High accuracy non-contact ultrasonic thickness gauging of aluminium sheet using electromagnetic acoustic transducers.

Aluminium sheet thickness has been calculated from ultrasonic data obtained using a send-receive, radially polarised electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT). Sheets in the thickness range between 0.1 and 0.5 mm have been measured using this non-contact approach at a stand-off of up to 1.5 mm. Normal incidence shear waves generated and detected in the sheet and the resultant waveforms have been processed using transit time measurements and Fourier analysis. Two broad band EMAT systems have been used to perform the measurements with centre frequencies of approximately 5 MHz and frequency content up to 10 and 20 MHz respectively. The most accurate measurements of thickness on thin sheets have been made using Fourier analysis and have yielded measurements accurate to within 0.2% (or 0.4 microm) for 280 microm thick aluminium sheets. Discrete shear wave echoes can be observed for sheets down to a thickness of 250 microm using the higher frequency EMAT system. However temporal measurements of these signals yield lower accuracy results when compared to the Fourier analysis method which is capable of sub-micron accuracy.     

Signal enhancement in Rayleigh wave interactions using a laser-ultrasound/EMAT imaging system

Enhancement of signal amplitudes from Rayleigh wave interaction at solid surface features has been investigated when signals were detected by an in-plane electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT). A laser-ultrasound system was used to inspect surface-breaking slots, serving as artificial defects. Nd:YAG laser pulses were delivered onto a metal surface via an optical fiber and focused to a line source by a cylindrical lens. An in-plane EMAT receiver detected transient surface acoustic waves. A-scan signals and B-scan images from surface defects revealed increased signal amplitude up to 2.8+/-0.3 depending on the distance of the transducer from a slot. An explanation is based on the interaction of the EMAT sensor with the Rayleigh wave. A supporting computer model was derived to show that experimental signal enhancements were consistent with numerical predictions.     

多基地空时码探测信号设计及时反相关检测技术

为实现浅海复杂环境下的多基地声纳多源目标回波分辨,本文设计了一种适用于多入多出垂直阵信道环境下的空时码探测信号,并针对倾斜垂直阵的多途子信道差异问题,提出了信号的时反相关检测技术.空时码探测信号采用伪随机信号调制,具有良好的正交性,能在抗子信道严重衰落的同时,分辨多源目标回波.垂直阵受水流冲击,呈倾斜状态时,其多途子信道不一致性会导致各子信道传递信号无法在接收端聚焦,使阵列增益受损,同时导致时延测量能力下降和信号判决错误率上升,为此本文设计了信道训练信号用以估计多途子信道环境,通过虚拟时间反转镜获得子信道不一致条件下的最佳匹配检测信号,实现对接收信号的时反相关检测.仿真结果表明,本文所设计的探测信号和检测方法,能够克服复杂的信道条件和多途子信道不一致性引起的检测问题,满足多基地声纳探测需求,实现多源目标回波分辨.     

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。     

Acoustic backscattering by Hawaiian lutjanid snappers. II. Broadband temporal and spectral structure

The characteristics of acoustic echoes from six species of deep-dwelling (up to 400 m) Hawaiian Lujanid snappers were determined by backscatter measurements at the surface. A broadband linear frequency-modulated signal and a short dolphinlike sonar signal were used as the incident signals. The fish were anesthetized and attached to a monofilament net that was attached to a rotor so echoes could be collected along the roll, tilt, and lateral axes of each fish. The temporal highlight structure of broadband echoes was determined by calculating the envelope of the cross-correlation function between the incident signal and the echoes. The echo waveforms were complex with many highlights and varied with the orientation of the fish. In the tilt plane, the strongest echoes occurred when the incident signal was perpendicular to the long axis of the swimbladder. The number of highlights was the fewest at this orientation. The number of echo highlights and the length of echoes increased as the fish was tilted from this orientation. The highlight structure of the echoes resulted in the transfer function being rippled, with local maxima and minima that changed with fish size and species. The echo structures in both the time and frequency domains were generally consistent within species and were easily distinguishable between species.     

Depth gauging of defects using low frequency wideband Rayleigh waves

In non-destructive testing for cracks it is not sufficient to simply detect the presence of a defect, but it is essential to have an accurate measure of the depth. Accurate calibration of the techniques used to gauge defect size is therefore necessary. Recent progress in the field of non-contact ultrasonic testing has led to the development of a practically viable system for generating and detecting wideband Rayleigh waves on electrically conducting or magnetic samples using electro-magnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs). This system has been used to gauge the depth and position of surface breaking defects, and has many applications including metal billet testing and detecting and sizing gauge corner cracking in rails. In this paper we report experiments calibrating the response of EMATs when a defect is present between the generator and receiver, using a calibration sample with slots machined perpendicular to the surface to simulate surface breaking cracks. The depth of the defect can be gauged in the time domain and frequency domain, with an accurate 'fingerprint' of the position given by an enhancement of the signal when the receiver is close to the defect. The best choice of EMAT design for different applications is discussed, as is the best position for the receive EMAT to avoid areas of interference between the Rayleigh wave and bulk waves diffracted from the crack tip.     

Pulsed Rayleigh wave scattered at a surface crack

This paper investigates Rayleigh wave interaction with machined slots on flat aluminium blocks to simulate surface breaking cracks. Using a finite element method, Rayleigh wave scattering by narrow slots of varied depth ranging from 0.5 mm to 20 mm is calculated. Pulsed wideband Rayleigh waves with a centre frequency of 590 kHz and -6 dB bandwidth of 520 kHz is considered. Reflection and transmission coefficients are calculated and compare well with the published literature. We and other workers have reported enhancement of the measured amplitude or particle velocity of an apparent Rayleigh wave close to a surface defect. In this paper, it is found that the predicted enhancement of in-plane components of particle velocities close to a crack is significantly higher than that of the out-of-plane components of particle velocities which appears to be mainly due to the mode-converted surface skimming longitudinal wave from the crack that has mainly in-plane components near the sample surface. The enhancement of the in-plane particle velocity will be observed regardless of the type of in-plane sensitive ultrasonic detector used. The explanation of the discrepancy of the reflection and transmission coefficients obtained by pulsed and narrow band or pseudo continuous Rayleigh waves is discussed. The later-arriving Rayleigh waves from reverberation along the inside of the crack surface are observed, as has been previously reported by other workers, and this may also be used to gauge slot depth.     

Fundamental study on subharmonic imaging by irradiation of amplitude-modulated ultrasound waves

The second harmonic and subharmonic components, the frequencies of which are twice and one half the fundamental frequency, are included in echoes from contrast agents. An imaging method, which employs a second harmonic (second harmonic imaging), is widely used in medical diagnoses. On the other hand, subharmonic is expected to provide a higher contrast between biological tissues and blood flow because echo signals are generated only from blood containing the contrast agents. However, the subharmonic component echo signal power from contrast agents is relatively low. This has resulted in little progress in the field of subharmonic imaging. In this study, a new imaging method is proposed using amplitude-modulated waves as transmitted waves combined with the pulse inversion method to enhance subharmonic echo signals. Two optimal frequencies are set, including the modulated waves, F(1) and F(2), so that the subharmonic frequency of F(1) and the second harmonic frequency of F(2) may result in the same value. This allows a more powerful signal at the frequency band because the second harmonic and subharmonic components are integrated. Furthermore, a B-mode ultrasound image of an agar phantom that imitated biological tissue and showed the effectiveness of our method was reconstructed. As a result, the echo power of the subharmonic component was enhanced by approximately 11.8 dB more than the conventional method and the signal to noise ratio showed an improvement of 7.6 dB.     

