of peak values and the resolutions of UCA backscattered echoes. Because of the individual modes S0 and A1 in the tibia, the peak values of the UCA backscattered echoes were enhanced by 83.57 ± 7.35% (p < 0.05) and 80.77 ± 6.60% (p < 0.01) in the UCA subharmonic frequency and subharmonic imaging, respectively. However, corresponding resolutions were 0.78 ± 0.07 (p < 0.05) and 0.72 ± 0.12 (p < 0.01) times those without guided wave disturbances, respectively. Even though the resolution was partly degenerated, the subharmonic detection sensitivity of UCA was improved by the guided waves. Thus, UCA responses to the double-frequency guided waves should be further explored to benefit the detection of capillary perfusion in tissue layers near the bone cortex, particularly for perfusion imaging in the free flaps and skeletal muscles. Copyright © 2016 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Nanoscale Subsurface Imaging via Resonant Difference-Frequency Atomic Force Ultrasonic Microscopy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cantrell, Sean A.; Cantrell, John H.; Lilehei, Peter T.

    2007-01-01

    A novel scanning probe microscope methodology has been developed that 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 the fundamental resonance frequency 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 fundamental resonance. The resonance-enhanced difference-frequency signals are used to create images of embedded nanoscale features.

  20. Dynamic acousto-elastic testing of concrete with a coda-wave probe: comparison with standard linear and nonlinear ultrasonic techniques.

    PubMed

    Shokouhi, Parisa; Rivière, Jacques; Lake, Colton R; Le Bas, Pierre-Yves; Ulrich, T J

    2017-11-01

    The use of nonlinear acoustic techniques in solids consists in measuring wave distortion arising from compliant features such as cracks, soft intergrain bonds and dislocations. As such, they provide very powerful nondestructive tools to monitor the onset of damage within materials. In particular, a recent technique called dynamic acousto-elasticity testing (DAET) gives unprecedented details on the nonlinear elastic response of materials (classical and non-classical nonlinear features including hysteresis, transient elastic softening and slow relaxation). Here, we provide a comprehensive set of linear and nonlinear acoustic responses on two prismatic concrete specimens; one intact and one pre-compressed to about 70% of its ultimate strength. The two linear techniques used are Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) and Resonance Ultrasound Spectroscopy (RUS), while the nonlinear ones include DAET (fast and slow dynamics) as well as Nonlinear Resonance Ultrasound Spectroscopy (NRUS). In addition, the DAET results correspond to a configuration where the (incoherent) coda portion of the ultrasonic record is used to probe the samples, as opposed to a (coherent) first arrival wave in standard DAET tests. We find that the two visually identical specimens are indistinguishable based on parameters measured by linear techniques (UPV and RUS). On the contrary, the extracted nonlinear parameters from NRUS and DAET are consistent and orders of magnitude greater for the damaged specimen than those for the intact one. This compiled set of linear and nonlinear ultrasonic testing data including the most advanced technique (DAET) provides a benchmark comparison for their use in the field of material characterization. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. A Guided Wave Sensor Enabling Simultaneous Wavenumber-Frequency Analysis for Both Lamb and Shear-Horizontal Waves.

    PubMed

    Ren, Baiyang; Cho, Hwanjeong; Lissenden, Cliff J

    2017-03-01

    Guided waves in plate-like structures have been widely investigated for structural health monitoring. Lamb waves and shear horizontal (SH) waves, two commonly used types of waves in plates, provide different benefits for the detection of various types of defects and material degradation. However, there are few sensors that can detect both Lamb and SH waves and also resolve their modal content, namely the wavenumber-frequency spectrum. A sensor that can detect both waves is desirable to take full advantage of both types of waves in order to improve sensitivity to different discontinuity geometries. We demonstrate that polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) film provides the basis for a multi-element array sensor that detects both Lamb and SH waves and also measures their modal content, i.e., the wavenumber-frequency spectrum.

  2. Ultrasonic cleaning of interior surfaces

    DOEpatents

    Odell, D. MacKenzie C.

    1996-01-01

    An ultrasonic cleaning method for cleaning the interior surfaces of tubes. The method uses an ultrasonic generator and reflector each coupled to opposing ends of the open-ended, fluid-filled tube. Fluid-tight couplings seal the reflector and generator to the tube, preventing leakage of fluid from the interior of the tube. The reflector and generator are operatively connected to actuators, whereby the distance between them can be varied. When the distance is changed, the frequency of the sound waves is simultaneously adjusted to maintain the resonant frequency of the tube so that a standing wave is formed in the tube, the nodes of which are moved axially to cause cavitation along the length of the tube. Cavitation maximizes mechanical disruption and agitation of the fluid, dislodging foreign material from the interior surface.

  3. Ultrasonic cleaning of interior surfaces

    DOEpatents

    Odell, D. MacKenzie C.

    1994-01-01

    An ultrasonic cleaning apparatus for cleaning the interior surfaces of tubes. The apparatus includes an ultrasonic generator and reflector each coupled to opposing ends of the open-ended, fluid-filled tube. Fluid-tight couplings seal the reflector and generator to the tube, preventing leakage of fluid from the interior of the tube. The reflector and generator are operatively connected to actuators, whereby the distance between them can be varied. When the distance is changed, the frequency of the sound waves is simultaneously adjusted to maintain the resonant frequency of the tube so that a standing wave is formed in the tube, the nodes of which are moved axially to cause cavitation along the length of the tube. Cavitation maximizes mechanical disruption and agitation of the fluid, dislodging foreign material from the interior surface.

  4. Investigation of guided wave propagation and attenuation in pipe buried in sand

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leinov, Eli; Lowe, Michael J. S.; Cawley, Peter

    2015-07-01

    Long-range guided wave testing is a well-established method for detection of corrosion defects in pipelines. The method is currently used routinely for above ground pipelines in a variety of industries, e.g. petrochemical and energy. When the method is applied to pipes buried in soil, test ranges tend to be significantly compromised and unpredictable due to attenuation of the guided wave resulting from energy leakage into the embedding soil. The attenuation characteristics of guided wave propagation in an 8 in. pipe buried in sand are investigated using a laboratory full-scale experimental rig and model predictions. We report measurements of attenuation of the T(0,1) and L(0,2) guided wave modes over a range of sand conditions, including loose, compacted, mechanically compacted, water saturated and drained. Attenuation values are found to be in the range of 1.65-5.5 dB/m and 0.98-3.2 dB/m for the torsional and longitudinal modes, respectively, over the frequency of 11-34 kHz. The application of overburden pressure modifies the compaction of the sand and increases the attenuation. Mechanical compaction of the sand yields similar attenuation values to those obtained with applied overburden pressure. The attenuation decreases in the fully water-saturated sand, and increases in drained sand to values comparable with those obtained for compacted sand. Attenuation measurements are compared with Disperse software model predictions and confirm that the attenuation phenomenon in buried pipes is essentially governed by the bulk shear velocity in the sand. The attenuation behaviour of the torsional guided wave mode is found not to be captured by a uniform soil model; comparison with predictions obtained with the Disperse software suggest that this is likely to be due to a layer of sand adhering to the surface of the pipe.

  5. Investigation on the use of artificial neural networks to overcome the effects of environmental and operational changes on guided waves monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    El Mountassir, M.; Yaacoubi, S.; Dahmene, F.

    2015-07-01

    Intelligent feature extraction and advanced signal processing techniques are necessary for a better interpretation of ultrasonic guided waves signals either in structural health monitoring (SHM) or in nondestructive testing (NDT). Such signals are characterized by at least multi-modal and dispersive components. In addition, in SHM, these signals are closely vulnerable to environmental and operational conditions (EOCs), and can be severely affected. In this paper we investigate the use of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to overcome these effects and to provide a reliable damage detection method with a minimal of false indications. An experimental case of study (full scale pipe) is presented. Damages sizes have been increased and their shapes modified in different steps. Various parameters such as the number of inputs and the number of hidden neurons were studied to find the optimal configuration of the neural network.

  6. Measurement of material nonlinearity using surface acoustic wave parametric interaction and laser ultrasonics.

    PubMed

    Stratoudaki, Theodosia; Ellwood, Robert; Sharples, Steve; Clark, Matthew; Somekh, Michael G; Collison, Ian J

    2011-04-01

    A dual frequency mixing technique has been developed for measuring velocity changes caused by material nonlinearity. The technique is based on the parametric interaction between two surface acoustic waves (SAWs): The low frequency pump SAW generated by a transducer and the high frequency probe SAW generated and detected using laser ultrasonics. The pump SAW stresses the material under the probe SAW. The stress (typically <5 MPa) is controlled by varying the timing between the pump and probe waves. The nonlinear interaction is measured as a phase modulation of the probe SAW and equated to a velocity change. The velocity-stress relationship is used as a measure of material nonlinearity. Experiments were conducted to observe the pump-probe interaction by changing the pump frequency and compare the nonlinear response of aluminum and fused silica. Experiments showed these two materials had opposite nonlinear responses, consistent with previously published data. The technique could be applied to life-time predictions of engineered components by measuring changes in nonlinear response caused by fatigue.

  7. Ultrasonic, microwave, and millimeter wave inspection techniques for adhesively bonded stacked open honeycomb core composites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thomson, Clint D.; Cox, Ian; Ghasr, Mohammad Tayeb Ahmed; Ying, Kuang P.; Zoughi, Reza

    2015-03-01

    Honeycomb sandwich composites are used extensively in the aerospace industry to provide stiffness and thickness to lightweight structures. A common fabrication method for thick, curved sandwich structures is to stack and bond multiple honeycomb layers prior to machining core curvatures. Once bonded, each adhesive layer must be inspected for delaminations and the presence of unwanted foreign materials. From a manufacturing and cost standpoint, it can be advantageous to inspect the open core prior to face sheet closeout in order to reduce end-article scrap rates. However, by nature, these honeycomb sandwich composite structures are primarily manufactured from low permittivity and low loss materials making detection of delamination and some of the foreign materials (which also are low permittivity and low loss) quite challenging in the microwave and millimeter wave regime. Likewise, foreign materials such as release film in adhesive layers can be sufficiently thin as to not cause significant attenuation in through-transmission ultrasonic signals, making them difficult to detect. This paper presents a collaborative effort intended to explore the efficacy of different non-contact NDI techniques for detecting flaws in a stacked open fiberglass honeycomb core panel. These techniques primarily included air-coupled through-transmission ultrasonics, single-sided wideband synthetic aperture microwave and millimeter-wave imaging, and lens-focused technique. The goal of this investigation has been to not only evaluate the efficacy of these techniques, but also to determine their unique advantages and limitations for evaluating parameters such as flaw type, flaw size, and flaw depth.

  8. Transforming guided waves with metamaterial waveguide cores

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Viaene, S.; Ginis, V.; Danckaert, J.; Tassin, P.

    2016-04-01

    Metamaterials make use of subwavelength building blocks to enhance our control on the propagation of light. To determine the required material properties for a given functionality, i.e., a set of desired light flows inside a metamaterial device, metamaterial designs often rely on a geometrical design tool known as transformation optics. In recent years, applications in integrated photonics motivated several research groups to develop two-dimensional versions of transformation optics capable of routing surface waves along graphene-dielectric and metal-dielectric interfaces. Although guided electromagnetic waves are highly relevant to applications in integrated optics, no consistent transformation-optical framework has so far been developed for slab waveguides. Indeed, the conventional application of transformation optics to dielectric slab waveguides leads to bulky three-dimensional devices with metamaterial implementations both inside and outside of the waveguide's core. In this contribution, we develop a transformationoptical framework that still results in thin metamaterial waveguide devices consisting of a nonmagnetic metamaterial core of varying thickness [Phys. Rev. B 93.8, 085429 (2016)]. We numerically demonstrate the effectiveness and versatility of our equivalence relations with three crucial functionalities: a beam bender, a beam splitter and a conformal lens. Our devices perform well on a qualitative (comparison of fields) and quantitative (comparison of transmitted power) level compared to their bulky counterparts. As a result, the geometrical toolbox of transformation optics may lead to a plethora of integrated metamaterial devices to route guided waves along optical chips.

  9. Laser vibrometry for guided wave propagation phenomena visualisation and damage detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malinowski, Pawel; Wandowski, Tomasz; Kudela, Pawel; Ostachowicz, Wieslaw

    2010-05-01

    This paper presents research on the damage localization method. The method is based on guided wave propagation phenomena. The investigation was focused on application of this method to monitor the condition of structural elements such as aluminium or composite panels. These elements are commonly used in aerospace industry and it is crucial to provide a methodology to determine their condition, in order to prevent from unexpected and dangerous collapse of a structure. Propagating waves interact with cracks, notches, rivets, thickness changes, stiffeners and other discontinuities present in structural elements. It means that registering these waves one can obtain information about the structure condition—whether it is damaged or not. Furthermore these methods can be applied not only to aerospace structures but also to wind turbine blades and pipelines. In reported investigation piezoelectric transducer was used to excite guided waves in considered panel. Measurement of the wave field was realized using laser scanning vibrometer that registered the velocity responses at a defined points belonging to a defined mesh. Mesh spacing was investigated in order to ensure fine wave propagation visualisation. Firstly, wave propagation in pristine specimen was investigated. Secondly, artificial damage was introduced to the specimen. Finally, wave interaction with damage was visualised and conclusions regarding potentials of application of laser vibrometer for damage detection were drawn. All the processing was made with the developed MATLAB procedures.

  10. Guided wave imaging of oblique reflecting interfaces in pipes using common-source synthetic focusing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Zeqing; Sun, Anyu; Ju, Bing-Feng

    2018-04-01

    Cross-mode-family mode conversion and secondary reflection of guided waves in pipes complicate the processing of guided waves signals, and can cause false detection. In this paper, filters operating in the spectral domain of wavenumber, circumferential order and frequency are designed to suppress the signal components of unwanted mode-family and unwanted traveling direction. Common-source synthetic focusing is used to reconstruct defect images from the guided wave signals. Simulations of the reflections from linear oblique defects and a semicircle defect are separately implemented. Defect images, which are reconstructed from the simulation results under different excitation conditions, are comparatively studied in terms of axial resolution, reflection amplitude, detectable oblique angle and so on. Further, the proposed method is experimentally validated by detecting linear cracks with various oblique angles (10-40°). The proposed method relies on the guided wave signals that are captured during 2-D scanning of a cylindrical area on the pipe. The redundancy of the signals is analyzed to reduce the time-consumption of the scanning process and to enhance the practicability of the proposed method.

  11. Surface and guided waves on structured surfaces and inhomogeneous media

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Polanco, Javier

    Surface and guided waves on structured surfaces and inhomogeneous media studies the propagation of waves in systems with spatially varying parameters. In the rainbow case (chapter 1), the dielectric constant changes with coordinates. In the cylinder case: boundary and the metal (chapter 2), it is a curved surface. Finally, in the last case (chapter 3), the dielectric constant changes in z-direction.

  12. Fatigue damage evaluation of austenitic stainless steel using nonlinear ultrasonic waves in low cycle regime

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

    Zhang, Jianfeng; Xuan, Fu-Zhen, E-mail: fzxuan@ecust.edu.cn

    The interrupted low cycle fatigue test of austenitic stainless steel was conducted and the dislocation structure and fatigue damage was evaluated subsequently by using both transmission electron microscope and nonlinear ultrasonic wave techniques. A “mountain shape” correlation between the nonlinear acoustic parameter and the fatigue life fraction was achieved. This was ascribed to the generation and evolution of planar dislocation structure and nonplanar dislocation structure such as veins, walls, and cells. The “mountain shape” correlation was interpreted successfully by the combined contribution of dislocation monopole and dipole with an internal-stress dependent term of acoustic nonlinearity.

  13. 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.

  14. A guided wave sensor enabling simultaneous wavenumber-frequency analysis for both lamb and shear-horizontal waves

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

    Ren, Baiyang; Cho, Hwanjeong; Lissenden, Cliff J.

    Guided waves in plate-like structures have been widely investigated for structural health monitoring. Lamb waves and shear horizontal (SH) waves, two commonly used types of waves in plates, provide different benefits for the detection of various types of defects and material degradation. However, there are few sensors that can detect both Lamb and SH waves and also resolve their modal content, namely the wavenumber-frequency spectrum. A sensor that can detect both waves is desirable to take full advantage of both types of waves in order to improve sensitivity to different discontinuity geometries. As a result, we demonstrate that polyvinylidene difluoridemore » (PVDF) film provides the basis for a multi-element array sensor that detects both Lamb and SH waves and also measures their modal content, i.e., the wavenumber-frequency spectrum.« less

  15. A guided wave sensor enabling simultaneous wavenumber-frequency analysis for both lamb and shear-horizontal waves

    DOE PAGES

    Ren, Baiyang; Cho, Hwanjeong; Lissenden, Cliff J.

    2017-03-01

    Guided waves in plate-like structures have been widely investigated for structural health monitoring. Lamb waves and shear horizontal (SH) waves, two commonly used types of waves in plates, provide different benefits for the detection of various types of defects and material degradation. However, there are few sensors that can detect both Lamb and SH waves and also resolve their modal content, namely the wavenumber-frequency spectrum. A sensor that can detect both waves is desirable to take full advantage of both types of waves in order to improve sensitivity to different discontinuity geometries. As a result, we demonstrate that polyvinylidene difluoridemore » (PVDF) film provides the basis for a multi-element array sensor that detects both Lamb and SH waves and also measures their modal content, i.e., the wavenumber-frequency spectrum.« less

  16. Fast ultrasonic wavelength tuning in X-ray experiment

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

    Blagov, A. E., E-mail: blagov-ae@mail.ru; Pisarevskii, Yu. V.; Koval’chuk, M. V.

    2016-03-15

    A method of tuning (scanning) X-ray beam wavelength based on modulation of the lattice parameter of X-ray optical crystal by an ultrasonic standing wave excited in it has been proposed and experimentally implemented. The double-crystal antiparallel scheme of X-ray diffraction, in which an ultrasonic wave is excited in the second crystal, is used in the experiment. The profile of characteristic line k{sub α1} of an X-ray tube with a molybdenum anode is recorded using both the proposed tuning scheme and conventional mechanical rotation of crystal. The results obtained by both techniques are in good agreement.

  17. Ultrasonic longitudinal waves to monitor the integration of titanium rods with host bone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Wentao; Lynch, Jerome P.

    2017-04-01

    Osseointegrated prostheses which integrate the prosthesis directly to the limb bone are being developed for patients that are unable to wear traditional socket prostheses. While osseointegration of the prosthesis offers amputees improvement in their quality of life, there remains a need to better understand the integration process that occurs between the bone and the prosthesis. Quantification of the degree of integration is important to track the recuperation process of the amputee, guide physical therapy regimes, and to identify when the state of integration may change (due to damage to the bone). This study explores the development of an assessment strategy for quantitatively assessing the degree of integration between an osseointegrated prosthesis and host bone. Specifically, the strategy utilizes a titanium rod prosthesis as a waveguide with guided waves used to assess the degree of integration. By controlling waveforms launched by piezoelectric wafers bonded on the percutaneous tip of the prosthesis, body waves are introduced into the waveguide with wave reflections at the boneprosthesis interface recorded by the same array. Changes in wave energy are correlated to changes at the contact interface between the titanium rod and the bone material. Both simulation and experimental tests are presented in this paper. Experimental testing is performed using a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) host because the elastic modulus and density of HDPE are close to that of human and animal bone. Results indicate high sensitivity of the longitudinal wave energy to rod penetration depth and confinement stress issued by the host bone.

  18. Anomalous Refraction of Acoustic Guided Waves in Solids with Geometrically Tapered Metasurfaces.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Hongfei; Semperlotti, Fabio

    2016-07-15

    The concept of a metasurface opens new exciting directions to engineer the refraction properties in both optical and acoustic media. Metasurfaces are typically designed by assembling arrays of subwavelength anisotropic scatterers able to mold incoming wave fronts in rather unconventional ways. The concept of a metasurface was pioneered in photonics and later extended to acoustics while its application to the propagation of elastic waves in solids is still relatively unexplored. We investigate the design of acoustic metasurfaces to control elastic guided waves in thin-walled structural elements. These engineered discontinuities enable the anomalous refraction of guided wave modes according to the generalized Snell's law. The metasurfaces are made out of locally resonant toruslike tapers enabling an accurate phase shift of the incoming wave, which ultimately affects the refraction properties. We show that anomalous refraction can be achieved on transmitted antisymmetric modes (A_{0}) either when using a symmetric (S_{0}) or antisymmetric (A_{0}) incident wave, the former clearly involving mode conversion. The same metasurface design also allows achieving structure embedded planar focal lenses and phase masks for nonparaxial propagation.

  19. High energy, low frequency, ultrasonic transducer

    DOEpatents

    Brown, Albert E.

    2000-01-01

    A wide bandwidth, ultrasonic transducer to generate nondispersive, extensional, pulsed acoustic pressure waves into concrete reinforced rods and tendons. The wave propagation distance is limited to double the length of the rod. The transducer acoustic impedance is matched to the rod impedance for maximum transfer of acoustic energy. The efficiency of the transducer is approximately 60 percent, depending upon the type of active elements used in the transducer. The transducer input energy is, for example, approximately 1 mJ. Ultrasonic reflections will occur at points along the rod where there are changes of one percent of a wavelength in the rod diameter. A reduction in the rod diameter will reflect a phase reversed echo, as compared with the reflection from an incremental increase in diameter. Echo signal processing of the stored waveform permits a reconstruction of those echoes into an image of the rod. The ultrasonic transducer has use in the acoustic inspection of long (40+foot) architectural reinforcements and structural supporting members, such as in bridges and dams.

