Corrosion thickness loss monitoring using high frequency guided ultrasonic waves

Corrosion thickness loss due to adverse environmental conditions of pipelines and marine structures can cause degradation of structural health. Monitoring in difficult to access areas can be achieved using high frequency guided waves propagating along the structure, selectively excited using standard ultrasonic angle beam transducers with single sided access. Wave propagation and mode interference depends on the thickness of the structure. At the frequency-thickness range of interest, the two fundamental Lamb wave modes are excited with slightly different wavenumbers, leading to a beating effect with energy transfer through the structure thickness. The beating effect depends on the frequency-thickness product and has been found to be very sensitive to small thickness changes. The guided wave propagation and energy transfer were visualized and predicted using 2D Finite Element simulations. Excellent agreement was found to theoretical beatlength predictions from a fit of the recorded variation of guided wave amplitude along the propagation direction. Laboratory experiments were conducted, with steel specimen wall thickness reduced by consecutive milling and using accelerated corrosion. Signal changes due to the wave mode interference were measured and the wall thickness reduction monitored from the amplitude beatlength. Good agreement with the theoretical predictions was achieved, demonstrating the sensitivity for thickness loss monitoring

High-Frequency Guided Ultrasonic Waves to Monitor Corrosion Thickness Loss

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

High frequency guided wave propagation in monocrystalline silicon wafers

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 wafe

Analysis of high frequency guided wave scattering at a fastener hole with a view to fatigue crack detection.

The scattering of high frequency guided ultrasonic waves by a fatigue crack at the side of a fastener hole has been studied. The guided wave pulse consists of the superposition of the two fundamental Lamb modes A0 and S0 above the cut-off frequencies of the higher modes. The scattered field was simulated using a three-dimensional finite difference algorithm with a staggered, Cartesian grid for the limited area of interest around the hole and an analytical phase angle correction for the additional, variable propagation distance. Experimentally, the modes were selectively excited using a standard ultrasonic wedge transducer and measured using a laser interferometer, resulting in good spatial resolution. The scattered field was measured and simulated for an undamaged hole, a small, part-thickness quarter-elliptical fatigue crack, and a through-thickness fatigue crack. Good agreement was found and a significant influence of the fatigue cracks on the scattered field was observed. The complex difference of the scattered field due to additional scattered waves at the fatigue cracks of variable depth and length was evaluated. This allows for the prediction of high frequency guided wave sensitivity for fatigue crack detection at fastener holes, a significant maintenance problem for ageing aircraft

In-situ monitoring of fatigue crack growth using high frequency guided waves

The development of fatigue cracks at fastener holes represents a common maintenance problem for aircraft. High frequency guided ultrasonic waves allow for the monitoring of critical areas without direct access to the defect location. During cyclic loading of tensile, aluminum specimens fatigue crack growth at the side of a fastener hole was monitored. The changes in the energy ratio of the baseline subtracted reflected guided wave signal due to the fatigue damage were monitored from a stand-off distance using standard ultrasonic pulse–echo measurement equipment. Good sensitivity for the detection and monitoring of fatigue crack growth was found

Noncontact monitoring of fatigue crack growth using high frequency guided waves

The development of fatigue cracks at fastener holes due to stress concentration is a common problem in aircraft maintenance. This contribution investigates the use of high frequency guided waves for the non-contact monitoring of fatigue crack growth in tensile, aluminium specimens. High frequency guided ultrasonic waves have a good sensitivity for defect detection and can propagate along the structure, thus having the potential for the inspection of difficult to access parts by means of non-contact measurements. Experimentally the required guided wave modes are excited using standard wedge transducers and measured using a laser interferometer. The growth of fatigue cracks during cyclic loading was monitored optically and the resulting changes in the signal caused by crack growth are quantified. Full three-dimensional simulation of the scattering of the high frequency guided ultrasonic waves at the fastener hole and crack has been implemented using the Finite Difference (FD) method. The comparison of the results shows a good agreement of the measured and predicted scattered field of the guided wave at quarter-elliptical and through-thickness fatigue cracks. The measurements show a good sensitivity for the early detection of fatigue damage and for the monitoring of fatigue crack growth at a fastener hole. The sensitivity and repeatability are ascertained, and the robustness of the methodology for practical in-situ ultrasonic monitoring of fatigue crack growth is discussed. © 2014 SPIE

Understanding the Propagation of Guided Ultrasonic Waves in Undamaged Composite Plates

This project is motivated by the goal to improve the understanding of guided ultrasonic wave propagation in composite plates. Wave dispersion, attenuation and their angular dependency were investigated in composite plates with different fibre arrangements. The 3D finite element (FE) composite models are constructed in MATLAB, which the parameters can be altered easily, and the simulations were performed using ABAQUS/Explicit. The simulated wave characteristics for different composite models were compared to the experimental results. An approximation propagation of the A0wave mode using the FE analysis is established and validated. In this study, the complexity of the wave characteristic being dependent on the fibre arrangement is shown. The properties of the A0wave mode in unidirectional composite plate show a significant directional dependency. This could affect the detection sensitivity when the guided waves is monitored not in principle directions. This complication is crucial to be understood in order to improve the interpretation of received signals, particularly for defect characterization

Fatigue crack growth monitoring using high-frequency guided waves

A common problem in aircraft maintenance is the development of fatigue cracks at fastener holes due to stress concentration. High-frequency guided ultrasonic waves allow for the structural health monitoring of critical areas of a structure and can be measured with high accuracy using a noncontact laser interferometer. The use of a specific type of high-frequency guided ultrasonic wave that has good sensitivity for the detection of small defects, excited using a standard Rayleigh wedge transducer and propagating along the structure, has been investigated. Fatigue crack growth at the side of a fastener hole in a tensile, aluminum specimen was induced by cyclic loading of the structure. The crack length was monitored optically and showed good correlation with fracture mechanics calculations of the expected growth rate. The changes in the guided wave signal due to the fatigue damage were monitored using a noncontact laser interferometer and quantified. The measurements show a good sensitivity for the early detection of fatigue damage and for the monitoring of fatigue crack growth at a fastener hole. The propagation and scattering of the high-frequency guided ultrasonic wave has been simulated numerically using a three-dimensional finite difference code. Good agreement was found between the measured and predicted changes of the ultrasonic signal for the increasing fatigue crack area, allowing in principle for the approximate sizing of the defect

Dose, exposure time, and resolution in Serial X-ray Crystallography

The resolution of X-ray diffraction microscopy is limited by the maximum dose that can be delivered prior to sample damage. In the proposed Serial Crystallography method, the damage problem is addressed by distributing the total dose over many identical hydrated macromolecules running continuously in a single-file train across a continuous X-ray beam, and resolution is then limited only by the available molecular and X-ray fluxes and molecular alignment. Orientation of the diffracting molecules is achieved by laser alignment. We evaluate the incident X-ray fluence (energy/area) required to obtain a given resolution from (1) an analytical model, giving the count rate at the maximum scattering angle for a model protein, (2) explicit simulation of diffraction patterns for a GroEL-GroES protein complex, and (3) the frequency cut off of the transfer function following iterative solution of the phase problem, and reconstruction of an electron density map in the projection approximation. These calculations include counting shot noise and multiple starts of the phasing algorithm. The results indicate counting time and the number of proteins needed within the beam at any instant for a given resolution and X-ray flux. We confirm an inverse fourth power dependence of exposure time on resolution, with important implications for all coherent X-ray imaging. We find that multiple single-file protein beams will be needed for sub-nanometer resolution on current third generation synchrotrons, but not on fourth generation designs, where reconstruction of secondary protein structure at a resolution of 0.7 nm should be possible with short exposures.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl