Mechanical Reciprocity Principles and Ultrasonic Measurement Models

An electromechanical reciprocity relation derived by Auld [1] has become a powerful tool for modeling many ultrasonic NDE experiments. Auld’s relation has also served as the foundation for developing more explicit models of ultrasonic systems, such as the quasi-plane wave measurement model of Thompson and Gray [2], which has been used for a variety of quantitative calibration, classification, and flaw sizing applications. Here, we will develop a relationship similar to that of Auld’s but using simpler mechanical reciprocity relations. One side benefit of this mechanical reciprocity approach will be an explicit statement of the manner in which ultrasonic transducers are mechanically reciprocal to one another.</p

Defect Sizing Using Distance-Gain-Size Diagrams for Flat-Bottomed Holes in a Solid: Theoretical Analysis and Experimental Verification

Although there are a number of potential pitfalls, the classical method of relating defect area to echo amplitude is still the most widely used method to size defects using ultrasonic pulse-echo techniques. In 1959 Krautkramer [1] was the first to introduce a set of curves (DGS diagrams) showing the variation of echo amplitude with range and target size. As Krautkramer made clear, such curves are dependent on transducer pulse shape. For the very far field he gave theoretical results assuming a fluid-like medium of propagation, but he had to resort to a large number of experimental measurements to construct the near field portion of the curves. Well known problems in using DGS diagrams include the sensitivity of echo amplitudes to target angular and lateral alignment and the need to construct a new set of curves for each transducer pulse shape. Furthermore, when sizing targets in solids there are likely to be errors if curves constructed assuming a fluid medium are used. In 1987, McLaren and Weight [2] gave an impulse-response method to predict echo amplitudes for arbitrary target position in the field and for any transducer pulse shape. Normally-aligned, flat-ended cylindrical targets and a fluid medium were assumed. More recently, Schmerr and Sedov [3,4] have calculated single frequency DGS diagrams for flat-bottomed holes (FBH’s), for both direct and water coupling, but the holes are assumed to be in a fluid-like material. Their method takes account of diffraction and refraction effects but not mode conversion. A more exact treatment of the effect of a solid medium of propagation on DGS diagrams has been given by Sumbatyan and Buyove [5] who developed DGS diagrams for disc-like targets using a boundary element method to solve the elastodynamic equations, but again, only for the case of continuous sinusoidal waves. One disadvantage of such an approach is that the calculations can be rather time consuming

Ultrasonic Flaw Classification — An Expert System Approach

An expert system, FLEX, for classifying isolated flaws as either crack-like or volumetric has been under development at the Center for NDE, Iowa State University. Previously, we have described the overall design of the system [1], which is composed of two cooperating systems FEAP and FLAP. The feature processing (FEAP) system is designed to extract fundamental features in the ultrasonic signals that are indicative of cracks or volumetric flaws. The flaw processing (FLAP) system then uses the existence (or non-existence) of these features to classify the flaw. FLAP is structured as a classical rule-based expert system and has also been described previously [2]. Here, we will present the major elements of FEAP and the design philosophy that has gone into its construction. A more detailed account of FEAP is given in the thesis of Christensen [3].</p

Effect of central and non-central frequency components on the quality of damage imaging

Accurate image reconstruction of damage through Lamb wave diffraction tomography (LWDT) requires substantial information of scatter field. This can be achieved using transducer network to collect the scatter field data. However, this requires a large number of transducers that creates logistical constraints for the practical applications of the technique. Various methods have been developed to improve the practicability of LWDT. One of the main approaches is to employ data at multiple frequencies within the bandwidth of the excitation signal. The objective of this study is to investigate the performance of using the data at non-central frequencies to reconstruct the damage image using LWDT. This provides an understanding on the influence of data at each individual frequency in the damage image reconstruction.In this paper, a series of numerical case studies with consideration of different damage sizes and shapes are carried out. Different non-central frequencies data is used to reconstruct the damage image. The results show that using the data at different non-central frequencies leads to different qualities of the reconstructed damage images. The quality of these reconstructed damage images are then compared to investigate the information contained of the data at each individual frequency. The study shows that the non-central frequencies data can provide additional information in the damage image reconstruction. Overall, the results of this study provide insights into the influences of the data at different frequencies, which is essential to advance the developments of the LWDT.Gnana Teja Pudipeddi, Ching-Tai Ng, Andrei Kotouso

Differential timing of larval starvation effects on filtration rate and growth in juvenile Crepidula onyx

This study demonstrates that the timing of larval starvation did not only determine the larval quality (shell length, lipid content, and RNA:DNA ratio) and the juvenile performance (growth and filtration rates), but also determine how the latent effects of larval starvation were mediated in Crepidula onyx. The juveniles developed from larvae that had experienced starvation in the first two days of larval life had reduced growth and lower filtration rates than those developed from larvae that had not been starved. Lower filtration rates explained the observed latent effects of early larval starvation on reduced juvenile growth. Starvation late in larval life caused a reduction in shell length, lipid content, and RNA:DNA ratio of larvae at metamorphosis; juveniles developed from these larvae performed poorly in terms of growth in shell length and total organic carbon content because of "depletion of energy reserves" at metamorphosis. Results of this study indicate that even exposure to the same kind of larval stress (starvation) for the same period of time (2 days) can cause different juvenile responses through different mechanisms if larvae are exposed to the stress at different stages of the larval life. © 2008 Springer-Verlag.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

The Paraxial Approximation for Radiation of a Planar Ultrasonic Transducer at Oblique Incidence Through an Interface

The inspection of welds in structural plates with ultrasonic contact transducers is an important application of ultrasonic NDE [1]. Models that completely describe transducer/flaw interactions can help to make reliable, quantitative measurements on the welds in question. Thus, recently we have begun development of an ultrasonic weld inspection simulator and will present the preliminary work for the simulator in this paper

Tax-induced recruitment of TORC family coactivators is required for transcriptional activation of HTLV-I LTR (Young Scientists Award-winning presentation)

Ultrasonic transducers are electromechanical devices that covert electrical inputs (voltage, current) into mechanical outputs (force, velocity) and vice-versa. To completely characterize the relationship between these four parameters in general requires knowledge of all the elements of a 2×2 complex-valued “transduction” matrix as a function of frequency. In the literature it has typically been assumed that to obtain all the elements of this transduction matrix it is necessary to perform a combination of both electrical and mechanical measurements (see Sachse and Hsu [1], for example), which makes such a complete characterization rather difficult and expensive. Here, we will show that, by using an electroacoustic measurement model that completely characterizes an entire ultrasonic measurement system, it is possible in principle to set up a practical measurement method where the complete transduction matrix can be obtained by purely electrical measurements at the electrical port of the transducer. Having a practical procedure to completely characterize an ultrasonic transducer is important since it will allow one to make quantitative estimates of the influence of the transducer properties on an ultrasonic measurement process