CHAPTER-II

ULTRASONIC WAVE PROPAGATION AND

SIGNAL PROCESSING

2.1 Ultrasonic Wave Propagation Theory 37

2.2 Propagation at an Interface Between Materials. 44

2.3 Determining Ultrasonic Velocity 47

2.3.1 Ultrasonic Transduction. 47

2.3.2 Reflection of the ultrasonic wave. 48

2.3.3 Specimen Geometry. 49

2.4 Signal Processing 51

2.4.1 Simulation technique. 55

2.4.2 The Fourier transforms. 61

2.4.3 Digitizer technique. 64

2.5 Conclusions. 71

References. 72
 37

CHAPTER
D
^ ULTRASONIC WAVE PROPAGATION AND
SIGNAL PROCESSING

After the raw data has been acquired from the pulser-receiver by the

digitizer, but before a velocity and attenuation estimate can be made, a significant

amount of signal processing must be done for a successful measurement to occur.

There is some basic processing that is needed for ail sets of data. Also one of the

most important requirement in ultrasonic testing is understanding the wave

propagation behavior. This chapter discusses all signals processing as well as the

wave propagation mechanism, software, control and measurement techniques.

2.1 Ultrasonic Wave Propagation Theory

The propagation of waves is an important phenomenon that affects a

medium when it is affected by a local excitation. The local excitation of a medium

is not instantaneously detected at positions that are at a distance from the region of

the excitation. It takes time for a disturbance to propagate from its source to other

positions. This phenomenon of propagation of disturbances is well known from

physical experience, and is usually referred as wave propagation (Bruno 2005).

In an elastic material medium, ultrasonic waves of various frequencies can

propagate (Kocis et al 1996). The ultrasonic propagation is characterized by the

mode of the wave, by the variable velocity and attenuation, by the phenomenon of

refraction, and by the reflectivity of a discontinuity the wavefront may meet

(Malcolm 1998).

Il-llltrasomc Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 38

To make an ultrasonic measurement, the ultrasound must be transmitted

and received. The latter is the process of transduction, in which a device called

transducer changes an electrical variable (Voltage or current on some waveform)

into a mechanical wave, and also does the reverse, outputting an electrical signal

characteristic of the interaction of the mechanical radiation with the sample

(Schmerr 1998).

To perform an ultrasonic nondestructive measurement on a sample, it is

necessary to assemble a proper combination of instrument, transducer, coupling

(since the waves travel through materials) and possibly focusing, refraction and

mode conversion mechanisms to introduce a propagating wave of a desired mode

into the sample of a particular geometry.

In the medium, the mechanical radiation will propagate in allowed modes.

In a bulk solid, the waves can be longitudinal (compressional) and transverse

(shear). If the bulk solid is isotropic', there will be two velocities one longitudinal

and one transverse. If the bulk solid is anisotropic^ having directional properties

then there are three velocities (one longitudinal and two shear) with directional

variability. Compared to solids, liquids are very compressible, this is why the

acoustic pressure and the compressibility are commonly used as parameters for

liquids (David et al. 2002).

The velocity of a wave is determined by the elastic moduli of the medium

and the mode of propagation. As the mode depends on the boundary conditions,

the elastic moduli are combined differently to express the velocities of various

modes. However, the dependence of the velocity of a mode upon the elastic moduli

' Isotropic material: A material, which has the same mechanical as well as electrical properties in
all directions.
^ Anisotropic material: Material having mechanical properties that are not the same in all
directions at a point in a body of it. There are no planes of material symmetry i.e., the properties are
a function of the orientation at a point.

Il-Ullrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 39

of the medium permits one to monitor some of the mechanical properties of the

medium (McSJcimin 1964). Processing steps that produce desired mechanical

properties also change the elastic moduli. Velocity can be used to monitor the

process, perform quality assurance, and carry out statistical process control.

Attenuation of a wave is determined by scattering (Zhang et al 2004) and

absorption (Kaufman el al. 2003), which are properties of medium, and by beam

spreading from a finite source (Chase 1953). As the scattering and absorption are

frequently determined by processing steps, attenuation can be used in quality and

process control in some cases (Imano et al 1997, Chang et al 2002)

Various approaches of ultrasonic wave propagation through gaseous, liquid

and solid media are cited by Greenspan (1965), Atabek (1968), Usov el al (1972),

Ueba et al (1999), Newberry el al (1989), Smeulders el al (1997), Tomasz et al

(1998).

Chandrasekhar (1964) has applied Maxwell theory of visco-elasticity to

investigate the propagation of elastic waves in viscous liquids.

Wu et al (1990) utilized anisotropic wave propagation theory to measure

the elastic constants of a unidirectional fiber reinforced composite specimen.

Minachi et al (1991) develop a model which, predicts the distortion of

ultrasonic beams passing through rough, irregular interfaces and may be used to

ascertain the inspectability of particular components in order to decide whether

said rough surface requires additional smoothing prior to ultrasonic inspection

The recent advances in the field of ultrasonic nondestructive inspection

have demanded a more precise knowledge of the propagation of sound beams

within materials. Quantitative models for propagation of ultrasonic fields from a

transducer can be used as tools to both analyze the inspection data and to predict

ll-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 40

inspection results. An approximate Gauss-Hermite model was developed a few

years ago to predict the ultrasonic fields radiated into isotropic and anisotropic

materials, through planar or simply curved interfaces by focused or unfocused

transducers (Thompson et al 1984). The paraxial approximation used in the

development of that model has allowed many functions to be evaluated

analytically, thus, the model has the advantage of being computationally efficient.

The Gauss-Hermite model has already been tested and verified for beam

propagation through a single medium (Minachi et al 1993).

Minachi (1992) evaluated the validity of the Gauss-Hermite model in a

multilayered medium. The comparison of the model with the finite element method

showed good agreement around the central ray direction. Due to the use of the

Fresnel approximation in the solution, the accuracy of the Gauss-Hermite model

degrades as one moves away from the forward propagation direction. The outcome

of this study demonstrated a good agreement between the model predictions and

experiment. Overall, this model has a good potential for being used in a variety of

ultrasonic inspections.

Boadu (2000) developed a numerical scheme using an exponential

transformation that explicitly treats the petrophysical and fluid properties of the

medium within the framework of a generalized model. The scheme accounts for

wave dissipation and velocity modifications. The numerical solution is used to

perform numerical experiments to study the dynamic behavior of waves in a fluid-

saturated medium at well-logging frequencies (15 kHz).

Researchers routinely employ a variety of numerical methods to analyze

waves in materials with complex constitutive equations and boundary conditions,

(Fellinger et al. 1995, Kaddour et al. 2000).

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 41

An ultrasonic wave field emitted by a piezoelectric-transducer presents a

complex analytical situation due mostly to diffraction effects. The influence of

diffraction phenomena on the accuracy of ultrasonic measurements has been

investigated by a number of researchers (Seki et al 1956, Gitis et a/1969, Zeqiri

1996, Kazyse;a/2002).

To greatly simplify the mathematical treatment of the wave field, it will be

analyzed based on a single plane wave assumption (Kinsler et al 2000); this means

that the actual wave field is approximated as an infinite plane moving in a direction

normal to the plane. All signals, which will be discussed in this chapter, will be

treated as plane waves^ The representation of an ultrasonic wave in this chapter

will be an equation describing the acoustic pressure as a function of axial location

and time. The equation for the initial pulse emitted by the transducer is given as

equation (2.1), where the actual form of the pulse is not specified but is expressed

as the time varying pressure at a given location x = 0.

p(t,0)=p(t,x)\x=0 (2.1)

The coordinate system can be selected such that the plane of the wave is the y-z

plane, and thus since the plane wave moves in a direction normal to the plane of

the wavefront all motion of the wave is along the x-axis. The origin is chosen such

that x=0 at the face of the transducer. Since the wave is a plane wave traveling

along the x-axis with velocity v, no amplitude or waveform changes will occur if

attenuation is neglected and p(t,x) can be represented by a time shifted version of

equation (2.1), given here as equation (2.2):

p{t,x) = p{l--,0) (2.2)

V

' Plane wave: A wave whose surfaces of constant phase are infinite parallel planes normal to the
direction of propagation

ll-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 42

Which can be written as

p{ta) = p{t,0).S(t-^) (2.3)

V

The wave described in equation (2.3) moves with a velocity v in the +x direction,

with waveform p(t, 0).

Thus for, all discussion has been in the time domain. It is, however,

pertinent to set the framework for a frequency-domain analysis since the

attenuation is a frequency-dependent phenomenon, which can be most accurately

addressed in the frequency domain.

