Joachim Döring

Piezoelectric and electrostrictive effects in ferroelectret ultrasonic transducers

Electromechanical response of polypropylene ferroelectret transducers under application of high-voltage pulses was measured by laser Doppler vibrometry and compared with results of ultrasonic through-air transmission between two ferroelectret transducers. The electromechanical response was completely explained by piezoelectric and electrostrictive effects. The electrostrictive effect dominates at high voltages and provides significant enlargement of the transducer constant, up to factor of 2.5. The induced strain of 1.7% was achieved at −2000 V. The nonlinear ultrasonic transmission was shown to be well described by the piezoelectric and electrostrictive response of transmitter, except in the range of high negative exciting voltages where some limitation of the transmitted signal was observed. This limitation seems not to be a fundamental one and does not abolish the advantages of high-voltage excitation of polypropylene ferroelectret transducers.

Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Applications of Ferroelectrets

Improvement of ferroelectret transducers for air-coupled ultrasonic applications was demonstrated on the base of optimization of the ferroelectret electromechanical properties and adjustment of the ferroelectret transducers to the ultrasonic system. Controlled inflation of the polypropylene ferroelectret films results in an increase of the coupling factor in two and the figure of merit in ten times. Integration of a pre-amplifier with high impedance matching increases the ferroelectret transducer sensitivity in ∼ 40 dB. Ferroelectret transducers are characterized by the broad transmission band with smooth amplitude-frequency dependence and provide a well shaped and short pulse transmitted through the air.

Enhanced electromechanical response of ferroelectret ultrasonic transducers under high voltage excitation

Abstract Abstract Polypropylene based ferroelectret films exhibit a strong electromechanical activity and provide a promising solution for the air coupled ultrasonic (ACUS) transducers. Ultrasonic transmission between two air coupled ferroelectret transducers in dependence on the amplitude and polarity of the high voltage exciting pulse revealed a strongly non-linear electromechanical response of the ferroelectret transmitter which provides an increase in the transmitter efficiency. The authors present a simple model describing both promotion and competition of the piezoelectric and electrostriction contributions, as well as increase in the transducer constant under high voltage excitation. Enlargement of the inverse transducer constant of the polypropylene ferroelectret film by a factor of 4 was demonstrated. The non-linear properties of the polypropylene ferroelectrets result in a strong increase in their ACUS figure of merit under the high voltage excitation, which exceeds the results of their technological optimisation. Consequently, enhancement of the ACUS system transmission by 12 dB and signal to noise ratio by 32 dB was achieved.

Ferroelectret transducers for air-coupled ultrasonic testing of fiber-reinforced polymers

Ferroelectrets are promising materials for air-coupled ultrasonic transducers. A transducer made of polarized cellular polypropylene, including its electronic interface, was developed and compared with conventional air-coupled probes. Test pieces of fiber-reinforced polymer containing impact flaws and flat-bottom holes were inspected in transmission. The ferroelectret transducers achieved a considerably higher signal-to-noise ratio. The impacts were clearly visible with all transducers, but less noisy with ferroelectret transducers. The flat-bottom holes were better detectable than with a conventional probe with about the same focus size.

Ultraschall-Prozesskontrolle mechanischer Parameter von aushärtenden Polymeren

Kurzfassung Mit einer neuartigen Ultraschall-Sensorik ist die differenzierte kontinuierliche Überwachung der Harzaushärtung in der Produktion von Bauteilen aus vernetzten Kunststoffen realisierbar. Der optimale Ablauf dieses Prozesses ist bestimmend für die mechanischen Eigenschaften der Komponenten und ihre Lebensdauer, was insbesondere für deren zunehmenden Einsatz in sicherheitsrelevanten Anwendungen an Bedeutung gewinnt. Die hier eingesetzte Durchschallung des gefüllten Werkzeugs ermöglicht mit der Verfolgung der Schalllaufzeit den direkten Zugriff auf die elastischen Moduli als qualitätsbestimmende Eigenschaften. Die Extremwerte der Ableitung der normierten Laufzeit können direkt für die Prozesssteuerung verwendet werden und haben sich bereits in der industriellen Praxis bewährt.

Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Transducers Based on Cellular Polypropylene Ferroelectret Films

Analysis of the dielectric and electromechanical properties of the cellular polypropylene ferroelectret films (EMFIT) evidences their high potential for the application in the air-coupled ultrasonic transducers. Simple prototype transducers, based on the EMFIT films, were developed and their high sensitivity was proved in the air-coupled ultrasonic experiment. Amplitude and delay time scanned images of the polyethylene step wedge with holes, obtained in both pulse-echo and transmission modes, demonstrate that non-contact ultrasonic imaging with EMFIT transducers is possible.

Ferroelektret-Prüfköpfe für die zerstörungsfreie Prüfung mit Luftultraschall

Kurzfassung Für die luftgekoppelte Ultraschall-Prüfung wird der Prototyp eines neuartigen Prüfkopfes vorgestellt. Statt eines piezokeramischen Ultraschall-Wandlers mit einer λ/4-Anpassschicht wird eine Ferroelektret-Folie aus schaumförmigem Polypropylen eingesetzt. Durch die außerordentlich geringe akustische Impedanz der Folie reduzieren sich die Reflexionsverluste an den Grenzschichten zur Luft so stark, dass bei diesem Prüfkopf auf eine λ/4-Anpassschicht verzichtet werden kann. Außerdem ist die Folie hochspannungsfest. Sie konnte mit Spannungen von mehr als 3500 V angesteuert werden und erlaubte eine Vorspannung am Ultraschall-Wandler des Empfangsprüfkopfes von 2000 V. Mithilfe der hohen Anregungsspannung stieg die Amplitude des akustischen Prüfimpulses auf das 11,2-Fache. Die Empfindlichkeit des Empfängers erhöhte sich durch die Vorspannung weiter um den Faktor 4,3. Insgesamt steigt die Amplitude am Empfänger also auf das 48-Fache, bei gleichbleibendem Rauschpegel. Ein abschließender Vergleich mit kommerziellen Luftultraschall-Prüfköpfen belegt die Überlegenheit der Folien-Prüfköpfe. Damit rückt der Einsatz einer vollwertigen Impuls-Echo-Technik auch bei der luftgekoppelten Ultraschallprüfung deutlich näher.

Parameter reproducibility of polypropylene ferroelectret transducers for air-coupled ultrasonic testing

The extremely low acoustic impedance of polypropylene ferroelectret combined with its piezoelectric properties makes this material suitable for construction of air-coupled ultrasonic transducers for non-destructive testing. For the fabrication of transducers with a stable quality, the reproducibility of their key parameters is of interest. The reproducibility was evaluated by means of (i) impedance spectroscopy and (ii) pulse-echo measurements. (i) Impedance spectroscopy was applied to identify the resonance frequency, the coupling factor and the acoustic impedance of several nominally identical transducers. (ii) Pulse-echo measurements yielded the signal form of these transducers. The variation of the signal amplitude measured with pulseecho technique was about 10 dB. A part of this variation comes from the deposition of transducer electrodes and another part from local variations of ferroelectret properties. The variation of the signal amplitude was caused by the observed variation of the coupling factor, which was also about 10 dB. The variation of the acoustic impedance was only about 1 dB, thus having no effect on the variation of the signal amplitude. These results indicate that the variability can be reduced by improving the control of electrode deposition and by optimizing the production technology affecting the reproducibility of material properties.