Lamb wave generation and reception with time-delay periodic linear arrays: a BEM simulation and experimental study

A time-delay periodic linear array model has been proposed for Lamb wave generation and reception in plates. The unilateral guided wave emitting and receiving have been achieved by applying the interference principle in the array designs. A hybrid BEM technique has been developed and applied to simulate the wave generation procedure with such arrays and to analyze the performance. Experimental results also are presented for two typical time-delay periodic arrays to qualitatively validate the theoretical designs. The effects of the array parameters on the array performance, such as the selectivity of Lamb modes and effectiveness of Lamb wave generation, are investigated through the 2-D phase velocity-frequency spectrum analyses as well as Lamb mode wave structure calculations.     

Implementing guided wave mode control by use of a phased transducer array

A multichannel time-delay system has been built and applied to a transducer array for implementing guided wave mode control. The time-delay system has a capability of sending high energy controllable tone-burst signals from eight independent channels with arbitrary time delays from 0 to 30 μs with resolution of 0.025 μs. Software time delays are also provided for summing up received signals of each channel. Theoretical discussions indicate the impact of the time delay capability on the bandwidth and sensitivity improvement of a transducer array for guided wave generation. Determination of both physical and software time delay values is based on a knowledge of dispersion curves and element spacing. Based on reference signals, a non-knowledge-based automatic time-delay searching algorithm was introduced for guided wave mode selection. Experiments were conducted with a phased comb transducer array mounted on a carbon steel pipe. The experimental results show that signal to noise ratio has been greatly improved by use of the time-delay system. Some other benefits of the phased array, including unidirection generation and mode control flexibility, are discussed     

高阶纵向超声导波在钢绞线缺陷检测中的应用研究

为了实现对钢绞线的主动健康监测,采用安装在结构外表面上的磁致伸缩传感器激励和接收高阶纵向超声导波,优化各种参数以用于缺陷的识别和评估.实验选取经Hanning窗调制的正弦脉冲信号在7芯钢绞线中激励中心频率0.86MHz的高阶纵向超声导波L(0,2)模态,用于在两根钢绞线外围钢丝和中心钢丝中人工缺陷的检测.实验分析了L(...     

管道中T(0,1)模态导波检测技术的发展与应用现状

超声导波具有检测速度快、检测范围广等优点,被广泛应用于各类缺陷的检测。而扭转模态作为超声导波的一种对称模态,具有频散小、能量集中、信号单一且易于分析的特点。综述了近年来扭转模态的发展历程,从T （0,1）扭转导波的传播与检测原理入手,对比各类激励探头的激励原理与效果,并对其进行优缺点分析。通过分析导波模态的选取原则和导波在单层管道、双层管道和充液管道中传播的性质,总结激励频率、液体粘度、液体密度等因素对扭转模态导波在管道中传播的影响,进而明确扭转模态的适用范围及适用的信号处理方法,对于今后扭转模态的发展具有借鉴意义。     

Forced response of cylindrical shells coupled with nonlinear shape-memory-alloy (SMA) actuators regulated by sinusoidal and saw-tooth temperature profiles

Dynamic responses of cylindrical shells coupled with shape-memory alloy (SMA) ring segments placed at critical locations are investigated. Since the SMA actuators are highly nonlinear and governed by the temperate-dependent stiffness and martensite/austenite fraction, input shaping and phase shift of temperature profiles are incorporated to control the shell vibrations. Open-loop equations of an elastic cylindrical shell panel are defined first and then used with assumed mode-shape functions satisfying specified boundary conditions in the free-vibration analysis. Modal-analysis data are used to determine spatial strain distributions of natural modes. Distributed modal-signal characteristics suggest optimal placements of SMA actuator segment(s) for each given mnth mode. Based on the modal-expansion method, the open-loop control force induced by the SMA ring segments applied to a simply supported cylindrical shell panel is formulated. This formulation indicates that only the odd modes in the circumferential direction can be controlled. Longitudinal modes are controlled via placing specific number, depending on the mode, of actuator segments along the panel length. To predict control effects of the nonlinear SMA ring segments, the modal participation factor response is determined for an external harmonic excitation applied to the shell along with induced SMA control forces, via sinusoidal and saw-tooth temperature profiles to generate desirable control forces and to eliminate the unwanted effects. Analysis results suggest that with proper choice of temperature waveform function to the SMA ring segments and minor modifications to frequency and phase, the SMA ring segments can attenuate unwanted external vibrations of cylindrical shells.     

