Multiobjective optimization of an ultrasonic transducer using NIMBUS

The optimal design of an ultrasonic transducer is a multiobjective optimization problem since the final outcome needs to satisfy several conflicting criteria. Simulation tools are often used to avoid expensive and time-consuming experiments, but even simulations may be inefficient and lead to inadequate results if they are based only on trial and error. In this work, the interactive multiobjective optimization method NIMBUS is applied in designing a high-power ultrasonic transducer. The performance of the transducer is simulated with a finite element model, and three design goals are formulated as objective functions to be minimized. To find an appropriate compromise solution, additional preference information is needed from a decision maker, who in our case is an expert in transducer design. A realistic design problem is formulated, and an interactive solution process is described. Our findings demonstrate that interactive multiobjective optimization methods, combined with numerical simulation models, can efficiently help in finding new solution approaches and possibilities as well as new understanding of real-life problems as entirenesses. In this case, the decision maker found a solution that was better with respect to all three objectives than the conventional unoptimized design.     

Electrical coupling effects in an ultrasonic transducer array

Ultrasonic imaging devices often use transducer arrays for sampling the incoming acoustic field and converting it into electrical signals. After some convenient processing (amplification, dephasing, summing, etc), the electrical signals are used to modulate the brightness of a cathode ray tube (crt) monitor on which the ultrasonic image becomes visible. The quality of the imaging apparatus depends critically on the transducer array design and implementation.

Each individual transducer would, ideally, produce an electrical signal related exclusively to the ultrasonic field arriving at its surface; the reciprocal would also be true for transmission. In all practical cases, however, numerous effects lead to some coupling between nearby transducers, especially for very narrow transducers. The subsequent perturbations may be described as a narrowing of the radiation (or reception) pattern of the individual transducers, with respect to the theoretical predictions. To understand the mechanism for these couplings and to minimize them, their possible origins have been systematically studied. One of the most important sources of coupling is electrical leakage, which is reported here. Since no simple analytical calculation can be performed, diagrams have been established that enable evaluation of the electrical coupling against the dimensional characteristics of the array. Some means for reducing this coupling are suggested and comparative experimental results are given.     

一种保证超声清洗机性能的换能器大功率测试方法

本文较详细地叙述了生产超声清洗机过程中，对换能器频率，频带宽度，阻抗等参数实施一种简单而实用的大功率测试法，据此进行筛选来提高超声清洗机的性能。     

Apparent transducer non-reciprocity in an ultrasonic flow meter

This paper investigates the effects of non-identical ultrasonic transducers on reciprocity and zero-flow calibration in transit time flow meters. According to the theorem of reciprocity, there should not be any difference between the up- and downstream acoustic times of flight in a zero-flow situation. This would thus eliminate zero-flow estimation drifts. The flow meter is modeled as a one dimensional system with equivalent electrical circuits and simulated with simulation program with integrated circuits emphasis. The work shows that variations between the two transducers cause false estimates of flow and indicate which parameters have the largest influence. It indicates that reciprocity holds only for identical transducers.     

Design of ultrasonic wedge transducer

Cones and wedges inserted between an ultrasonic transducer and the specimen provide the transducer (circular or rectangular shape) with enhanced capability for point or line contact with the specimen. Such an arrangement is useful in that the transducer can be used for transmitting to and receiving from a point (or line) source, and that it can eliminate the undesirable aperture effect that makes the transducer blind to waves traveling in certain directions and those of certain frequencies. In this paper, a comprehensive numerical analysis based on a wave propagation model is carried out for the study of characteristics and parameters of cones and wedges influencing their performance. We study the effect of the dimensions, shape and aperture on the frequency response and the angle of incidence of the wave. For computational accuracy and efficiency, the boundary element method is used in the analysis.     