The frequency domain representation p(<j},t) is defined as the Fourier

transform of the time domain \)u\scp(x,t) as in equation (2.4)

p{ca,x) = 2{p{t,x)} (2.4)

where

p{(o,0)^Z{p{tM (2.5)

Referring to equation (2.2), equation (2.4) can be written as:

p{(o,x) = :S{p{t,Q)xS{t--)} (2.6)

V

which can be evaluated to have solution as:

. X

p{a),x) = p((i>,0)x e ^ (2.7)

The wave number k is defined by A: = —, equation (2.7) can be rewritten as:
V

p(ct),x)= p(a),0)xe'''''' (2.8)

In the ideal case, equation (2.8) would accurately describe the propagation of an

ultrasonic signal through a medium. However, there are two major non-ideal

conditions seen in the situations analyzed for this project. The first condition is that

ll-illtrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

the assumption of loss less media is invalid for any real medium; since both the

condensate fluid and solid samples are real and thus attenuating media the

assumption of loss less media is not technically valid. Water and the other fluids

used have very low attenuation and thus can be approximated as loss less for the

frequencies and thicknesses encountered in this project. Some solid and liquid

samples, however, has significant attenuation, which must be taken into account.

The second condition is that in addition to attenuation through the classical

mechanisms of shear viscosity and thermal conductivity, some solid samples

exhibits a grain scattering effect (Li et al 2003). The former effect can be

calculated and incorporated in theoretical analysis; the latter exhibits macroscopic

effects, which are unpredictable. These effects can be modeled once measured, but

are different for each possible transducer placement on a given block and of course

differ from block to block as well. The standard attenuation equation used to

account for the classical attenuation in a homogeneous medium with constant

attenuation is given as equation (2.9) where a is the attenuation coefficient as a

function of the angular frequency co, and d is the path length traveled through the

attenuating medium:

p = />,.e-«-^^'^ (2.9)

Combining equation (2.9) with equation (2.8), the pulse corrected for attenuation

can be expressed as

p(a),x) = p{(o,<d)xe~"-'^ -"^xe'J^ (2.10)

Equation (2.10) is the frequency-domain equation, which is used for the

propagation of an ultrasonic wave. The time-domain equation formulation in

equation (2.3) does not account for attenuation; as a result, the inverse Fourier

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 44

transform of equation (2.10) will be taken to obtain an accurate time-domain

representation. This inverse Fourier transform integral is shown as equation (2.11):

+00

/>(/,x)= j[p{oj,x)xe'-"'']dco (2.11)

-00

which can be rewritten as:

+00 2
p(t,x)= j[p{iO,0)xe'~"-'^ •'^xe'J'"]xeJ-"'-'do) (2.12)

or
+00

pit,x)= J[p(«,0)xe-'(^'~^)xe-«^ ^]c/6; (2.13)

—00

In equation (2.13) the attenuation term is entirely real; as such, it does not impact

the propagation of the wave or the waveform but rather only the amplitude.

Because the amplitude of the received wave is not important for the time-domain

measurement algorithm, it can be neglected and equation (2.3) can be used instead.

2.2, Propagation at an Interface Between Materials

When an acoustic wave traveling in one medium encounters the boundary

of a second medium, reflected and transmitted waves are generated (Kinsler et al

2000). The problem of wave propagation along the interface between two elastic,

isotropic, and homogeneous half-spaces is studied by Murty et a/ (1991), when the

half-spaces are coupled through a vanishing thin layer of Voigt material.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the interface region and to

improve the technique, numerical simulations of the ultrasonic wave propagation

through specimens of two bonded elements can be used. In this contribution, a

simple model based on the local interaction simulation approach (LISA) is

described by Delsanto et al (2002).

11-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 45

* In the majority of the situations encountered during this project, the

boundaries encountered by a traveling ultrasonic wave will be normal to the

propagation vector of the wave. This section assumes such normal incidence; those

situations in which this is not the case are sufficiently complex to merit numerical

modeling instead of analytical derivation. When a wave as described above

traveling in the +x direction interacts with a boundary between two different

materials, a portion of the incident wave will be reflected back in the -x direction

and another portion will be transmitted into the second material and continue

traveling in the second medium in the +x direction. The amplitudes of both the

transmitted and reflected waves, as well as the phase of the reflected wave, are

determined by the reflection and transmission coefficients both of which are

functions of the acoustic impedances of both materials. The acoustic impedance of

a material, Z, is defined as the density of the material multiplied by the speed of

sound in that material. In this discussion, Z/ will be the acoustic impedance of the

first material in which the incident wave is traveling and Z2 will be the acoustic

impedance of the second material. When interacting with a simple interface at

normal incidence, both reflection and transmission coefficients are entirely real and

as such are multiplied with the incident wave to calculate the reflected and

transmitted waves. The transmission and reflection coefficients for a planar

harmonic wave encountering an interface at normal incidence as described above

are given as equation (2.14) and equation (2.15), respectively (Kinsler et al 2000).

