Improved ultrasonic detection using the analytic signal magnitude

An alternative to rectification is proposed for detection of an ultrasonic signal for medical or non-destructive evaluation applications. With this technique the envelope of the ultrasonic waveform is obtained by calculation of the magnitude of the complex analytic signal. An implementation, particularly suited for digital data processing, is presented which utilizes a fast Fourier transform for computation of the quadrature component of the received signal using the Hilbert transform. An ordinary transducer, pulser, and receiver are used together with a digital data acquisition system. The results of this processing are compared with conventional rectification, both with and without smoothing. The superior resolvability of two closely spaced interfaces on the A-mode presentation is clearly evident. Similar improvement in B-mode quality will result when an image is required.     

Internal tissue displacement measurement based on ultrasonic wave Doppler signal digital detection and its application to fetal movement monitoring

We have developed a fetal movement monitoring system based on small displacement measurement of internal tissues. When ultrasonic pulses are transmitted to the fetus, the reflected ultrasonic waves which have a Doppler frequency shift due to the fetal movements are detected by using an ultrasonic pulsed Doppler technique. In this paper, we propose a displacement measurement method for internal tissues which is based on the Doppler signal digital detection technique. In the method, the received ultrasonic RF signals are sampled with a sampling frequency of four times higher than the centre frequency of the ultrasonic waves; the Doppler frequency shift signals are derived using digital signal processing. From the detected signals, the internal displacements are estimated using the arc-tangent method. The basic algorithm of the detection method has already been used in the area of blood flow sensing, however, we apply the algorithm to the displacement measurement of internal tissues. The comparison between the proposed method and the conventional method is presented. The fetal movement quantitative monitoring system based on the method which has been constructed is shown.     

基于双高斯衰减模型的超声回波处理方法

信号降噪与特征提取是超声检测数据处理的关键技术.基于超声信号有特定结构而噪声和超声信号的结构无关,本文提出一种旨在解决强噪声背景下超声回波的参数估计和降噪问题的方法.该方法将超声回波的参数估计和降噪问题转换为函数优化问题,首先根据工程经验建立超声信号的双高斯衰减数学模型,然后根据观测回波和建立的超声信号模型确定目标函数,接着选择人工蜂群算法对目标函数进行优化从而得到参数的最优估计值,最后由估计出的参数根据建立的超声信号数学模型重构出无噪的超声估计信号.通过仿真和实验表明本文方法可以准确估计出信噪比大于-10 dB的含噪超声回波中的无噪信号,且效果优于基于自适应阈值的小波降噪方法和经验模态分解方法;此外相比常用的指数模型和高斯模型,本文提出的双高斯衰减超声信号模型与实测超声信号更接近,其均方误差为9.4×10~(-5),波形相似系数为0.98.     

External electric field effect on the optical rectification coefficient of an exciton in a spherical parabolic quantum dot

External electric field effects on the optical rectification coefficient of an exciton confined in a spherical parabolic quantum dot are theoretically investigated. To this end, energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the system are calculated, using the direct matrix diagonalization method. The compact-density matrix approach and an iterative method are used to find the optical rectification coefficient of a typical GaAs parabolic quantum dot. The results show that the optical rectification coefficient strongly depends on the confinement frequency and the magnitude of the electric field. Moreover, the peak value of this optical quantity is shifted to the aspect of high energy when the influence of the electric field is considered.     

Correlations to predict droplet size in ultrasonic atomisation.

