TY - JOUR A1 - Vössing, Konrad A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Imaging wood defects using air coupled ferroelectret ultrasonic transducers in reflection mode JF - Construction and Building Materials N2 - Air-coupled ultrasound (ACU) is used to detect defects in wood panels without physically contacting the sample and with a quick scanning rate. Transducers made of cellular polypropylene (PP) with a high signal-to-noise ratio are quite suitable for ACU testing of wood. The extremely low modulus of elasticity and low density of PP transducers results in a small difference in acoustic impedance for the Transmission of ultrasonic waves between the transducer and air, allowing new areas of application to become possible. To demonstrate the suitability of the reflection technique, measurements are shown on the three samples Multiplex, LVL, and MDF and compared with transmission measurements. Due to this acoustic barrier and the use of cellular PP transducers, an exact detection of delamination and cavities is possible in wood panels up to 40 mm thick. If only one side of an object is accessible and the depth of the defect is of interest, the reflection technique is preferred at the expense of a reduced measuring accuracy and Penetration depth. KW - Wood KW - Ultrasound KW - Air coupled KW - Defects PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.118032 VL - 241 SP - 118032, 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-50235 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Caldeira, Rui A1 - Bartusch, Jürgen A1 - Schadow, Florian A1 - Vössing, Konrad A1 - Kupnik, M. T1 - Air-coupled ultrasonic ferroelectret receiver with additional bias voltage JF - IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control N2 - High sensitivity is an important requirement for air-coupled ultrasonic sensors applied to materials testing. With a lower acoustic impedance than any piezoelectric material, charged cellular polypropylene (PP) offers better matching to air with a similar piezoelectric coefficient. The piezoelectric properties of charged cellular PP originate from their polarization, creating permanent internal voltage. The sensitivity of the sensor can be increased by applying additional dc bias voltage, as it has been done already for transmitters. This work presents the first ultrasonic sensor based on charged cellular PP including a high-voltage module providing dc bias voltage up to 2 kV. This bias voltage led to an increase in the signal-to-noise ratio of up to 15 ± 1 dB. The measurement of the received signal depending on the applied bias voltage is proposed as a new method of determining the internal voltage of ferroelectrets. The sensor combined with a cellular PP transmitter was applied to nondestructive testing of a rotor blade segment and glued-laminated timber, enabling imaging of the internal structure of these specimens with a thickness around 4 cm. KW - Acoustic sensors KW - Ferroelectret KW - Nondestructive testing KW - Ultrasonic imaging KW - Ultrasonic transducers PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1109/TUFFC.2019.2925666 SN - 0885-3010 SN - 1525-8955 VL - 66 IS - 10 SP - 1600 EP - 1605 PB - IEEE AN - OPUS4-49131 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Vössing, Konrad A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Air-coupled ferroelectret ultrasonic transducers for nondestructive testing of wood in through transmission and reflection mode T2 - Novel methods for characterization of materials and structures N2 - The necessity and demand for nondestructive testing of wood-based materials which can automatically scan huge areas of wood is increasing. Air-coupled ultrasound (ACU) is used to detect defects and damage without altering the structure permanently. Using through transmission it is possible to detect even small holes and missing adhesive. If only one side of an object is accessible the reflection mode is preferred at the expense of a reduced resolution and penetration depth. Novel ferroelectret transducers with a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) enable a high-precision structure recognition. The transducers made of cellular polypropylene (PP) are quite suitable for ACU testing due to their extremely low Young’s modulus and low density which result in a favorable acoustic impedance for the transmission of ultrasonic waves between the transducer and air. Thus, defects such as delamination, rot, and cracks can be detected. Promising results were obtained under laboratory conditions with frequencies from 90 kHz to 200 kHz. The advantage of these ACU transducers is that they do not require contact to the sample, are accurate, and cost effective. Ultrasonic quality assurance for Wood is an important attempt to increase the acceptance of wooden structures and towards sustainability in civil engineering in general. T2 - International Conference on Sustainable Materials, Systems and Structures CY - Rovinj, Croatia DA - 20.03.2019 KW - Air-coupled ultrasound KW - Cellular polypropylene KW - Wood KW - Nondestructive Testing KW - Defect detection PY - 2019 SP - 28 EP - 33 AN - OPUS4-47682 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Vössing, Konrad A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst ED - Ross, R. ED - Sauter, U. T1 - Contactless testing of wood-based materials with novel air-coupled ultrasonic transducers T2 - 21. International Nondestructive Testing and evaluation of Wood Symposium N2 - The detection of delamination, rot and cracks causing a decrease of strength in wooden construction elements is a key task for nondestructive testing (NDT). Air-coupled ultrasound (ACU) is used to detect flaws without having to provide contact to the surface or otherwise affect the object. Novel ferroelectric transducers with a high signal-to-noise ratio enable an accurate flaw detection. Transducers made of cellular polypropylene (PP) are suitable for characterizing wood-based materials (WBM) because their extremely low Young’s modulus and low density mean a favorable acoustic impedance for the transmission of ultrasonic waves between the transducer and air. The transducers can be applied during the production of WBM and during its service life. The device enables a fast in-situ recognition of defects with frequencies between 90 kHz and 250 kHz. Measurements can be performed in through transmission for a high resolution or in pulse-echo technique in case of one-sided access at the expense of reduced signal strength. Ultrasonic quality assurance for wood is an important attempt to increase the acceptance of wooden structures and towards sustainability in civil engineering in general. T2 - 21. International Nondestructive Testing and evaluation of Wood Symposium CY - Freiburg, Germany DA - 24.09.2019 KW - Air-coupled ultrasound KW - Defect detection KW - Nondestructive Testing KW - Timber PY - 2019 SP - 100 PB - FVA CY - Freiburg AN - OPUS4-49169 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vössing, Konrad A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Air‑coupled ferroelectret ultrasonic transducers for nondestructive testing of wood‑based materials JF - Wood Science and Technology N2 - Air-coupled ultrasound (ACU) is used in through transmission to detect delamination, rot, and cracks in wood without altering the structure permanently. Novel ferroelectret transducers with a high signal-to-noise ratio enable high-precision structure recognition. Transducers made of cellular polypropylene are quite suitable for ACU testing due to their extremely low Young’s modulus and low density resulting in a favorable acoustic impedance for the transmission of ultrasonic waves between the transducer and air. Thus, structures with great dimensions, with a thickness of up to 300 mm and material densities below 500 kg/m3, can be inspected. Promising results were obtained under laboratory conditions with frequencies ranging from 90 to 200 kHz. The advantage of ACU transducers is that they do not equire contact to the sample; they are accurate and cost-effective. Ultrasonic quality assurance for wood is an important avenue to increase the acceptance of wooden structures and toward sustainability in civil engineering in general. KW - Ultrasound KW - Wood KW - Defect KW - Air-coupled PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-018-1052-8 VL - 52 IS - 6 SP - 1527 EP - 1538 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-46653 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -