TY - CONF A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Bartusch, Jürgen A1 - Schadow, Florian A1 - Köppe, Enrico A1 - Dohse, Elmar ED - Chimenti, D. E. ED - Bond, L. J. T1 - Focusing of ferroelectret air-coupled ultrasound transducers N2 - Air-coupled ultrasound has been applied increasingly as a non-destructive testing method for lightweight construction in recent years. It is particularly appropriate for composite materials being used in automotive and aviation industry. Air-coupled ultrasound transducers mostly consist of piezoelectric materials and matching layers. However, their fabrication is challenging and their signal-to-noise ratio often not sufficient for many testing requirements. To enhance the efficiency, air-coupled ultrasound transducers made of cellular polypropylene have been developed. Because of its small density and sound velocity, this piezoelectric ferroelectret matches the small acoustic impedance of air much better than matching layers applied in conventional transducers. In our contribution, we present two different methods of spherical focusing of ferroelectret transducers for the further enhancement of their performance in NDT applications. Measurements on carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) samples and on metal adhesive joints performed with commercially available focused air-coupled ultrasound transducers are compared to measurements executed with self-developed focused ferroelectret transducers. T2 - 42nd Annual Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation CY - Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA DA - 26.07.2015 KW - Ferroelectret KW - Transducer KW - Air-coupled KW - Ultrasonic KW - Focusing PY - 2016 SP - 080001 PB - AIP Publishing CY - Melville, NY, USA AN - OPUS4-35955 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -