DEALS: a demountable superconducting magnet system for fusion reactors

A new type of superconducting magnet system (DEALS) for large fusion reactors is described. Instead of winding large planar or multi-axis coils, as has been previously proposed in fusion reactor designs, the demountable superconducting coils would be made by joining together several prefabricated conductor sections. Conductor types, fabrication processes, and joining schemes are described. The magnet sections would be made at a central factory and shipped to the reactor site for assembly.The magnetic forces on the conductors would be transmitted to an external room temperature support structure via low thermal conductivity bearing blocks. This reduces conductor tensile stresses to very low levels. Differential and mechanical thermal movements between the magnet coil and the external support structure would be accommodated by the use of moveable joints between magnet sections. These pressure type contact joints carry current during magnet operation, and do not carry tensile loads.Finite element analyses on the magnet and its support structure are presented together with analyses of magnet cooling requirements. Results of experiments on small movable pressure type joints at liquid helium temperatures are described.These indicate that adequately low joint losses should be achievable in large magnet systems. Current carrying capcity is not affected by relative motion, and friction coefficients are reaonable. Based on these results and the analyses, the DEALS concept appears feasible for fusion magnet systems.     

一款高频弧形换能器

多波束图像声纳广泛应用于水下工程实施、浅海地貌测绘、蛙人和水雷等水下小目标的探测识别,高频弧形换能器是多波束图像声纳的重要组成部分,用于发射高频宽波束声波.通过理论公式计算了宽波束高频弧形换能器的指向性图,分析了指向性特征：主波束内存在连续的震荡起伏,震荡幅度由中心向两侧逐渐增大,在波束边缘处出现最大值,波束中心幅值比最大值减小1~2 dB左右.采用1-3型压电复合材料,研制了一款宽波束发射的高频弧形换能器,换能器谐振频率为440 kHz,最大发送电压响应为162 dB,-5 dB水平开角为107o,-3 dB垂直开角为26o,可应用于多波束图像声纳.     

一款宽带圆柱阵研究

圆柱阵换能器具有水平全向的优势,已广泛应用在水声探测领域。文章研究了一款宽带圆柱阵,利用匹配层技术拓宽圆柱阵阵元的带宽,通过有限元仿真优化单个换能器阵元带宽、发送电压响应和阻抗等参数。同时通过仿真以阵元错位密集方式形成圆柱阵,对阵元的个数及排列方式进行仿真优化,制作了一款宽带圆柱阵并进行了测量,圆柱阵直径为400 mm,高度为435 mm,圆柱阵的工作频段为20~30 kHz,频带内起伏3 dB,最大发送电压响应为160.5 dB,圆柱阵-3 dB水平波束宽度为360°。     

A parametric study of ultrasonic beam profiles for a linear phased array transducer

A numerical simulation model is presented to investigate the influences of design parameters of linear phased array transducers on beam focusing and steering performance. The characteristic of ultrasonic beam profiles has been simulated on the basis of the Huygen's superposition principle. For the simulation, a linear phased array is considered as the composition of finite number of elements separated by equidistance. Individual elements are considered as two-dimensional point sources. The waves generated from piezoelectric elements are considered as simplified transient ultrasonic waves that are constructed with the cosine function enveloped with a Hanning window. The characteristic of ultrasonic wave propagation into a medium from the phased array transducer is described. The effects of the number, the interelement spacing, steering angle, the focal length, and frequency bandwidth of the piezoelectric elements on beam directivity and ultrasonic pressure field in a linear phased array transducer are systematically discussed.     

Computationally efficient sound field calculations for a circular array transducer

A computationally efficient method is presented for calculating field pressure distributions from a circular phased array transducer. This method employs a form of the rectangular radiator approach modified for use with the geometry of a circular array. The curved surface of the elements, radiating either continuous wave or pulsed excitation signals, is divided into incremental rectangular areas small enough so that the Fraunhofer approximation can be applied. Once the directivity of a single element is found, the array beam pattern can be calculated using superposition and suitable coordinate transformations. The validity of this approach is verified through comparisons with experimental data from a circular phased array. The results show that the location and amplitude of the grating lobes and main lobe width can be predicted with reasonable accuracy by using this method.     

