Three different ultrasonic nonlinearity parameter measurement methods are available: the capacitive detection method to measure absolute values of nonlinearity parameters; the laser interferometry detection as a non-contact method; the contact piezoelectric transducer based relative measurement method. Among all these three methods, the contact piezoelectric transducer detection method has been used as the most practical approach due to its operational simplicity for materials damage assessments. One of the main drawbacks of this technique, however, has been the low sensitivity of the receiving transducers, especially for the second harmonic signals, causing a high uncertainty in measurements. In this work, it is demonstrated with a copper [100] single crystal that a couple of high Q-value band-pass filters and a low-noise preamplifier introduced in the system not only improve the measurement accuracy but also make it possible to determine absolute values of nonlinearity parameters without using the complex capacitive detection method.
Advantages of two dimensional electronic ultrasonic beam focusing, steering and scanning with the matrix phased array (MPA) technology has been used to visualize the conditions of resistance spot welds in auto vehicle grade advanced high strength steel carbon steels nondestructively. Two of the commonly used joining techniques, resistance spot welding and resistance seam welding, for thin aerospace grade plates made of aluminum, titanium, and stainless steels have also been inspected with the same MPA NDE system. In this study, a detailed discussions of the current MPA based ultrasonic real time imaging methodology has been made followed by some of the NDT results obtained with various welded test coupons.
Ultrasonic surface wave generating inter-digitized transducers (IDTs) have been designed, fabricated and applied to a simulated critical component of a bridge structure. The goal of the current investigation using a simulated gusset plate was to find out the minimum number of IDT sensors required to achieve the maximum monitoring coverage over a given gusset plate, as well as the size and the optimum operating frequency for the sensors. These sensors can be customized depending on the design of gusset plate to include the number of bolt holes or welds, thickness, and overall dimensions. Various sizes of sensors ranging from several centimeters to several millimeters with resonance frequencies between 100 KHz and 3 MHz were tested. IDT sensors operating at 1 MHz with the overall physical dimensions of 15 mm x 17 mm were found to give the best coverage with a minimum number of sensors. A second test component investigated in this work was a dog-bone shaped fatigue test component to simulate fillet welds of bridge structures. The main goal for this fatigue testing was to find how early in the fatigue process a fillet weld failure can be detected using surface waves. Changes in the amplitude of surface waves were monitored in-situ for this study and it was found that the fillet welds tested on a fatigue loading frame showed an indication of weld failure at an early stage of the fatigue crack initiation.
Polyester resin based glass fiber reinforced composite panels obtained from a local windmill turbine blade part
manufacturing company are used to evaluate the performance of inter-digital transducer (IDT) surface wave transducers.
Interaction of surface waves with fiberglass layers is addressed in this work. Additionally, artificially created flaws such
as cracks, impact damage and delamination are also studied in terms of amplitude changes in order to attempt to quantify
the size, location and severity of damage in the test panels. As a potential application to the structural health monitoring
(SHM) of windmill turbine blades, the coverage distance within the width of the sound field is estimated to be over 80
cm when a set of IDT sensors consisted of one transmitter and two receivers in a pitch-catch mode.
As part of an on-going, multi-year effort focused on developing a practical structural health monitoring (SHM) sensor for
critical structural components in aircraft, a miniature Rayleigh surface wave sensor has been developed and tested. The
sensor was specifically designed to detect localized, deterministic cracking in targeted locations in critical locations
where fatigue cracking is prevalent. A representative aircraft component was used in the present investigation.
Miniature interdigital transducers (IDTs) operating in the low megahertz frequency range were designed, fabricated, and
tested on compact tension (CT) fatigue specimens in the laboratory before they were strategically placed on the structure,
where surface wave signals were monitored in both pitch-catch and pulse-echo detection modes simultaneously. Under a
high-cycle fatigue loading to the structure, the IDT sensors performed well with three of the sensors successfully
detecting the existence of a critical fatigue crack. Visual and eddy current inspection methods subsequently verified the
presence of the crack and its location. In this paper, the entire effort from the design and characterization of the IDT
sensors to the final fatigue test on an actual aircraft part is discussed.
