A device for measuring the velocity of ultrasonic waves: An application to stress analysis

In this paper we present a device for the practical application of an ultrasonic critical-angle refractometry (UCRfr) technique. UCRfr is a technique for measuring the velocity of longitudinal, shear and Rayleight waves, developed to improve the traditional ultrasonic methods for measuring the stress level in materials by means of acousto-elasticity. The technique consists of relating the variations in wave propagation velocity to variations in the angle of refraction at the interface with a second medium. Variations in the angle of refraction are determined on the basis of delay in receiving of the same wave at two different points. The study deals with the measurements of velocity changes of longitudinal wave due to uniaxial stress. In the present work the effects of stress on aluminum and steel specimens have been studied. Experimentation has show the potential of the technique for stress measurement; on the other hand, when the applied stress is known, it allows the measurement of the acoustoelastic constants of longitudinal waves. As regards measuring variations in velocity induced by stress, using this method it is possible, with a suitable choice of the material the device is made of, to isolate the effects of stress on velocity from the possible effects of temperature.     

Acoustic streaming measurements in standing wave resonator using Particle Image Velocimetry

This paper experimentally investigates the measurement of acoustic streaming in a 7 m long-standing wave air-filled acoustic resonator. One can describe the acoustic streaming as a second-order steady flow, which is superimposed on the dominant acoustic velocity. It is induced by the nonlinearities of the acoustic propagation inside the resonator. The exploration of the acoustic velocity field by the synchronized PIV (stands for Particle Image Velocimetry) technique enabled to highlight and quantify these secondary flows. The PIV measurements of the acoustic velocity fields at different phases over the excitation signal period gave information on streaming profiles and the post processing applied allowed plotting the acoustic velocity over time. These results were compared to the outcome of a 2D numerical study performed with the commercial software Fluent, where good agreements were found. It indicates the ability of this method to accurately measure second order steady flow variations of the acoustic velocity field.     

Determination of correlation functions of turbulent velocity and sound speed fluctuations by means of ultrasonic technique

An experimental study of the propagation of high-frequency acoustic waves through grid-generated turbulence by means of an ultrasound technique is discussed. Experimental data were obtained for ultrasonic wave propagation downstream of heated and non-heated grids in a wind tunnel. A semi-analytical acoustic propagation model that allows the determination of the spatial correlation functions of the flow field is developed based on the classical flowmeter equation and the statistics of the travel time of acoustic waves traveling through the kinematic and thermal turbulence. The basic flowmeter equation is reconsidered in order to take into account sound speed fluctuations and turbulent velocity fluctuations. It allows deriving an integral equation that relates the correlation functions of travel time, sound speed fluctuations and turbulent velocity fluctuations. Experimentally measured travel time statistics of data with and without grid heating are approximated by an exponential function and used to analytically solve the integral equation. The reconstructed correlation functions of the turbulent velocity and sound speed fluctuations are presented. The power spectral density of the turbulent velocity and sound speed fluctuations are calculated.     

用热线风速仪同时测量流场速度与温度

本文对流体力学实验研究中广泛使用的热线风速仪常用的测温和测速方法进行了改进，提出了一种同时测量流场速度与温度的方法。与分时测量相比，此方法具有较高的准确性。因此，本方法将有助于全面分析速度场与温度场的相互影响与关系。     

An anemometry technique for turbulence measurements at low velocities

A method using symmetrically bent V-shaped hot-wires has been developed for the accurate measurement of low-speed turbulence. Directional characteristics of V-shaped hot-wires at low velocities are investigated, and a generalized expression is derived for the effective cooling velocity. The measurement with V-shaped hot-wires in a pseudo turbulent field, which is artificially produced by shaking the hot-wires with an accurately known motion in a steady flow, has confirmed that the expression for the effective cooling velocity is also valid for instantaneous velocity fluctuations. The accuracy of a practical technique comprising two V-shaped hot-wires in an X arrangement is investigated by an error analysis in simulated Gaussian velocity fields using a digital computer.     

Two-color particle image velocimetry technique for an internal combustion engine

A two-color particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique has been applied to a single-cylinder motored research engine. Two-color PIV is a quantitative planar velocity measurement technique that can unambiguously determine the velocity magnitude and direction.

The work includes the development of an interrogation system, a series of computer simulations to determine the performance of the technique under various conditions, the comparison of these results to similar ones obtained for an autocorrelation PIV system, and a test of the technique by reconstructing the velocity field of a uniform jet flow.

The technique was then applied to the in-cylinder flow field of a motored single-cylinder, cup-in-head, research engine. A total of 27 instantaneous velocity fields were obtained at a single measurement plane for a single operating condition of the engine. The data were analyzed to yield ensemble-averaged velocity and velocity fluctuation.     

高温变形测量中热流场造成畸变的修正方法

目前高温环境中材料的变形测量是研究的热点,基于数字图像特征识别的非接触测量方法促进了高温环境变形测量的发展,但由于高温环境的复杂性,存在很多测量影响因素,其中高温环境中热流场的存在对数字图像法的影响尤为明显。本文提出了一种对高温变形测量中热流场造成畸变影响的修正方法。针对基于光学成像方法的材料高温变形测量中常见的热流场扰动,通过数值仿真得到热流场模型及热流场分布状况,再结合光线追迹原理对热流场造成的图像畸变影响进行分析,用数值分析结果对高温变形测量实验结果进行修正。对比扰动修正结果与真实位移有很好的一致性,从而证明了所提方法的可行性和有效性。     

Combined two-dimensional velocity and temperature measurements of natural convection using a high-speed camera and temperature-sensitive particles

This paper proposes a combined method for two-dimensional temperature and velocity measurements in liquid and gas flows using temperature-sensitive particles (TSPs), a pulsed ultraviolet laser, and a high-speed camera. TSPs respond to temperature changes in the flow and can also serve as tracers for the velocity field. The luminescence from the TSPs was recorded at 15,000 frames per second as sequential images for a lifetime-based temperature analysis. These images were also used for the particle image velocimetry calculations. The temperature field was estimated using several images, based on the lifetime method. The decay curves for various temperature conditions fit well to exponential functions, and from these the decay constants at each temperature were obtained. The proposed technique was applied to measure the temperature and velocity fields in natural convection driven by a Marangoni force and buoyancy in a rectangular tank. The accuracy of the temperature measurement of the proposed technique was ±0.35–0.40°C.     

Time–space characteristics of stratified shear layer from UVP measurements

The stratified shear layer flow pattern involves a fresh water layer flowing over a salted water one. The instabilities arising due to velocity gradients are mainly convective and thus evolve in time and space during their downstream propagation. This work was carried out within the framework of a study on the interaction between fresh water and seawater in the estuaries of rivers, where the main part of the physicochemical and biological phenomena occurs under the control of hydrodynamic conditions. The spatio-temporal velocity profile measurement by the ultrasonic Doppler method is well adapted to the stability analysis of such flows. It allows a comparison between the experimental wave properties and the theoretical results given by a linear temporal approach extended to the spatial point of view.     

Acoustical birefringence and the use of ultrasonic waves for experimental stress analysis

Stress-induced optical birefringence in transparent materials has long been a common technique of stress analysis. Although stress-induced acoustic birefringence was discovered more than 20 years ago, its development and actual applications are still limited. This paper will look at the similarities and differences between the propagation of light waves in photoelastic materials and the propagation of ultrasonic waves in deformed solids. Critical comparisons of the experimental methods employed in photoelasticity with those available in modern ultrasonic measuring technique show why previous studies on ultrasonic measurement of stresses were not very successful. A new experimental technique is devised for using ultrasonic waves for stress analysis. The technique employs a single rotatable 10-MHz shear transducer as the transmitter and receiver of ultrasonic pulses. The enlarged display of the 10-MHz modulated-pulse pattern of reflected echoes provides a convenient way to determine the directions of principal axis of the stress within ±3 deg. The pulse-echo-overlap method is used to measure the absolute velocities of the two principal shear waves. The difference in principal stresses is then calculated from the velocity measurements. Test results of common structural-aluminum and steel specimens under uniaxial compression show a linear relation between the velocity changes and the applied stress. Ultrasonic measurements of stress distribution in a 6.35-cm diameter, 1.9-cm-thick aluminum disk under diametric compression are also reported. Paper was presented at Third SESA International Congress on Experimental Mechanics held in Los Angeles, CA on May 13–18, 1973.     

Measurement of velocity in rotational flows using ultrasonic anemometry: the flowmeter

In this paper a previously developed theoretical model of the measurement process performed by a transit-time ultrasonic anemometer is applied to a fluid flowing through a circular section pipe. This model considers the influence of the shift of the acoustic pulse trajectory from straight propagation due to the flow on the measured speed. The aim of this work is to estimate the errors induced in the measured velocity by the shift of the acoustic pulse trajectory. Using different duct’s flow models, laminar and turbulent regimes have been analyzed. The results show that neglecting the effect of shift of the acoustic pulse trajectory leads to flow rate measurement underestimation.     

板中热弹波传播: 一种改进的勒让德多项式方法

近年来, 超声导波因其衰减小, 传播距离远和信号覆盖范围广, 成为无损检测领域快速发展的方向之一. 然而, 基于超声导波的高温在线检测和激光超声技术却发展缓慢, 其关键在于热弹耦合波动方程求解难度大、传播与衰减特性研究困难. 作为一种有效的求解方法, 勒让德正交多项式方法已广泛应用于导波传播问题, 但该方法在求解热弹导波传播时存在两个不足, 限制其进一步的发展和应用. 这两个缺陷是: (1)求解过程中大量积分的存在, 致使计算效率低下; (2)仅能处理等热边界条件的热弹导波传播. 针对两项不足之处, 提出一种改进的勒让德正交多项式方法, 以求解分数阶热弹板中的导波传播. 推导求解方法中积分的解析表达式, 以提高计算效率; 引入温度梯度展开式, 发展适合勒让德多项式级数的绝热边界条件处理方法. 与已有文献结果对比表明改进方法的正确性; 与已有方法的计算时间对比说明改进方法的高效性. 最后将改进的方法用于求解分数阶热弹板中的导波传播, 研究分数阶次对频散、衰减曲线和应力、位移、温度分布等的影响.      

Effect of measurement volume size on turbulent flow measurement using ultrasonic Doppler method

This paper presents the results of an investigation on the effects of measurement volume size on the mean velocity profile and the Reynolds stress for fully developed turbulent pipe flows. The study employs the ultrasonic velocity profile method, which is based on the ultrasonic Doppler method. The ultrasonic Doppler method offers many advantages over conventional methods for flow rate measurement in the nuclear power plant piping system. This method is capable of measuring the instantaneous velocity profile along the measuring line and is applicable for opaque liquids and opaque pipe wall materials. Furthermore, the method has the characteristic of being non-intrusive. Although it is applicable to various flow conditions, it requires a relatively large measurement volume. The measurement volume of the present method has a disk-shape determined by the effective diameter of the piezoelectric element and the number of the wave cycles of the ultrasonic pulse. Considering this disk-shaped measurement volume and expressing the time-averaged velocity in a truncated Taylor series expansion around the value at the center of the measuring control volume, the value of the velocity can be obtained. The results are then compared with the data obtained from DNS and LDA measurements. The result shows that the effect of the measurement volume size appears in the buffer region and viscous sublayer.     

THERMOELASTIC WAVE PROPAGATION IN PLATES: AN IMPROVED LEGENDRE POLYNOMIAL APPROACH 1)

近年来, 超声导波因其衰减小, 传播距离远和信号覆盖范围广, 成为无损检测领域快速发展的方向之一. 然而, 基于超声导波的高温在线检测和激光超声技术却发展缓慢, 其关键在于热弹耦合波动方程求解难度大、传播与衰减特性研究困难. 作为一种有效的求解方法, 勒让德正交多项式方法已广泛应用于导波传播问题, 但该方法在求解热弹导波传播时存在两个不足, 限制其进一步的发展和应用. 这两个缺陷是: (1)求解过程中大量积分的存在, 致使计算效率低下; (2)仅能处理等热边界条件的热弹导波传播. 针对两项不足之处, 提出一种改进的勒让德正交多项式方法, 以求解分数阶热弹板中的导波传播. 推导求解方法中积分的解析表达式, 以提高计算效率; 引入温度梯度展开式, 发展适合勒让德多项式级数的绝热边界条件处理方法. 与已有文献结果对比表明改进方法的正确性; 与已有方法的计算时间对比说明改进方法的高效性. 最后将改进的方法用于求解分数阶热弹板中的导波传播, 研究分数阶次对频散、衰减曲线和应力、位移、温度分布等的影响.     

Effect of viscous dissipation on the mixed convection heat transfer from an exponentially stretching surface

The mixed convection flow and heat transfer from an exponentially stretching vertical surface in a quiescent fluid is analyzed using similarity solution technique. Wall temperature and stretching velocity are assumed to have specific exponential function forms. The influence of buoyancy along with viscous dissipation on the convective transport in the boundary layer region is analyzed in both aiding and opposing flow situations. The flow is governed by the mixed convection parameter Gr/Re². The velocity and temperature inside the boundary layer are observed to be influenced by the parameters like Prandtl number Pr, Gebhart number Gb. Significant changes are observed in non-dimensional skin friction and heat transfer coefficients due to viscous dissipation in the medium. The flow and temperature distributions inside the boundary layer are analyzed and the results for non-dimensional skin friction and heat transfer coefficients are discussed through computer generated plots.     

Application of the ultrasonic velocity profile method to the mapping of liquid metal flows under the influence of a non-uniform magnetic field

An ultrasonic velocity profile (UVP) method has been successfully applied to the investigation of a liquid metal channel flow under the influence of an inhomogeneous magnetic field. Using velocity profiles obtained by the ultrasonic velocimeter and their numerical post processing, two-dimensional time-averaged flow maps were efficiently produced. A single transducer immersed directly into the working fluid was used in order to simplify alignment of measurement lines and avoid the undesirable refraction of the acoustic beam on the walls. An M-shaped flow and wake behind a magnetic obstacle were reconstructed as the patterns of shear and large-scale vortical flows.     

Analysis of the nonstationary spatial propagation of elastic waves from cavities subject to mechanical and thermal loads

A numerical analytic method is proposed to solve nonstationary coupled problems of thermoelasticity with regard to the finite velocity of thermal waves. The method is used to analyze the nonstationary spatial propagation of elastic waves from a cavity subjected on its surface to mechanical and thermal loads. The ray theory of propagation of wavefield discontinuities is used. To determine the time dependence of the field parameters behind the wavefront and to account for the relationship between the mechanical and thermal fields with prescribed accuracy, a numerical iterative procedure that employs the properties of characteristics is used. Plots are presented for the nonstationary stresses and temperature near a prolate spheroidal cavity subject to step mechanical loading and near an elliptical cylindrical cavity subject to thermal shock __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 42, No. 8, pp. 79–88, August 2006.     

Velocity profile measurement by ultrasonic doppler method

The ultrasonic velocity profile measuring method has been developed at PSI for application in fluid mechanics and fluid flow measurement. It uses pulsed ultrasonic echography together with the detection of the instantaneous Doppler shift frequency. This method has the following advantages over the conventional techniques: (1) an efficient flow mapping process, (2) applicability to opaque liquids, and (3) a record of the spatiotemporal velocity field. After a brief introduction of its principle, the characteristics and specifications of the present system are given. Then examples in fluid engineering for oscillating pipe flow, T-branching flow of mercury, and recirculating flow in a square cavity are described that confirm the method's advantages. Several other works under way by other investigators are introduced. A potential for in-depth study of fluid dynamics is demonstrated by several examples from an investigation of modulated wavy flows in a rotating Couette system. The position-averaged power spectrum and the time-averaged energy spectral density were used to study the dynamic characteristics of the flow, and subsequently the velocity field was decomposed into its intrinsic wave structure based on two-dimensional Fourier analysis.     

Noncontact measurement of internal temperature distribution in a solid material using ultrasonic computed tomography

Numerical simulations and experiments have been carried out for a noncontact measurement of the internal temperature distribution in a solid material using ultrasonic computed tomography (CT). The method is based on the fact that the sound propagation velocity in a material depends on its temperature as well as its density and structure. From the numerical simulations, the convolution method is found to be an effective algorithm for the reconstruction of the sound velocity distribution. To obtain an accurate temperature distribution, it is found to be necessary to measure the sound propagation time with a resolution of 1 ns. In the experiments, the temperature distributions are measured in an agar-gel cylinder of 40 mm in diameter, along the center axis of which a platinum wire with 0.1 mm in diameter is located. By comparing the experimental results with the theoretical ones, the temperature distribution inside the agar-gel can be reconstructed with an error of 0.1 K, except for the region close to the platinum heater wire where temperature gradient is high. Further, the effects of an obstacle to the sound propagation, such as an acrylic resin cylinder inside the agar-gel, are investigated. Although the obstacles causes a part of projection to be missed, by using a linear-interpolation method to compensate for the incomplete projection, the temperature distribution can be reconstructed well but with a little larger error of 0.2 K, except for the regions close to the platinum heater wire and obstacle.     

连续信号激光—超声旋涡测量技术

介绍了一种新的激光超声测量技术-连续信号激光-超声旋涡测量技术。用连续波超声信号记录流场参数（速度）变化。其主要优点是：降低对超声换能器的要求;不需要高能量激光光源;可以对旋涡流场进行定量的非接触测量。