F. J. Margetan

Bessel beam ultrasonic transducer: Fabrication method and experimental results

We report experimental results from a first‐of‐a‐kind ultrasonic transducer that generates a beam with a Bessel function profile. Using a technique of nonuniform poling, an axially symmetric Bessel function pattern is ‘‘polarized into’’ a piezoelectric ceramic element. The resulting circular‐disk transducer has the usual full‐plating electrode configuration, but produces an ultrasonic beam with a radial displacement profile approximating that of the Bessel function J0 (r), both in amplitude and in phase. The radiation field of a 1‐in.‐diam, 2.25 MHz Bessel transducer mapped out with a point probe shows good agreement with calculated results using a Gauss‐Hermite model. Bessel transducers are of particular interest in attempts to achieve ‘‘diffractionless’’ beams.

Interfacial spring model for ultrasonic interactions with imperfect interfaces: Theory of oblique incidence and application to diffusion-bonded butt joints

The quasi-static distributed spring model is used to derive the ultrasonic reflectivity of an imperfectly-bonded interface as a function of frequency and angle of incidence. The results are then incorporated in a model for the corner reflection from a diffusion-bonded joint between two abutting plates, the corner being defined by the bond plane and the common lower surface plane of the plates. An immersion-inspection geometry is assumed, and seven categories of corner reflections are identified and examined in detail. These fall into two classes: those having parallel incident and exiting rays in water (φ′=φ), and those having nonparallel water rays (φ′ ≠ φ). The φ′ = φ categories are suitable for single probe (pulse-echo) inspections of the joint. Based on the amplitude of the outgoing corner-reflected signal, two φ = φ′ geometries appear promising. These employ, respectively, a corner reflection involving only longitudinal waves with the interface illuminated at near-grazing incidence (LLL), and a corner reflection involving only transverse waves with the interface illuminated at near 45° incidence (TTT). In addition, two practical φ′ ≠ φ geometries are indicated; these both involve mode conversion upon reflection from the interface, with the incident or outgoing longitudinal wave traveling nearly parallel to the interface. Model predictions for LLL and TTT reflections are compared to measurements on diffusion-bonded Inconel specimens, and techniques for applying the model results to more complicated bond geometries are discussed.

Backscattered microstructural noise in ultrasonic toneburst inspections

A model is presented which relates the absolute backscattered noise level observed in an ultrasonic immersion inspection to details of the measurement system and properties of the metal specimen under study. The model assumes that the backscattered noise signal observed for a given transducer position is an incoherent superposition of echoes from many grains. The model applies to normal-incidence, pulse-echo inspections of weakly-scattering materials using toneburst pulses from either a planar or focused transducer. The model can be used in two distinct ways. Measured noise echoes can be analyzed to deduce a “Figure-of-Merit” (FOM) which is a property of the specimen alone, and which parameterizes the contribution of the microstructure to the observed noise. If the FOM is known, the model can be used to predict the absolute noise levels that would be observed under various inspection scenarios. Tests of the model are reported, using both synthetic noise echoes, and measured noise echoes from metal specimens having simple and complicated microstructures.

The interaction of ultrasound with imperfect interfaces: Experimental studies of model structures

Model specimens are prepared, each of which may be viewed as two sections of similar material joined imperfectly at a planar interface. Measurements of the ultrasonic reflection from, mode conversion at, and/or transmission through these imperfect interfaces, are reported. The interface structures include distributions of pores, contacts, and inclusions. Included are both near-periodic and random cases. As the frequency is increased, the measured reflection coefficients generally show an initially linear increase from zero, followed by a maximum which may exhibit multiple peaks, and a subsequent decay. These results are interpreted in terms of a quasi-static model and an independent scattering model for ultrasonic interactions with imperfect interfaces.

Apparatus and method for detection of icing onset and ice thickness

An apparatus and method for detection of icing onset and ice thickness upon an accretion surface utilizing ultrasonic echo ranging techniques, including propagation of ultrasonic waves through a buffer block. A portion of the wave energy is reflected by reference reflection means and another portion of the wave energy is propagated to the ice accretion surface and to a reflecting interface. The reflecting interface is represented either by the accretion surface in absence of icing, or by a thin ice layer at the icing onset, or by the ice/air interface of an ice layer accreted upon the accretion surface. Reflected waves are transduced to electrical signals. Relative signal amplitudes and time delays provide measures of particular icing conditions upon the accretion surface, and are appropriately resolved into calibrated signals indicating icing onset, ice thickness, and ice accretion rate.

A Technique for Quantitatively Measuring Microstructurally Induced Ultrasonic Noise

In ultrasonic inspections of aircraft engine components, the detectability of critical defects can be limited by grain noise. This is likely to be the case for subtle defects, such as hard-alpha-phase inclusions in titanium alloys, where the difference between the acoustic impedances of the defect and host is small. A sound quantitative description of grain noise in such alloys is essential for accurate estimates of flaw detection reliability. In this work we present a method for quantifying backscattered grain noise by using positional averaging to determine the root-mean-squared (rms) noise level. The measured noise level will depend on details of the measurement system, as well as on inherent material properties of the alloy. We present a preliminary model of the noise measurement process which accounts for system effects, and we compare its predictions with experiment. We then indicate how the rms noise data can be processed to extract a factor which parameterizes the inherent noise severity independent of the measurement process.

Modeling Ultrasonic Microstructural Noise in Titanium Alloys

Ultrasonic echoes from small or subtle defects in metals may be masked by competing “noise” echoes which arise from the scattering of sound by grains or other microstructural elements. Algorithms for estimating the detectability of such defects consequently require quantitative models for microstructural noise. In previous work [1,2] we introduced an approximate noise model for normal-incidence immersion inspections using tone-burst pulses, and we used the model to estimate signal/noise ratios for brittle (hard-alpha) inclusions in titanium alloys. In the present work we consider an extension of that noise model to inspections using broadband incident pulses. Like its predecessor, the broadband noise model neglects multiple scattering events, and applies to low-noise, low-attenuation materials. The broadband model provides an expression for the root-mean-square (rms) average amplitude of a given spectral component of the noise, computed on a finite time interval greater than the duration of the pulse. The model can be used to analyze backscattered noise to extract a Figure-of-Merit (FOM) for noise severity which is a property of the specimen and is independent of the measurement system. Conversely, if the FOM of the specimen is known, the model can be used to predict average noise spectral characteristics and average noise levels for various inspection scenarios.

Ultrasonic Attenuation Measurements in Jet-Engine Titanium Alloys

In the inspection of titanium material intended for use in aircraft engines, a number of unusual phenomena are observed, including significant fluctuations of the amplitude and phase of back-surface echoes and of the amplitudes of pulse-echo signals from nominally identical flaws[1]. Practical implications include a broadening of the probability of detection curves and difficulties in determining the ultrasonic attenuation, a parameter used in interpreting flaw response data. Incorrect determination of attenuation can lead to errors in distance-gain corrections and hence in estimates of the magnitude of the flaw response. In this paper, we report experiments designed to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for these signal fluctuations.

Predicting ultrasonic grain noise in polycrystals: A Monte Carlo model

A Monte Carlo technique is described for predicting the ultrasonic noise backscattered from the microstructure of polycrystalline materials in a pulse/echo immersion inspection. Explicit results are presented for equiaxed, randomly oriented aggregates of either cubic or hexagonal crystallites. The model is then tested using measured noise signals. Average and peak noise levels and the distribution of the noise voltages are studied as the density of grains changes.

Predicting Gated-Peak Grain Noise Distributions for Ultrasonic Inspections of Metals

In ultrasonic pulse/echo inspections of metal components, defect detection can be limited by backscattered “grain noise” from the metal microstructure. The absolute level of grain noise observed in a given inspection depends on the metal microstructure and on details of the inspection system, such as the focal properties of the transducer, the spectral content of the incident sonic pulse, and the receiver amplification settings. In earlier work [1–3], we presented models which account for both measurement system and microstructural effects, and which predict certain aspects of the backscattered noise in weakly-scattering materials. For example, one of the predicted quantities is the “rms noise level”, illustrated in Fig. 1 and defined as the root-mean-squared average of the RF noise voltages seen at a fixed observation time when the transducer is scanned above the specimen. The absolute rms noise level as a function of time (or penetration depth) can be predicted from knowledge of the transducer diameter and focal length, a “reference echo” from a flat surface, and certain material properties of the specimen including its density, velocity, attenuation coefficient, and Figure-of-Merit (FOM).