• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.3E
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• pp.31-37
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• 2001

Finite element model of a cMUT is constructed using the commercial code ANSYS to analyze the cross talk mechanism. Calculation results of the complex load impedance seen by single capacitor cells are presented, and then followed by a calculation of the plane wave real load impedance seen by a parallel combination of many cells that are used to make a transducer. Cross talk between 1-D array elements is found to be due to two main sources: coupling through a Stoneley wave propagating at the transducer-water interface and coupling through Lamb waves propagating in the substrate. To reduce the cross talk level, the effect of various structural variations of the substrate are investigated, which include a change of its thickness and etched trenches or polymer walls between array elements.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.15 no.1 s.94
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• pp.81-86
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• 2005

In this work, we propose a new ultrasonic damage inspection method in plate structures. The proposed method employs an OPMT(orientation-adjustable patch-type magnetostrictive transducer) in order to make the ultrasonic waves directed to a specific target point. For experiments, virtual grid points were set up at every 50 mm in an aluminum plate and two OPMTs were used for inspection. If there exists a crack in a plate, the reflected Lamb wave from the crack is measured in addition to the direct waves from the transmitting transducer to the receiving transducer.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.93-104
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• 2017

In the present work, the effect of hygrothermal aging on the glass fibre and epoxy matrix interface has been investigated by destructive and non-destructive techniques. The glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite laminates were prepared using Vacuum Assisted Resin Infusion Molding (VARIM) technique and the specimens were immersed in simulated seawater, followed by quantitative measurement. Besides this, the tensile tests of GFRP specimens revealed a general decrease in the properties with increasing aging time. Also, exposed specimens were characterized by a non-destructive ultrasonic guided Lamb wave propagation technique. The experimental results demonstrate a correlation between the drop in ultrasonic voltage amplitude and fall in tensile strength with increasing time of immersion. Hence, the comparison of the transmitted guided wave signal of healthy vis-a-vis specimens subjected to different extents of hygrothermal aging facilitated performance evaluation of GFRP composites.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.5A
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• pp.421-431
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• 2009

This paper is the study on the verification of structural health monitoring (SHM) algorithm based on the ultrasonic guided wave. An active inspection system using Lamb wave (LW) for SHM was considered. The basic study about the application of this algorithm was performed for detecting the circular notch defect in steel plate. LW testing technique, pitch-catch method, was used for interpretation of circular notch defect with depth of 50% of plate thickness and 7 mm width. Damage characterization takes place by comparing $S_0$ mode sensor signals collected before and after the damage event. By subtracting the signals of both conditions from each other, a scatter signal is produced which can be used for damage localization. The continuous Gabor wavelet transform is used to attain the time between the arrivals of the scatter and sensor signals. A new practical damage monitoring algorithm, based on damage monitoring polygon and pitch-catch method, has been proposed and verified with good accuracy. The possible damage location can be estimated by the average on calculated location points and the damage extent by the standard deviation.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.1511-1519
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• 2012

Pipe structures contain many welded zones, and ultrasonic tests are increasingly being performed by using automated testing devices in order to evaluate the weld integrity. An electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) is a noncontact transducer that can transmit or receive ultrasonic waves without a couplant. Furthermore, it can easily generate specific guided waves such as SH (shear horizontal) or Lamb waves by altering the design of the coil and magnet. Therefore, an EMAT should be useful for application to an automated ultrasonic inspection system. In this study, SH waves generated using an EMAT were applied to inspect the pipe-weld zone. To analyze the specific SH mode (SH0) from the SH wave signals, wavelet transform was applied. It was found that flaws could be detected precisely because the intensity of the $SH_0$ mode-frequency, which is analyzed by using wavelet transform, is proportional to the length of the flaw.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1121-1137
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• 2015

This study presents probabilistic-based damage identification technique for highlighting damage in metallic structures. This technique utilizes distributed piezoelectric transducers to generate and monitor the ultrasonic Lamb wave with narrowband frequency. Diagnostic signals were used to define the scatter signals of different paths. The energy of scatter signals till different times were calculated by taking root mean square of the scatter signals. For each pair of parallel paths an error function based on the energy of scatter signals is introduced. The resultant error function then is used to estimate the probability of the presence of damage in the monitoring area. The presented method with an autofocusing feature is applied to aluminum plates for method verification. The results identified using both simulation and experimental Lamb wave signals at different central frequencies agreed well with the actual situations, demonstrating the potential of the presented algorithm for identification of damage in metallic structures. An obvious merit of the presented technique is that in addition to damages located inside the region between transducers; those who are outside this region can also be monitored without any interpretation of signals. This novelty qualifies this method for online structural health monitoring.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.703-710
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• 2012

A structural health monitoring technique for locating impact position in a composite plate is presented in this paper. The method employs a single sensor and spatial focusing properties of time reversal(TR) and inverse filtering(IF). We first examine the spatial focusing efficiency of both approaches at the impact position and its surroundings through impact experiments. The imaging results of impact localization show that the impact location can be accurately estimated in any position of the plate. Compared to existing techniques for locating impact or acoustic emission source, the proposed method has the benefits of using a single sensor and not requiring knowledge of anisotropic material properties and geometry of structures. Furthermore, it does not depend on a particular mode of dispersive Lamb waves that is frequently used in other ultrasonic testing of plate-like structures.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.342-348
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• 2003

Ultrasonic backscattering profiles of the Zr plates(with a thickness of 1.32mm) with/without Be-Zr alloy layer(with a thickness of $100{\mu}m$) were measured at various incidence positions to evaluate the characteristics of Be diffusion layer. Four principal subprofiles were observed in the backward ultrasound radiated from leaky Lamb waves. The angles and the intensities of the subprofile peaks decreased by the stiffening effect of Be layer. Generation and change of the subprofiles were explained by the acoustical property, collective group velocity and leaky factor difference of the plates under consideration. Backward radiation subprofiles turned out to be an useful method for evaluating thin diffusion layers on plates.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1177-1183
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• 2009

The effects of biasing magnetic fields on the performances of magnetostrictive ultrasonic transducers are investigated. The transducers are patch-type ones which are used for SHM of plate structures. Various kinds of configurations of biasing magnets are covered experimentally. It is experimentally verified that how the biasing magnetic field deploys is the most significant factors on maximizing the transducer output. From the magnetostriction curve of nickel, it is concluded qualitatively that it is not the absolute values of biasing magnetic field but the slope of magnetostriction curve to be taken account of.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 2011

An electromagnetic acoustic transducer(EMAT) is a non-contact transducer which can transmit the ultrasonic guided waves into specimens without couplant. And it can easily generate specific guided waves such as SH(shear horizontal) or Lamb waves by altering the design of coil and magnet. In this study, the SH wave, which is generated by EMAT, has been applied to estimate the thickness-reduction in a steel plate. Especially, the interesting feature of the dispersive behavior in selected wave modes is used to detect the thickness-reduction. Experimental results show that the reduction-level can be quantified by the measurement of the group velocity of the wave which passes though the thinning area.