Experimental study on the surface stress measurement with Rayleigh wave detection technique

In this paper, experimental study on the surface stress measurement of a metallic material based on the Rayleigh wave acoustoelastic theory is introduced. A Rayleigh wave acoustoelastic formula deduced by Husson is optimized to estimate the surface stress of the material. Two micro Rayleigh wave transducers with 5 MHz frequency one of which is used for acoustic pulse emitter and another for receiver are used to determine the time of flight of Rayleigh wave propagating in a certain distance along the surface of the material. The difference in time of flight between two ultrasonic signals obtained in stressed and unstressed object surface is identified by the digital correlation method. A specimen made of Q235 steel and applied with tensile load is used for calibration to obtain the acoustoelastic coefficients of Q235 steel. Furthermore, some principal factors which may result in errors in the experiment are discussed and some measurements are proposed to prevent these errors. Finally the surface stress of a cantilever beam is detected by the Rayleigh wave acoustoelastic technique and the experimental result is well compared with the theoretical value.     

Design of a self-calibrating simulated acoustic emission source

The use of conical piezoelectric transducers as point acoustic sources has been investigated. It has been shown that transducers based on a design originally developed at the National Institute for Standards and Technology in the USA can be used as point transmitters over the frequency range of interest in acoustic emission measurements (100 kHz to around 1 MHz). They should, therefore, be suitable for use in experiments to calibrate structures so that acoustic emission source strengths can be determined. It has also been shown that measurements of the response of the transmitting transducer backing can be used to assess the coupling efficiency, and hence to remove concerns about inconsistent coupling affecting the calibration measurements. The results indicate that the variation of the backing response with coupling is due to a shift in the resonance frequencies of the transducer with the mechanical load impedance. If other transducers can be shown to behave in a similar fashion this effect could be used to measure coupling in standard acoustic emission and ultrasonic transducers.     

New Techniques and Designs of Focusing Piezoelectric Transducers for Ultrasonic Diagnostics and Therapy

New techniques of forming high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) fields using dynamic focusing and harmonic multifrequency excitation are developed for ultrasonic diagnostics and therapy. New designs of HIFU transducers based on high-performance composite materials are developed and studied. Finite-element and finite-difference simulations of HIFU transducers and processes of ultrasonic wave propagation in biological tissues are performed. The parameters of piezoceramic materials, piezoelements, and the acoustic fields of focusing ultrasonic transducers are measured. Experiments are performed on biological tissues ex vivo that confirm the efficiency, selectivity, and safety of the developed HIFU transducers and techniques of forming acoustic fields.     

Coating thickness affects surface stress measurement of brush electro-plating nickel coating using Rayleigh wave approach

A surface ultrasonic wave approach was presented for measuring surface stress of brush electro-plating nickel coating specimen, and the influence of coating thickness on surface stress measurement was discussed. In this research, two Rayleigh wave transducers with 5 MHz frequency were employed to collect Rayleigh wave signals of coating specimen with different static tensile stresses and different coating thickness. The difference in time of flight between two Rayleigh wave signals was determined based on normalized cross correlation function. The influence of stress on propagation velocity of Rayleigh wave and the relationship between the difference in time of flight and tensile stress that corresponded to different coating thickness were discussed. Results indicate that inhomogeneous deformation of coating affects the relationship between the difference in time of flight and tensile stress, velocity of Rayleigh wave propagating in coating specimen increases with coating thickness increasing, and the variation rate reduces of difference in time of flight with tensile stress increasing as coating thickness increases.     

Modal expansion analyses of ultrasonic Lamb waves generated by electromagnetic ultrasonic transducers

A modal expansion approach has been proposed for investigating generation of ultrasonic Lamb waves by electromagnetic acoustic transducers（EMATs）.Based on the current distribution of the EMAT＇s meandering coil,the formal solution for the Lorentz surface stress applied on the plate surface has been derived.Then the function of the wave-number spectral density of the Lorentz surface stress for generating ultrasonic Lamb waves has been obtained using the spatial Fourier transform.On this basis,with the modal expansion approach for waveguide excitation,the mathematical expression of the Lamb wave＇s mode expansion coefficient has been deduced,which is closely related with the geometrical parameters of the EMAT＇s meandering coil.The mathematical relationship between the Lamb wave＇s mode expansion coefficient and the EMAT＇s geometrical parameters,obtained in this paper,lays a theoretical foundation for exactly analyzing generation of Lamb waves by EMATs.Further,the numerical analyses performed indicate that the Lamb wave＇s mode expansion coefficient can be appropriately adjusted by changing the geometrical parameters of the EMAT＇s coil,and thus the unwanted Lamb wave modes can be effectively restrained.This result provides a theoretical basis for generating a single and pure Lamb wave mode by the meandering coil EMAT.     

