TY - JOUR A1 - Bente, Klaas A1 - Rus, J. A1 - Mooshofer, H. A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Grosse, C.U. T1 - Broadband air-coupled ultrasound emitter and receiver enable simultaneous measurement of thickness and speed of sound in solids JF - Sensors N2 - Air-coupled ultrasound sensors have advantages over contact ultrasound sensors when a sample should not become contaminated or influenced by the couplant or the measurement has to be a fast and automated inline process. Thereby, air-coupled transducers must emit high-energy pulses due to the low air-to-solid power transmission ratios (10−3 to 10−8). Currently used resonant transducers trade bandwidth—a prerequisite for material parameter analysis—against pulse energy. Here we show that a combination of a non-resonant ultrasound emitter and a non-resonant detector enables the generation and detection of pulses that are both high in amplitude (130 dB) and bandwidth (2 µs pulse width). We further show an initial application: the detection of reflections inside of a carbon fiber reinforced plastic plate with thicknesses between 1.7 mm and 10 mm. As the sensors work contact-free, the time of flight and the period of the in-plate reflections are independent parameters. Hence, a variation of ultrasound velocity is distinguishable from a variation of plate thickness and both properties are determined simultaneously. The sensor combination is likely to find numerous industrial applications necessitating high automation capacity and opens possibilities for air-coupled, single-side ultrasonic inspection. KW - Thermoacoustic emitter KW - Optical microphone KW - Air-coupled ultrasound KW - Local resonance KW - Thickness measurement KW - Thickness resonance PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-569533 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/s23031379 VL - 23 IS - 3 SP - 1379 PB - MDPI AN - OPUS4-56953 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shapovalov, O. A1 - Heckel, Thomas A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Weiß, S. T1 - External Acoustical Damping on a Metallic Angle Wedge in a High Temperature Resistant Ultrasonic Probe JF - Acoustics Australia N2 - Ultrasonic probes for high-temperature applications are provided with metallic wedges, which can withstand the contact with the high temperature of the inspected structure. The ultrasonic signal travels within the wedge and gets reflected from its boundaries, causing interference signals called “ghost echoes”. The current work presents an investigation of the additional damping effect provided by porous sintered metal plates applied onto the surface of the wedge. In particular, the study evaluates the effect of damping plate thickness on the interference signal level at different transmission frequencies. Damping plates made of sintered metal SIKA-R 15 AX were attached to a wedge prototype made of steel 1.4301. The study revealed, that the most effective thickness of damping plates in the selected frequency interval of 1 to 4 MHz is equal to 4 mm. The evaluation of the interference signal has shown that the application of such damping plates to the wedge surface contributes to an additional attenuation of an interference signal of 10 to 30 dB after 500 μs of signal propagation. KW - Ultrasonic testing KW - High temperature KW - Acoustical damping KW - Angle wedge KW - Ultrasonic probe PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-553920 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s40857-022-00270-9 SN - 0814-6039 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-55392 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Essig, W. A1 - Bernhardt, Y. A1 - Döring, D. A1 - Solodov, I. A1 - Gautzsch, T. A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Hufschläger, Daniel A1 - Sommerhuber, R. A1 - Marhenke, T. A1 - Hasener, J. A1 - Szewieczek, A. A1 - Hillger, W. T1 - Air-coupled ultrasound - emerging NDT method JF - ZfP-Zeitung N2 - This paper deals with the state of the art of air-coupled ultrasonic testing. KW - Air-coupled KW - Ultrasonic testing KW - Transducers PY - 2021 SN - 1616-069X VL - 173 SP - 32 EP - 43 PB - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Zerstörungsfreie Prüfung (DGZfP) CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-52231 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rus, J. A1 - Gustschin, A. A1 - Mooshofer, H. A1 - Grager, J.-C. A1 - Bente, Klaas A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Pfeiffer, F. A1 - Grosse, C. U. T1 - Qualitative comparison of non-destructive methods for inspection of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer laminates JF - Journal of Composite Materials N2 - In the rapidly expanding composite industry, novel inspection methods have been developed in recent years. Particularly promising for air-coupled testing are cellular polypropylene transducers which offer better impedance matching to air than piezoelectric transducers. Furthermore, broadband transmitters (laser-induced ultrasound and thermoacoustic emitters) and receivers (optical microphones) have opened a completely new chapter for advanced contact-free ultra-sound inspection. X-ray dark-field radiography offers a different approach to detect porosity and microcracks, employing small angle X-ray scattering. These innovative ultrasonic and radiographic alternatives were evaluated in comparison with well-established inspection techniques. We applied thirteen different non-destructive methods to inspect the same specimen (a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer laminate with induced impact damage): air-coupled ultrasound testing (using piezoelectric transducers, broadband optical microphones, cellular polypropylene transducers, and a thermoa- coustic emitter), laser-induced ultrasound testing, ultrasonic immersion testing, phased array ultrasonic testing, optically excited lock-in thermography, and X-ray radiography (projectional absorption and dark-field, tomosynthesis, and micro-computed tomography). The inspection methods were qualitatively characterized by comparing the scan results. The conclusions are advantageous for a decision on the optimal method for certain testing constraints. KW - Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer KW - Air-coupled ultrasound KW - Optically excited lock-in thermography KW - X-ray micro-computed tomography KW - X-ray dark-field radiography PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-509473 DO - https://doi.org/10.1177/0021998320931162 SN - 0021-9983 VL - 54 IS - 27 SP - 4325 EP - 4337 PB - SAGE AN - OPUS4-50947 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tiitta, M. A1 - Tiitta, V. A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Heikkinen, J. A1 - Lappalainen, R. A1 - Tomppo, L. T1 - Air-coupled ultrasound detection of natural defects in wood using ferroelectret and piezoelectric sensors JF - Wood Science and Technology N2 - Air-coupled ultrasound was used for assessing natural defects in wood boards by through-transmission scanning measurements. Gas matrix piezoelectric (GMP) and ferroelectret (FE) transducers were studied. The study also included tests with additional bias voltage with the ferroelectret receivers. Signal analyses, analyses of the measurement dynamics and statistical analyses of the signal parameters were conducted. After the measurement series, the samples were cut from the measurement regions and the defects were analyzed visually from the cross sections. The ultrasound responses were compared with the results of the visual examination of the cross sections. With the additional bias voltage, the ferroelectret measurement showed increased signal-to-noise ratio, which is especially important for air-coupled measurement of high-attenuation materials like wood. When comparing the defect response of GMP and FE sensors, it was found that FE sensors had more sensitive dynamic range, resulting from better s/n ratio and short response pulse. Classification test was made to test the possibility of detecting defects in sound wood. Machine learning methods including decision trees, k-nearest neighbor and support vector machine were used. The classification accuracy varied between 72 and 77% in the tests. All the tested machine learning methods could be used efficiently for the classification. KW - Air-coupled transducers KW - Wood KW - Ultrasound KW - Ultrasonic imaging KW - Ferroelectret KW - Machine learning PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-509503 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-020-01189-y SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-50950 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - 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 - JOUR A1 - Kotschate, Daniel A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Kersten, H. T1 - Acoustic emission by self-organising effects of micro-hollow cathode discharges JF - Applied Physics Letters N2 - We designed micro-hollow cathode discharge prototypes under atmospheric pressure and investi-gated their acoustic characteristics. For the acoustic model of the discharge, we correlated the self-organisation effect of the current density distribution with the ideal model of an acoustic membrane. For validation of the obtained model, sound particle velocity spectroscopy was used to detect and analyse the acoustic emission experimentally. The results have shown a behaviour similar to the ideal acoustic membrane. Therefore, the acoustic excitation is decomposable into its eigenfrequencies and predictable. The model was unified utilising the gas exhaust velocity caused by the electrohydrodynamic force. The results may allow a contactless prediction of the current density distribution by measuring the acoustic emission or using the micro-discharge as a tunable acoustic source for specific applications as well. KW - Micro hollow cathode discharge KW - Atmospheric pressure plasma KW - Gas discharges KW - Plasma acoustics PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5024459 SN - 0003-6951 VL - 112 IS - 15 SP - Article 154102, 1 EP - 4 PB - AIP Publishing AN - OPUS4-44659 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 - TY - JOUR A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Bovtun, Viktor A1 - Stark, Wolfgang A1 - Erhard, Anton A1 - Yakymenko, Y. A1 - Kreutzbruck, Marc T1 - Viscoelastic properties of cellular polypropylene ferroelectrets JF - Journal of Applied Physics N2 - Viscoelastic properties of cellular polypropylene ferroelectrets (PP FEs) were studied at low frequencies (0.3–33 Hz) by dynamic mechanical analysis and at high frequencies (250 kHz) by laser Doppler vibrometry. Relaxation behavior of the in-plane Young’s modulus (Y´ 11~1500 MPa at room temperature) was observed and attributed to the viscoelastic response of polypropylene matrix. The out-of-plane Young’s modulus is very small (Y´33≈0.1 MPa) at low frequencies, frequency- and stress-dependent, evidencing nonlinear viscoelastic response of PP FEs. The highfrequency mechanical response of PP FEs is shown to be linear viscoelastic with Y´33≈0.8 MPa. It is described by thickness vibration mode and modeled as a damped harmonic oscillator with one degree of freedom. Frequency dependence of Y*33 in the large dynamic strain regime is described by the broad Cole-Cole relaxation with a mean frequency in kHz range attributed to the Dynamics of the air flow between partially closed air-filled voids in PP FEs. Switching-off the relaxation contribution causes dynamic crossover from the nonlinear viscoelastic regime at low frequencies to the linear viscoelastic regime at high frequencies. In the small strain regime, contribution of the air flow seems to be insignificant and the power-law response, attributed to the mechanics of polypropylene cell walls and closed air voids, dominates in a broad frequency range. Mechanical Relaxation caused by the air flow mechanism takes place in the sound and ultrasound frequency range (10 Hz–1MHz) and, therefore, should be taken into account in ultrasonic applications of the PP FEs deal with strong exciting or receiving signals. KW - Viscoelastic KW - Cellular polypropylene KW - Ferroelectret PY - 2016 DO - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4944798 SN - 0021-8979 SN - 1089-7550 SN - 1520-8850 VL - 119 SP - Article Number: 125101 PB - AIP Publishing AN - OPUS4-35956 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Daschewski, Maxim A1 - Kreutzbruck, Marc A1 - Prager, Jens A1 - Dohse, Elmar A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Harrer, Andrea T1 - Resonanzfreie Messung und Anregung von Ultraschall JF - Technisches Messen N2 - In diesem Beitrag präsentieren wir innovative Methoden für die breitbandige und resonanzfreie Messung und Anregung von Ultraschall. Das Messverfahren verwendet eine Kunststofffolie und ein Laser-Vibrometer als breitbandigen und resonanzfreien Empfänger. Im Allgemeinen ermöglicht dieses Verfahren eine präzise Messung der Schallschnelle und des Schalldruckes in beliebigen, für das Laserlicht transparenten Flüssigkeiten und Gasen mit bekannter Dichte und Schallgeschwindigkeit. Das