Experimental studies of linear phased-array transmitter acoustic logging in cased wells with scaled borehole models

Laboratory cased-hole acoustic logging simulations are developed with the linear phased-array transmitter in scaled cased well models for evaluating the feasibility of extracting formation acoustic parameters through casing.The full waveforms are measured with different cement bonding models.By analyzing the measured wavetrains and the time-slowness correlation graphs,it is showed that when the generation conditions of the refracted compressional wave and the refracted shear wave are reached successively by regulating the direction of acoustic beam radiated from the linear phased-array transmitter,steered angle of the main radiation lobe with both good bonding interfaces.The refracted compressional wave and the refracted shear wave can be stimulated obviously and the casing wave can be suppressed effectively,even when the casing and cement(or the cement and formation) is not bonded.Based on these observations, it is worthwhile to apply the linear phased-array transmitter to determine formation velocities,particularly in poorly bonded cased well.The works establish the experimental and theoretical foundation for new generation cased-hole acoustic logging tool development.     

Shear Wave Field Radiated by an Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer

The horizontally polarized ultrasonic shear wave field emitted by an electromagnetic acoustic transducer （EMAT） is studied by the surface force distribution on the EMAT approximately described as an inhomogeneous horizontal shear force. The shear wave directivity pattern is plotted by numerical calculations based on our strictly analytic solutions of the wave field we presented previously. An experimental system of EMAT generation and piezoelectric transducer reception is set up to check the predictions of the theoretical wave field by measuring the ultrasonic signals through aluminium block. The directivity pattern of the wave field obtained from the experimental results conforms the theoretical prediction, which lays a foundation for engineering applications of EMATs.     

Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Ultrasonic Focusing with Annular Phased Array

The focused acoustic field generated by an annular array interface are investigated theoretically and experimentally. transducer and its reflection field on a solid-liquid Theoretically, the concise analytic expressions about the radiation and reflection acoustic fields of the annular phased array are obtained by the ray approach method （saddle-point method）. In experiment, an annular transducer with 8 equal-area elements is designed and fabricated, and a series of experiments about the radiation acoustic field and its reflection on the liquid-solid interface are carried out. The experimental characteristics of the transducer are in good agreement with the numerical ones. It shows the correctness of the theoretical result and the feasibility of dynamic focusing of the experiment system. With the maximum amplitude and its emergence time of the reflection wave, we can acquire the information and the imaging of the reflection interface by the annular phased array dynamic focusing.     

Directivity calculation with experimental verification for a conformal array of underwater acoustic transducers

The radiation directivity of a complicated conformal array of underwater acoustic transducers is presented based on the boundary ＂element method. It includes the element directivity of each transducer, the natural beam pattern and the controlled beam pattern of the transducer array. At first, the boundary element model of the conformal array is built up, and then the boundary condition is exerted on the model according to the design and environment in which the transducer array is used, and the radiation directivity of the conformal array is calculated. An experiment has been done to measure the directivity in an anechoic water tank. The calculated and the experimental results are compared and analyzed. They are consistent to each other. It is shown that the boundary element method together with the detailed calculations is successful to simulate and predict the radiation directivity of an underwater acoustic transducer array.     

Influence of mode conversions in the skull on transcranial focused ultrasound and temperature fields utilizing the wave field separation method: A numerical study

Transcranial focused ultrasound is a booming noninvasive therapy for brain stimuli. The Kelvin–Voigt equations are employed to calculate the sound field created by focusing a 256-element planar phased array through a monkey skull with the time-reversal method. Mode conversions between compressional and shear waves exist in the skull. Therefore, the wave field separation method is introduced to calculate the contributions of the two waves to the acoustic intensity and the heat source, respectively. The Pennes equation is used to depict the temperature field induced by ultrasound. Five computational models with the same incident angle of 0?and different distances from the focus for the skull and three computational models at different incident angles and the same distance from the focus for the skull are studied. Numerical results indicate that for all computational models, the acoustic intensity at the focus with mode conversions is 12.05%less than that without mode conversions on average. For the temperature rise, this percentage is 12.02%. Besides, an underestimation of both the acoustic intensity and the temperature rise in the skull tends to occur if mode conversions are ignored. However, if the incident angle exceeds 30?, the rules of the over-and under-estimation may be reversed. Moreover,shear waves contribute 20.54% of the acoustic intensity and 20.74% of the temperature rise in the skull on average for all computational models. The percentage of the temperature rise in the skull from shear waves declines with the increase of the duration of the ultrasound.     

An ultrasonic multi-wave focusing and imaging method for linear phased arrays

To overcome the inherent limits of traditional single wave imaging for nondestructive testing,the multi-wave focusing and imaging method is thoroughly studied.This method makes the compressional waves and shear waves focused in both emission and reception processes,which strengthens the focusing energy and improves the signal-to-noise ratio of received signals.A numerical model is developed to study the characteristics of a multi-wave focusing field.It is shown that the element width approaching 0.8 wavelengths of shear waves can keep a balance between the radiation energy of two waves,which can achieve a desirable multi-wave focusing performance.And an experiment using different imaging methods for a linear phased array is performed.It can be concluded that due to the combination of the propagation and reflection characteristics of two waves,the multi-wave focusing and imaging method can significantly improve the imaging distinguishability of defects and expand the available sweeping range to a sector of-650 to 65°.     

Non-integral dimensions ultrasonic phased arrays in a borehole

The non-integral dimensions ultrasonic phased arrays and their scanning and testing methods in a borehole are studied. First, the focusing acoustic fields excited by the 1.25D, 1.5D, and 1.75D phased arrays are analyzed, and then the imaging resolution in the elevation direction and the influence of the dynamic elements are investigated. Second, the focusing and deflexion characteristics of the acoustic fields excited by the annular and segmented annular phased arrays are studied, and they are compared with those excited by the 2D surface array. The application method of the 1.25D, 1.5D, and 1.75D, annular and segmented annular phased arrays in acoustic logging are analyzed and discussed. It provides a theoretical foundation for the application of the ultrasonic phased arrays in acoustic logging.     

Multi-path propagation of acoustical wave and time reversal field in a solid plate

The multi-path effect of the acoustical wave in a solid plate is studied. The multireflection and wave conversion of the cylindrical compressional and shear waves, which are excited by an infinite strip on a free surface of the solid plate, are analyzed thoroughly by the far-field approximation method. The concise analytical representations of the cylindrical waves are obtained. The time reversal processing is then applied to the propagation of the cylindrical waves and analyzed theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that the waves coming from different array elements and different paths all arrive at the original place after the time reversal operation. It indicates that the time reversal can compensate automatically the wave aberration caused by the multi-path effect. The self-adaptive focusing of the time reversal field is also analyzed quantificationally by the focusing gain and the ratio of the principal to the second lobe. The effects of the focus position and the aperture of the transducer array on the focused field are also investigated. It shows that theoretical and experimental results are consistent to each other very well.     

Radiation and reflection acoustical fields of an annular phased array

The characteristics of the radiation and reflection acoustical fields of an annular phased array are investigated. The effects of the element number, element radius, interelement spacing, centre frequency, focus position, and other parameters on the radiation acoustical field of the annular phased array is theoretically studied. In experiment, an annular transducer with 8 equal-area elements is designed and fabricated, and a series of experimental measurements are conducted. The radiation acoustical field and its reflection on a liquid-solid interface are theoretically and experimentally studied. The experimental result is in good agreement with the theoretical one.     

Emission of underwater acoustic orbital angular momentum and data transmission

Emission of underwater acoustic orbital angular momentum(OAM) is studied as well as underwater acoustic communications with OAM multiplexing. Theoretical acoustic properties for circular phased array are analyzed based on point source theory. We optimize and design an array prototype based on cymbal transducer. The diameter of array prototype is 180 mm, the number of array elements is 10, and the working frequency is 25 k Hz. It emits acoustic OAM with topological charges-3 to 3. The favorable r...