Detection of rebars in concrete using advanced ultrasonic pulse compression techniques.

A pulse compression technique has been developed for the non-destructive testing of concrete samples. Scattering of signals from aggregate has historically been a problem in such measurements. Here, it is shown that a combination of piezocomposite transducers, pulse compression and post processing can lead to good images of a reinforcement bar at a cover depth of 55 mm. This has been achieved using a combination of wide bandwidth operation over the 150-450 kHz range, and processing based on measuring the cumulative energy scattered back to the receiver. Results are presented in the form of images of a 20 mm rebar embedded within a sample containing 10 mm aggregate.

Analysis of solitary wave impulses in granular chains using ultrasonic excitation.

The propagation of broad bandwidth solitary wave impulses, generated within granular chains by narrow bandwidth ultrasonic excitation, is studied in detail. Theoretical predictions are compared to experimental results. It is demonstrated that the observed effects result from a sum of a solitary wave traveling out from the source with a wave that reflects from the far end of the chain. It is shown that this combination, when used with an excitation in the form of a long-duration tone burst, encourages the generation of multiple impulses with a characteristic periodicity. This study shows that the properties of the chain structure and the excitation can be adjusted so as to generate ultrasonic solitary wave impulses with a high amplitude and known frequency content, which are of interest in applications such as biomedical ultrasound.

Ultrasonic propagation in finite-length granular chains.

A narrowband ultrasound source has been used to generate solitary wave impulses in finite-length chains of spheres. Once the input signal is of sufficient amplitude, both harmonics and sub-harmonics of the input frequency can be generated as non-linear normal modes of the system, allowing a train of impulses to be established from a sinusoidal input. The characteristics of the response have been studied as a function of the physical properties of the chain, the input waveform and the level of static pre-compression. The results agree with the predictions of a theoretical model, based on a set of discrete dynamic equations for the spheres for finite-length chains. Impulses are only created for very small pre-compression forces of the order of 0.01N, where strongly non-linear behaviour is expected.

The radiated fields of focussing air-coupled ultrasonic phased arrays.

This paper presents an investigation into the fields radiated into air by ultrasonic phased arrays under transient excitation. In particular, it includes a theoretical prediction of spatial variations in amplitude throughout the both the near-field and far-field of such arrays. The approach has been used to predict the result of phasing to produce a focus in air, which can be seen to be particularly effective in the near-field of the array. Interesting features are observed, which are then described in terms of the performance of both individual elements and the resulting array. It is shown how some elements of design can be used to improve performance in focussing. The predictions are compared to the results of experiments in air using electrostatic arrays, where good focussing could be achieved provided the appropriate design principles were followed. The approach has been developed specifically for use in air, but the results would also hold for modelling in certain medical arrays where a focussing requirement might be needed close to the array itself.