Source detection in mechanoacoustic systems by the wave front inversion and time reversal methods

A combined experimental and theoretical method is proposed for finding the vibration sources in mechanoacoustic systems. The method is similar to the wave front inversion and time reversal focusing methods used in optics and acoustics. The method performs coherent measurements of the vibration field at a set of points and employs the reciprocity principle in its theoretical part. To enhance the stability of the method, modifications are proposed that perform nonlinear processing of vibration fields calculated by the finite element method. Possibilities of using the method in self-testing vibrating systems are discussed.     

一种基于模态提取的深度和距离可变的时反聚焦方法

提出了一种基于模态提取的深度和距离同时可变的时反聚焦方法。首先,通过模态提取方法从时反阵列接收的探测信号中提取出波导中传播的模态函数信息,并且进一步地从中获得一个包含探测声源深度信息的对角阵以及一个包含探测声源距离信息的向量;然后,利用模态提取获得的信息对探测声源深度信息矩阵和距离信息向量进行调整,重新构造出时反阵列的一个接收声场向量信息,使得时反发射声场聚焦的深度和距离发生变化。这种方法克服了传统时反处理只能在探测声源位置聚焦的局限性,通过对探测声源深度信息矩阵和探测声源距离向量信息进行适当的调整,可以将时反发射的声场聚焦到探测声源以外的某个期望位置上。针对典型浅海波导环境,通过计算机仿真试验验证了该方法的有效性。      

A hybrid approach to reconstruct transient sound field based on the free-field time reversal method and interpolated time-domain equivalent source method

A hybrid approach is presented in the current work, which reconstructs the transient sound field radiated from the two-dimensional sources with unknown locations and sizes, by combining the free-field time reversal method and the interpolated time-domain equivalent source method (TDESM). In the first step of the proposed method, the time reversal focusing algorithm is performed to estimate the source locations on the source plane. And then, the interpolated TDESM is applied to reconstruct the transient sound field on the reconstruction plane by assuming that the equivalent sources are located near the estimated source locations found in the previous step. The proposed technique, in principle, requires fewer microphones in the measurement since the equivalent sources are only placed in the vicinity of the ‘real’ sound sources. Reconstruction of the transient sound field radiated from the dual-planar-piston model is studied by numerical simulation for feasibility demonstration. A measurement of the sound fields radiated from two baffled loudspeakers is performed in the anechoic chamber, which shows that a better reconstruction result can be achieved by using the proposed hybrid scheme than the original interpolated TDESM with relatively the same number of sampling channels.     

Acoustic emission localization in complex dissipative anisotropic structures using a one-channel reciprocal time reversal method

This paper presents an imaging method for the localization of the impact point in complex anisotropic structures with diffuse field conditions, using only one passive transducer. The proposed technique is based on the reciprocal time reversal approach (inverse filtering) applied to a number of waveforms stored into a database containing the experimental Green's function of the structure. Unlike most acoustic emission monitoring systems, the present method exploits the benefits of multiple scattering, mode conversion, and boundaries reflections to achieve the focusing of the source with high resolution. Compared to a standard time reversal approach, the optimal refocusing of the back propagated wave field at the impact point is accomplished through a "virtual" imaging process. The robustness of the inverse filtering technique is experimentally demonstrated on a dissipative stiffened composite panel and the source position can be retrieved with a high level of accuracy in any position of the structure. Its very simple configuration and minimal processing requirements make this method a valid alternative to the conventional imaging Structural Health Monitoring systems for the acoustic emission source localization.     

Combination of time reversal and synthetic aperture beamforming for active detection of small bottom objects in waveguide environments

To enhance detection of small targets, the combination of time reversal processing (TRP) and synthetic aperture beamforming (SABF) is investigated. With the spatial–temporal focusing, the potential application of TRP for active detection has been demonstrated [Kim S, Kuperman WA, Hodgkiss WS. Echo-to reverberation enhancement using a time reversal mirror. J Acoust Soc Am 2004;115(4):1525–31]. When a physical probe source (PS) replaced by a modeled source (MS), the “potential” is turned into being more practical. Similar to matched field processing, the robustness of TRP with MS needs to be considered. Meanwhile by the improvement of the extended towed array measurement (ETAM) algorithm of passive SABF, a segmented ETAM algorithm is discussed for its use in active sonar. With the echo-signal enhancement by time reversal transmission, the echo-to-reverberation ratio is further improved by SABF. Finally a matched filter is used to detect the target and the range of the target is estimated by the time delay referenced to the transmission time. The results of the waveguide tank experiment demonstrate that the TRP–SABF method can effectively detect and locate a bottom cylinder shell of 0.51 m long and 0.21 m in diameter.     

Time reversal focusing with variable depth and range based on mode extraction

A method for time reversal focusing with variable depth and range based on mode extraction was proposed.First,the normal modes of acoustic propagation in the shallow water are extracted by modal decomposition from the probe signals received by a source receiver array.Furthermore,a diagonal matrix and a vector determined separately by the depth and the range of the probe source are extracted from the received acoustic field data.And time reversal focusing at different depths and ranges can be achieved by modulating the depth-dependent diagonal matrix and the range-dependent vector properly.Then the diagonal matrix and the vector are modulated separately according to the depth and the range of the expected focal location to construct a new acoustic field vector.When this new acoustic field vector is retransmitted by the source receiver array in time reversal order(or phase conjugation in frequency domain),focusing of the resulting acoustic field at the expected location rather than the origin of the probe source can be obtained.Numerical simulations in typical shallow water environment demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

时间反演聚焦经颅磁声电刺激仿真与实验研究*

无创脑神经调控技术是生物医学领域的研究热点,经颅磁声电刺激是利用静磁场和声场的耦合而产生的感应电场作用于神经组织,对大脑的目标位置进行刺激和调控的一项技术。颅骨的存在使超声在传播过程中发生相位畸变和幅值衰减,聚焦区域偏离,难以实现精准聚焦。该文基于时间反演法,模拟颅内点声源发射脉冲以及超声传播过程,计算各个阵元接收到的时间差,按照后到先发的原则发射脉冲进行聚焦刺激。与传统相控阵聚焦相比,焦点偏移现象基本得到解决,焦域横向、纵向分辨率均有所提高,提高了声束聚焦精度和感应电场峰值。通过搭建实验平台,将两种聚焦方法所测得的声场归一化处理,验证了时间反演法能补偿焦点偏移,并通过实验证实了超声换能器声场和产生感应电场分布存在较高的一致性。基于真实颅脑结构的虚拟点源时间反演聚焦可以实现无创、精准、灵活的经颅磁声电刺激,有助于推动精准神经调控技术的发展。     

时间反演电磁波在金属丝阵列媒质中的超分辨率聚焦

本文利用一种已有的金属丝阵列结构, 验证了时间反演技术的时空聚焦特性, 并证明了在该阵列结构中, 时间反演电磁波具有超分辨率聚焦特性. 利用金属丝阵列能为凋落波提供传播渠道这一特性, 通过改变信号对时间反演镜的激励方式, 得到了多种亚波长异地成像的仿真结果. 本文的分析和仿真结果证实了利用时间反演技术, 可以采用传统的材料和设备, 在远场实现超分辨率聚焦成像, 并能在多个位置实现对源信号的提取和分析. 关键词： 时间反演 金属丝阵列 超分辨率聚焦 异地成像     

时间反转方法用于高强度聚焦超声的焦点偏移补偿

传统的高强度聚焦超声(HIFU)治疗中实际焦点和预设焦点容易出现偏移,为考察时间反转方法对HIFU治疗中焦点偏移的补偿效果,采用时域有限差分方法求解Westervelt方程,建立高强度聚焦声场数值模型。数值计算得到在人体软组织中进行HIFU治疗时,采用时间反转方法后焦点偏移距离最大仅为1.6 mm。脂肪层厚度及声源强度改变对时间反转聚焦精度影响不大,F数(焦点距离同换能器孔径的比值)降低时,焦点偏移减小。研究表明在人体软组织吸收系数和非线性系数范围内,时间反转方法可有效补偿焦点偏移,达到更好的聚焦效果。      

Time reversal in ultrasound focusing transmitters and receivers

The ability of a single-channel time reversal acoustic systems to focus and receive ultrasound radiation is considered. The basic element of these systems is a liquid-filled acoustic reverberator. Two types of the reverberators have been experimentally studied; one of them is a thin-wall cylindrical balloon used in ultrasound catheters for treatment of cardiac fibrillation, and the other consists of plane-parallel foil layers. It is demonstrated that such systems can effectively focus ultrasound using only one radiation channel. Random deformation of balloon walls and foil layers leads to a noticeable improvement of focusing quality and helps to overcome the limitations imposed by a spatial symmetry of a system. The use of a binary radiation mode increases the focal field intensity as compared to the conventional mode. The possibility of spatial localization of external sources with the use of the time reversal focusing system as a receiver is demonstrated.     

超声多波聚焦及声偏振方向控制方法*

在超声多波聚焦思想的基础上,通过数值模拟计算,分析了时间反转法的多波聚焦特性以及对声场偏振方向进行控制的可行性。结果表明,在待测目标的不同位置处,时间反转法都能够实现多波聚焦的效果,使具有不同传播速度、不同偏振特性的多种声波自适应聚焦。但是,在介质的近表面处,由于受到表面波的影响,多波聚焦声场仍然具有椭圆偏振特性,无法实现声场偏振方向精确控制的目的;而位于介质内部的多波聚焦点受到表面波影响很小,数值计算结果表明此时多波聚焦声场具有线偏振特性,通过改变声源前后两个脉冲的激发幅度和相位,可以控制声场的偏振方向,达到偏振方向扫描的目的。该文的研究为精确检测裂纹方向或界面性质提供一种可能的途径。     

Echo-to-reverberation enhancement based on decomposition of time reversal operator with forward and backward reverberation nulling constrains

Combined the decomposition of time reversal operator and the time reversal reverberation nulling, a new time reversal processing approach for echo-to-reverberation ratio enhancement is proposed. In this method, a 2-dimensional signal subspace for the range of the target and two bottom focusing weight vectors for the ranges near the target are obtained by the decomposition of time reversal operator. From the signal subspace and focusing weight vectors, a constrained optimal excitation weight vector of source receiver array can be deduced to null the acoustic energy on the corresponding bottom and maximize the energy at the tar- get. This method remedies the shortages of conventional time reversal processing, time reversal reverberation nulling and time reversal selective focusing method. It focuses sound energy at the target and nulls the energy at the bottom near the target range simultaneously, therefore enhancing the echo-to-reverberation ratio without probe source and prior-knowledge of the relative scattering intensity of target and bottom. Numerical simulations in typical shallow water environments showed the effectiveness of the proposed method and its improved performance for echo-reverberation enhancement than conventional time reversal processing.     

Numerical time reversal of waves

A numerical time reversal of waves is proposed instead of the conventional time reversal of wave procedure used in underwater acoustics. In the numerical method, the test sound source and the receiving arrays are used, as in the conventional method, but the transmission of the received signals after their time reversal into the same medium, as well as the measurement of the field obtained in this way at the point of the test source, is replaced by computations. To use the proposed technique for obtaining the same results as those provided by the conventional time reversal of waves, the teset source should be placed at different depths. A simplified numerical algorithm with the test source operating at a single depth is proposed and justified. This version of the time reversal of waves is successfully applied to the experiment in the Barents Sea. In contrast to the conventional method, the proposed technique allows one to study the stability of the sea medium with currents.     

Near-field time-reversal amplification

The spatial resolution of the focused field of a classical time-reversal mirror has a wavelength-order lambda diffraction limit. Previously reported results for subwavelength focus require either the full knowledge of the original source or the evanescent waves in the near field. Here it is shown that subwavelength focusing can be achieved without a priori knowledge of the original probe source. If the field is recorded at a few wavelengths away from the probe source, where the amplitude of the near field is too low for subwavelength focusing, it is shown that the low amplitude near field can be amplified and the spatial resolution improved, using the near-field time reversal (NTR) procedure introduced here. The NTR is performed from the phase of the spatial spectrum of the field recorded on an array around the original probe source using an analytical continuation for the amplitude of the spatial spectrum. Following theory, lambda/20 resolution is experimentally demonstrated with audible acoustic wavefields in the air.     

Interaction dynamics of elastic waves with a complex nonlinear scatterer through the use of a time reversal mirror

This Letter reports on work performed to locate and interrogate a nonlinear scatterer in a linearly elastic medium through the use of a time reversal mirror in combination with nonlinear dynamics. Time reversal provides the means to spatially and temporally localize elastic energy on a scattering feature while the nonlinear dynamics spectrum allows one to determine whether the scatterer is nonlinear (e.g., mechanical damage). Here elastic waves are measured in a solid and processed to extract the nonlinear elastic response. The processed elastic signals are then time reversed, rebroadcast, and found to focus on the nonlinear scatterer, thus defining a time-reversed nonlinear elastic wave spectroscopy process. Additionally, the focusing process illuminates the complexity of the nonlinear scatterer in both space and time, providing a means to image and investigate the origins and physical mechanisms of the nonlinear elastic response.     

Focusing of low-frequency sound fields in shallow water

A numerical experiment is carried out to study the focusing of a low-frequency (100–300 Hz) sound field in a shallow-water acoustic waveguide typical of an oceanic shelf. Focusing with the use of time reversal of broadband acoustic signals, which is called time reversal mirror (TRM) of waves, is considered along with focusing by phase conjugation (PC) of a monochromatic sound field. It is demonstrated that, in the case of focusing by the TRM method in the waveguide of interest, it is sufficient to have a single source-receiving element. The use of a vertical array improves the quality of focusing. The quality achieved in the latter case proves to be approximately the same as that achieved in the case of focusing by phase conjugation of a monochromatic field at a frequency identical to the carrier frequency of the broadband signals. It is also shown that, in a range-independent waveguide, intense surface waves considerably reduce the quality of focusing. This effect is most pronounced in the case of using phase conjugation.     

亚波长间距理想导体球阵列近区时间反演电磁场的快速求解

为快速求解亚波长间距分布的理想导体球阵列近区的时间反演电磁场,提出一种基于等效偶极子模型的解析分析方法.首先,通过分析球面波照射理想导体小球的散射场解析解发现,散射场可以近似等效为电磁偶极子辐射场的叠加.等效偶极子的强度与初始激励源的幅度成正比关系.通过建立不同小球等效偶极子矢量间的耦合方程组可以直接求解得到相应矢量的大小.然后,结合时间反演腔理论得到相应的时间反演并矢格林函数,继而得到小球阵列近区的时间反演场分布.最后,通过与数值仿真软件的计算结果进行对比,验证了方法的正确性及高效性.研究表明,时间反演技术结合近场亚波长间距小散射体加载能够实现超分辨率的场聚焦.     

Time reversal of noise sources in a reverberation room

Usually, time reversal is studied with pulsed emissions. Here, the properties of time reversal of the acoustic field emitted by noise sources in a reverberation room are studied numerically, theoretically, and experimentally. A time domain numerical simulation of a two-dimensional enclosure shows that the intensity of a time-reversed noise is strongly enhanced right on the initial source position. A theory based on the link that exists between time reversal of noise and the "well-known" time reversal of short pulse is developed. One infers that the focal spot size equals half a wavelength and the signal to noise ratio only depends on the number of transceivers in the time reversal mirror. This last property is characteristic of the time reversal of noise. Experimental results are obtained in a 5 X 3 X 3 m3 reverberation room. The working frequency range varies from 300 Hz to 2 kHz. The ability of the time reversal process to physically reconstruct the image of two noise sources is studied. To this end, care is given to the technique to separate two close random sources, and also to the influence of temperature fluctuations on the focusing quality.     

Robust time reversal focusing based on Maximin criterion in a waveguide with uncertain water depth

Time reversal processing(TRP) might be regarded as matched field processing with known environmental knowledge.However,the performance of TRP is degraded in an uncertain environment.A technique based on the Maximin criterion is proposed for enhancing the robustness of TRP in a waveguide with uncertain water depth.The relationship between the water depth and the focal spot translation is examined based on the waveguide-invariant theory.Then the time reversal transmission scheme with the Maximin criterion is performed to maximize the minimum transmission power on a target of interest.At the receiving end,coherent summation operation is carried out over the received data by a reception focusing bank.If it is necessary to enhance the target echo further,the iterative time reversal can be considered where the target echo corresponding to the first time reversal transmission is regarded as a secondary source.Numerical simulations and experimental results of the target localization in a waveguide tank have verified the effectiveness of robust TRP.     

Time reversal of flexural waves in a beam at audible frequency

There has been very limited work on the application of time reversal to the propagation of audible frequency waves in mechanical structures. The present work concentrates on the application of time reversal to the focusing of audible range, flexural waves in an infinite beam, and to the detection of local heterogeneity in such a beam. Practical applications of time reversal of flexural waves in structures include vibration energy focusing, detection of vibratory or acoustic sources, and detection of defects in mechanical structures. An analytical model of flexural wave propagation in the beam as well as sensing and emission using piezoelectric transducers is presented. Time reversal experiments are conducted and compared to the model results in either a homogeneous beam or a beam with point mass heterogeneities. In the various situations tested, it is shown that time reversal effectively compensates the spreading in time of the impulse due to the dispersive propagation of flexural waves. One interesting aspect of this property is the generation of large amplitude impulsive responses in the beam using remote actuators. Finally, the "Decomposition de l'Operateur de Retournement Temporel" approach is examined to detect and localize point mass scatterers in the beam.