Generation of guided acoustic waves

• Grant number: 13/00985-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2013
• End date: March 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Electrical, Magnetic and Electronic Measurements, Instrumentation
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo Tokio Higuti
• Grantee: Edson Akira da Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Ilha Solteira. Ilha Solteira , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Applications of ultrasonic non-destructive testing techniques (NDT) are faced with a huge variety of situations, each one with its own peculiarities. One of the most important aspects is related to the generation and reception of acoustic waves by transducers, which depends on the transducer constituent materials, geometry and assembly. These characteristics can be tuned to be more adequate for each application. The Laboratory of Ultrasound at the Faculdade de Engenharia de Ilha Solteira has been working with rectangular ceramic (PZT) transducers using guided acoustic waves, which propagates in thin plates. In this proposal, a variety of transducers will be studied, including ceramics and composites (polymer-ceramic), with different geometries: rectangular, circular, semicircular. Different aspects of the transducer and generated waves will be analyzed, such as frequency response, acoustic field, electrical impedance, and transducer resonances of each propagation mode coupled to the plate. These characteristics will be obtained through theoretical studies, simulations by finite elements, and experiments. The several transducers will then be compared and selected in terms of the generation of acoustic guided waves. (AU)