  20. Towards improved NDE and SHM methodologies incorporating nonlinear structural features

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chillara, Vamshi Krishna

    Ultrasound is widely employed in Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applications to detect and characterize damage/defects in materials. In particular, ultrasonic guided waves are considered a foremost candidate for in-situ monitoring applications. Conventional ultrasonic techniques rely on changes/discontinuities in linear elastic material properties, namely the Young's modulus and shear modulus to detect damage. On the other hand, nonlinear ultrasonic techniques that rely on micro-scale nonlinear material/structural behavior are proven to be sensitive to damage induced microstructural changes that precede macro-scale damage and are hence capable of early damage detection. The goal of this thesis is to investigate the capabilities of nonlinear guided waves --- a fusion of nonlinear ultrasonic techniques with the guided wave methodologies for early damage detection. To that end, the thesis focuses on two important aspects of the problem: 1. Wavemechanics - deals with ultrasonic guided wave propagation in nonlinear waveguides; 2. Micromechanics - deals with correlating ultrasonic response with micro-scale nonlinear material behavior. For the development of efficient NDE and SHM methodologies that incorporate nonlinear structural features, a detailed understanding of the above aspects is indispensable. In this thesis, the wavemechanics aspect of the problem is dealt with from both theoretical and numerical standpoints. A generalized theoretical framework is developed to study higher harmonic guided waves in plates. This was employed to study second harmonic guided waves in pipes using a large-radius asymptotic approximation. Second harmonic guided waves in plates are studied from a numerical standpoint. Theoretical predictions are validated and some key aspects of higher harmonic generation in waveguides are outlined. Finally, second harmonic guided waves in plates with inhomogeneous and localized nonlinearities are studied and

  1. Multichannel analysis of surface-waves and integration of downhole acoustic televiewer imaging, ultrasonic Vs and Vp, and vertical seismic profiling in an NEHRP-standard classification, South of Concordia, Kansas, USA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raef, Abdelmoneam; Gad, Sabreen; Tucker-Kulesza, Stacey

    2015-10-01

    Seismic site characteristics, as pertaining to earthquake hazard reduction, are a function of the subsurface elastic moduli and the geologic structures. This study explores how multiscale (surface, downhole, and laboratory) datasets can be utilized to improve "constrained" average Vs30 (shear-wave velocity to a 30-meter depth). We integrate borehole, surface and laboratory measurements for a seismic site classification based on the standards of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP). The seismic shear-wave velocity (Vs30) was derived from a geophysical inversion workflow that utilized multichannel analysis of surface-waves (MASW) and downhole acoustic televiewer imaging (DATI). P-wave and S-wave velocities, based on laboratory measurements of arrival times of ultrasonic-frequency signals, supported the workflow by enabling us to calculate Poisson's ratio, which was incorporated in building an initial model for the geophysical inversion of MASW. Extraction of core samples from two boreholes provided lithology and thickness calibration of the amplitudes of the acoustic televiewer imaging for each layer. The MASW inversion, for calculating Vs sections, was constrained with both ultrasonic laboratory measurements (from first arrivals of Vs and Vp waveforms at simulated in situ overburden stress conditions) and the downhole acoustic televiewer (DATV) amplitude logs. The Vs30 calculations enabled categorizing the studied site as NEHRP-class "C" - very dense soil and soft rock. Unlike shallow fractured carbonates in the studied area, S-wave and P-wave velocities at ultrasonic frequency for the deeper intact shale core-samples from two boreholes were in better agreement with the corresponding velocities from both a zero-offset vertical seismic profiling (VSP) and inversion of Rayleigh-wave velocity dispersion curves.

  2. Photo-acoustic excitation and optical detection of fundamental flexural guided wave in coated bone phantoms.

    PubMed

    Moilanen, Petro; Zhao, Zuomin; Karppinen, Pasi; Karppinen, Timo; Kilappa, Vantte; Pirhonen, Jalmari; Myllylä, Risto; Haeggström, Edward; Timonen, Jussi

    2014-03-01

    Photo-acoustic (PA) imaging was combined with skeletal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) for assessment of human long bones. This approach permitted low-frequency excitation and detection of ultrasound so as to efficiently receive the thickness-sensitive fundamental flexural guided wave (FFGW) through a coating of soft tissue. The method was tested on seven axisymmetric bone phantoms, whose 1- to 5-mm wall thickness and 16-mm diameter mimicked those of the human radius. Phantoms were made of a composite material and coated with a 2.5- to 7.5-mm layer of soft material that mimicked soft tissue. Ultrasound was excited with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser at 1064-nm wavelength and received on the same side of the coated phantom with a heterodyne interferometer. The FFGW was detected at 30-kHz frequency. Fitting the FFGW phase velocity by the FLC(1,1) tube mode provided an accurate (9.5 ± 4.0%) wall thickness estimate. Ultrasonic in vivo characterization of cortical bone thickness may thus become possible. Copyright © 2014 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Fiber optic photoacoustic probe with ultrasonic tracking for guiding minimally invasive procedures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xia, Wenfeng; Mosse, Charles A.; Colchester, Richard J.; Mari, Jean Martial; Nikitichev, Daniil I.; West, Simeon J.; Ourselin, Sebastien; Beard, Paul C.; Desjardins, Adrien E.

    2015-07-01

    In a wide range of clinical procedures, accurate placement of medical devices such as needles and catheters is critical to optimize patient outcomes. Ultrasound imaging is often used to guide minimally invasive procedures, as it can provide real-time visualization of patient anatomy and medical devices. However, this modality can provide low image contrast for soft tissues, and poor visualization of medical devices that are steeply angled with respect to the incoming ultrasound beams. Photoacoustic sensors can provide information about the spatial distributions of tissue chromophores that could be valuable for guiding minimally invasive procedures. In this study, a system for guiding minimally invasive procedures using photoacoustic sensing was developed. This system included a miniature photoacoustic probe with three optical fibers: one with a bare end for photoacoustic excitation of tissue, a second for photoacoustic excitation of an optically absorbing coating at the distal end to transmit ultrasound, and a third with a Fabry-Perot cavity at the distal end for receiving ultrasound. The position of the photoacoustic probe was determined with ultrasonic tracking, which involved transmitting pulses from a linear-array ultrasound imaging probe at the tissue surface, and receiving them with the fiber-optic ultrasound receiver in the photoacoustic probe. The axial resolution of photoacoustic sensing was better than 70 μm, and the tracking accuracy was better than 1 mm in both axial and lateral dimensions. By translating the photoacoustic probe, depth scans were obtained from different spatial positions, and two-dimensional images were reconstructed using a frequency-domain algorithm.

  4. Ultrasonic cleaning of interior surfaces

    DOEpatents

    MacKenzie, D.; Odell, C.

    1994-03-01

    An ultrasonic cleaning apparatus is described for cleaning the interior surfaces of tubes. The apparatus includes an ultrasonic generator and reflector each coupled to opposing ends of the open-ended, fluid-filled tube. Fluid-tight couplings seal the reflector and generator to the tube, preventing leakage of fluid from the interior of the tube. The reflector and generator are operatively connected to actuators, whereby the distance between them can be varied. When the distance is changed, the frequency of the sound waves is simultaneously adjusted to maintain the resonant frequency of the tube so that a standing wave is formed in the tube, the nodes of which are moved axially to cause cavitation along the length of the tube. Cavitation maximizes mechanical disruption and agitation of the fluid, dislodging foreign material from the interior surface. 3 figures.

  5. Effects of Grain Size on Ultrasonic Attenuation in Type 316L Stainless Steel

    PubMed Central

    Wan, Tao; Wakui, Takashi; Futakawa, Masatoshi; Obayashi, Hironari

    2017-01-01

    A lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) spallation target will be installed in the Target Test Facility (TEF-T) in the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). The spallation target vessel filled with LBE is made of type 316L stainless steel. However, various damages, such as erosion/corrosion damage and liquid metal embrittlement caused by contact with flowing LBE at high temperature, and irradiation hardening caused by protons and neutrons, may be inflicted on the target vessel, which will deteriorate the steel and might break the vessel. To monitor the target vessel for prevention of an accident, an ultrasonic technique has been proposed to establish off-line evaluation for estimating vessel material status during the target maintenance period. Basic R&D must be carried out to clarify the dependency of ultrasonic wave propagation behavior on material microstructures and obtain fundamental knowledge. As a first step, ultrasonic waves scattered by the grains of type 316L stainless steel are investigated using new experimental and numerical approaches in the present study. The results show that the grain size can be evaluated exactly and quantitatively by calculating the attenuation coefficient of the ultrasonic waves scattered by the grains. The results also show that the scattering regimes of ultrasonic waves depend heavily on the ratio of wavelength to average grain size, and are dominated by grains of extraordinarily large size along the wave propagation path. PMID:28773115

  6. Method of ultrasonic measurement of texture

    DOEpatents

    Thompson, R. Bruce; Smith, John F.; Lee, Seung S.; Li, Yan

    1993-10-12

    A method for measuring texture of metal plates or sheets using non-destructive ultrasonic investigation includes measuring the velocity of ultrasonic energy waves in lower order plate modes in one or more directions, and measuring phase velocity dispersion of higher order modes of the plate or sheet if needed. Texture or preferred grain orientation can be derived from these measurements with improves reliability and accuracy. The method can be utilized in production on moving metal plate or sheet.

  7. Erasure of memory in paste by irradiation of ultrasonic waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakahara, Akio; Yoneyama, Ryota; Ito, Maruto; Matsuo, Yousuke; Kitsunezaki, So

    2017-06-01

    Densely packed colloidal suspension, called paste, remembers the direction of applied forces, such as vibration and flow, and these memories kept in paste can be visualized as morphology of desiccation crack patterns. For example, when the paste remembers the direction of vibration, all primary cracks propagate in the direction perpendicular to the direction of initial vibration. On the other hand, when the paste remembers the direction of flow, all primary cracks propagate along the direction of initial flow. These results indicate that external forces imprint easy-breakable direction into paste as memories. Therefore, by controlling memories in paste, we can tune to produce various types of crack patterns, such as cellular, radial, lamellar, ring, spiral and lattice structures. Recently we have found that memories in paste can be erased by the irradiation of ultrasonic waves to paste as we obtain only isotropic and cellular crack patterns without any anisotropy related to memory effect. This method can be applied to increase the breaking strength of dried paste by homogenizing microstructure in paste.

  8. 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

  9. Shear horizontal guided wave modes to infer the shear stiffness of adhesive bond layers.

    PubMed

    Le Crom, Bénédicte; Castaings, Michel

    2010-04-01

    This paper presents a non-destructive, ultrasonic technique to evaluate the quality of bonds between substrates. Shear-horizontally polarized (SH) wave modes are investigated to infer the shear stiffness of bonds, which is necessarily linked to the shear resistance that is a critical parameter for bonded structures. Numerical simulations are run for selecting the most appropriate SH wave modes, i.e., with higher sensitivity to the bond than to other components, and experiments are made for generating-detecting pre-selected SH wave modes and for measuring their phase velocities. An inverse problem is finally solved, consisting of the evaluation of the shear stiffness modulus of a bond layer at different curing times between a metallic plate and a composite patch, such assembly being investigated in the context of repair of aeronautical structures.

  10. Tunable terahertz reflection spectrum based on band gaps of GaP materials excited by ultrasonic

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cui, H.; Zhang, X. B.; Wang, X. F.; Wang, G. Q.

    2018-02-01

    Tunable terahertz (THz) reflection spectrum, ranged from 0.2 to 8 THz, in band gaps of gallium phosphide (GaP) materials excited by ultrasonic is investigated in the present paper, in which tunable ultrasonic and terahertz wave collinear transmission in the same direction is postulated. Numerical simulation results show that, under the acousto-optic interaction, band gaps of transverse optical phonon polariton dispersion curves are turned on, this leads to a dis-propagation of polariton in GaP bulk. On the other side, GaP material has less absorption to THz wave according to experimental studies, as indicates that THz wave could be reflected by the band gaps spontaneously. The band gaps width and acousto-optic coupling strength are proportional with ultrasonic frequency and its intensity in ultrasonic frequency range of 0-250 MHz, in which low-frequency branch of transverse optical phonon polariton dispersion curves demonstrate periodicity and folding as well as. With the increase of ultrasonic frequency, frequency of band gap is blue-shifted, and total reflectivity decreased with -1-order and -2-order reflectivity decrease. The band gaps converge to the restrahlen band infinitely with frequency of ultrasonic exceeding over 250 MHz, total reflectivity of which is attenuated. As is show above, reflection of THz wave can be accommodated by regulating the frequency and its intensity of ultrasonic frequency. Relevant technology may be available in tunable THz frequency selection and filtering.

  11. Ultrasonic probing of the fracture process zone in rock using surface waves

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Swanson, P. L.; Spetzler, H.

    1984-01-01

    A microcrack process zone is frequently suggested to accompany macrofractures in rock and play an important role in the resistance to fracture propagation. Attenuation of surface waves propagating through mode I fractures in wedge-loaded double-cantilever beam specimens of Westerly granite has been recorded in an attempt to characterize the structure of the fracture process zone. The ultrasonic measurements do not support the generally accepted model of a macroscopic fracture that incrementally propagates with the accompaniment of a cloud of microcracks. Instead, fractures in Westerly granite appear to form as gradually separating surfaces within a zone having a width of a few millimeters and a length of several tens of millimeters. A fracture process zone of this size would necessitate the use of meter-sized specimens in order for linear elastic fracture mechanics to be applicable.

  12. Modeling and experimental investigation of thermal-mechanical-electric coupling dynamics in a standing wave ultrasonic motor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xiang; Yao, Zhiyuan; He, Yigang; Dai, Shichao

    2017-09-01

    Ultrasonic motor operation relies on high-frequency vibration of a piezoelectric vibrator and interface friction between the stator and rotor/slider, which can cause temperature rise of the motor under continuous operation, and can affect motor parameters and performance in turn. In this paper, an integral model is developed to study the thermal-mechanical-electric coupling dynamics in a typical standing wave ultrasonic motor. Stick-slip motion at the contact interface and the temperature dependence of material parameters of the stator are taken into account in this model. The elastic, piezoelectric and dielectric material coefficients of the piezoelectric ceramic, as a function of temperature, are determined experimentally using a resonance method. The critical parameters in the model are identified via measured results. The resulting model can be used to evaluate the variation in output characteristics of the motor caused by the thermal-mechanical-electric coupling effects. Furthermore, the dynamic temperature rise of the motor can be accurately predicted under different input parameters using the developed model, which will contribute to improving the reliable life of a motor for long-term running.

  13. 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.

  14. Detection of layup errors in prepreg laminates using shear ultrasonic waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hsu, David K.; Fischer, Brent A.

    1996-11-01

    The highly anisotropic elastic properties of the plies in a composite laminate manufactured from unidirectional prepregs interact strongly with the polarization direction of shear ultrasonic waves propagating through its thickness. The received signals in a 'crossed polarizer' transmission configuration are particularly sensitive to ply orientation and layup sequence in a laminate. Such measurements can therefore serve as an NDE tool for detecting layup errors. For example, it was shown experimentally recently that the sensitivity for detecting the presence of misoriented plies is better than one ply out of a 48-ply laminate of graphite epoxy. A physical model based on the decomposition and recombination of the shear polarization vector has been constructed and used in the interpretation and prediction of test results. Since errors should be detected early in the manufacturing process, this work also addresses the inspection of 'green' composite laminates using electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMAT). Preliminary results for ply error detection obtained with EMAT probes are described.

  15. A novel contact model of piezoelectric traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motors with the finite volume method.

    PubMed

    Renteria-Marquez, I A; Renteria-Marquez, A; Tseng, B T L

    2018-06-06

    The operating principle of the piezoelectric traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motor is based on two energy conversion processes: the generation of the stator traveling wave and the rectification of the stator movement through the stator-rotor contact mechanism. This paper presents a methodology to model in detail the stator-rotor contact interface of these motors. A contact algorithm that couples a model of the stator which is discretized with the finite volume method and an analytical model of the rotor is presented. The outputs of the proposed model are the normal and tangential force distribution produced at the stator-rotor contact interface, contact length, height and shape of the stator traveling wave and rotor speed. The torque-speed characteristic of the USR60 is calculated with the proposed model, and the results of the model are compared versus the real torque-speed of the motor. A good agreement between the proposed model results and the torque-speed characteristic of the USR60 was observed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Rotary Motors Actuated by Traveling Ultrasonic Flexural Waves

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Bao, Xiaoqi; Grandia, Willem