A physical interpretation of elastic guided-wave reflection from normal ends of a waveguide

Studied in this paper are two-dimensional guided wave reflections from normal boundaries in an isotropic elastic media. By making use of the transverse resonance concept, the reflections of the waveguide modes from normal interfaces are interrogated. A general condition is obtained under which the guided waves in an isotropic medium will undergo no mode conversion when interaction occurs with a normal traction free or fixed end. Under some circumstances, similarities are obtained between waveguide modes and bulk-wave modes, for example, doubling of the displacement field at a free end and doubling of the stress field at a fixed end. The results obtained are applicable to all two-dimensional, guided-wave modes, along one waveguide direction with lossless boundaries on the surface(s) parallel to the waveguide direction, including all possible guided-wave modes, propagating and nonpropagating, in plates, one half space, interface of two different half spaces, layers on a half space, multilayer structures, and all axisymmetric modes in cylindrical structures. In addition, the function of displacement potentials is analyzed in the course of guided-wave mode conversion at a normal end.     

Guided Wave Tuning Principles for Defect Detection in Tubing

Dispersion diagrams for longitudinal modes and several flexural modes are given. A partial loading oblique incidence technique was introduced for non-axisymmetric guided wave generation. Acoustic fields for partially loaded generation of guided waves were obtained along a sample Inconel steam generator tube surface. The axial field and the circumferential fields were non uniform. Even though the acoustic field was much more complicated than in the case of axisymmetric modes, the study of non-axisymmetric mode cannot be avoided; excitation of a single symmetric mode is often difficult due to limited access and transducer efficiency and there is also mode conversion after scattering from defects. For 100% inspection coverage of tubing and piping, three dimensional tuning (distance, frequency, and incident angle tuning), was employed. A single combination of incident angle, position, and frequency may miss defects in blind spots. However, complete inspection coverage of a whole cross sectional area over a certain distance of tubing was successfully demonstrated through a multi crack detection experiment by using the three dimensional tuning concepts. Also, the use of non-axisymmetric guided waves for a large distance inspection capability was successfully demonstrated.     

Transmission and radiation in a slab waveguide coupled to a whispering-gallery resonator: volume-integral-equation analysis

The excitation of a whispering gallery resonator by a surface wave guided in a dielectric slab is analyzed with a rigorous volume-integral-equation approach. The analysis is based on the Green's function concept and the application of the entire-domain Galerkin technique through expansion of the electric field in the resonator in terms of cylindrical wave functions. The algorithm developed yields highly accurate results for the transmission and reflection coefficients in the waveguide. The radiated far field is computed, and the effect of the excitation of a whispering gallery mode on the radiation pattern is studied.     

非轴对称多元载荷条件下管道中纵向模态导波激励

轴对称载荷是管道中轴对称模态导波激励的有效方法。然而,受换能器安装误差等因素的影响,激励载荷多会变为非轴对称载荷,进而使激励出的导波模态变得复杂。对非轴对称多元载荷条件下纵向模态导波的激励问题进行了深入研究。考虑两种典型的非轴对称载荷,采用简正模态展开技术,建立了导波激励声场与边界载荷的量化关系,进而分析了各模态导波的产生机理及载荷阵列对纵向导波激励的影响。采用有限元数值模拟验证了理论预测结果。考虑实际管道检测中出现的非轴对称载荷,提出了一种载荷补偿策略并进行了实验验证。结果表明,该方法能够有效抑制弯曲模态导波的产生,同时也有助于改善导波信号的噪声水平。     

Theoretical analysis of hollow ring-core optical fibre for transmitting orbital angular momentum modes

Ring-core optical fibre has been successfully demonstrated to have good performance for lifting mode degeneracy, and maintaining orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes in the first radial order, making it promising for applications of OAM mode multiplexing and generation of cylindrical vector beams. The degeneracy lift can be intensified using a hollow ring-core fibre, i.e. when the innermost layer of waveguide is air. The cut-off ring thickness for supporting the lowest OAM modes in radial order are obtained under various refractive index differences between the transport layer and the cladding. To optimize the design, our analysis addresses the dependence of modal properties on the fibre structure parameters, such as the effective area (A_eff) of respective OAM mode, and the differential mode delay.     

Development of Circuits for Excitation and Reception in Ultrasonic Transducers for Generation of Guided Waves in Hollow Cylinders for Fouling Detection

This paper presents the development of circuits that are used to provide excitation and reception in ultrasonic transducers for the generation of guided waves in hollow cylinders for fouling detection. Fouling is a problem that has been present in the chemical, petroleum, food, and pharmaceutical industries. It consists of the deposition of heavy organic materials and other dissolved solids or the suspension in fluid transport systems. The ultrasonic guided waves present specific characteristics and have demonstrated good results in the detection of flaws in pipelines. The circuits are presented, and experimental results are discussed.     

Excitation Mechanism of Flexural-Guided Wave Modes F(1, 2) and F(1, 3) in Pipes

The L(0, 2) and T(0, 1) modes are the two most commonly used modes in a pipe inspection; however, they are insensitive to axial cracks in the pipe. Therefore, it is meaningful to explore the excitation and utilization of the guided wave modes, which are different from the L(0, 2) and T(0, 1) modes. In this study, the excitation mechanism of two kinds of flexural-guided wave modes, F(1, 2) and F(1, 3), in a pipe is discussed in detail. The discussion is based on the dynamic response solution, which is obtained by the eigenfunction expansion method. Either mode can be excited by employing two transducer arrays. Each array is composed of sixteen elements. Moreover, the position, vibration direction, and phase of each element should be appropriately chosen. The validity of the excitation method is demonstrated by the numerical results obtained using the finite element method.     

A Guided Wave Approach to Defect Detection in Switch Rail

An approach to detect switch rail defect based on ultrasonic guided wave technology is studied. Eight typical cross-sections are chosen from the switch rail, and each cross-section's theoretical dispersion curves and wave structures are derived using the semianalytical finite-element method. The dispersion curve of eight sections has 262 modes at 60 kHz. Based on k-means clustering analysis algorithm, 25 kinds of classification results are obtained from 262 modes. According to the mean and variance of energy, an optimal set of modes with uniform amplitude over the entire section of the switch rail is selected. The optimal excitation point is determined based on the vibration energy. The defect echo signal is obtained by excitation of these guided wave modes. Field experiment results show that by comparing the sum of the differences between the collected and basic data and setting a certain threshold, the internal defect detection of the switch guide rail can be realized. The research results herein are valuable for analyzing the dispersion characteristics and realizing the nondestructive testing of the variable cross-section waveguide.     

杆中导波声弹敏感模态与激励频率的确定方法

基于超声导波声弹性效应检测波导结构的应力水平具有潜在的优势。为实现超声导波声弹应力检测的关键技术——检测模态与激励频率的选取,提出一种基于Murnaghan超弹模型的有限元特征频率法。使用该方法计算预应力杆中的频散特性,得到反映不同激励频率应力敏感性的声弹频散曲线,与文献中的L(0,1)模态试验结果进行对比,趋势一致,说明该方法的适用性。为进一步验证该方法的可靠性,选取L(0,1)模态声弹敏感的几组频率,在自制拉伸试验平台上,对碳素钢杆进行超声导波声弹试验。试验结果表明:低应力区域误差较大,在高应力区域误差均低于10%,且声弹常数与理论结果趋势一致。研究表明该理论方法可指导超声导波声弹应力检测时频率与模态的选取。     

厚梁结构中的导波传播与激励频率选择研究

通过导波在厚梁结构中传播时所表现出的特性,分析导波在厚梁结构中传播的机理。基于Rayleigh-Lamb方程,开发出用于绘制计算Lamb波在各向同性板结构中传播的频散曲线的专业软件。综合考虑在厚梁结构中影响导波激励中心频率选择的各种因素,如：选取适当的导波模式、降低频散效应的影响、增加导波信号的幅值、提高信号时域分辨率和抑制局部对称效应等。基于以上分析优化了激励信号的参数,并提出基于导波的结构健康性监测技术中激励频率选择的标准化流程。     

On the development and testing of a guided ultrasonic wave array for structural integrity monitoring

