Selective Generation of Lamb Wave Modes in a Finite-Width Plate by Angle-Beam Excitation Method.

A Lamb wave in a plate with a finite width has both thickness and width modes, whereas only thickness modes exist in an infinitely wide plate. The thickness and width modes are numerously formed in a finite-width plate, and they all have different cut-off frequencies, wave velocities, and wave structures. These different characteristics can be utilized in various applications, but a selective generation method for a particular Lamb wave mode in a finite-width plate has not been sufficiently studied, and only a method using multiple elements has been reported. This paper presents the selective generation of a certain Lamb wave mode in a finite-width plate by an angle-beam excitation method using single or dual wedges. In the proposed generation method, a specially designed wedge with grooves or a patch having insulation layers is employed for partial acoustic insulation of the ultrasonic energy incident into the plate. The feasibility of the proposed method was investigated through finite element method (FEM) simulations for Lamb wave excitation and propagation, and then experimentally demonstrated by the measurement of Lamb wave propagation using a laser scanning vibrometer.

High-frequency lowest torsional wave mode ultrasonic inspection using a necked pipe waveguide unit.

We propose an effective method to transmit only the non-dispersive lowest torsional wave mode at a high frequency range even above the cutoff frequency of the third torsional mode. Unlike existing methods that tune the wavelength or phase of the target wave mode, the proposed method is based on the thickness change and the cutoff phenomenon. A specially configured necked waveguide, consisting of three regions of which the middle region is thinner than the so-called cutoff thickness, is put in end-to-end contact with a test pipe to transmit only the first torsional wave mode to a test pipe. After explaining the underlying role of the proposed necked waveguide, we propose a technique to mainly transmit the lowest torsional wave mode at a frequency where higher modes can also propagate. Numerical simulations and damage detection experiments were carried out to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Waveguide tapering for beam-width control in a waveguide transducer.

In a waveguide transducer that transmits an ultrasonic wave through a waveguide unit to a test structure, it is most preferred to send a non-dispersive ultrasonic wave of a narrow beam width. However, there is an unresolved conflict between the generation of the non- or less-dispersive wave and the transmission of a narrow-beam wave into a test structure. Among others, the thickness of the waveguide unit in a waveguide transducer is the key variable determining these two conflicting criteria, but the use of a uniformly-thick waveguide of any thickness cannot fulfill the two conflicting criteria simultaneously. In this study, we propose a specially-engineered tapered waveguide unit for the simultaneous satisfaction. An excitation unit is installed at the end of the thin region of the tapered waveguide and generates only the lowest non-dispersive shear-horizontal wave. Then the generated wave propagates through the tapered region of the waveguide unit and reaches the thick region of the waveguide with insignificant mode conversion to higher modes. If the tapered waveguide is used, the surviving lowest mode in the thick region of the waveguide is shown to carry most of the transmitted power and is finally propagated into a test structure. Because the beam size of the propagated wave and the thickness of the contacting waveguide region are inversely related, the thick contacting region of the tapered waveguide ensures narrow beam width. Numerical and experimental investigations were performed to check the effectiveness of the proposed waveguide-tapering approach.

Development of an omni-directional shear-horizontal wave magnetostrictive patch transducer for plates.

As an effective tool to inspect large plates, omni-directional guided wave transducers have become more widely used to form phased-array inspection systems. While omni-directional Lamb wave transducers have been successfully utilized in the systems, omni-directional Shear-Horizontal (SH) wave transducers have not been investigated. In this paper, we propose an omni-directional SH magnetostrictive patch transducer that consists of an annular magnetostrictive patch, a toroidal coil and a permanent magnet. After presenting the unique configuration of the proposed transducer and its working principle, the omni-directivity of the developed transducer is verified through simulations and experiments conducted in an aluminum plate. The frequency characteristics of the proposed transducer depending on the patch size are also investigated as the underlying reference data for future construction of an SH phased-array system.

Higher torsional mode suppression in a pipe for enhancing the first torsional mode by using magnetostrictive patch transducers.

Small-sized defects in pipes can be better detected if the first nondispersive torsional mode is used in a higher frequency range. However, dispersive higher torsional modes accompany the first mode if the actuation frequency is above the first cutoff frequency, thereby making the detection difficult. This study proposes a new technique that is particularly useful for guided torsional waves in a pipe; it enhances the desired first nondispersive mode and suppresses the undesired second mode. The technique uses two transmitting transducers separated by an optimized distance and actuated with an optimized delay time. Unlike previous methods, such as a method tuning the delay time for desired mode enhancement and tuning the distance for undesired mode suppression, the proposed approach determines both the distance and delay time mainly to suppress the undesired second mode. With the selected values, the desired first mode is substantially enhanced. This phenomenon is unique in torsional waves, not longitudinal waves, for which delay time and distance controlling methods have been developed. After wave simulations were carried out to show why the proposed method is more effective for the case of torsional waves, several experiments using magnetostrictive transducers were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Circumferential phased array of shear-horizontal wave magnetostrictive patch transducers for pipe inspection.