Evaluation of CVD diamond coating layer using leaky Rayleigh wave

In the present study, the possibility of using leaky Rayleigh waves as a nondestructive tool for the evaluation of CVD diamond coating layer is explored experimentally. For this purpose, a set of CVD diamond coated specimens are prepared and the leaky Rayleigh waves are measured in an immersion, pulse-echo setup. For the proper analysis of the acquired signals we propose a novel signal analysis approach, namely the "time trace angular scan (TTAS)" image. Then, the proposed approach together with the backward radiation profiles are applied for the analysis of signals acquired in the initial experiments. The TTAS image shows the entire information on both time-of-arrival and angle of incidence of the signals for the proper "time-angle windowing." Then, the backward radiation profile of the windowed signals provides adequate parameters from which nondestructive evaluation of the coated specimens is carried out.     

Detection of complex echoes in noise by an echolocating dolphin

Dolphins echolocate with short broadband acoustic signals that have good time resolution properties. Received echoes are often complex, with many resolvable highlights or components caused by reflection of the incident signal from external and internal boundaries of a target and from different propagational modes within a target. A series of experiments was performed to investigate how dolphins perceive complex echoes. Echoes were produced by a microprocessor-controlled electronic target simulator that captured each emitted click and retransmitted the signal back to the animal after an appropriate time delay. The use of this "phantom" target allowed for precise control of the number of highlights, the time separation between highlights, and the relative amplitudes of highlights in the simulated echoes. An echolocating dolphin was trained to perform a target detection task in the presence of masking noise using these phantom echoes. The properties of simulated echoes were systematically varied, and corresponding shifts in the dolphin's detection threshold were observed, allowing for inferences of how the dolphin perceived echoes. The dolphin performed like an energy detector with an integration time of approximately 264 microseconds.     

Passive signal enhancement in spatially offset Raman spectroscopy

We demonstrate experimentally, for the first time, the feasibility of enhancing signals in Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) using a dielectric bandpass filter, building on our earlier experimental work on the enhancement of transmission Raman signals. The method is shown to lead to the enhancement of both the surface and subsurface Raman layer signal improving the signal‐to‐noise ratio of Raman spectra from the deep areas of samples, thus enhancing the technique's sensitivity and penetration depth. The filter is placed over the laser illumination zone, on the sample surface acting as a ‘unidirectional’ mirror transmitting the collimated laser beam on one side and reflecting photons escaping from the sample back into it. This enhances the degree of coupling of laser radiation into the medium and associated generated Raman signal. The feasibility study was performed on a two‐layer sample with the second layer located at the limit of the penetration depth of the method for this sample. The sample consisted of a 2.2‐mm over‐layer of a thinned paracetamol tablet followed by a 2‐mm layer of trans‐stilbene powder. The Raman signal was collected from a spatially offset region through a hole fabricated within the filter. The experiments demonstrate the presence of an enhancement of the Raman signal from both the layers by a factor of 4.4–4.5 and the improved signal‐to‐noise ratio of sublayer signal by a factor of 2.2, in agreement with photon shot noise dominated signal. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Correlation processing of a noise signal in the arrival-time acoustic monitoring of the water medium in an arctic waveguide

The propagation of a noise signal is considered for an arctic-type waveguide with a varying sound speed profile. The profiles used in the calculations differ from each other due to different depth dependences of salinity. The shape of the envelope of the time correlation function is studied for the coherent and reference signals. For the latter, either the replica of the transmitted noise signal or one of the modes propagating in the waveguide is used. A characteristic feature of the proposed technique is the use of the time cross-correlation between the signals that traveled through the same path in the presence of different sound speed profiles. In this case, from the shape of the envelope of the signal correlation function, one can estimate the changes that occur in the sound speed profile on the path of signal propagation.     

单发太赫兹时域光谱技术

太赫兹时域光谱技术(THz-TDS)广泛应用于材料、生物医学、化学、药学、安检等诸多领域。传统扫描式THz-TDS技术需要通过改变探测光延时逐点扫描并重构时域信号,仅适合于具有较高重复频率且稳定的太赫兹辐射源情形下的样品探测。在低重复频率或涨落较大的太赫兹辐射源情形下和不可逆过程中样品的探测,扫描式THz-TDS不再适用,需要使用单发THz-TDS技术,单发THz-TDS技术原则上仅需要一个激光脉冲就可以获取一个完整的太赫兹时域脉冲波形。介绍几种主要的单发THz-TDS探测技术,这些技术都利用了电光晶体的泡克尔斯效应,通过测量探测光的某个物理量的变化来提取太赫兹信号。根据探测方法不同可分为光谱编码、空间编码和互相关等技术。在光谱编码技术中,探测光不同频率成分在时间上发生分离,不同时间成分分别被太赫兹脉冲不同时刻电场调制,通过测量探测光各个频率被太赫兹脉冲调制前后的光谱的变化提取太赫兹脉冲波形。该方法光路简单,测量结果直观,有较高的信噪比,但其时间分辨率较低,且被测太赫兹信号容易产生失真。为提高被测信号的时间分辨率,有人提出了空间编码技术,即不同位置探测光分别被太赫兹脉冲不同时刻电场调制,通过测量探测光各个位置太赫兹脉冲调制前后的光强变化提取太赫兹脉冲波形。根据不同空间展开方法可分为一维空间编码技术和二维空间编码技术。空间编码技术中虽然有较高的时间分辨率,但由于探测光在空间展开能量分散使得其信噪比相对较低。此外,还有一种较高时间分辨率的技术即互相关技术,可分为共线互相关和非共线互相关技术。在非共线互相关技术中,被太赫兹脉冲调制的激光啁啾脉冲与短脉冲互相关作用产生二次谐波,通过太赫兹脉冲调制前后二次谐波空间分布变化来提取太赫兹信号;在共线互相关技术中被太赫兹脉冲调制的啁啾脉冲与短脉冲共线入射到光谱仪,通过干涉条纹提取太赫兹信号,该技术提高了时间分辨率和信噪比,但光路布置复杂,不能进行实时监测。回顾了这几种单发THz-TDS探测技术的发展历程,综述探测技术的原理、实验方案和测量结果,并讨论了这些探测技术的优势和不足。     

表面垂直裂痕诱发瑞利波散射的数值分析

激光激发的声表面波为材料表面缺陷的检测提供了有力的工具.针对含缺陷材料在模型边界上的复杂性,建立了基于平面应变的有限元模型并选取了相同厚度但含有不同深度的表面裂痕的单层铝板进行了对比计算,得到了声表面波经过不同深度的表面裂痕时产生的反射及透射信号波形的时域特征.进而引入了基于Wigner-Ville分布理论的时-频分析方法计算裂痕前、后散射的瞬态表面波的能量在时间-频率平面内分布的情形.结果显示：声表面波接近中心频率的某一频率成分在经过深度小于其中心波长的表面缺陷时,随着裂痕深度的增加,对应于该频率的反射系数呈现单调递增的趋势;而透射系数呈现递减的特征,这一结果可以为激光超声检测表面缺陷提供一种定量的表征手段.     

混沌激光实现异质物大小和位置的光学检测

利用混沌激光实现一定浓度脂肪乳液中异质物大小和位置的光学检测,实验采用混沌激光作为光源,并将光信号分为两路,一路信号用于探测脂肪乳液中的异质物信息,另外一路直接经过光电探测器作为参考信号,将两路光信号由光电探测器接收,通过信号处理系统进行互相关,分析混沌激光的互相关峰值信息,可得到异质物的大小和位置信息;通过混沌激光实现异质物信息分析的理论模型,建立混沌相关信号峰值信息与异质物大小和位置之间的关系,并且通过实验验证。结果表明:采用混沌互相关法可以对异质物大小和位置坐标进行探测。     

A calibration technique for frequency domain photothermoacoustics

Photoacoustic (or more precisely, photothermoacoustic) signals are generated by the absorption of photons, expressed as acoustic waves, and can be related to the incident laser fluence rate. Here a calibration procedure for frequency domain (FD) photoacoustics is presented which utilizes the relationship between photoacoustic (PA) signal amplitude and laser fluence rate. The sample is irradiated with a continuous wave laser which is amplitude modulated at varying frequencies. Applying the calibration procedure to the PA detected signals, a linear relationship is obtained between the fluence rate and the signal amplitude.     

Correlation structure of the sound field produced in a deep ocean by a near-surface sound source

Experimental data obtained by studying the sound field produced in the first and second convergence zones by an omnidirectional pseudonoise source operating in the kilohertz frequency range at a depth of ～10 m are presented. The measurements of the cross correlation and the time spectra are performed for the signals received from different directions in the vertical plane by one narrow-beam, 40-m array and by two such arrays with the array centers positioned at different depths (200 and 450 m). The results of the experiments show that, for the signals arriving over different ray paths, the cross-correlation coefficients and the fluctuations of the time spectra obtained by using the reception at one depth and at two different depths are practically identical.     

Scattering of a Rayleigh surface acoustic wave by a small-size inhomogeneity in a solid half-space

We use the Born approximation of the perturbation method to solve the problem of scattering of a harmonic Rayleigh surface acoustic wave by a weak-contrast inhomogeneity that is small compared with the wavelength and is located in a solid half-space near its boundary. The material of the inhomogeneity differs from the material of the half-space only in its density. The Rayleigh wave incident on the inhomogeneity is excited by a monochromatic surface force source acting normally to the half-space boundary. We derive expressions for the displacement fields in the scattered spherical compressional and shear (SV- and SH-polarized) waves. Scattering of the Rayleigh wave into a Rayleigh wave is studied in detail. We find expressions for the vertical and horizontal components of the displacement vector in the scattered Rayleigh wave as well as its radiated power. It is shown that the field of the scattered surface wave is mainly formed by vertical oscillations of the inhomogeneity in the field of the incident wave. In this case, the radiated power for the scattered Rayleigh wave formed by vertical motion of the inhomogeneity in the incident-wave field depends on the depth of the inhomogeneity as the fourth power of the function describing the well-known depth dependence of the vertical displacements in the Rayleigh surface wave. Correspondingly, the dependence of the radiated power for the scattered Rayleigh wave formed by horizontal motion of the inhomogeneity depends on its location depth as the fourth power of the depth dependence of the horizontal displacements in the Rayleigh surface wave. We perform calculations of the ratio between the powers of the scattered and incident Rayleigh waves for different ratios between the velocities of the compressional and shear waves in a solid. It is shown that the radiated power for the scattered surface wave decreases sharply with increasing depth of the subsurface-inhomogeneity location. Thus, the scattering of a Rayleigh wave into a Rayleigh wave is fairly efficient only when the location depth of the inhomogeneity does not exceed about one-third of the wavelength of the shear wave in an elastic medium.     

Ultraviolet high-spectral-resolution Rayleigh-Mie lidar with a dual-pass Fabry-Perot etalon for measuring atmospheric temperature profiles of the troposphere

We report what is believed to be the first demonstration of measurement of tropospheric temperature profiles in daytime by use of a high-spectral-resolution Rayleigh-Mie lidar at an eye-safe wavelength of 355 nm. Atmospheric temperature is determined from the linewidth of the Rayleigh spectrum. Two Rayleigh signals are detected with Fabry-Perot etalon filters with a dual-pass optical layout. The Mie signal is detected with a third etalon filter for correcting the Mie component in the Rayleigh signals. The temperature statistical uncertainties are below 1 K up to a height of 3 km in nighttime and 2 km in daytime with a relatively compact system that uses laser energy of 180 mJ and a 25-cm telescope. Good agreement between lidar and radiosonde measurements is obtained.