j=^^i^ (2.14)
Zj + Z ,

R^ti^J^ (2.15)
ZT + Z ,

11-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 46

In the transmission case, since Z]Z2 >0, T is entirely real and must always be

greater than zero meaning that no phase shift occurs when a wave is transmitted

through a boundary. However, as seen from equation (2.15), while R is likewise

entirely real, it lies in the range -1 to +1; this implies that the reflected wave is a

scaled and negated version of the incident wave when /? < 0. It can easily be seen

from equation (2.15) that this inversion occurs when Z| > Z2. If Zi = Z2, then the

reflection coefficient equals zero, there is no reflected wave, and the boundary is

acoustically "transparent".

The acoustics impedances of some solid polymers, in particular rubber.

Polystyrene, Teflon, and number of others into which ultrasound propagates from

liquids, almost completely, without significant reflection are close to that of liquid.

For example, at the boundary between distilled water (Z = 1.5 MRayl) and rubber

(Z =1.4 MRayl), the amplitude reflection coefficient is only 3 % and the energy

reflection coefficient is only about 0.1 %. Approximately 4 % of the energy is

reflected from polystyrene (Z = 2.3 MRayl), and about 3 % is reflected from

Teflon (Shutilov 1988). Since these materials strongly absorb ultrasonic waves,

they can be regarded as almost perfect absorbers of ultrasound and can be used, for

example, to deaden the walls of a vessel containing a liquid in cases when the

reflected waves must be eliminated in order to perform measurement or for other

purposes.

In the situation of the condensation experiment, Zi > Z2 for the copper/fluid

(traveling from copper to fluid) and fluid/air interfaces, but not when traveling

from the fluid into the copper at the fluid/copper interface. The above discussion

addresses only a single interface; if a thin layer of fluid is present, a more

ll-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 47

appropriate expression of the reflection and transmission coefficients is obtained

by analyzing the fluid as a layer rather than as two discrete interfaces.

2.3 Determining Ultrasonic Velocity

2.3.1 Ultrasonic Transduction

The measurement of ultrasonic velocities depends upon generating a dynamic

pressure wave (pulse) into a material of known thickness and measuring the transit

time of the emerging acoustic pressure wave. A piezoelectric transducer usually

accomplishes the generation and detection of an acoustic wave. The piezoelectric

crystal is cut to a particular thickness along certain direction to obtain a particular

frequency of vibration, is then assembled into a transducer case. This piezoelectric

element has a measured amount of mechanical damping applied to the back surface

to avoid excessive ringing (Vives 1965). The transducers used for experiments are

purchased from commercial transducer manufacturers for the specific purpose of

measuring the ultrasonic velocities with a high degree of resolution. Piezoelectric

transducers are frequently used instead of magnetostrictive transducers because

they are more adaptable to extreme ranges of frequency, have greater conversion

efficiency and provide the greatest sensitivity (Mason 1999). There are vast

differences in frequency response, selectivity and sensitivity among the various

materials used for their piezoelectric properties. Transducer manufacturers have

discovered methods to significantly alter many transducer characteristics, such as,

using mechanically coupled damping materials to prevent the excessive ringing

following the initial excitation of the piezoelectric element. Many aspects of

transducer fabrication rely on proprietary factors (Mattiat 1971).

The shape of the pulse generated by the electronic pulser, has a major influence

on the pressure wave induced in the material. The input pulse is generally shaped

ll-Uhrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 48

to form a tail pulse in order to damp ringing following the initial pulse step. The

ideal broadband pressure pulse should be a (sin x) / x function, since such a pulse

can be shown to have an extremely wide bandwidth, and have a well defined,

characteristic peak (Schmerr 1998). In practice, the (sin x)/x pulse is approximated

by filtering the pulse spectrum at the spectrum extremes. The result of this

attenuation is a time domain pulse of 5 to 7 half cycles, with well-defined peak

amplitude at the center. In the spectral domain, this waveform is shown band-

passed, resulting in the attenuation of both the lowest and highest frequencies, with

a gradual peaking at the central frequency that, in turn, is proportional to the

reciprocal of the period of the central peak in the time history.