In conventional two fluid nozzles, the high velocity air imparts its energy to the liquid and disrupts the liquid sheet into droplets. If the energy for liquid sheet fragmentation can be supplied by the use of ultrasonic energy, finer droplets with high sphericity and uniform size distribution can be achieved. The other advantage of ultrasound induced atomisation process is the lower momentum associated with ejected droplets compared to the momentum carried by the droplets formed using conventional nozzles. This has advantage in coating and granulation processes. An ultrasonic probe sonicator was designed with a facility for liquid feed arrangement and was used to atomise the liquid into droplets. An ingenious method of droplet measurement was attempted by capturing the droplets on a filter paper (size variation with regard to wicking was uniform in all cases) and these are subjected to image analysis to obtain the droplet sizes. This procedure was evaluated by high-speed photography of droplets ejected at one particular experimental condition and these were image analysed. The correlations proposed in the literature to predict droplet sizes using ultrasound do not take into account all the relevant parameters. In this work, a truly universal correlation is proposed which accounts for the effects of physico-chemical properties of the liquid (flow rate, viscosity, density and surface tension), and ultrasonic properties like amplitude, frequency and the area of vibrating surface. The significant contribution of this work is to define dimensionless numbers incorporating ultrasonic parameters, taking cue from the conventional numbers that define the significance of different forces involved in droplet formation. The universal correlations proposed are robust and can be used for designing ultrasonic atomisers for different applications. Among the correlations proposed here, those ones that are based on the dimensionless numbers and Davies approach predict droplet sizes within acceptable limits of deviation. Also, an empirical correlation from experimental data has been proposed in this work.     

Continuous recording of ultrasonic velocity by laser Bragg diffraction

A method for improving the measuring accuracy of ultrasonic wave velocities in a liquid sample is given. This utilizes the Bragg diffraction angle. Continuous recording of the ultrasonic velocity for a continuously varying sample temperature is also described. An analogue of the Czerny-Turner mount in the grating monochromater is used for the determination of the angle of diffraction. A frequency modulated ultrasonic wave produces an oscillating photo-electric signal from a diffracted light component incident on a photo-multiplier tube. Using this signal, the peak point in the intensity distribution of the component is determined with extremely high accuracy. Applying the phase-sensitively detected output of this signal to a servo motor which drives the angle of a plane mirror (replacing the grating in the Czerny-Turner mount), gives automatic tracking of the angle of diffraction. This in turn allows the possibility of continuous recording of the velocity dispersion as a function of sample temperature.     

Quantization of acoustoelectric current in a ballistic channel

The electric current induced by an ultrasonic phonon flux in a ballistic quasi-two-dimensional quantum channel is investigated theoretically. Two types of confining potential are considered. An analytic expression for the acoustoelectric current is derived, and its dependence on the chemical potential and on the magnitude of the longitudinal magnetic field is investigated. It is shown that the dependence of the acoustoelectric current on the chemical potential may be of the experimentally observed step type. The oscillatory dependence of the acoustoelectric current on the magnetic field is considered for the cases of weak and strong magnetic quantization.     

Real-time electro-optical heterodyne signal processors

A cross-correlation function of two time-varying signals and two spatial signals is considered analytically for real-time signal processing. An electro-optical heterodyne signal processor with a set of two successive ultrasonic light modulators and two optical masks is simply used because this optical system is not so sensitive in its alignment as conventional Mach-Zehnder-like interferometers for photomixing. As two special cases, a convolution function of two rectangular pulses fed to both the modulators and a correlation function of a rectangular pulse, fed only to one of the modulators, with a rectangular aperture made in one mask are produced experimentally for verification.     

Matching a transducer to water at cavitation: acoustic horn design principles

High-power ultrasound for several decades has been an integral part of many industrial processes conducted in aqueous solutions. Maximizing the transfer efficiency of the acoustic energy between electromechanical transducers and water at cavitation is crucial when designing industrial ultrasonic reactors with large active volumes. This can be achieved by matching the acoustic impedances of transducers to water at cavitation using appropriately designed ultrasonic horns. In the present work, a set of criteria characterizing the matching capabilities of ultrasonic horns is developed. It is shown that none of the commonly used tapered-shape horns can achieve the necessary conditions. An analytical method for designing five-element acoustic horns with the desirable matching properties is introduced, and five novel types of such horns, most suitable for practical applications, are proposed. An evaluation of the horns' performance is presented in a set of experiments, demonstrating the validity of the developed theoretical methodology. Power transfer efficiency increase by almost an order of magnitude is shown to be possible with the presented horn designs, as compared to those traditionally utilized.     

Some aspects of AE application in tool condition monitoring

Acoustic emission (AE) is rather a well-known form of non-destructive testing. In the last few years the technology of the AE measurement has been expanded to cover the area of tool condition monitoring. The paper presents some experience of Warsaw University of Technology (WUT) in such applications of AE. It provides an interpretation of common AE signal distortions and possible solutions to avoid them. Furthermore, a characteristic study of several different AE and ultrasonic sensors being used in WUT is furnished. Evaluation of the applicability of some basic measures of acoustic emission for tool condition monitoring is also presented in the paper. Finally paper presents a method of the catastrophic tool failure detection in turning, which uses symptoms other than the direct magnitude AERMS signal. The method is based on the statistical analysis of the distributions of the AERMS signal.     