High-overtone self-focusing acoustic transducers for high-frequency ultrasonic Doppler

This work reports the potential use of high-overtone self-focusing acoustic transducers for high-frequency ultrasonic Doppler. By using harmonic frequencies of a thick bulk Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) transducer with a novel air-reflector Fresnel lens, we obtained strong ultrasound signals at 60 MHz (3rd harmonic) and 100 MHz (5th harmonic). Both experimental and theoretical analysis has demonstrated that the transducers can be applied to Doppler systems with high frequencies up to 100 MHz.     

Development of two-port surface acoustic wave resonator with Al/Au electrodes for gas sensing

Simple and efficient surface acoustic wave(SAW)two-port resonators with low insertion loss and high Q-values on ST-X quartz substrate using a corrosion-proof A1/Au-stripe electrode structure are developed for gas sensing.It was composed of two shorted grating reflectors and adjacent intedigital transducers(IDT),and an active metal film in the cavity between the IDTs for the sensitive film coating.The devices are expected to provide good protection towards metal electrode for gas sensors application in chemically reactive environments.Excellent device performance as low insertion loss,high Q factor and single-mode are achieved by carefully selecting the metallic electrode thickness,cavity length and acoustic aperture.Prior to fabrication,the coupling of modes(COM)model was performed for device simulation to determine the optimal design parameters.The fabricated single-mode SAW resonator at operation frequency of 300 MHz range exhibits matched insertion loss of~6.5 dB and loaded Q factor in the 3000 range.Using the fabricated resonator as the feedback element,a dualresonator-oscillator with excellent frequency stability(0.1 ppm)was developed and evaluated experimentally,and it is significant for performance improvement of SAW gas sensor.     

应用于气体传感器的具有铝/金电极的单模式两端对声表面波谐振器

为改善气体传感器性能,通过器件优化设计获得了一种应用于气体传感器的具有低损耗、高品质因子(Q)的单模式两端对声表面波(SAW)谐振器。该谐振器由两个换能器、分置于换能器两边的短路栅反射器以及在换能器之间分布的用于敏感膜镀膜的约2.5mm金属薄层构成。谐振器采用铝/金双层电极以降低测试气体环境的腐蚀影响。利用经典耦合模(COM)理论对器件性能进行了仿真以提取优化的结构设计参数。基于仿真结果,实验研制了基于300MHz频率的新型铝/金电极SAW两端对谐振器,测试结果显示所研制器件具有较低损耗(〈7dB),较高Q值(-3000)以及单一谐振模式的特点,并且,以所研制的新型谐振器为频率控制单元的谐振器型振荡器表现出良好的频率稳定度(t15Hz/h),这对于改善气体传感器的检测下限及稳定性等性能指标具有重要意义。      

一维非线性声波传播特性

针对一维非线性声波的传播问题进行了有限元仿真和实验研究. 首先推导了一维非线性声波方程的有限元形式, 含有高阶矩阵的非线性项导致声波具有波形畸变、谐波滋生、基频信号能量向高次谐波传递等非线性特性. 编制有限元程序对一维非线性声波进行了计算并对仿真得到的畸变非线性声波信号进行处理, 分析其传播性质和物理意义. 为验证有限元计算结果, 开展了水中的非线性声波传播的实验研究, 得到了不同输入信号幅度激励下和不同传播距离的畸变非线性声波信号. 然后对基波和二次谐波的传播性质进行详细讨论, 分析了二次谐波幅度与传播距离和输入信号幅度的变化关系及其意义, 拟合出二次谐波幅度随传播距离变化的方程并阐述了拟合方程的物理意义. 结果表明, 数值仿真信号及其频谱均与实验结果有较好的一致性, 证实计算方法和结果的正确性, 并提出了具有一定物理意义的二次谐波随传播距离变化的简单数学关系. 最后还对固体中的非线性声波传播性质进行了初步探讨. 本研究工作可为流体介质中的非线性声传播问题提供理论和实验依据.     

Ultrasonic imaging using air-coupled P(VDF/TrFE) transducers at 2 MHz

A reflection non-contact ultrasonic microscope system working both in amplitude and phase difference modes at 2 MHz has been developed using an air-coupled concave transducer made of piezoelectric polymer films of poly(vinylidene fluoride/trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF/TrFE)]. The transducer is composed of three 95 μm-thick P(VDF/TrFE) films stacked together, each of which is activated electrically in parallel by a driving source. The transducer has a wide aperture angle of 140° and a focal length of 10 mm. The measured two-way transducer insertion loss is 80 dB at 1.83 MHz. Despite 20 dB higher insertion loss than that estimated from Mason’s equivalent circuit, we have obtained clear amplitude acoustic images of a coin with transverse resolution of 150 μm, and clear phase difference acoustic images of the rough surface of a paper currency bill with depth resolution of sub-micrometer. Using two planar transducers of P(VDF/TrFE), we have also successfully measured in through-transmission mode the sound velocity and absorption of a 3 mm-thick silicone-rubber plate. The present study proves that, owing to its low acoustic impedance and flexibility, P(VDF/TrFE) piezoelectric film is very useful for high frequency acoustic imaging in air in the MHz range.     

Nonlinear acoustic properties of the B95 aluminum alloy and the B95/nanodiamond composite

Research results for the nonlinear acoustic properties of the B95 polycrystalline aluminum alloy and the B95/nanodiamond composite have been described. The nonlinear properties of the alloys have been studied by the spectral method that measures the efficiency of generation of the second harmonic of a bulk acoustic wave at a frequency of 2f = 10 MHz in the field of a finite-amplitude longitudinal acoustic wave at a frequency of f = 5 MHz. The results derived by this method have been compared with the results of studies of the nonlinear acoustic properties of the test alloys using the Thurston–Brugger quasi-static method.     

Clarification of plasma from whole human blood using ultrasound

There has been interest for a number of years in the possibility of separating blood into cells and plasma by methods other than centrifugation, so that the plasma can be analysed on-line. Cells in whole blood normally occupy about 45% of the suspension volume. It has been shown with a number of different cell types, such as yeast and bacteria, that for concentrations of this order the cells are not as efficiently harvested by ultrasound as those for lower concentrations. In this study, removal of cells from 3-4 ml whole blood volumes has been examined in ultrasonic standing wave fields from tubular transducers driven at a frequency of 1.6 MHz. Samples of whole human blood (n = 11) from two volunteers have been processed by three tubular transducers where high levels of cell removal, 99.7% on average, have been demonstrated with high reproducibility between samples as well as for different transducers.     

Analytical scale ultrasonic standing wave manipulation of cells and microparticles

The ultrasonic standing-wave manipulation of suspended eukaryotic cells, bacteria and submicron latex or silica particles has been examined here. The different systems, involving plane or tubular ultrasonic transducers and a range of acoustic pathlengths, have been designed to treat suspension volumes of analytical scale i.e. 5 ml to 50 microliters for both sample batch and 'on-line' situations. Frequencies range from 1 to 12 MHz. The influence of secondary cell-cell interaction forces in determining the cell concentration dependence of harvesting efficiency in batch sedimentation systems is considered. Applications of standing wave radiation forces to (1) clarify cell suspensions, (2) enhance particle agglutination immunoassay detection of cells or cellular products and (3) examine and enhance cell-cell interactions in suspension are described.     

电磁超声换能器激发超声兰姆波的模式展开分析

提出一种用于研究电磁超声换能器(EM.AT)激发超声兰姆波的模式展开分析方法。从EMAT曲折线圈的电流分布出发,推导出铝板表面洛伦兹切向应力的形式解;对其进行空间傅里叶变换,得到激发超声兰姆波的表面驱动应力之波数谱密度。在此基础上采用导波激发的模式展开分析方法,推导出与EMAT线圈的几何参数密切相关的兰姆波模式展开系数的数学表达式,为严格分析EMAT的兰姆波激发问题奠定了理论基础。数值分析结果表明,通过改变EMAT线圈的几何参数,可对兰姆波的模式展开系数进行适当调整,从而实现有效抑制不需要兰姆波模式的目的,这一结果为采用EMAT激发纯度高的单一兰姆波模式提供了理论依据。      

Fabrication of broadband poly(vinylidene difluoride-trifluroethylene) line-focus ultrasonic transducers for surface acoustic wave measurements of anisotropy of a (1 0 0) silicon wafer

This paper investigates a new method for fabrication of broadband line-focus ultrasonic transducers by sol–gel spin-coating the poly(vinylidene difluoride-trifluroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] copolymer film on a concave fine-polished beryllium copper backing. The ferroelectric hysteresis loops of the P(VDF-TrFE) films spin-coated from different molar ratios of VDF/TrFE, 77/23 and 55/45, were measured to select the better mixture. Owing to the better acoustic matching to water, compared with lead zirconate titanate (PZT), the fabricated transducers show relatively wide bandwidth of approximately 50 MHz with high central frequency of 60 MHz obtained at the focal plane when a fused-quartz acts as a reflecting target. Each one of the two finished transducers has a focal length of 5 mm and a full aperture angle of 90°. After applying the specially developed digital signal processing algorithm to the defocusing experiment data, which is called V(f,z) analysis method based on two-dimensional fast Fourier transform (2-D FFT), the operating frequency can extend from several MHz to over 90 MHz. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) velocities of a typical (1 0 0) silicon wafer was measured along various directions between [1 0 0] and [0 1 0] to represent the anisotropic features.     

Modeling of a high frequency ultrasonic transducer using periodic structures

Solidly mounted integrated transducers with a Bragg cell inserted between the piezoelectric film and the substrate are investigated for high frequency ultrasonic applications. A numerically stable recursive one dimensional transmission/reflection model was used to analyze the behavior of the periodic structure. This theoretical analysis includes the study of the influence of the acoustic properties of the constitutive layer, the effect of the number of cells and their arrangement. A 35 MHz integrated transducer consisting in a PZT ceramic laid down on a Au/PZT Bragg cell deposited on a porous substrate was fabricated and characterized. Both theoretical and experimental results highlight the interest of using a periodic structure for high frequency ultrasonic applications.     

Nonlinear surface acoustic waves: realization of solitary pulses and fracture

A laser-based technique for the contact-free generation and detection of strongly nonlinear surface acoustic wave (SAW) pulses with amplitudes limited by the materials strength has been developed. The effects of nonlinear propagation of short elastic surface pulses with finite strength in isotropic solids, such as fused quartz, anisotropic solids, such as silicon, and dispersive media were investigated. Solitary surface wave propagation was observed in layered structures for normal and anomalous dispersion. In addition, a SAW-based method for evaluating the critical fracture stress of anisotropic brittle solids, such as single crystal silicon, is introduced.     

Reflector-based phase calibration of ultrasound transducers

Recently, the measurement of phase transfer functions (PTFs) of piezoelectric transducers has received more attention. These PTFs are useful for e.g. coding and interference based imaging methods, and ultrasound contrast microbubble research. Several optical and acoustic methods to measure a transducer’s PTF have been reported in literature. The optical methods require a setup to which not all ultrasound laboratories have access to. The acoustic methods require accurate distance and acoustic wave speed measurements. A small error in these leads to a large error in phase, e.g. an accuracy of 0.1% on an axial distance of 10 cm leads to an uncertainty in the PTF measurement of ±97° at 4 MHz. In this paper we present an acoustic pulse-echo method to measure the PTF of a transducer, which is based on linear wave propagation and only requires an estimate of the wave travel distance and the acoustic wave speed. In our method the transducer is excited by a monofrequency sine burst with a rectangular envelope. The transducer initially vibrates at resonance (transient regime) prior to the forcing frequency response (steady state regime). The PTF value of the system is the difference between the phases deduced from the transient and the steady state regimes. Good agreement, to within 7°, was obtained between KLM simulations and measurements on two transducers in a 1-8 MHz frequency range. The reproducibility of the method was ±10°, with a systematic error of 2° at 1 MHz increasing to 16° at 8 MHz. This work demonstrates that the PTF of a transducer can be measured in a simple laboratory setting.     

Resonance tracking and vibration stablilization for high power ultrasonic transducers

Resonant frequency shift and electrical impedance variation are common phenomena in the application of high power ultrasonic transducers, e.g. in focused ultrasound surgery and in cutting. They result in low power efficiency and unstable vibration amplitude. To solve this problem, a driving and measurement system has been developed to track the resonance of high power transducers and to stabilise their vibration velocity. This has the ability to monitor the operating and performance parameters of the ultrasonic transducers in real time. The configuration of the system, with its control algorithm implemented in LabVIEW (National Instruments, Newbury, UK), ensures flexibility to suit different transducers and load conditions. In addition, with different programs, it can be utilised as a high power impedance analyser or an instantaneous electrical power measurement system for frequencies in the MHz range. The effectiveness of this system has been demonstrated in detailed studies. With it, high transducer performance at high power can be achieved and monitored in real time.