Zitieren Sie bitte immer diesen URN: urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-655005
Improved air-coupled ultrasonic transmission using pulse compression
- Air-coupled ultrasonic testing avoids contamination and reduces maintenance costs, but suffers from poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) due to impedance mismatch. Rather than developing new transducers, this study improves SNR through signal processing by adapting pulse compression from radar.We propose a method using unipolar square pulses to make pulse compression compatible with non-linear transducers such as ferroelectrets and thermoacoustic emitters. Instead of relying on analytical models, a reference transmission measurement served as the matched filter, simplifying implementation and ensuring adaptability across transducer types. We evaluated unipolar coded excitation and pulse compression on ultrasonic transmission through a 25mm polyvinyl chloride plate, varying code length and pulse delay. Significant SNR gains were observed across transducers, particularly with longer delays. These results confirm that pulse compression enhances peak localization and supports testing underAir-coupled ultrasonic testing avoids contamination and reduces maintenance costs, but suffers from poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) due to impedance mismatch. Rather than developing new transducers, this study improves SNR through signal processing by adapting pulse compression from radar.We propose a method using unipolar square pulses to make pulse compression compatible with non-linear transducers such as ferroelectrets and thermoacoustic emitters. Instead of relying on analytical models, a reference transmission measurement served as the matched filter, simplifying implementation and ensuring adaptability across transducer types. We evaluated unipolar coded excitation and pulse compression on ultrasonic transmission through a 25mm polyvinyl chloride plate, varying code length and pulse delay. Significant SNR gains were observed across transducers, particularly with longer delays. These results confirm that pulse compression enhances peak localization and supports testing under low-SNR conditions.
Further experiments showed that pulse compression remains effective despite side lobe overlap and noise, provided the pulse delay is chosen appropriately. Although SNR prediction is limited by electrical and acoustic interference, the method consistently improves detection. Overall, the results demonstrate the feasibility of unipolar excitation coding for pulse compression in air-coupled ultrasonic testing, with practical value for thick or attenuating materials.…


| Autor*innen: | Mate GaalORCiD, Pascal WernickeORCiD |
|---|---|
| Dokumenttyp: | Zeitschriftenartikel |
| Veröffentlichungsform: | Verlagsliteratur |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Titel des übergeordneten Werkes (Englisch): | IEEE Open Journal of Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control |
| Jahr der Erstveröffentlichung: | 2026 |
| Organisationseinheit der BAM: | 8 Zerstörungsfreie Prüfung |
| 8 Zerstörungsfreie Prüfung / 8.4 Akustische und elektromagnetische Verfahren | |
| Veröffentlichende Institution: | Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) |
| Verlag: | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) |
| Jahrgang/Band: | 6 |
| Erste Seite: | 9 |
| Letzte Seite: | 16 |
| Freie Schlagwörter: | Air-coupled ultrasound; Coded excitation; Pulse compression; Transducers |
| Themenfelder/Aktivitätsfelder der BAM: | Infrastruktur |
| Infrastruktur / Leichtbau | |
| DOI: | 10.1109/OJUFFC.2026.3659047 |
| URN: | urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-655005 |
| ISSN: | 2694-0884 |
| Verfügbarkeit des Dokuments: | Datei für die Öffentlichkeit verfügbar ("Open Access") |
| Lizenz (Deutsch): | Creative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
| Datum der Freischaltung: | 12.02.2026 |
| Referierte Publikation: | Ja |
| Datum der Eintragung als referierte Publikation: | 02.03.2026 |
| Schriftenreihen ohne Nummerierung: | Wissenschaftliche Artikel der BAM |


