Zensheu Chang

Scattering of Lamb waves from a rivet hole with edge cracks

Lamb waves propagating in an infinite plate containing a circular hole, with or without edge cracks, are investigated both theoretically and experimentally in this paper. The theoretical analysis is accomplished by means of a hybrid method called the global local finite element method, in which a bounded region enclosing the hole and the cracks is discretized into finite elements, while the field external to this region is represented analytically in terms of Lamb wave modes. The scattered field is calculated through the application of the boundary conditions at the interface between the discretized region and the unbounded exterior. In the experiments the incident Lamb wave of a specific mode is generated by means of a wedge transducer and the waves scattered by the hole is recorded in conventional contact type transducers located on the plate surface. The measured time histories and amplitude spectra of the transmitted and reflected waves are compared with those calculated from the hybrid model. The agreement between the theoretical and experimental results is found to be excellent in the cases considered. Application of the technique to non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of corrosion and fatigue induced defects in aging structural components is discussed.

Modeling and computer simulation of ultrasonic/sonic driller/corer (USDC)

Simulation and analytical models for the ultrasonic/sonic drill/corer (USDC) are described in this paper. The USDC was developed as a tool for in-situ rock sampling and analysis in support of the NASA planetary exploration program. The USDC uses a novel drive mechanism, which transfers ultrasonic vibrations of a piezoelectric actuator into larger oscillations of a free-flying mass (free-mass). The free-mass impact on the drill bit creates a stress pulse at the drill tip/rock interface causing fracture in the rock. The main parts of the device (transducer, free-mass, bit, and rock) and the interactions between them were analyzed and numerically modeled to explore the drive mechanism. Each of these interactions is normally described by a time-dependent 2- or 3-D model involving slowly converging solutions, which makes the conventional approach unsuitable for USDC optimization studies. A simplified integrated model using tabulated data was developed to simulate the operation of the USDC on desktop PC and successfully predicted the characteristics of the device under a variety of conditions. The simulated results of the model and the experimental data used to verify the model are presented.

Novel Horn Designs for Ultrasonic/Sonic Cleaning Welding, Soldering, Cutting and Drilling

A variety of Industrial applications exist where power ultrasonic elements such as the ultrasonic horn are used. These included the Automotive, Instruments, Foods, Medical, Textiles and Material Joining and Fabrication Industries. In many of these devices the ultrasonic horn is the key component. The standard transducer used in these devices consists of three main parts, the backing, the piezoelectric elements and the horn. Standard horn designs have changed very little since their inception. There are four common types of standard horns. They are; constant, linear, exponential and stepped, which refer to the degree to which the area changes from the base to the tip. A magnification in the strain occurs in the horn that in general is a function of the ratio of diameters. In addition the device is generally driven at resonance to further amplify the strain. The resonance amplification is in general determined by the mechanical Q (attenuation) of the horn material and radiation damping. The horn length primarily determines the resonance frequency. For a 22 kHz resonance frequency a stepped horn of titanium has a length of approximately 8 cm. Although these standard horns are found in many current industrial designs they suffer from some key limitations. In many applications it would be useful to reduce the resonance frequency however this would require device lengths of the order of fractions of meters which may be impractical. In addition, manufacturing a horn requires the turning down of the stock material (eg. Titanium) from the larger outer diameter to the horn tip diameter, which is both time consuming and wasteful. In this paper we will present a variety of novel horn designs, which overcome some of the limitations discussed above. One particular design that has been found to overcome these limitations is the folded horn. In this design the horn elements are folded which reduce the overall length of the resonator (physical length) but maintain or increase the acoustic length. In addition initial experiments indicate that the tip displacement can be further adjusted by phasing the bending displacements and the extensional displacements. The experimental results for a variety of these and other novel horn designs will be presented and compared to the results predicted by theory.