Finite element analysis of a deformable array transducer

Deformable array transducers have previously been described to implement 2-D phase aberration correction of near-field aberrators with only a 1xN or 2xN array configuration. This transducer design combines mechanical phase correction using an actuator with electronic phase correction for a 2-D correction with significantly fewer elements than a full 2-D array. We have previously reported the fabrication and results of a 1x32 deformable array fabricated with a RAINBOW (Reduced And INternally Biased Wafer) actuator. Because of the complicated construction of deformable arrays, we propose to use finite element analysis (FEA) as a design tool for array development. In this paper, we use 2-D and 3-D FEA to model the experimental results of the deformable array as the first step toward development of a design tool. Because the deformable array combines a mechanical actuator with a medical ultrasound transducer, improvement in performance must consider both the ultrasound characterization along with the low frequency actuator characterization. For the ultrasound characterization, time domain FEA simulations of electrical vector impedance accurately predicted the measurements of single array elements. Additionally, simulations of pulse-echo sensitivity and bandwidth were also well matched to measurements. For the low frequency actuator characterization, time domain simulation of the low frequency vector impedance accurately predicted measurement and confirmed the fundamental flexure resonance of the cantilever configuration at 1.3 kHz. Frequency domain FEA included thermal processing effects and predicted actuator curvature arising during fabrication. Finally, frequency domain FEA simulations of voltage-induced displacement accurately predicted measured displacement.     

Off-axis refractive mass-transported gallium-phosphide microlens array for the reduction of distortion in an optical interconnect system

Mass-transport smoothing has been used to fabricate an array of off-axis gallium-phosphide microlenses for use in an optical interconnection system employing a single macroscopic lens to image an array of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL's) onto a detector array. Steering the individual VCSEL beams through the center of the relay lens creates an optical system with low distortion.     

Operational verification of a 40-MHz annular array transducer

An experimental system to take advantage of the imaging capabilities of a 5-ring polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based annular array is presented. The array has a 6-mm total aperture and a 12-mm geometric focus. The experimental system is designed to pulse a single element of the array and then digitize the received data of all array channels simultaneously. All transmit/receive pairs are digitized and then the data are post-processed with a synthetic-focusing technique to achieve an enhanced depth of field (DOF). The performance of the array is experimentally tested with a wire phantom consisting of 25-microm diameter wires diagonally spaced at 1-mm by 1-mm intervals. The phantom permitted the efficacy of the synthetic-focusing algorithm to be tested and was also used for two-way beam characterization. Experimental results are compared to a spatial impulse response method beam simulation. After synthetic focusing, the two-way echo amplitude was enhanced over the range of 8 to 19 mm and the 6-dB DOF spanned from 9 to 15 mm. For a wire at a fixed axial depth, the relative time delays between transmit/receive ring pairs agreed with theoretical predictions to within +/- 2 ns. To further test the system, B-mode images of an excised bovine eye were rendered.     

A 100-MHz ultrasonic transducer array using ZnO thin films

A 100-MHz ultrasonic linear transducer array made from a piezoelectric zinc oxide thin film on a sapphire substrate was developed and evaluated. Epitaxial, high-acoustic quality 10-μm-thick ZnO film layers were produced by rf-magnetron sputter deposition onto a (111)-oriented gold film (with a chromium adhesion layer) that was vacuum-evaporated onto a (0001) sapphire surface. We found that, in well-oriented growth of gold, it is important to control the chromium sublayer thickness (less than 5 nm). An array was constructed by photolithography with an appropriate etch. V-shaped grooves between adjacent elements were formed by using an anisotropic etchant (HCl and HNO₃-based) that preferentially etched the c-plane of ZnO. Typical array elements were 90 μm wide, 3.2 mm long, and 10 μm thick, and the pitch of an array was typically 100 μm. Our fine uniform array resulted in uniform ultrasonic response of individual elements throughout the array. For a 32-element array, the ultrasound beam in the azimuth plane in water could be electronically focused in the 100 MHz range to obtain a half-amplitude width of 60 μm at the focal depth, agreeing well with theoretical predictions. Besides the use demonstrated with this present transducer, piezoelectric thin films should also lead to fabrication of various other kinds of ultrasonic transducers that can operate at high frequencies and should provide opportunities for miniaturizing transducers and making integrated ultrasonic devices     

Design of a hexagonal air-coupled capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer for air parametric array

An air parametric array can generate a highly directional beam of audible sound in air,which has a wide range of applications in targeted audio delivery.Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer(CMUTs)have great potential for air-coupled applications,mainly because of their low acoustic impedance.In this study,an air-coupled CMUT array is designed as an air parametric array.A hexagonal array is proposed to improve the directivity of the sound generated.A finite element model of the CMUT is established in COMSOL software to facilitate the choice of appropriate structural parameters of the CMUT cell.The CMUT array is then fabricated by a wafer bonding process with high consistency.The performances of the CMUT are tested to verify the accuracy of the finite element analysis.By optimizing the component parameters of the bias-T circuit used for driving the CMUT,DC and AC voltages can be effectively applied to the top and bottom electrodes of the CMUT to provide efficient ultrasound transmission.Finally,the prepared hexagonal array is successfully used to conduct preliminary experiments on its application as an air parametric array.     

Design and fabrication of a 40-MHz annular array transducer

This paper investigates the feasibility of fabricating a five-ring, focused annular array transducer operating at 40 MHz. The active piezoelectric material of the transducer was a 9-microm thick polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film. One side of the PVDF was metallized with gold and forms the ground plane of the transducer. The array pattern of the transducer and electrical traces to each annulus were formed on a copper-clad polyimide film. The PVDF and polyimide were bonded with a thin layer of epoxy, pressed into a spherically curved shape, then back filled with epoxy. A five-ring transducer with equal area elements and 100-microm kerfs between annuli was fabricated and tested. The transducer had a total aperture of 6 mm and a geometric focus of 12 mm. The pulse/echo response from a quartz plate located at the geometric focus, two-way insertion loss (IL), complex impedance, electrical crosstalk, and lateral beamwidth all were measured for each annulus. The complex impedance data from each element were used to perform electrical matching, and the measurements were repeated. After impedance matching; fc approximately equal to 36 MHz and -6-dB bandwidths ranged from 31 to 39%. The ILs for the matched annuli ranged from -28 to -38 dB.     

A ring transducer system for medical ultrasound research.

An ultrasonic ring transducer system has been developed for experimental studies of scattering and imaging. The transducer consists of 2048 rectangular elements with a 2.5-MHz center frequency, a 67% -6 dB bandwidth, and a 0.23-mm pitch arranged in a 150-mm-diameter ring with a 25-mm elevation. At the center frequency, the element size is 0.30lambda x 42lambda and the pitch is 0.38lambda. The system has 128 parallel transmit channels, 16 parallel receive channels, a 2048:128 transmit multiplexer, a 2048:16 receive multiplexer, independently programmable transmit waveforms with 8-bit resolution, and receive amplifiers with time variable gain independently programmable over a 40-dB range. Receive signals are sampled at 20 MHz with 12-bit resolution. Arbitrary transmit and receive apertures can be synthesized. Calibration software minimizes system nonidealities caused by noncircularity of the ring and element-to-element response differences. Application software enables the system to be used by specification of high-level parameters in control files from which low-level hardware-dependent parameters are derived by specialized code. Use of the system is illustrated by producing focused and steered beams, synthesizing a spatially limited plane wave, measuring angular scattering, and forming b-scan images.     

Phased-ultrasonic receiving-planar array transducer for partial discharge location in transformer

Partial discharge (PD) location in transformers is very important, and many methods that have been brought forward in past decades have a limitation theoretically, namely, they cannot locate multiple PDs in electrical equipment. In this paper, a new PD location method based on UHF and ultrasonic-phased arrays receiving theory has been presented, which has a possibility to locate multiple PDs. According to the method, a phased-ultrasonic receiving-planar array sensor that possesses 16 * 16 elements is designed; and, based on the phased-array theory, the characteristics of the plane sensor are studied. The laboratory experimental tests on the plane sensor element indicates that it has a good performance within the frequency band of the main ultrasonic energy produced by PD in transformer oil. Location tests are conducted on one or two piezoelectric ultrasonic sources in oil, which are both simulated as PD sources and triggered by an electrical pulse whose front is considered as a time benchmark in the locating algorithm. The test results show locations to one and two PDs can be realized in a single measurement, which lays a foundation for locating PDs in a power transformer in service.     

Development of a high-frequency (> 50 mhz) copolymer annular-array, ultrasound transducer

The development of a high frequency (> 50 MHz) annular array ultrasonic transducer is presented. The array was constructed by bonding a 9 microm P(VDF-TrFE) film to a two-sided polyimide flexible circuit with annuli electrodes on the top layer. Each annulus was separated by a 30 microm kerf and had several electroplated microvias that connected to electrode traces on the bottom side of the flex circuit. In order to improve device sensitivity, each element was electrically matched to an impedance magnitude of 50 omega and 0 degrees phase at resonance using a serial inductor and high impedance coaxial cable. The array's performance was evaluated by measuring the electrical impedance, pulse echo response, and cross talk between elements. The average round trip insertion loss was -33.5 dB after compensating for diffractive and attenuative losses. The measured average center frequency and bandwidth for an element was 55 MHz and 47%, respectively. The measured cross talk between adjacent elements remained below -29 dB at the center frequency in water. A vertical wire phantom was imaged using a single focus transmit beamformer and dynamic focusing receive beamformer. This image showed a significant improvement in lateral resolution over a range of 9 mm after the dynamic focusing receive algorithm was applied. These results correlated well with predictions from a Field II simulation. After beamforming, the minimum lateral resolution achieved by the array (-6 dB) was 108 microm at the focus.     

Rapid demountable platform (RDP)—A device for preventing fall from height accidents

The prevention of fall from height accidents has long been a popular topic in the field of construction safety. Previous research has indicated one of the potential hazards was induced by the use of steel bracket as scaffold support. While researchers are focusing to improve the existing scaffolding system, this research introduces a newly developed device to minimize fall accidents. The working platform, namely Rapid Demountable Platform (RDP) can be applied across window frames without fixing anchor bolts. Emphasizing on the rapid installation/dismantling, the RDP provides another safer option for working at height. The development of the RDP has incorporated modular concept and aesthetic factor into the design, achieving a more user-friendly platform. Although the RDP is not intended to totally replace the traditional bamboo truss-out scaffold, it is designed to act as an alternative or a supplement to the existing bamboo truss-out scaffold. The RDP is the first of this kind to minimize fall from height accidents especially in cities similar to Hong Kong where external working at height is frequently encountered.     

Position and time-delay calibration of transducer elements in a sparse array for underwater ultrasound imaging

This paper describes a novel method for the calibration of the position and time delay of transducer elements in a large, sparse array used for underwater, high-resolution ultrasound imaging. This method is based on the principles used in the global positioning system (GPS). However, unlike GPS, in which the wave propagation speed is generally assumed known, the sound propagation speed in the water usually is unknown and it is calibrated simultaneously in this method to achieve high calibration accuracy. In this method, a high-precision positioning system is used to scan a single hydrophone (used for transmission) in the imaging field of the array. The hydrophone transmits pulses at selected positions, and the transducer elements in the sparse array receive the transmitted signals. Time of flight (TOF) values between transducer elements and hydrophone positions then are measured. From a series of measured TOF values, the position and time delay values for each transducer element as well as the propagation speed can be calibrated. The performances of the calibration algorithm are theoretically analyzed and evaluated with numerical calculations and simulation studies. It is found that this method is capable of calibrating the positions and time delays of transducer elements with high accuracy.     

Synthesis of regular nano-pitched carbon nanotube array by using nanosphere lithography for interconnect applications

In this paper, we report a method based on nanosphere lithography technology for the synthesis of nano-pitched vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube array. A monolayer of polystyrene nanospheres with diameter of 650 nm was coated on silicon oxide layer to create hexagonally arranged patterns. A metal layer, which acted as a catalyst for carbon nanotube growth, was deposited on the patterns by e-beam evaporation method. Nano-sized metallic patterns were formed by removing the polystyrene nanospheres. Uniform CNT arrays with pitch of 800 nm were successfully synthesized from the metallic patterns by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Using nanosphere lithography, the pitch of the single CNT array can be well-controlled. Therefore, the as-grown CNTs have potential applications in advanced interconnects technology and other nano applications.     

Prospective ECG-gated mouse cardiac imaging with a 34-MHz annular array transducer

Prospective imaging with electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiratory gating presents an imaging application that leverages the improved image quality of high-frequency (>20 MHz) annular arrays without the need for rapid mechanical motion. The limitation of prospective imaging is that the object being imaged must have a periodically stable motion. The present study investigated the implementation of prospective imaging with a 34 MHz annular-array scan system to image the mouse heart at high effective frame rates, >200 frames/s (fps). M-mode data for all transmit-to-receive pairs were acquired at a series of spatial locations using ECG and respiratory gating, and the data were then synthetically focused in postprocessing. The pulse-repetition frequency of the M-mode data determined the effective frame rate of the final B-mode image sequence. The hearts of adult mice were prospectively imaged and compared with retrospective data acquired with a commercial ultrasonic biomicroscope (UBM). The annulararray data were acquired at an effective frame rate of 500 fps spanning 0.5 s, and the UBM data were acquired at 1000 fps spanning 0.15 s. The resulting images showed that multiple heart cycles could be clearly resolved using prospective imaging and that synthetic focusing improved image resolution and SNR of the right ventricle, interventricular septum, posterior edge of the left ventricle (LV), and papillary muscles of the LV versus fixed-focused imaging and the retrospective imaging of the UBM machine.