The prototype of a guided ultrasonic wave array for the structural integrity monitoring of large, plate-like structures has been designed, built, and tested. The development of suitably small transducers for the excitation and measurement of the first antisymmetric Lamb wave mode Ao is described. The array design consists of a ring of 32 transducers, permanently bonded to the structure with a protective membrane, in a compact housing with the necessary multiplexing electronics. Using a phased addition algorithm with dispersion compensation and deconvolution in the wavenumber domain, a good dynamic range can be achieved with a limited number of transducers. Limitations in the transducer design and manufacture restricted the overall dynamic range achieved to 27 dB. Laboratory measurements for a steel plate containing various defects have been performed. The results for standard defects are compared to theoretical predictions and the sensitivity of the array device for defect detection has been established. Simulated corrosion pitting and a defect cut with an angle grinder simulating general corrosion were detected.     

Synthetic phase tuning of guided waves

A novel method has been developed to generate and manipulate multi-mode guided waves. This technique uses a linear phased array whose elements are activated according to a prescribed time delay profile obtained from the dispersion curves. It is shown that a desired guided wave mode can be tuned by synthetically constructing a virtual wave from individually acquired waveform data. In addition to the development of such a synthetic phase tuning (SPT) technique, a pseudo pulse-echo (PPE) operation scheme is also developed for nondestructive testing. Experimental results are compared with those obtained by more traditional techniques using variable angle wedges and array transducers. It was shown that the new technique is convenient, robust, and flexible in utilizing multi-mode guided waves for nondestructive evaluation (NDE). It is a dynamic method that can produce desired guided wave modes propagating in the desired direction without any mechanical alignment. The advantages and limitations of the technique are addressed     

Propagation of transverse bulk and surface acoustic waves in LiNbO (3) variable time-delay devices

Experimental measurements are reported on voltage-controlled acoustic time-delay lines operating at 1 GHz in the nearly pure shear-horizontal (S-H) mode in 38 degrees rotated Y-cut LiNbO(3). The high-acoustic velocity (4800 m/s) in conjunction with the large electroacoustic effect exhibited by this orientation allows high-frequency operation and optimum time-delay tuning sensitivity with a planar, single surface, device geometry. The authors demonstrate fractional time delay of 0.3x10(-6) V(-1 ) for surface electrodes that produce an in-plane E-field. However, the simultaneous excitation and propagation of both a leaky surface-acoustic wave (LSAW) and surface skimming bulk wave (SSBW), both as (nearly pure) S-H waves in these devices, seriously restricts the extent to which it is possible to maximize the time delay modulation sensitivity by reducing electrode gap spacing as done in similar SAW devices. The LSAW and surface-skimming body wave (SSBW) propagate at nearly the same velocity on a free surface, and perturbation of their velocity and relative attenuation rates by surface electrodes causes pronounced interference effects between the two modes for some device geometries.     

A simple scheme for self-focusing of an array

A self-focusing technique and its application to a linear array system are presented in this paper. By application of the technique the system is capable of both sonification and reception focusing. The array is first excited as an unfocused array. Next a cross-correlation technique is used to determine time delays of reception of the largest amplitude backscattered signals at the elements of the array. The original transducer signal is then reemitted with the appropriate time delays to achieve sonification focusing on the scatterer producing the largest signal. This process is repeated in an iterative mode to focus energy on the strongest scatterer. Once insonification focusing has been achieved the last time-delay calculations are used once more for reception focusing, i.e., to correct the signals received by the individual elements for differences in arrival times. A low cost linear array has been constructed to implement the self-focusing technique. Examples demonstrate the capability of the technique to focus on the largest hole of sets of three holes in an aluminum specimen.     

火炮身管超声导波频散特性及传感器配置

超声导波检测技术具有检测距离远、效率高的优点,适用于检测火炮身管等圆管类结构,具有突出的军事应用价值和前景。首先对圆管超声导波理论进行推导,并对身管损伤的几种常见类型进行分析研究。采用数值计算的方法绘制频散曲线,通过分析其频散特性对导波检测频率进行优选,初步得到了最佳的检测频率范围;其次着重对传感器种类选择、数量及分布方式与导波传播特性的关系进行研究。实验表明,导波检测的最佳频率范围为0～300 kHz,且导波弯曲模态一般不宜作为检测模态;传感器数量的增加不仅增强了激励信号的强度,还有效抑制了身管中导波的频散。