    1999-01-01

    Efficient miniature actuators that are compact and consume low power are needed to drive space and planetary mechanisms in future NASA missions. Ultrasonic rotary motors have the potential to meet this NASA need and they are developed as actuators for miniature telerobotic applications. These motors have emerged in commercial products but they need to be adapted for operation at the harsh space environments that include cryogenic temperatures and vacuum and also require effective analytical tools for the design of efficient motors. A finite element analytical model was developed to examine the excitation of flexural plate wave traveling in a piezoelectrically actuated rotary motor. The model uses 3D finite element and equivalent circuit models that are applied to predict the excitation frequency and modal response of the stator. This model incorporates the details of the stator including the teeth, piezoelectric ceramic, geometry, bonding layer, etc. The theoretical predictions were corroborated experimentally for the stator. In parallel, efforts have been made to determine the thermal and vacuum performance of these motors. Experiments have shown that the motor can sustain at least 230 temperature cycles from 0 C to -90 C at 7 Torr pressure significant performance change. Also, in an earlier study the motor lasted over 334 hours at -150 C and vacuum. To explore telerobotic applications for USMs a robotic arm was constructed with such motors.

  17. Finite element simulation of ultrasonic waves in corroded reinforced concrete for early-stage corrosion detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, Qixiang; Yu, Tzuyang

    2017-04-01

    In reinforced concrete (RC) structures, corrosion of steel rebar introduces internal stress at the interface between rebar and concrete, ultimately leading to debonding and separation between rebar and concrete. Effective early-stage detection of steel rebar corrosion can significantly reduce maintenance costs and enable early-stage repair. In this paper, ultrasonic detection of early-stage steel rebar corrosion inside concrete is numerically investigated using the finite element method (FEM). Commercial FEM software (ABAQUS) was used in all simulation cases. Steel rebar was simplified and modeled by a cylindrical structure. 1MHz ultrasonic elastic waves were generated at the interface between rebar and concrete. Two-dimensional plain strain element was adopted in all FE models. Formation of surface rust in rebar was modeled by changing material properties and expanding element size in order to simulate the rust interface between rebar and concrete and the presence of interfacial stress. Two types of surface rust (corroded regions) were considered. Time domain and frequency domain responses of displacement were studied. From our simulation result, two corrosion indicators, baseline (b) and center frequency (fc) were proposed for detecting and quantifying corrosion.

  18. Model benchmarking and reference signals for angled-beam shear wave ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation (NDE) inspections

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aldrin, John C.; Hopkins, Deborah; Datuin, Marvin; Warchol, Mark; Warchol, Lyudmila; Forsyth, David S.; Buynak, Charlie; Lindgren, Eric A.

    2017-02-01

    For model benchmark studies, the accuracy of the model is typically evaluated based on the change in response relative to a selected reference signal. The use of a side drilled hole (SDH) in a plate was investigated as a reference signal for angled beam shear wave inspection for aircraft structure inspections of fastener sites. Systematic studies were performed with varying SDH depth and size, and varying the ultrasonic probe frequency, focal depth, and probe height. Increased error was observed with the simulation of angled shear wave beams in the near-field. Even more significant, asymmetry in real probes and the inherent sensitivity of signals in the near-field to subtle test conditions were found to provide a greater challenge with achieving model agreement. To achieve quality model benchmark results for this problem, it is critical to carefully align the probe with the part geometry, to verify symmetry in probe response, and ideally avoid using reference signals from the near-field response. Suggested reference signals for angled beam shear wave inspections include using the `through hole' corner specular reflection signal and the full skip' signal off of the far wall from the side drilled hole.

  19. Ultrasonic Non-destructive Prediction of Spot Welding Shear Strength

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Himawan, R.; Haryanto, M.; Subekti, R. M.; Sunaryo, G. R.

    2018-02-01

    To enhance a corrosion resistant of ferritic steel in reactor pressure vessel, stainless steel was used as a cladding. Bonding process between these two steels may result a inhomogenity either sub-clad crack or un-joined part. To ensure the integrity, effective inspection method is needed for this purpose. Therefore, in this study, an experiment of ultrasonic test for inspection of two bonding plate was performed. The objective of this study is to develop an effective method in predicting the shear fracture load of the join. For simplicity, these joined was modelled with two plate of stainless steel with spot welding. Ultrasonic tests were performed using contact method with 5 MHz in frequency and 10 mm in diameter of transducer. Amplitude of reflected wave from intermediate layer was used as a quantitative parameter. A set of experiment results show that shear fracture load has a linear correlation with amplitude of reflected wave. Besides, amplitude of reflected wave also has relation with nugget diameter. It could be concluded that ultrasonic contact method could be applied in predicting a shear fracture load.

  20. 1D profiling using highly dispersive guided waves

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

    Volker, Arno; Zon, Tim van; Enthoven, Daniel

    2015-03-31

    Corrosion is one of the industries major issues regarding the integrity of assets. Currently inspections are conducted at regular intervals to ensure a sufficient integrity level of these assets. Cost reduction while maintaining a high level of reliability and safety of installations is a major challenge. There are many situations where the actual defect location is not accessible, e.g., a pipe support or a partially buried pipe. Guided wave tomography has been developed to reconstruct the wall thickness. In case of bottom of the line corrosion, i.e., a single corrosion pit, a simpler approach may be followed. Data is collectedmore » in a pit-catch configuration at the 12 o'clock position using highly dispersive guided waves. The phase spectrum is used to invert for a wall thickness profile in the circumferential direction, assuming a Gaussian defect profile. An EMAT sensor design has been made to measure at the 12 o'clock position of a pipe. The concept is evaluated on measured data, showing good sizing capabilities on a variety simple defect profiles.« less