Ultraschallmessverfahren werden seit Langem erfolgreich für Prüfaufgaben, wie zum Beispiel die Ermittlung von Bauteilgeometrien, im Bauwesen eingesetzt. Um die Schallbündelung der Prüfköpfe zu verbessern, werden oft mehrere Prüfköpfe in einem Array angeordnet. Für die Entwicklung der Prüfkopfarrays ist es zweckmäßig, mithilfe von Modellierungen den Einfluss der Arraygröße, der Anordnung der Einzelprüfköpfe im Array und der Prüffrequenz auf das Schallfeld zu untersuchen. Dazu werden in der Praxis erfolgreich Modellierungen auf der Basis der Elastodynamischen Finiten Integrationstechnik (EFIT) und der Punktquellensynthese angewendet. Beim Aufbau der Arrays kommen zurzeit immer häufiger Transversal-Punktkontaktprüfköpfe zur Anwendung. Daher wird bei der Beschreibung der Schallfeldberechnung insbesondere auf die der Transversalwellenprüfköpfe eingegangen und mithilfe von Modellierungen und Experimenten gezeigt, wie sich die Prüfkopfpositionierung auf die Richtcharakteristik auswirkt.
This paper presents the numerical modeling of the Lamb wave propagation in thin plates with the elastodynamic finite integration technique (EFIT) and its validation with the measured results. In general, Lamb waves offer an attractive method to detect the defects inside long plate like structures efficiently. However, such a nondestructive testing (NDT) requires profound understanding of the Lamb wave propagation in the plates, generation of the symmetric and anti-symmetric modes of different orders and their interaction with the defects of the materials. Modern simulation tools based on numerical methods such as the finite integration technique (FIT), the finite element method (FEM) and the boundary element method (BEM) can be used to model this NDT situation. The elastodynamic finite integration technique (EFIT) is an effective tool to model Lamb wave propagation in plates over long distances in an efficient way. With the help of the simulation results obtained from the EFIT tool the propagation of different symmetric and anti-symmetric modes is analyzed and thus a proper technique is developed to excite different modes and to separate them from each other precisely. A validation of the numerical results with the analytical results is also presented.
Characterization of reflector types by phase-sensitive ultrasonic data processing and imaging
(2008)
Ultrasonic and radar imaging techniques are limited in resolution by the wavelength in the material, yet information beyond those limits is hidden in complex frequency dependent reflection coefficients. The analysis of the phase of complex reflection coefficients together with the properties of imaging algorithms can help to characterize and to classify indications of defects in concrete buildings. This paper describes a method to extract phase information from measurements and SAFT reconstructed images. The influencing factors like material properties, transducer characteristics, and imaging algorithms based on Born or Physical Optics approximations are elaborated. Simulated and experimental results are briefly discussed.
Impact-Echo (IE) measurements on concrete structures with compact
dimensions are influenced by geometry effects, i.e. reflections especially of the
surface waves at the boundaries of the test object, which in fact can lead to
misinterpretation of the results. In contrast to the normal reflection arrangement, in
which the excitation and the measuring sensor are placed on the same side of the
specimen, measurements were carried out in a transmission arrangement, where the
impactor and the measuring sensor are placed opposite to each other. This serves to
reduce the influence of surface waves, and to investigate further their responsibility
for the existence of geometry effects. Results obtained from laboratory specimens
with smooth surfaces were still seriously affected by geometry effects. Numerical
simulations led to the conclusion that surface waves travel around the edges of the
specimen, thus creating geometry effects even on the opposite side. Measurements
on a specimen, which was cut out from a bridge structure and had irregular
connecting planes between the excitation and the measurement side, proved to be
remarkably less affected.
In order to analyze and visualize the surface wave propagation an arrangement is
used, in which the excitation is fixed at a certain point on one plane of the specimen.
A transducer scans all planes of the specimen in phase with the excitation. Time
slices show the instantaneous wave field on all planes of the specimen. These are
compared with numerical simulations. In particular, it can be proved that surface
waves indeed travel around the edges of a specimen with smooth connecting planes,
thus creating geometry effects even in the transmission arrangement.