Thermal protection systems (TPS) of aerospace vehicles are subjected to impacts during in-flight use and vehicle
refurbishment. The damage resulting from such impacts can produce localized regions that are unable to resist extreme
temperatures. Therefore it is essential to have a reliable method to detect, locate, and quantify the damage occurring
from such impacts. The objective of this research is to demonstrate a capability that could lead to detecting, locating and
quantifying impact events for ceramic matrix composite (CMC) wrapped tile TPS via sensors embedded in the TPS
material. Previous research had shown a correlation between impact energies, material damage state, and polyvinylidene
fluoride (PVDF) sensor response for impact energies between 0.07 - 1.00 Joules, where impact events were located
directly over the sensor positions1. In this effort, the effectiveness of a sensor array is evaluated for detecting and
locating low energy impacts on a CMC wrapped TPS. The sensor array, which is adhered to the internal surface of the
TPS tile, is used to detect low energy impact events that occur at different locations. The analysis includes an evaluation
of signal amplitude levels, time-of-flight measurements, and signal frequency content. Multiple impacts are performed
at each location to study the repeatability of each measurement.
Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) can be subjected to impact damage during flight and/or during ground maintenance
and/or repair. AFRL/RXLP is developing a reliable and robust on-board sensing/monitoring capability for next
generation thermal protection systems to detect and assess impact damage. This study was focused on two classes of
metallic thermal protection tiles to determine threshold for impact damage and develop sensing capability of the impacts.
Sensors made of PVDF piezoelectric film were employed and tested to evaluate the detectability of impact signals and
assess the onset or threshold of impact damage. Testing was performed over a range of impact energy levels, where the
sensors were adhered to the back of the specimens. The PVDF signal levels were analyzed and compared to assess
damage, where digital microscopy, visual inspection, and white light interferometry were used for damage verification.
Based on the impact test results, an assessment of the impact damage thresholds for each type of metallic TPS system
was made.
Elastic waves generated by foreign materials impacting surfaces of aerospace vehicle can be used to detect and quantify
the severity of damage. Passive acoustical emission sensors, made of piezoelectric elements, are typically used as impact
signal detection devices. In this study, we have concentrated on characterizing the bonding qualities of piezoelectric
sensors in terms of various bonding materials and adhesion conditions such as bond strength, bond stiffness, partial
bonding, and disbonding. The experiment has been performed with an automated impact testing setup under controlled
bonding and disbonding conditions in an attempt to establish a standardized sensor bond quality inspection methodology.
Durable integrated sensor systems are needed for long-term health monitoring evaluations of aerospace systems. For
legacy aircraft the primary means of implementing a sensor system will be through surface mounting or bonding of the
sensors to the structure. Previous work has shown that the performance of surface-bonded piezo sensors can degrade
due to environmental effects such as vibrations, temperature fluctuations, and substrate flexure motions. This
performance degradation included sensor cracking, disbonding, and general loss of efficiency over time. In this research
effort, the bonding state of a piezo sensor system was systematically studied to understand and improve the long-term
durability and survivability of the sensor system. Analytic and computational models were developed and used to
understand elastic wave generation and reception performance for various states of sensor disbond. Experimental studies
were also conducted using scanning laser vibrometry, pitch-catch ultrasound, and pulse-echo ultrasound methods to
understand elastic wave propagation effects in thin plate materials. Significant performance loss was observed for
increasing levels of sensor disbond as well as characteristic frequency signatures which may be useful in understanding
sensor performance levels for future structural health monitoring systems.
An in-situ technique to measure sound velocity, ultrasonic attenuation and acoustic nonlinear property has been developed for characterization and early detection of fatigue damage in aerospace materials. For this purpose we have developed a computer software and measurement technique including hardware for the automation of the measurement. New transducer holder and special grips are designed. The automation has allowed us to test the long-term stability of the electronics over a period of time and so proof of the linearity of the system. Real-time monitoring of the material nonlinearity has been performed on dog-bone specimens from zero fatigue all the way to the final fracture under low-cycle fatigue test condition (LCF) and high-cycle test condition (HCF). Real-time health monitoring of the material can greatly contribute to the understanding of material behavior under cyclic loading. Interpretation of the results show that correlation exist between the slope of the curve described by the material nonlinearity and the life of the component. This new methodology was developed with an objective to predict the initiation of fatigue microcracks, and to detect, in-situ fatigue crack initiation as well as to quantify early stages of fatigue damage.
An in-situ technique to measure sound velocity, ultrasonic attenuation and acoustic nonlinear property has been developed for characterization and early detection of fatigue damage in aerospace materials. A previous experiment using the f-2f technique on Ti-6Al-4V dog bone specimen fatigued at different stage of fatigue has shown that the material nonlinearity exhibit large change compared to the other ultrasonic parameter. Real-time monitoring of the nonlinearity may be a future tool to characterize early fatigue damage in the material. For this purpose we have developed a computer software and measurement technique including hardware for the automation of the measurement. New transducer holder and special grips are designed. The automation has allowed us to test the long-term stability of the electronics over a period of time and so proof of the linearity of the system. For the first time, a real-time experiment has been performed on a dog-bone specimen from zero fatigue al the way to the final fracture.
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