Efficient Electromechanical Network Models for Wireless Acoustic- Electric Feed-throughs

There are numerous engineering design problems where the use of wires to transfer power and communicate data thru the walls of a structure is prohibitive or significantly difficult that it may require a complex design. Such systems may be concerned with the leakage of chemicals or gasses, loss of pressure or vacuum, as well as difficulties in providing adequate thermal or electrical insulation. Moreover, feeding wires thru a wall of a structure reduces the strength of the structure and makes the structure susceptibility to cracking due to fatigue that can result from cyclic loading. Two areas have already been identified to require a wireless alternative capability and they include (a) the container of the Mars Sample Return Mission will need the use of wireless sensors to sense pressure leak and to avoid potential contamination; and (b) the Navy is seeking the capability to communicate with the crew or the instrumentation inside marine structures without the use of wires that will weaken the structure. The idea of using elastic or acoustic waves to transfer power was suggested recently by Y. Hu, et al.1. However, the disclosed model was developed directly from the wave equation and the linear equations of piezoelectricity. This model restricted by an inability to incorporate head and tail mass and account for loss in all the mechanisms. In addition there is no mechanism for connecting the model to actual power processing circuitry (diode bridge, capacitors, rectifiers etc.). An alternative approach which is to be presented is a network equivalent circuit that can easily be modified to account for additional acoustic elements and connected directly to other networks or circuits. All the possible loss mechanisms of the disclosed solution can be accounted for and introduced into the model. The circuit model allows for both power and data transmission in the forward and reverse directions through acoustic signals at the harmonic and higher order resonances. This system allows or the avoidance of cabling or wiring. The technology is applicable to the transfer of power for actuation, sensing and other tasks inside sealed containers and vacuum/pressure vessels.

Piezoelectrically actuated miniature peristaltic pump

There is a range of NASA experiments, instruments and applications where miniature pumps are needed. To address such needs, a piezoelectrically actuated miniature pump is being developed. This pump employs a novel volume displacing mechanism using flexural traveling waves that acts peristaltically and eliminates the need for valves or physically moving parts. This pump is being developed for planetary instruments and space applications. Finite element model was developed using ANSYS for the purpose of prediction of the resonance frequency of the vibrating mode for the piezo-pump driving stator. The model allows determining simultaneously the mode shapes that are associated with the various resonance frequencies. This capability is essential for designing the pump size and geometry. To predict and optimize the pump efficiency that is determined by the volume of pumping chambers the model was modified to perform harmonic analysis. Current capability allows the determination of the effect of such design parameters as pump geometry, construction materials and operating modes on the volume of the chambers that are formed between the peaks and valleys of the waves. Experiments were made using a breadboard of the pump and showed water-pumping rate of about 4.5 cc/min. The pump is continually being modified to enhance the performance and efficiency.

Wireless piezoelectric acoustic-electric power feedthru

There are numerous engineering applications where there is a need to transfer power and communication data thru the walls of a structure. A piezoelectric acoustic-electric power feedthru system was developed in this reported study allowing for wireless transfer of electric power through a metallic wall using elastic waves. The technology is applicable to the transfer of power for actuation, sensing and other tasks inside sealed containers and vacuum/pressure vessels. A network equivalent circuit including material damping loss was developed to analyze the performance of the devices. Experimental test devices were constructed and tested. The power transfer capability and the transfer efficiency were measured. A 100W feed though capability with 38 mm diameter device and 88% transmission efficiency were demonstrated. Both analytical and experimental results are presented and discussed in this paper.

Studies of acoustic-electric feed-throughs for power transmission through structures

There are numerous engineering design problems where the use of wires to transfer power and communicate data thru the walls of a structure is prohibitive or significantly difficult that it may require a complex design. Using physical feedthroughs in such systems may make them susceptible to leakage of chemicals or gasses, loss of pressure or vacuum, as well as difficulties in providing adequate thermal or electrical insulation. Moreover, feeding wires thru a wall of a structure reduces the strength of the structure and makes the structure prone to cracking due to fatigue that can result from cyclic loading and stress concentrations. One area that has already been identified to require a wireless alternative to electrical feedthroughs would be the container of any Mars Sample Return Mission, which would need wireless sensors to sense a pressure leak and to avoid potential contamination. The idea of using elastic or acoustic waves to transfer power was suggested recently by [Y. Hu, et al., July 2003]. This system allows for the avoidance of cabling or wiring. The technology is applicable to the transfer of power for actuation, sensing and other tasks inside any sealed container or vacuum/pressure vessel. An alternative approach to the modeling presented previously [Sherrit et al., 2005] used network analysis to solve the same problem in a clear and expandable manner. Experimental tests on three different designs of these devices were performed. The three designs used different methods of coupling the piezoelectric element to the wall. In the first test the piezoelectric material was bolted using a backing structure. In the second test the piezoelectric was clamped after the application of grease. Finally the piezoelectric element was attached using a conductive epoxy. The mechanical clamp with grease produced the highest measured efficiency of 53% however this design was the least practical from a fabrication viewpoint. The power transfer efficiency of conductive epoxy joint was 40% and the stress bolts (12%). The experimental results on a variety of designs will be presented and the thermal and non-linear issues will be discussed.

Lemur IIb: a Robotic System for Steep Terrain Access

Purpose – Introduces the Lemur IIb robot which allows the investigation of the technical hurdles associated with free climbing in steep terrain. These include controlling the distribution of contact forces during motion to ensure holds remain intact and to enable mobility through over‐hangs. Efforts also can be applied to further in‐situ characterization of the terrain, such as testing the strength of the holds and developing models of the individual holds and a terrain map.Design/methodology/approach – A free climbing robot system was designed and integrated. Climbing end‐effector were investigated and operational algorithms were developed.Findings – A 4‐limbed robotic system used to investigate several aspects of climbing system design including the mechanical system (novel end‐effectors, kinematics, joint design), sensing (force, attitude, vision), low‐level control (force‐control for tactile sensing and stability management), and planning (joint trajectories for stability). A new class of Ultrasonic/S...

High-power piezoelectric acoustic-electric power feedthru for metal walls

Piezoelectric acoustic-electric power feed-through devices transfer electric power wirelessly through a solid wall using elastic waves. This approach allows for the elimination of the need for holes through structures for cabling or electrical feed-thrus . The technology supplies power to electric equipment inside sealed containers, vacuum or pressure vessels, etc where holes in the wall are prohibitive or may result in significant performance degradation or requires complex designs. In the our previous work, 100-W of electric power was transferred through a metal wall by a small, piezoelectric device with a simple-structure. To meet requirements of higher power applications, the feasibility to transfer kilowatts level power was investigated. Pre-stressed longitudinal piezoelectric feed-thru devices were analyzed by finite element modeling. An equivalent circuit model was developed to predict the characteristics of power transfer to different electric loads. Based on the analytical results, a prototype device was designed, fabricated and successfully demonstrated to transfer electric power at a level of 1-kW. Methods of minimizing plate wave excitation on the wall were also analyzed. Both model analysis and experimental results are presented in detail in this paper.

Ultrasonic/sonic driller/corer (USDC) as a sampler for planetary exploration

Future NASA exploration missions to Mars, Europa, Titan, comets, and asteroids will perform sampling, in-situ analysis and possibly the return of material to Earth for further tests. One of the major limitations of sampling in low gravity environments is that conventional drills need high axial force. An ultrasonic/sonic driller/corer (USDC) mechanism was developed to address these and other limitations of existing drilling techniques. The USDC is based on an ultrasonic horn that is driven by a piezoelectric stack. The horn drives a free-mass, which resonates, between the horn and drill stem. Tests have shown that this device addresses some of the key challenges to the NASA objective of planetary in-situ sampling and analysis. The USDC is lightweight (450 g), requires low pre-load (<5N) and can be driven at low power (5 W). The device was operated from such robotic platforms as the Sojourner rover and the FIDO robotic arm and it has been shown to drill various rocks including granite, diorite, basalt and limestone. The drill can potentially operate at high and low temperatures and does not require sharpening. Although the drill is driven electrically at 20 kHz, a substantial subharmonic acoustic component is found that is crucial to drilling performance. Models that explain this low frequency coupling in the horn, free-mass, drill stem and rock are presented. Efforts are currently underway to integrate the models and experimentally corroborate the predictions.