resonanzfreie Senden von Ultraschall basiert auf einem elektro-thermo-akustischen Wandlerprinzip und ermöglicht, im Gegensatz zu herkömmlichen Ultraschallwandlern, die Erzeugung von beliebig geformten akustischen Signalen ohne Resonanzen und ohne Nachschwingen. N2 - In this contribution we present innovative methods for broadband and resonance-free sensing and emitting of ultrasound. The sensing method uses a polyethylene foil and a laser vibrometer as a broadband and resonance-free sound receiver. In general, this method enables absolute measurement of sound particle velocity and sound pressure in arbitrary, laser beam transparent liquids and gases with known density and sound velocity. The resonance-free emitting method is based on the electro-thermo-acoustic principle and enables, contrary to conventional ultrasound transducers, generation of arbitrary shaped acoustic signals without resonances and post-oscillations. KW - Ultraschall KW - Übertragungsfunktion KW - Charakterisierung von Ultraschallmesssystemen KW - Thermo-akustische Ultraschallemitter KW - Ultrasound KW - Transfer function KW - Characterization of ultrasonic measurement systems KW - Thermo-acoustic ultrasound emitter PY - 2015 DO - https://doi.org/10.1515/teme-2014-0020 SN - 0340-837X SN - 0178-2312 SN - 0171-8096 VL - 82 IS - 3 SP - 156 EP - 166 PB - Oldenbourg CY - München AN - OPUS4-32733 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bovtun, Viktor Petrovic A1 - Döring, Joachim A1 - Bartusch, Jürgen A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Erhard, Anton A1 - Kreutzbruck, Marc A1 - Yakymenko, Y. T1 - Enhanced electromechanical response of ferroelectret ultrasonic transducers under high voltage excitation JF - Advances in applied ceramics N2 - Polypropylene based ferroelectret films exhibit a strong electromechanical activity and provide a promising solution for the air coupled ultrasonic (ACUS) transducers. Ultrasonic transmission between two air coupled ferroelectret transducers in dependence on the amplitude and polarity of the high voltage exciting pulse revealed a strongly non-linear electromechanical response of the ferroelectret transmitter which provides an increase in the transmitter efficiency. The authors present a simple model describing both promotion and competition of the piezoelectric and electrostriction contributions, as well as increase in the transducer constant under high voltage excitation. Enlargement of the inverse transducer constant of the polypropylene ferroelectret film by a factor of 4 was demonstrated. The non-linear properties of the polypropylene ferroelectrets result in a strong increase in their ACUS figure of merit under the high voltage excitation, which exceeds the results of their technological optimisation. Consequently, enhancement of the ACUS system transmission by 12 dB and signal to noise ratio by 32 dB was achieved. KW - Air coupled ultrasonics KW - Non-contact transducers KW - Ferroelectrets KW - Piezoelectric effect KW - Electrostriction KW - Cellular polypropylene KW - Ultrasonic transducer PY - 2013 DO - https://doi.org/10.1179/1743676112Y.0000000021 SN - 1743-6753 SN - 1743-6761 VL - 112 IS - 2 SP - 97 EP - 102 PB - Maney CY - London AN - OPUS4-27880 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Döring, Joachim A1 - Bartusch, Jürgen A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Kreutzbruck, Marc A1 - Erhard, Anton A1 - Bovtun, Viktor Petrovic T1 - Ferroelektret-Prüfköpfe für die zerstörungsfreie Prüfung mit Luftultraschall JF - Materials testing N2 - Für die luftgekoppelte Ultraschall-Prüfung wird der Prototyp eines neuartigen Prüfkopfes vorgestellt. Statt eines piezokeramischen Ultraschall-Wandlers mit einer λ/4-Anpassschicht wird eine Ferroelektret-Folie aus schaumförmigem Polypropylen eingesetzt. Durch die außerordentlich geringe akustische Impedanz der Folie reduzieren sich die Reflexionsverluste an den Grenzschichten zur Luft so stark, dass bei diesem Prüfkopf auf eine λ/4-Anpassschicht verzichtet werden kann. Außerdem ist die Folie hochspannungsfest. Sie konnte mit Spannungen von mehr als 3500 V angesteuert werden und erlaubte eine Vorspannung am Ultraschall-Wandler des Empfangsprüfkopfes von 2000 V. Mithilfe der hohen Anregungsspannung stieg die Amplitude des akustischen Prüfimpulses auf das 11,2-Fache. Die Empfindlichkeit des Empfängers erhöhte sich durch die