Ted Jackson

Evidence of surface acoustic wave band gaps in the phononic crystals created on thin plates

Phononic structures and acoustic band gaps based on bulk materials have been researched in length in the past decades. However, few investigations have been performed on phononic structures in thin plates to form surface acoustic wave (SAW) band gaps. In this letter, we report a new type of phononic crystals manufactured by patterning periodical air-filled holes in thin plates. We confirmed the existence of SAW band gaps in the created phononic crystals through laser ultrasonics measurements. Wide multiple SAW band gaps and special structures, such as narrow pass bands within a band gap were observed experimentally.

Noncontact determination of elastic moduli by two-dimensional Fourier transformation and laser ultrasonic technique

A laboratory instrument that utilizes broadband laser ultrasonics and two-dimensional Fourier transformation for signal processing has been developed to characterize the properties of various foils and plates. Laser ultrasonics generation is achieved by using a pulsed laser which deposits pulsed laser energy on the surface of the specimen. The displacement of the resulting broadband ultrasonic modes is monitored using a two-wave mixing photorefractive interferometer. By means of the two-dimensional Fourier transformation of the detected spatial and temporal displacement wave forms, the image of density of state (DOS) for the excited ultrasound is obtained, and from it the materials properties are extracted. Results are presented for a 150μm thick paper sample, a 50μm stainless steel foil, and a 1.27mm thick aluminum plate. The DOS image demonstrates the ability to measure the properties of each generated ultrasonic modes and provides a direct, nondestructive, measure of elastic moduli of the tested specimens.

Laser ultrasonic in‐process inspection of paper for elastic properties

A laser‐ultrasonic (LUS) sensor has been developed that allows measurement of the bending stiffness (BS) and shear rigidity (SR) of paper and paperboard as it is being made on the papermaking machine. A prototype system was recently tested in a paper mill at web speeds up to 5000 ft/min with excellent precision and accuracy. The LUS technique performs well on paper and board with basis weights up to 130 g/m2. Several laboratory methods exist for measuring the bending stiffness in small samples of paper and board. Currently, no commercial method exists for nondestructively measuring this property on the papermaking machine at production speeds. Commercial instruments using contact transducers measure ‘‘tensile strength orientation’’ (TSO) on heavier boards, where marking of the sheet by the contact transducers is not of concern. Unlike contact ultrasonic techniques, LUS does not visibly mark even the lightest grade papers. Contact ultrasonic measurements correlate approximately to the tensile strength of t...

Laser Ultrasonic Measurement of Elastic Properties of Moving Paper: Mill Demonstration

An automated sensor has been developed for use during paper manufacture that can measure flexural rigidity (bending stiffness). Based on laser ultrasonic technology, this sensor provides continuous noncontact on‐machine measurements on paper having area densities from 35 to 205 g/m2, moving at commercial manufacturing speeds, at any angle in the plane of the sheet. It was demonstrated on a high speed printing paper grade machine during commercial production. For that demonstration, the sensor was integrated into an existing scanning sensor system. Cross‐direction profiles of flexural rigidity had the expected shape, and compared well with traditional bending stiffness measurements on samples collected for that comparison.

A Laboratory Laser‐Ultrasonic Instrument for Measuring the Mechanical Properties of Paper Webs

For the paper industry, stiffness properties are an important parameter for producing more efficiently a fibrous material like paper. Some stiffness properties of paper webs can be obtained in a non‐contact fashion using two lasers. The authors have developed an automated laboratory laser‐ultrasonics instrument for paper, described here. The results of non‐contact laser generation and detection of ultrasound are also presented. The paper grades investigated were heavy grades like linerboard, as well as copy paper.

An automated instrument for the measurement of mechanical properties of thin materials

Flexural rigidity and shear rigidity of sub-millimeter thin webs can be determined by analysis of the zero order antisymmetric (A0) Lamb wave in the MHz range, even when the web thickness is unknown. Using Laser Ultrasonics to excite and detect Lamb waves in webs is advantageous because it is a non- contact technique suitable to both on-line and off-line measurements. The authors have developed an interferometer using an undoped Gallium Arsenide photorefractive crystal. They employed a two-wave mixing technique that is sensitive to displacement amplitudes in the nanometer range. The interferometer is part of a laboratory instrument in which both the generation and the detection laser beams are carried through fiber optics. The instrument uses several motorized translation stages to manipulate the position and orientation of the web sample. The instrument is computer-controlled and fully automated using LabVIEW for routine testing of foil samples. The results of measurements demonstrating the wide bandwidth of the instrument and the dispersion of the waves are presented. The probed materials were as different as paper, paperboard, non-woven and brass foils.

Laser Ultrasonics at 20 m/s in the production environment and on a budget: from dream to reality

A laser-based ultrasonic system for non-contact and non-destructive measurement of the elastic properties of paper was demonstrated on a paper manufacturing machine during commercial operation with paper moving around 20 m/s. We believe this to be the highest sample traveling speed reported to date for a commercial application of laser ultrasonics. Ultrasonic waves were generated in the paper with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm wavelength and detected with a Mach-Zehnder interferometer coupled with a scanning mirror/timing system to compensate for paper motion. Measurements of the flexural rigidity (FR) and out-of-plane shear rigidity (SR) of the paper web were done automatically by fitting the frequency dependence of the phase velocity of Ao mode Lamb waves to a model wave propagation equation. Variation in FR and SR across the width of the paper sheet (cross-direction profiles), effects of changes in paper manufacturing process variables on measured FR and SR, comparisons with traditional mechanical stiffness tests are presented. The sensor head is fully optical and thus measures the web properties without any contact. This laser-ultrasonics system combines a very reasonable cost with a relatively small footprint and low power consumption due to the low power output of the lasers that are used. Finally, laboratory data indicate that this technology is directly transferable to measurements on sheet metals and possibly other opaque web materials

Final Technical Report of project: "Contactless Real-Time Monitoring of Paper Mechanical Behavior During Papermaking"

The early precursors of laser ultrasonics on paper were Prof. Y. Berthelot from the Georgia Institute of Technology/Mechanical Engineering department, and Prof. P. Brodeur from the Institute of Paper Science and Technology, both located in Atlanta, Georgia. The first Ph.D. thesis that shed quite some light on the topic, but also left some questions unanswered, was completed by Mont A. Johnson in 1996. Mont Johnson was Prof. Berthelots student at Georgia Tech. In 1997 P. Brodeur proposed a project involving himself, Y. Berthelot, Dr. Ken Telschow and Mr. Vance Deason from INL, Honeywell-Measurex and Dr. Rick Russo from LBNL. The first time the proposal was not accepted and P. Brodeur decided to re-propose it without the involvement from LBNL. Rick Russo proposed a separate project on the same topic on his side. Both proposals were finally accepted and work started in the fall of 1997 on the two projects. Early on, the biggest challenge was to find an optical detection method which could detect laser-induced displacements of the web surface that are of the order of .1 micron in the ultrasonic range. This was to be done while the web was having an out-of-plane amplitude of motion in the mm range due to web flutter; while moving at 10 m/s to 30 m/s in the plane of the web, on the paper machine. Both teams grappled with the same problems and tried similar methods in some cases, but came up with two similar but different solutions one year later. The IPST, GT, INL team found that an interferometer made by Lasson Technologies Inc. using the photo-induced electro-motive force in Gallium Arsenide was able to detect ultrasonic waves up to 12-15 m/s. It also developed in house an interferometer using the Two-Wave Mixing effect in photorefractive crystals that showed good promises for on-line applications, and experimented with a scanning mirror to reduce motion-induced texture noise from the web and improve signal to noise ratio. On its side, LBNL had the idea to combine a commercial Mach-Zehnder interferometer to a spinning mirror synchronized to the web speed, in order to make almost stationary measurements. The method was demonstrated at up to 10 m/s. Both teams developed their own version of a web simulator that was driving a web of paper at 10 m/s or higher. The Department of Energy and members of the Agenda 2020 started to make a push for merging the two projects. This made sense because their topics were really identical but this was not well received by Prof. Brodeur. Finally IPST decided to reassign the direction of the IPST-INL-GT project in the spring of 1999 to Prof. Chuck Habeger so that the two teams could work together. Also at this time, Honeywell-Measurex dropped as a member of the team. It was replaced by ABB Industrial Systems whose engineers had extensive previous experience of working with ultrasonic sensors on paperboard. INL also finished its work on the project as its competencies were partly redundant with LBNL. From the summer of 1999, the IPST-GT and LBNL teams were working together and helped each other often by collaborating and visiting either laboratory when was necessary. Around the beginning of 2000, began an effort at IPST to create an off-line laser-ultrasonics instrument that could perform automated measurements of paper and paperboards bending stiffness. It was widely known that the mechanical bending tests of paper used for years by the paper industry were very inaccurate and exhibited poor reproducibility; therefore the team needed a new instrument of reference to validate its future on-line results. In 1999-2000, the focus of the on-line instrument was on a pre-industrial demonstration on a pilot coater while reducing the damage to the web caused by the generation laser, below the threshold where it could be visible by the naked eye. During the spring of 2000 Paul Ridgway traveled to IPST and brought with him a redesigned system still using the same Mach-Zehnder interferometer as before, but this time employing an electric motor-driven spinning mirror instead of the previously belt-driven mechanical spinning mirror. For testing we chose to use a 1 foot-wide paper loop running on IPSTs large scale web handler which could reach a web speed of 2,000 feet/min (10.16 m/s). This was more representative of the conditions encountered of a pilot coater, than on a table-top scale web simulator.

Surface acoustic wave band gaps and phononic structures on thin solid plates

Novel phononic crystal structures on thin plates for material science applications in ultrasonic range (~ MHz) are described. Phononic crystals are created by a periodic arrangement of two or more materials displaying a strong contrast in their elastic properties and density. Because of the artificial periodic elastic structures of phononic crystals, there can exist frequency ranges in which waves cannot propagate, giving rise to phononic band gaps which are analogous to photonic band gaps for electromagnetic waves in the well-documented photonic crystals. In the past decades, the phononic structures and acoustic band gaps based on bulk materials have been researched in length. However few investigations have been performed on phononic structures on thin plates to form surface acoustic wave band gaps. In this presentation, we report a new approach: patterning two dimensional membranes to form phononic crystals, searching for specific acoustic transport properties and surface acoustic waves band gaps through a series of deliberate designs and experimental characterizations. The proposed phononic crystals are numerically simulated through a three-dimensional plane wave expansion (PWE) method and experimentally characterized by a laser ultrasonics instrument that has been developed in our laboratory.Copyright