一种用于应力测量的复合型超声波探头

为了在应力测量中更好地测量超声波的纵波声速和横波声速，提高测量的精度和准确性，本文研究了一种由两种不同频率的纵波晶片和两处偏振方向相互垂直的横波晶片组成的复合型超声波探头，研究了它的几种组合的发射与接怍ＭＡＳＯＮ等效电路图，并报道了它的一些实验结果。     

低频功率超声换能器辐射声场的激光干涉检测

基于媒质的压光效应,它的折射率n是声压的函数,于是利用激光干涉技术及理论上或实验上得到的声压相对分布,可以绝对测定声场中光路上各点的声压.本文对激光干涉测量声压的原理、方法作简单介绍,给出了单面活塞辐射源中场的声压分布的理论表达式,对一增幅杆超声换能器辐射声场中的声压进行了激光干涉实验测定,并与用 PVDF换能器实测的声压分布及声压值进行比较.     

Trapping of microparticles in the near field of an ultrasonic transducer

We are investigating means of handling microparticles in microfluidic systems, in particular localized acoustic trapping of microparticles in a flow-through device. Standing ultrasonic waves were generated across a microfluidic channel by ultrasonic microtransducers integrated in one of the channel walls. Particles in a fluid passing a transducer were drawn to pressure minima in the acoustic field, thereby being trapped and confined at the lateral position of the transducer. The spatial distribution of trapped particles was evaluated and compared with calculated acoustic intensity distributions. The particle trapping was found to be strongly affected by near field pressure variations due to diffraction effects associated with the finite sized transducer element. Since laterally confining radiation forces are proportional to gradients in the acoustic energy density, these near field pressure variations may be used to get strong trapping forces, thus increasing the lateral trapping efficiency of the device. In the experiments, particles were successfully trapped in linear fluid flow rates up to 1mm/s. It is anticipated that acoustic trapping using integrated transducers can be exploited in miniaturised total chemical analysis systems (microTAS), where e.g. microbeads with immobilised antibodies can be trapped in arrays and subjected to minute amounts of sample followed by a reaction, detected using fluorescence.     

超声换能器表面的振动状态

从超声波在波密介质和波疏介质之间的传播以及诱发共振发射超声波的角度,讨论了空气中超声声速测量实验所用超声换能器的表面振动状态.理论分析及实验测量结果表明:超声换能器表面振动状态与其结构有关,超声接收器表面位移振幅一般不为零.     

An absolute method for determination of misalignment of an immersion ultrasonic transducer

An absolute methodology has been developed for quantification of misalignment of an ultrasonic transducer using a corner-cube retroreflector. The amplitude based and the time of flight (TOF) based C-scans of the reflector are obtained for various misalignments of the transducer. At zero degree orientation of the transducer, the vertical positions of the maximum amplitude and the minimum TOF in the C-scan coincide. At any other orientation of the transducer with the horizontal plane, there is a vertical shift in the position of the maximum amplitude with respect to the minimum TOF. The position of the minimum (TOF) remains the same irrespective of the orientation of the transducer and hence is used as a reference for any misalignment of the transducer. With the measurement of the vertical shift and the horizontal distance between the transducer and the vertex of the reflector, the misalignment of the transducer is quantified. Based on the methodology developed in the present study, retroreflectors are placed in the Indian 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor for assessment of the orientation of the ultrasonic transducer prior to the under-sodium ultrasonic scanning for detection of any protrusion of the subassemblies.     

Monitoring of temperature variation in the focal region of an ultrasonic transducer

A method for remote monitoring of temperature in the focal region of a high-intensity ultrasonic transducer is described. Results of measurements and theoretical simulation are presented. The measurements were conducted on a polymer sample with thermophysical and acoustic parameters close to the properties of a soft biological tissue. The sample was heated by a focused piezoelectric transducer with different values of radiation power. The delay of a probe pulse transmitted through the heated region perpendicularly to the axis of the intense ultrasonic beam was detected. The local character of temperature measurements was provided by focusing the probe pulse at the heated region. The application of an additional transducer installed confocally with the probing one provided an opportunity to enhance the precision of measurements. An analysis was conducted on the basis of a numerical solution of the heat conduction equation. The function of thermal sources in the heat conduction equation was calculated according to the results of measuring the pressure distribution in the focal region of the heating transducer. The experimental data obtained agree well with the results of simulation and demonstrate a fundamental possibility of using the proposed ultrasonic technique for remote temperature measurements.     

Control of the ultrasonic beam transmitted through an irregular profile using a smart flexible transducer: modelling and application

In most of industries as aeronautics, aerospace and nuclear, the main part of the ultrasonic testing is carried out directly in touch with the inspected component. Among others, the cooling piping of French pressurized water reactor comprises many welding components with complex geometry: elbows, butt welds, nozzles. In service inspections of such components performed with conventional ultrasonic contact transducers present limited performances. Variations in sensitivity are produced by unmatched contact on irregular surface, which results in poor detection performances. In addition, the beam orientation transmitted through complex interfaces cannot be totally controlled, because of the disorientations suffered by the transducer during its displacement. As a result, a possible defect cannot be correctly detected, positioned and characterized. At last, the geometry of some components limits the displacement of the transducer, resulting in an uncovered scan area. To overcome these difficulties and to improve the performances of such inspections, the CEA, supported by the safety authorities (IPSN), has developed a new concept of phased array transducer. The phased array radiating surface is flexible to optimise the contact, and thus the sensitivity of the testing, while the characteristics of the transmitted beam (orientation and focal depth) are preserved during the scanning, thanks to a delay law optimising algorithm. This computation requires the actual position of the elements, so a specific instrumentation is coupled to the transducer to measure its radiating surface distortions. Thus, this smart flexible transducer becomes self-adaptive. Recent studies have been made to obtain further performances improvements of this system, including instrumentation development and a new phased array design. Both longitudinal and shear waves focused beams can therefore be generated and mastered with this smart transducer. Inspections have been performed on a specimen containing artificial defects under a realistic profile, with an adaptive mode to compensate the effect of the irregular profile. Experimental results, displayed using specific imaging, show the ability of this system to detect and characterize defects under irregular profiles, using longitudinal or shear waves in a fully mastered beam.     

超声换能器辐射特性的优化*

匹配层和背衬层是换能器的重要组成部分,对换能器特性有重要影响。针对发射型换能器,基于有/无匹配层和空气/树脂背衬两种条件组合,该文研究了匹配层与背衬层对换能器辐射特性的影响。结果表明,负载材料为水时,空气背衬换能器相较于树脂背衬换能器声能辐射效率更高;匹配层可以提高换能器的主瓣能量,抑制旁瓣能量及旁瓣数量。因此,针对发射型换能器的设计,背衬材料的选择应遵循与压电材料的阻抗差异越大越优的原则;匹配层的合理设计不仅可以提高超声换能器的声能辐射效率,还可以提高主瓣旁瓣峰值比,使声能更集中。     

Effect of the area of a lithium niobate transducer on the efficiency of ultrasonic atomization driven by resonance vibration

In recent years, individual control of one’s personal environment has been drawing increasing attention due to the growing interest in health care. Wearable devices are especially useful because of their controllability regardless of location. Humidity is one of the inevitable factors in the personal environment as a preventive against infectious diseases. Although atomization devices are commonly used as a method of humidity control, at present, there are no wearable humidity control devices. Vibration of a lithium niobate (LN) device in the thickness mode is a promising piezoelectric method for miniaturization of atomization devices for humidity control. To miniaturize the atomization device, the transducer size needs to be small not so much as to decrease the atomization efficiency. However, the effect of the device area on the atomization efficiency of LN at a size suitable for mounting in wearable devices has not been studied. Here, we conducted an atomization demonstration of LN devices with different sizes to evaluate particle size and atomization efficiency. Furthermore, to reveal the relationship between vibration behavior and atomization efficiency, resonance vibration in the MHz frequency band was evaluated by the finite element method and an impedance analyzer. The results showed that the peak size of water particles atomized by each device was in the range of 3.2 to 4.2 µm, which is smaller than particles produced by typical piezoelectric ceramics. Moreover, the best LN size for efficient atomization was found to be 8 mm × 10 mm among the five LN device sizes used in experiments. From the relationship between vibration behavior and atomization efficiency, the size of the transducer was suggested to affect the vibration mode. The obtained result suggested that the LN device is suitable for small wearable nebulizer devices.     

热超声倒装键合中换能杆末端多维振动的相关性研究

换能杆末端的振动情况对于超声键合机理的研究有着重要意义；换能杆末端的实际振动模式直接影响着芯片键合的质量。利用高精度非接触式激光多普勒测振仪采集了换能杆末端俯仰、水平、轴向振动速度，用相干函数方法分析了3个方向的相互耦合关系。分别对换能杆末端有未安装劈刀的情况做了比较，得出了在换能系统工作频率附近，换能杆末端轴向振速与水平、俯仰振速的相关程度。这对实际键合中，换能系统末端的劈刀安装长度的选择以及换能杆工作频率的选择有指导意义。     

空气耦合电容式微超声换能器设计

建立了空气耦合电容式微超声换能器(CMUT)的理论方法,分析CMUT各个结构参数对其性能参数的影响。根据理论分析结果结合无损检测应用背景设计了一个由16个阵元构成的CMUT阵列,并采用SOI晶圆键合工艺制作。该阵列每个阵元包含16个圆形CMUT敏感单元,敏感单元的半径400μm,中心频率230 kHz。建立CMUT发射和接收瞬态仿真模型分别得到CMUT发射声压和接收灵敏度与激励电压的关系,并通过实验测试验证该仿真模型的准确性。最后通过实验对CMUT与商用压电空耦超声换能器的性能进行对比,实验结果表明CMUT的发射声压和接收灵敏度与商用换能器达到相同数量级,并且能够成功激发和接收铝合金板中A_0模态Lamb波。     

超声去脂原理和高效换能器的设计

本文叙述了超声波对生物组织的微观作用。当超声波的强度超过了生物组织的临界空化阈值,可引起生物细胞的破碎。利用人体组织结构、密度的不同,其临界阈值不同,可实现超声波的可选择性破碎功能。介绍了提高换能器效率的方法和途径。给出了测试结果,减肥仪的整机效率约为73.6%左右。     

An ultrasonic transducer transient compensator design based on a simplified Variable Structure Control algorithm

A non-linear control method, known as Variable Structure Control (VSC), is employed to reduce the duration of ultrasonic (US) transducer transients. A physically realizable system using a simplified form of the VSC algorithm is proposed for standard piezoelectric transducers and simulated. Results indicate a VSC-controlled transmitter reduces the transient duration to less than a carrier wave cycle. Applications include high capacity ultrasound communication and localization systems.     

矩形扭转压电换能器的研制

本文从压电和机械振动等基本理论出发，首次较系统地建立了矩形扭转压电换能器的理论，推导出频率方程，并通过实验进行了验证。     

Study of the sandwiched piezoelectric ultrasonic torsional transducer

The sandwiched piezoelectric ultrasonic torsional transducer was studied. The transducer consists of front and back metal cylinders, and coaxially segmented, tangentially polarized, piezoelectric ceramic tubes. The torsional vibration of the tangentially polarized piezoelectric ceramic slender tube was studied first and its electromechanical equivalent circuit was derived. Based on the network theory and the electromechanical equivalent circuit, the torsional vibration of the piezoelectric ceramic cylinder, formed by stacking a number of identical short piezoelectric ceramic rings, was analysed and the electromechanical equivalent circuit of the piezoelectric ceramic stack in torsional vibration was developed. Finally, the sandwiched ultrasonic torsional transducer was studied and resonance frequency equations were derived which can be used to design and calculate the torsional transducers for different applications.