The acousto-ultrasonic approach

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

Laser Ultrasound Inspection Based on Wavelet Transform and Data Clustering for Defect Estimation in Metallic Samples

Laser-generated ultrasound is a modern non-destructive testing technique. It has been investigated over recent years as an alternative to classical ultrasonic methods, mainly in industrial maintenance and quality control procedures. In this study, the detection and reconstruction of internal defects in a metallic sample is performed by means of a time-frequency analysis of ultrasonic waves generated by a laser-induced thermal mechanism. In the proposed methodology, we used wavelet transform due to its multi-resolution time frequency characteristics. In order to isolate and estimate the corresponding time of flight of eventual ultrasonic echoes related to internal defects, a density-based spatial clustering was applied to the resulting time frequency maps. Using the laser scan beam’s position, the ultrasonic transducer’s location and the echoes’ arrival times were determined, the estimation of the defect’s position was carried out afterwards. Finally, clustering algorithms were applied to the resulting geometric solutions from the set of the laser scan points which was proposed to obtain a two-dimensional projection of the defect outline over the scan plane. The study demonstrates that the proposed method of wavelet transform ultrasonic imaging can be effectively applied to detect and size internal defects without any reference information, which represents a valuable outcome for various applications in the industry. View Full-TextPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Temperature robust PCA based stress monitoring approach

In this paper, a guided wave temperature robust PCA-based stress monitoring methodology is proposed. It is based on the analysis of the longitudinal guided wave propagating along the path under stress. Slight changes in the wave are detected by means of PCA via statistical T2 and Q indices. Experimental and numerical simulations of the guided wave propagating in material under different temperatures have shown significant variations in the amplitude and the velocity of the wave. This condition can jeopardize the discrimination of the different stress scenarios detected by the PCA indices. Thus, it is proposed a methodology based on an extended knowledge base, composed by a PCA statistical model for different discrete temperatures to produce a robust classification of stress states under variable environmental conditions. Experimental results have shown a good agreement between the predicted scenarios and the real onesPostprint (author's final draft

A general perspective of the characterization and quantification of nanoparticles: Imaging, spectroscopic, and separation techniques

This article gives an overview of the different techniques used to identify, characterize, and quantify engineered nanoparticles (ENPs). The state-of-the-art of the field is summarized, and the different characterization techniques have been grouped according to the information they can provide. In addition, some selected applications are highlighted for each technique. The classification of the techniques has been carried out according to the main physical and chemical properties of the nanoparticles such as morphology, size, polydispersity characteristics, structural information, and elemental composition. Microscopy techniques including optical, electron and X-ray microscopy, and separation techniques with and without hyphenated detection systems are discussed. For each of these groups, a brief description of the techniques, specific features, and concepts, as well as several examples, are described.Junta de Andalucía FQM-5974CEI-Biotic Granada CEI2013- MP-1

An Approach to Assess Solder Interconnect Degradation Using Digital Signal

Department of Human and Systems EngineeringDigital signals used in electronic systems require reliable data communication. It is necessary to monitor the system health continuously to prevent system failure in advance. Solder joints in electronic assemblies are one of the major failure sites under thermal, mechanical and chemical stress conditions during their operation. Solder joint degradation usually starts from the surface where high speed signals are concentrated due to the phenomenon referred to as the skin effect. Due to the skin effect, high speed signals are sensitive when detecting the early stages of solder joint degradation. The objective of the thesis is to assess solder joint degradation in a non-destructive way based on digital signal characterization. For accelerated life testing the stress conditions were designed in order to generate gradual degradation of solder joints. The signal generated by a digital signal transceiver was travelling through the solder joints to continuously monitor the signal integrity under the stress conditions. The signal properities were obtained by eye parameters and jitter, which represented the characteristics of the digital signal in terms of noise and timing error. The eye parameters and jitter exhibited significant increase after the exposure of the solder joints to the stress conditions. The test results indicated the deterioration of the signal integrity resulted from the solder joint degradation, and proved that high speed digital signals could serve as a non-destructive tool for sensing physical degradation. Since this approach is based on the digital signals used in electronic systems, it can be implemented without requiring additional sensing devices. Furthermore, this approach can serve as a proactive prognostic tool, which provides real-time health monitoring of electronic systems and triggers early warning for impending failure.ope

Generation and sampling of quantum states of light in a silicon chip

Implementing large instances of quantum algorithms requires the processing of many quantum information carriers in a hardware platform that supports the integration of different components. While established semiconductor fabrication processes can integrate many photonic components, the generation and algorithmic processing of many photons has been a bottleneck in integrated photonics. Here we report the on-chip generation and processing of quantum states of light with up to eight photons in quantum sampling algorithms. Switching between different optical pumping regimes, we implement the Scattershot, Gaussian and standard boson sampling protocols in the same silicon chip, which integrates linear and nonlinear photonic circuitry. We use these results to benchmark a quantum algorithm for calculating molecular vibronic spectra. Our techniques can be readily scaled for the on-chip implementation of specialised quantum algorithms with tens of photons, pointing the way to efficiency advantages over conventional computers

Nanoantennas for visible and infrared radiation

Nanoantennas for visible and infrared radiation can strongly enhance the interaction of light with nanoscale matter by their ability to efficiently link propagating and spatially localized optical fields. This ability unlocks an enormous potential for applications ranging from nanoscale optical microscopy and spectroscopy over solar energy conversion, integrated optical nanocircuitry, opto-electronics and density-ofstates engineering to ultra-sensing as well as enhancement of optical nonlinearities. Here we review the current understanding of optical antennas based on the background of both well-developed radiowave antenna engineering and the emerging field of plasmonics. In particular, we address the plasmonic behavior that emerges due to the very high optical frequencies involved and the limitations in the choice of antenna materials and geometrical parameters imposed by nanofabrication. Finally, we give a brief account of the current status of the field and the major established and emerging lines of investigation in this vivid area of research.Comment: Review article with 76 pages, 21 figure