Vorspannung weiter um den Faktor 4,3. Insgesamt steigt die Amplitude am Empfänger also auf das 48-Fache, bei gleichbleibendem Rauschpegel. Ein abschließender Vergleich mit kommerziellen Luftultraschall-Prüfköpfen belegt die Überlegenheit der Folien-Prüfköpfe. Damit rückt der Einsatz einer vollwertigen Impuls-Echo-Technik auch bei der luftgekoppelten Ultraschallprüfung deutlich näher. KW - Prüfkopf KW - Ferroelektret KW - Luftultraschall KW - Zerstörungsfreie Prüfung PY - 2013 SN - 0025-5300 VL - 55 IS - 2 SP - 96 EP - 102 PB - Hanser CY - München AN - OPUS4-27778 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Döring, Joachim A1 - Bovtun, V. A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Bartusch, Jürgen A1 - Erhard, Anton A1 - Kreutzbruck, Marc A1 - Yakymenko, Y. T1 - Piezoelectric and electrostrictive effects in ferroelectret ultrasonic transducers JF - Journal of applied physics N2 - Electromechanical response of polypropylene ferroelectret transducers under application of high-voltage pulses was measured by laser Doppler vibrometry and compared with results of ultrasonic through-air transmission between two ferroelectret transducers. The electromechanical response was completely explained by piezoelectric and electrostrictive effects. The electrostrictive effect dominates at high voltages and provides significant enlargement of the transducer constant, up to factor of 2.5. The induced strain of 1.7% was achieved at – 2000 V. The nonlinear ultrasonic transmission was shown to be well described by the piezoelectric and electrostrictive response of transmitter, except in the range of high negative exciting voltages where some limitation of the transmitted signal was observed. This limitation seems not to be a fundamental one and does not abolish the advantages of high-voltage excitation of polypropylene ferroelectret transducers. KW - Electromechanical effects KW - Ferroelectric devices KW - Piezoelectric transducers KW - Piezoelectricity KW - Ultrasonic transducers KW - Ultrasonic transmission KW - Cellular polypropylene KW - Ferroelectret KW - Electrostriction PY - 2012 DO - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4759052 SN - 0021-8979 SN - 1089-7550 VL - 112 IS - 8 SP - 084505-1 - 084505-6 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville, NY AN - OPUS4-26806 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bertovic, Marija A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Müller, Christina A1 - Fahlbruch, B. T1 - Investigating human factors in manual ultrasonic testing: testing the human factors model JF - Insight N2 - The human factors approach relies on understanding the properties of human capability and limitations under various conditions and the application of that knowledge in designing and developing safe systems. Following the principles of the MTO (Man Technology Organisation) approach, emphasis should be given to the way people interact with technical as well as organisational systems. A model describing human factor influences in relation to the performance shaping factors and their effect on manual ultrasonic inspection performance had been built and a part of it empirically tested. The experimental task involved repeated inspection of 18 defects according to the standard procedure under no, middle and high time pressure. Stress coping strategies, the mental workload of the task, stress reaction and organisational factors have been measured. The results have shown that time pressure, mental workload and experience influence the quality of the inspection performance. Organisational factors and their influence on the inspection results were rated as important by the operators. However, further research is necessary into the effects of stress. KW - Human factors KW - Manual ultrasonic testing KW - In-service inspection KW - Nuclear power plants KW - Time pressure PY - 2011 DO - https://doi.org/10.1784/insi.2011.53.12.673 SN - 0007-1137 VL - 53 IS - 12 SP - 673 EP - 676 PB - British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing CY - Northampton AN - OPUS4-26083 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Takahashi, K. A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Gülle, D. T1 - Data analysis and performance evaluation of japanese dual-sensor systems tested in Croatia JF - The Journal of ERW and mine action KW - Test KW - Dual sensor KW - Landmine detection PY - 2009 UR - http://maic.jmu.edu/JOURNAL/13.3/randd/takahashi_etal/takahashi_etal.htm IS - 13.3 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - Mine action info center/JMU AN - OPUS4-21110 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Christina A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Rosenthal, Martina A1 - Bär, Sylke A1 - Lewis, A. A1 - Bloodworth, T. A1 - Guelle, D. A1 - Wilrich, P.-Th. T1 - ITEP-Test Trials for Detection Reliability Assessment of Metal Detectors JF - Journal of mine action N2 - The total reliability of a mine searching system is driven by the triple of intrinsic capability, which describes the physical-technical basis capability, the application and environmental factors and the human factors. Some of them can be determined in laboratory measurements but the human factor and a part of environment conditions and their interaction with the device need to be treated statistically. That is why the test & evaluation procedure described in CEN CWA 14747:2003, includes in addition to parameter tests of metal detectors also the reliability or blind field tests under local conditions with local personnel. A series of three big field trials had been accomplished in the ITEP-project 2.1.1.2 “Reliability Model for Test & Evaluation of Metal Detectors” to specify the optimum conditions for reliable trial results with affordable effort. For each set of specific working conditions, characterized in terms of a combination of one mine type in one soil with one detector handled by local personnel, the searching system will show up a working performance in mine detection rates as a function of mine depth and show up a certain overall false call rate. During the ITEP-trials in Benkovac and Oberjettenberg the authors learnt to determine this function separately for each mine type in each soil, which is especially important for low metal mines in uncooperative soil which will be illustrated for the mine PMA2 in different types of soil. The question of representativeness for field conditions on the one hand and necessary statistical set up for the possibility to distinguish between individual detector performances is still under discussion. KW - Zuverlässigkeit der Minensuche KW - Feldtests KW - Modulares Modell KW - Metalldetektor PY - 2005 UR - http://maic.jmu.edu/journal/8.2/rd/mueller.htm SN - 1533-9440 SN - 1533-6905 N1 - Geburtsname von Rosenthal, Martina: Scharmach, M. - Birth name of Rosenthal, Martina: Scharmach, M. IS - 8.2 SP - 86 EP - 90 CY - Harrisonburg AN - OPUS4-6041 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Christina A1 - Rosenthal, Martina A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Guelle, D. A1 - Lewis, A. A1 - Sieber, A. T1 - Performance Demonstration for Humanitarian Demining JF - Materialprüfung = Materials testing N2 - Because the demining process is always connected with a danger for human beings, it is necessary to make sure the proper functioning of mine searching equipment in detecting mines. Detecting a hidden target by penetrating physical interaction of rays or waves is similar to non-destructive testing. The non-destructive testing profession developed procedures to check the reliability of testing. These procedures, like the performance demonstration where the successful detections are statistically evaluated against false call rates and their implementation in an industrial standard (ASME section XI appendix VIII) are used as a template. A first adoption to demining was accomplished in the prescription for blind trials in the CEN workshop agreement CWA 14747: 2003 for test and evaluation of metal detectors. Within an ITEP project a number of blind trials were carried out to learn about the necessary statistical basis of those trials to achieve true, reproducible and repeatable results to give guidance for the selection and improvement of metal detectors. The special focus in this first investigation was on the influence of the human factor due to the different degree of experience of the operators and the influence of the soil. PY - 2003 DO - https://doi.org/10.1515/mt-2003-0004 SN - 0025-5300 N1 - Geburtsname von Rosenthal, Martina: Scharmach, M. - Birth name of Rosenthal, Martina: Scharmach, M. VL - 45 IS - 11-12 SP - 504 EP - 512 PB - Carl Hanser Verlag CY - München AN - OPUS4-2786 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -