Point and Line Source Laser Generation of Ultrasound for Inspection of Internal and Surface Flaws in Rail and Structural Materials

Laser-based ultrasound and air-coupled ultrasound test methods were used for the inspection of flowed rail, internal, and surface-breaking cracks in railroad tracks. Signals were generated with an infrared pulse laser and detected with a micromachined capacitive air-coupled transducer. A comparison is presented between point source and line source laser-generated signals and their effectiveness in detecting surface flaws. The experiments demonstrate the flexibility and capability of a laser—air hybrid ultrasonic technique to detect cracks using test procedures that are not possible with current contact inspection techniques. The noncontact and remote nature of these methods renders such tests suitable for in-service applications.     

Simulation and Experiments of Airborne Zero-Group-Velocity Lamb Waves in Concrete Plate

The impact-echo (IE) test method has been widely used to determine the thickness of a plate and to locate delaminations in reinforced-concrete structures. It was later realized that the IE mode is related to the Zero-Group-Velocity S1 Lamb mode (S₁ZGV). An efficient inspection of a structure using rapid, noncontact, air-coupled sensing technology is of great interest. The objective of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of air-coupled sensing to detect the ZGV Lamb mode signals. Numerical simulation and experimental verification were performed to study the in-air ZGV vibration responses induced by a point impact applied on a concrete plate. Two concrete plates, one without delamination and one with delamination, were tested and simulated. For each plate, the simulation results agreed well with the experimental results, and both methods estimated the plate thickness precisely. The numerical simulations also visualized the pressure field in the air and are helpful for interpretation of the experimental results. The numerical and experimental results suggest that the air-coupled sensing technology can serve as an effective and rapid inspection tool for large concrete structures.     

Lamb waves for non-contact fatigue state evaluation of composites under various mechanical loading conditions

Methodologies for non-destructive evaluation of mechanically induced fatigue in fibre reinforced polymers are discussed. Specimens made of non-crimp glass fabric are fatigued using three different load ratios (tension–tension, tension–compression, and compression–compression). The investigation involves two loading directions (0° and 90°) of the quasi–orthotropic composite. Based on mode conversion of air-coupled ultrasound to Lamb waves, variation in a₀-mode velocity is measured in a non-contact and single-sided access configuration. The velocity measurements are performed within and outside the servo-hydraulic test rig used for inducing fatigue damage. Formation of cracks monitored in the transparent composite results in degradation of stiffness observed by the test rig. Decrease in a₀-mode velocity caused by fatigue is shown to correlate closely with stiffness degradation for all loading ratios and directions. The correlation is studied by calculating a₀-mode velocities from single-ply properties whose stiffness degradation was determined using the observed crack densities and a finite element based model.     

Ultrasonic Guided Wave Inspection of Bonded Lap Joints: Noncontact Method and Photoelastic Visualization

Abstract

The main topic of this paper is the nondestructive inspection of adhesively bonded lap joints by using ultrasonic guided (plate) waves. A noncontact, couplant-free method that employs capacitive air-coupled transducers is demonstrated for the inspection of thin aluminum joints with dimensions typical of aircraft fuselage and wing panels. Two types of bond defects, disbonded regions and regions of poorly cured (low-cohesive-strength) adhesive, are successfully detected by measuring the amplitude decrease of selected plate waves leaking from one adherend to the other one through the bondline. It is shown that proper choice of the vibrating mode structure, in terms of cross-sectional displacement distributions, is needed in order to maximize the sensitivity of the inspection to the presence of the low-cohesive-strength bond.

Results from a dynamic photoelasticity study are also presented to visualize fundamental behavior of propagating plate waves and study their interaction with bond defects in glass lap joints. The photoelastic results confirm in a clear, pictorial manner certain assumptions on plate wave leakage through the bond, including the influence of vibrating mode structure on the detection of low-strength bonds.     

Quantitative Fractography for Improved Probability of Detection (POD) Analysis of Bolt Hole Eddy Current

Fatigue cracks are prone to develop around the fasteners found in multilayer aluminum structures such as ageing aircraft. The determination of their probability of detection (POD) using eddy current techniques is critical for risk assessments used in evaluating serviceability. Normally, a large number of samples of both fatigue cracks and electric discharge machined notches are required for such a study. In this study, the use of quantitative fractography (QF) to efficiently gather POD data for bolt hole eddy current is demonstrated. The technique can be readily automated, significantly reducing man-hour requirements. The method is applied to mid-bore cracks, grown without starter notches, in order to simulate naturally occurring fatigue cracks. POD of the mid-bore cracks is examined using a probit analysis. An a _90/95 is the probability that 90% of the cracks of size a or larger will be detected 95% of the time. An a _90/95 of 0.34 mm was obtained for mid-bore crack depth. This value is consistent with skin depth considerations at the 1.6 MHz inspection frequency. An examination of the POD based on crack length found that it was related to that of depth according to the average length-to-depth aspect ratio of 2 to 1.     

Crack size and strength distribution of structural ceramics after non-destructive inspection

The crack-sized _c and the strength distributions of structural ceramics after non-destructive inspection (NDI) were analysed by supposing penny-shaped cracks to be inner cracks. The theoretical crack-size distribution function after NDI coincides well with the experimental data for a three-point bending test of HP-Si₃N₄ in the regiond _c > 30m. The distribution function of the fracture strength calculated from the crack-size data after NDI coincides well with the experimental data.     

Effects of local fibre waviness on damage mechanisms and fatigue behaviour of biaxially loaded tube specimens

Damage development in and final failure process of glass fibre winding specimens during biaxial fatigue loading are investigated. The phenomena in nominally defect-free tubes and specimens exhibiting local fibre waviness in one layer are compared. A subset of wound tubes is analysed using non-destructive testing methods, i.e. air-coupled guided waves, thermography, optical fracture analysis by a high-speed camera, and discrete damage monitoring. Air-coupled guided waves are employed for detection of fibre waviness and for monitoring the failure progress initiated by this waviness. Stiffness degradation due to fatigue damage corresponds to a decline in guided wave velocity. Using infrared inspection, the fibre waviness can be detected in an early stage of fatigue life. Non-destructive evaluation reveals that initiation of final failure in the specimens is caused by local fibre waviness. Finally, the effect of local fibre waviness on the S–N curves of the specimens is illustrated.     

Air-coupled ultrasound: a novel technique for monitoring the curing of thermosetting matrices

A custom-made, air-coupled ultrasonic device was applied to cure monitoring of thick samples (7-10 mm) of unsaturated polyester resin at room temperature. A key point was the optimization of the experimental setup in order to propagate compression waves during the overall curing reaction by suitable placement of the noncontact transducers, placed on the same side of the test material, in the so-called pitch-catch configuration. The progress of polymerization was monitored through the variation of the time of flight of the propagating longitudinal waves. The exothermic character of the polymerization was taken into account by correcting the measured value of time of flight with that one in air, obtained by sampling the air velocity during the experiment. The air-coupled ultrasonic results were compared with those obtained from conventional contact ultrasonic measurements. The good agreement between the air-coupled ultrasonic results and those obtained by the rheological analysis demonstrated the reliability of air-coupled ultrasound in monitoring the changes of viscoelastic properties at gelation and vitrification. The position of the transducers on the same side of the sample makes this technique suitable for on-line cure monitoring during several composite manufacturing technologies.     

Characterization of micromachined ultrasonic transducers using light diffraction tomography

This paper demonstrates that light diffraction tomography can be used to measure the acoustic field of micromachined ultrasonic transducers (MUT) in cases in which standard methods like hydrophone and microphone measurements fail. Two types of MUTs have been characterized with the method, one air-coupled capacitive MUT (cMUT) and one waterloaded continuous wave (CW) miniature multilayer lead zirconate titanate (PZT) transducer. Light diffraction tomography is an ultrasound measurement method with some special characteristics. Based on the interaction of light and ultrasound, it combines light intensity measurements with tomography algorithms to produce a measurement system. The method offers nonperturbing pressure measurements with high spatial resolution. It has been shown that, under certain circumstances, light diffraction tomography can be used as an absolute pressure measurement method with accuracy in the order of 10% in water and 13% in air. The results show that air-coupled cMUTs in the frequency range of about 1 MHz as well as the extreme near field of a miniaturized CW 10 MHz water-loaded transducer were successfully characterized with light diffraction tomography.     

混凝土分层缺陷的超声检测方法研究

为解决混凝土结构中分层缺陷的在线非接触检测难题,论文提出了利用空气耦合(简称:空耦)超声导波定量检测混凝土结构中分层缺陷的新方法。首先研究了空耦超声导波在混凝土结构中的传播特性,理论分析和实验表明,利用空耦超声波以入射角8.7°入射厚度为50 mm的混凝土板时,可以激发以A0模态为主的导波。然后构建了空耦超声导波扫查实验系统,在混凝土结构单侧利用一对倾斜8.7°的空耦探头激励和接收导波信号,通过分析发现A0模态对分层缺陷敏感,且其幅度与扫查路径中的分层缺陷尺寸存在单调变化关系;在此基础上,对检测区域进行扫查,利用不同位置处的导波信号幅度实现分层缺陷的二维成像。实验结果表明,该方法不仅可以避免耦合剂对检测结果的影响,同时可实现对服役状态下混凝土结构中分层位置及尺寸的定量检测。     

二氧化硫储罐裂纹原因分析及预防措施

在对二氧化硫储罐进行全面检验过程中,采用目视检测、表面探伤检测方法,发现在储罐内部接管角焊缝存在裂纹缺陷,通过裂纹产生的部位、宏观检验状况及常规表面探伤检测方法分析延迟裂纹的特性,并介绍延迟裂纹的产生原因和预防措施.     

Quantitative Evaluation of Corrosion in a Thin Small-Bore Piping System Using Bobbin-Type Magnetic Camera

Nondestructive testing (NDT) methods have been developed to ensure the integrity of heat exchanger pipes. NDT systems can be used to not only locate cracks on the pipes but also evaluate the size and position of the cracks. A bobbin-type magnetic camera (BMC), an electromagnetic NDT system, was developed to inspect both the inner and outer diameters (ID and OD, respectively) for stress corrosion cracking on a small-bore piping system with a high spatial resolution at high speeds. In this paper, an algorithm that discriminates the ID cracks from the OD cracks and estimates the crack volume is proposed. Artificial ID and OD hole-type cracks which have diameter of 1–4.5 mm and depth of 0.3–27 mm were used to imitate the corrosions on a 1.27 mm thickness and 16.56 mm inner diameter copper alloy pipe to verify the proposed algorithm. The inspection results of the BMC with respect to excited frequencies from 1–9 kHz are presented. 100 % of the ID and OD cracks were discriminated, and their volumes were estimated with a standard deviation of 1.132 mm³ for volume from 1.00–9.01 mm³.     

基于气体基压电复合材料的线聚焦空耦超声传感器研制与应用

空气耦合式超声检测技术因具有非接触、无损伤等特点,被广泛应用于材料的非接触检测。本文从晶硅太阳能电池的实际检测需求出发,设计并制作了一种气体基线聚焦空气耦合（空耦）式超声传感器,与传统的聚合物基空气耦合（空耦）式超声传感器相比,气体基线聚焦空耦传感器利用了3D打印技术将聚合物基框架改进为镂空结构,进一步降低了压电复合材料的声阻抗。所研制的传感器中心频率约为150 kHz,聚焦半径为20 mm,孔径为28 mm。对传感器进行了激励接收性能测试,并采用空耦超声Lamb波检测技术,对含有裂纹缺陷的单晶硅太阳能电池片进行非接触式检测,通过分析接收信号的幅值信息并利用相关系数法,完成了对裂纹缺陷的检出和定位,实现了气体基线聚焦空耦传感器在缺陷检测中的应用。     

Noncontact Air-Coupled Guided Wave Ultrasonics for Detection of Thinning Defects in Aluminum Plates

Abstract

Ultrasonic guided waves are gaining increasing attention for the inspection of platelike and rodlike structures. At the same time, inspection methods that do not require contact with the test piece are being developed for advanced applications. This paper capitalizes on recent advances in the areas of guided wave ultrasonics and noncontact ultrasonics to demonstrate a superior method for the nondestructive detection of thinning defects simulating hidden corrosion in thin aluminum plates.

The proposed approach uses micromachined gas (air)-coupled capacitive transducers for the noncontact generation and detection of guided plate waves. Interesting features in the dispersive behavior of selected guided modes are used for the detection of plate thinning. It is shown that mode cutoff measurements provide a qualitative detection of thinning defects, while frequency shift measurements allow quantification of thinning depth. Measurement of the mode group velocity can be also used to quantify thinning depth. Similarly, thinning length can be determined by mode time-of-flight measurements.     

建筑结构检测与加固方法

系统分析和介绍了目前建筑结构常用的检测方法与加固方法,以表格的形式重点介绍了各种建筑结构检测方法的主要特点、用途和适用范围以及各种建筑结构加固方法的主要特点、适用范围和施工要点。归纳了建筑结构裂缝检测与处理、结构耐久性检测、建筑结构火灾后检测的要点。根据笔者实际工程体会,参考同行的工程经验,指出了在建筑结构检测与加固工作中一些需要注意的问题。给出了几个较为有特点的结构加固实例。供有关人员参考。     

Heating of bone and soft tissue by ultrasound

Abstract

The absorption of ultrasound in human tissue always causes some local increase in temperature. In the case of ultrasound imaging, the power is usually much less than that used therapeutically and is unlikely to produce any significant physiological effect. However, a reliable means of calculating the maximum temperature rise to be expected in any given case will assist in both the development and the safe use of new ultrasound devices. To validate earlier work on ultrasonic tissue heating, including both experiment and finite element modelling (FEM), an analytical method is described for calculating the steady-state temperature rise along the axis of an axially symmetrical beam of ultrasound incident through water on a two-layer phantom consisting of agar gel and a bone mimic, the practical beam profile being modelled by a pair of coaxial Gaussian functions. It is shown that, in the absence of perfusion, the steady-state temperature distribution for the extended heat source generated by the ultrasound absorption can be obtained by integrating the point-source solution to the Bioheat transfer equation (BHTE). The boundary conditions associated with the difference in thermal properties of the mimic materials are satisfied by introducing images of the extended heat source in the gel/bone–mimic interface.     

Application of Nonlinear Ultrasonic Measurement for Quality Assurance of Diffusion Bonds of Gamma Titanium Aluminum Alloy and Steel

A new nonlinear C-scan acoustic microscope (NCAM) has been developed and applied to inspect diffusion bonds of gamma titanium aluminum alloy–chromium molybdenum steel (γ TiAl–steel). The large mismatch of acoustic impedance gives strong ultrasonic reflection and masks a small signal from imperfections at the interface. However, NCAM detects indications of minute cracks or gaps, which are rarely observed by a conventional pulse–echo inspection method. Application of high-power ultrasound, with amplitude ten times greater than the conventional method, results in generation of second harmonic signals. All A-scope signals were stored in a computer, and frequency components were analyzed by fast Fourier transformation (FFT). As a result, no indication of fundamental frequency component was observed on a C-scan image, whereas clear indications of the second harmonic components were observed on the C-scan image. The minute cracks or gaps were confirmed at the indicated area by micrographic analysis following the inspection. Moreover, a quality assurance process for the γ TiAl–steel bond with a combination of linear and nonlinear ultrasonic responses is proposed.     

Finite-Element Calculations of Remote Field Eddy Current Interactions with Slit Defects

Abstract

Remote field eddy current (RFEC) excitation is a promising approach for detection of the very fine axial cracks typical of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in pipelines. Interactions between adjacent cracks or slits can enhance responses in some cases. Detailed finite-element modeling was undertaken to establish the behavior and interactions of multiple slits such as those occurring in SCC. Three different field/slit configurations are considered, with anomalous source models used to aid interpretation of the results. The study noted that magnetic perturbations generated by ferromagnetic material tend to be vanishingly small, and that the interactions between multiple cracks give minimal enhancement, indicating that eddy current rather than magnetic field excitation is best for the detection of SCC. With eddy current excitation, field perturbations are generated by even very fine slits, and are larger in non-ferromagnetic material. For non-ferromagnetic pipes, the perturbations tend to merge as a circumferential separation between parallel axial cracks decreases, resulting in significant interaction and signal enhancement.     

X-ray diffraction and TEM analysis of Fe–Al alloy layer in coating of new hot dip aluminised steel

Abstract

The phase structure in the Fe-Al alloy layer of a new hot dip aluminised steel has been researched by means of electron probe microanalysis, X-ray diffraction and TEM, etc. The test results indicated that the Fe-Al alloy layer of the new aluminised steel was composed of Fe₃Al, FeAl, a few Fe₂Al₅ and α-Fe (Al) solid solution. There was no brittle phase containing higher aluminium content, such as FeAl₃ (59.18 wt-%Al) and Fe₂Al₇ (62.93 wt-%Al). The tiny cracks and brittlement, formerly caused by these brittle phases in the conventional aluminium coated steel, were effectively eliminated. There was no microscopic defect (such as tiny cracks, pores or loose) in the coating. This is favourable for resisting high temperature oxidation and corrosion of the aluminised steel.     

Sensitivity of point- and line-source laser-generated acoustic wave to surface flaws

Laser generation and air-coupled detection were combined as a hybrid ultrasonic technique for the inspection of surface flaws in rails. Narrowband acoustic signals were generated using a formed laser source by focusing the laser light to a point and to a line on the surface of the rail. The pulse energy, and therefore the intensity of the laser source, varied such that the generated signal transitioned from the weak thermoelastic to the strong ablative regime. The detection of flaws using a laser-generated surface acoustic wave, in the presence of surface flaws, was compared between both point and line laser sources operating under different pulse energy levels. The line source was found to be more sensitive to the presence of surface flaws than a point source. The sensitivity of the laser-generated acoustic signal appeared to be independent of the severity of the flaw and, within the ablative regime, independent of the laser-pulse energy. Theoretical analysis is provided to explain the underlying cause that influences the interaction of a formed laser-generated surface acoustic wave to surface flaws and how this sensitivity may vary between the thermoelastic and ablative regimes.