Several investigations report effective uses of magnetostrictive patch transducers to generate and measure longitudinal and torsional guided waves in a pipe. They can be used to form a phased array for the circumferential inspection of pipes. Although there are circumferential phased arrays employing piezoelectric transducers or EMAT's, no magnetostrictive patch transducer based array system has been attempted. In this investigation, we aim to develop a circumferential phased magnetostrictive patch transducer (PMPT) array that can focus shear-horizontal waves at any target point on a cylindrical surface of a pipe. For the development, a specific configuration of a PMPT array employing six magnetostrictive patch transducers is proposed. A wave simulation model is also developed to determine time delays and amplitudes of signals generated by the transducers of the array. This model should be able to predict accurately the angular profiles of shear-horizontal waves generated by the transducers. For wave focusing, the time reversal idea will be utilized. The wave focusing ability of the developed PMPT array is tested with multiple-crack detection experiments. Imaging of localized surface inspection regions is also attempted by using wave signals measured by the developed PMPT array system.

Omnidirectional Lamb waves by axisymmetrically-configured magnetostrictive patch transducer.

This work presents the generation of omnidirectional Lamb waves by a new magnetostrictive patch transducer (MPT) and investigates its generation mechanism. Although MPTs have been widely used for wave transduction in plates and pipes, no investigation reports the generation of omnidirectional Lamb waves in a plate by an MPT. For the generation, we propose an axisymmetrically-configured MPT that installs multiple axisymmetric turns of coil outside of a permanent cylindrical magnet located above the center of a circular magnetostrictive patch. After confirming the omnidirectivity of the proposed MPT experimentally, the mechanism of the Lamb wave generation and its frequency characteristics are investigated. It is also shown that the Lamb wave is most efficiently generated in a test plate when its wavelength is equal to two-thirds of the magnetostrictive patch diameter. If this wavelength¿patch diameter relation holds, the second radial extensional vibration mode of the patch of the proposed MPT is shown to be the mode responsible for generating the Lamb wave in a plate.

Analysis of internal wave reflection within a magnetostrictive patch transducer for high-frequency guided torsional waves.

Recently, megahertz-range torsional waves have been successfully generated and measured by a magnetostrictive patch transducer employing a meander coil. But the waveform of a high-frequency torsional wave generated by magnetostrictive patch transducers becomes greatly distorted with multiple trailing pulses. The hypothesis explaining the cause of the waveform distortion is that the distortion results mainly from the internal wave reflection within the magnetostrictive patch, which is in turn caused by the impedance mismatch between the bare and patch-bonded parts of the pipe. Based on the hypothesis, we developed an analytic model for internal reflection simulation and conducted several experiments using a patch transducer to verify the hypothesis. The comparison of the analytical and experimental results showed that the internal reflection at the edge of the patch was responsible for the distortion of the measured waveform. The present study also confirmed that the standard acoustic impedance matching to avoid sudden discontinuities at the patch edges can effectively reduce the internal reflection and alleviate the waveform distortion problem.

Shear-horizontal wave-based pipe damage inspection by arrays of segmented magnetostrictive patches.

The lowest-branch torsional guided wave is very effective in pipe damage inspection because of its non-dispersive characteristics, but it cannot be used for the simultaneous identification of axial and circumferential locations of a defect in a pipe. Motivated by recent developments in magnetostrictive transducer technology, which is especially efficient in torsional and shear wave generation, the goal of this investigation is to extend this technology for simultaneous identification of the axial and circumferential locations of cracks by using shear horizontal (SH) waves. Unlike the conventional magnetostrictive patch method using a single complete patch wound around the pipe's circumference, the proposed method segments the patch into several pieces to generate SH waves propagating over the pipe surface. Accordingly, SH waves in a pipe are generated and sensed individually by a meander coil placed separately on each segment. By using two sets of segmented-patch arrays separated by some distance, the cylindrical surface of a pipe can be inspected both axially and circumferentially. After the underlying angular profile of the patch segment is investigated, experiments identifying the axial and circumferential locations of multiple cracks in a pipe are carried out to demonstrate the potential of the proposed methodology.