Autoresonant control of nonlinear mode in ultrasonic transducer for machining applications

Experiments conducted in several countries have shown that the improvement of machining quality can be promoted through conversion of the cutting process into one involving controllable high-frequency vibration at the cutting zone. This is achieved through the generation and maintenance of ultrasonic vibration of the cutting tool to alter the fracture process of work-piece material cutting to one in which loading of the materials at the tool tip is incremental, repetitive and controlled. It was shown that excitation of the high-frequency vibro-impact mode of the tool-workpiece interaction is the most effective way of ultrasonic influence on the dynamic characteristics of machining. The exploitation of this nonlinear mode needs a new method of adaptive control for excitation and stabilisation of ultrasonic vibration known as autoresonance. An approach has been developed to design an autoresonant ultrasonic cutting unit as an oscillating system with an intelligent electronic feedback controlling self-excitation in the entire mechatronic system. The feedback produces the exciting force by means of transformation and amplification of the motion signal. This allows realisation for robust control of fine resonant tuning to bring the nonlinear high Q-factor systems into technological application. The autoresonant control provides the possibility of self-tuning and self-adaptation mechanisms for the system to keep the nonlinear resonant mode of oscillation under unpredictable variation of load, structure and parameters. This allows simple regulation of intensity of the process whilst keeping maximum efficiency at all times. An autoresonant system with supervisory computer control was developed, tested and used for the control of the piezoelectric transducer during ultrasonically assisted cutting. The system has been developed as combined analog-digital, where analog devices process the control signal, and parameters of the devices are controlled digitally by computer. The system was applied for advanced machining of aviation materials.     

一种强噪声背景下微弱超声信号提取方法研究

为解决在强噪声背景下获取超声信号的难题,基于粒子群优化算法和稀疏分解理论提出一种强噪声背景下微弱超声信号提取方法.该方法将降噪问题转换为在无穷大参数集上对函数进行优化的问题,首先以稀疏分解理论和超声信号的结构特点为依据构建了粒子群优化算法运行所需要的目标函数及去噪后信号的重构函数,从而将粒子群优化算法和超声信号降噪联系在一起;然后根据粒子群优化算法可以在连续参数空间寻优的特点建立了用于匹配超声信号的连续超完备字典,并采用改进的自适应粒子群优化算法在该字典中对目标函数进行优化;最后根据对目标函数在字典上的优化结果确定最优原子,并利用最优原子按照重构函数重构出降噪后的超声信号.通过对仿真超声信号和实测超声信号的处理,结果表明本文提出的方法可以有效提取信噪比低至-4 dB的强噪声背景下的微弱超声信号,且和基于自适应阈值的小波方法相比本文方法表现出更好的降噪性能.     

加偏置电场的双曲线量子阱中的光整流效应

用量子力学中密度矩阵算符理论导出了加偏置电场的双曲线量子阱中光整流系数的解析表达式.并以典型的GaAs双曲线量子阱为例进行了数值计算。研究结果表明,该势阱中的光整流系数与势阱的形状和偏置电场的强度有关。通过调节势阱参量a以及外加偏置电场,在该势阱中可获得一个大的光整流系数.     

一种用于界面接触状态评价的超声信号相似度分析方法*

针对常规超声反射系数对界面接触状态灵敏度受限问题,论文发展一种用于界面接触状态评价的超声信号相似度分析方法。针对不同压力下承压界面超声检测信号,研究了激励信号带宽、相似度函数类型及分析域对相似度分析方法对界面接触状态评价的影响。结果表明,检测信号的相似度指标随压力增加呈现明显规律性。激励信号带宽、相似度函数类型和分析域对界面接触状态评价效果有很大的影响。宽带激励下的时域欧式距离指标对界面压力微变化最为敏感,可用于界面接触状态的定量评价。     

New ultrasound assisted chemical oxygen demand determination

A new method for the chemical oxygen demand (COD) determination assisted by ultrasonic radiation has been evaluated for the first time. The suggested method uses an instrumentation simpler and cheaper than the previous ones used for the same purpose. With this preliminary version of the method the optimized experimental conditions are: high ultrasonic power (143 W, 95% of maximum nominal power; 126.5 W/cm2 of power density); high sulphuric acid concentration (> 60%); and a sonication time of 2 min. Under these conditions this first prototype shows the same limitations as the official COD method as regards the type of organic compounds. It works successfully with easily oxidative organic matter (sodium oxalate, glucose and salicylic acid) but the COD values obtained with more difficult organic matter are poor. When the ultrasonic assisted method is applied to real waste waters the precision is statistically not different to that of the conventional semi-micro method but the COD values obtained lie between 50 and 60% of the values obtained with the conventional semi-micro method. Hence, the use of the ultrasonic radiation for COD determination seems to be an interesting and promising alternative to the conventional ones but still much more research efforts must be done in order to improve the instrumental set-up. The suggested direction of these developments must be a more efficient interaction between the ultrasonic radiation and the sample.     

环形光纤声发射传感器的相位调制特性研究

提出了一种基于光纤Sagnac干涉仪的环形传感器,用于固体表面传播的超声波的检测.这种传感器的特点是能够精确地检测由固体表面传播的超声波产生的微弱振动.当超声波信号通过光纤传感器的两个臂到达探测器时,干涉仪的输出光强度受到了超声信号的调制.通过检测干涉仪的输出光强度并利用Fourier变换,测得了超声信号的振幅和频率.而且对传感系统的位相调制特性进行了仿真,并对实验结果进行了分析,结果表明该系统可用于固体表面传播的超声波频率特征的识别.     

光放大外腔式光纤法布里-珀罗干涉传感系统

提出了一种大幅度提高外腔式法布里珀罗干涉传感器干涉信号强度的方法 ,利用掺铒光纤放大自发辐射产生的光源代替一般宽带光源 ,同时由于掺铒光纤的放大作用可以放大干涉信号 ,将光纤法布里珀罗传感器的信号强度提高了 4个数量级 ,因而利用该方法可获得很强的信号和较高的信噪比。介绍了基于光放大的外腔式法布里珀罗干涉传感系统的结构、测量原理及实验。实验结果表明该传感器的应变精度为± 10 με,可满足实际应用的要求。该传感系统在大幅度提高传感器信号强度的同时并未提高系统的成本 ,因此有着较高的性价比和实用价值。     

Study on energy attenuation of ultrasonic guided waves going through girth welds

Ultrasonic guided wave is introduced as a new non-destructive long range pipe inspection method. It can be used to inspect pipe which is inaccessible to other conventional NDT methods, and rapid, long distance inspection can be achieved. An investigation of the guided ultrasonic waves traveling along pipe with special geometry characteristics, such as elbow, several girth welds, and some artificial defects is described. In this paper, factors that may cause attenuation of ultrasonic guided waves are discussed and energy attenuation of longitudinal and torsional guided waves is studied on an experimental pipe having seven girth welds. Good agreement has been obtained between the experiments and the predictions. In the end, the detection sensitivity and locating precision of two guided waves, namely longitudinal and torsional, were compared on defects, such as notch, burr and branch.     

基于超声回波重组相位分析的颗粒粒径测量方法

将超声波作用于沉降的颗粒时,由于颗粒的移动,超声回波会出现相位差异。该文通过对测量杯中某一确定深度处的回波信号进行相位分析和重组,发现重组后信号的频率可以计算出粒径;并分别对两种不同粒径分布的聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)微球悬浮液进行了超声波信号采样重组和去噪的实验,实验结果经小波时频方法分析后,证实了颗粒粒径分布与重组信号频率构成的确存在很高的相关性。     

A prosthetic aid for a developing blind child.

An experimental ultrasonic sonar for use as a sensory aid with blind children is described. Novel signal processing techniques make the aid relatively simple to construct, yet allow many of its parameters to be changed in the field. In particular, the aid has two features, a variable range code and an automatic level control, which make the device very versatile in a wide variety of environments. The ultrasonic tranducers used in the aid are described in some detail.