2.3.2 Reflection of the ultrasonic wave

Reflection of the ultrasonic wave occurs at the interface of two different

acoustic impedances (Hueter et al 1955), The specific acoustic impedance is given

in Rayls (kg/m^-s). The acoustic impedance is defined for bulk materials where the

sound propagation is normal to the transducer to specimen interface as '/? v', where

'/? ' is the mass density and 'v' is the longitudinal velocity of sound in that

medium. However, the impedance is further multiplied by the cross-sectional area

for materials that are small compared to the wavelength of the sound. Materials

whose lateral dimensions fall between 0.21 and 5% are avoided since the resulting

longitudinal velocity is not defined. The transducer-to-specimen interface is a

planar surface that frequently involves two or more different acoustic impedances.

This difference in impedances causes a phase shift of the reflected ultrasound

under specific conditions. The general equation (2.15) for the sound pressure

Reflection Coefficient shows how the phase shift may occur.

Il-Ullrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 49

This indicates that when the sound is reflected from an interface where the

second medium has lower acoustic impedance than the first medium, an 180°

phase shift occurs. The sound transmitted through an interface undergoes no phase

shift, however, there may be varying amounts of phase shift from zero to several

radians, depending upon the relative complex impedances involved in the

reflection. This phase shift causes a discrepancy (McSkimin 1962) in measured

sound velocity. The phase shift is a result of the transit (round-trip) time for sound

to penetrate through the couplant and through the piezoelectric element and

transducer wear face. The usual method of measuring the time between reflected

ultrasonic echoes shows a disparity in the time interval between one pair of

adjacent echoes compared with the time interval between any other pair of adjacent

echoes in an echo train. The amount of error may be determined, and the velocity

of sound thereby corrected.

The accuracy of the time interval measurement can be enhanced by an

acoustic buffer or delay line (Kasahara et al 1981). The accuracy can only be

roughly estimated for velocities where extreme attenuation of sound causes

difficulty in defining a separation of the pulse from the noise. In addition, the

sound attenuating materials usually force the use of thin specimens and low

frequency transducers, further degrading the accuracy of the measurements.

2.3.3 Specimen Geometry

The specimen geometry for a particular ultrasonic velocity determination

may have a decided effect on the wave propagation mode and on the measured

wave speed. Umeagukwu et al (1989) presents a method for determining the

effects of geometry on the intensity distributions of ultrasonic longitudinal plane

wave fronts, transmitted through a specimen with geometric deformation.

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 50

Rui et al (2002) studied the influence of specimen size on ultrasonic phase

velocity measurements .

Generally, velocity determinations are more accurate on relatively thick

specimens, for three reasons:

1. As the thickness of the specimen increases, so does the number of significant

digits to which one can accurately measure the thickness.

2. The effect on specimen geometry of a short time interval change in ambient

temperature decreases with thickness due to the greater specimen volume (thermal

inertia).

3. The pulsed ultrasound pressure wave has finite dimensions, generalized as a

relatively small diameter cylinder or cone, roughly approximating the diameter of

the transducer within the near field and spreading conically in the far field to

sin —= 0.514—, where D is the transducer diameter, calculated for the 6dB down
2 D

amplitude for flat transducers (Leong et al 2002).

The induced pressure wave should involve no more than one-sixth of the

smallest dimensions of a specimen, depending upon the desired wave propagation

mode. While it can be shown, one may intuitively see that as a sound pressure

wave interacts with the specimen boundaries, tension, compression and shear

forces contend for position, with the result that during this convolution of waves a

severe distortion and interference of the waves occurs, rendering accurate

measurement of time of arrival of these waves difficult. Most of the materials tend

to perform as mechanical filters to ultrasound. Most generally, the materials

behave like low pass filters, which attenuate the amplitude of the pressure waves in

proportion to the increasing frequency and the increasing thickness in the direction

of the wave propagation. However, attenuation is also a function of many other

ll-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing
 51

phenomena inherent in the materials (Babick et al 2000). Losses in solids are

mainly the resuh of heat conduction, viscous friction, dislocation motion, and

scattering. Losses in high-polymer materials (plastic, rubber, etc.) are mainly of

viscous nature (Ingo et al 2000). It is therefore neither practical nor possible to set

down fixed specimen geometry beyond stating that the specimen may have flat,

parallel faces with a parallelism of better than 25 x lO'*^ (in./in., m/m, etc.) for

many polycrystalline materials (Botvina et al 2000), and to about lO"'' for single-

crystal specimens. In addition, for most of the materials the diameter, and for

rectangular specimens and the edge dimension, should be three times the thickness

(an aspect ratio of >3.i). The thickness is usually 3 to 25 mm, depending upon the

attenuation properties of the material. Sometimes these dimensions are radically

altered, e.g. when the material is found only in the shape of rods, or wires, or even

a textile yarn. A specialized geometry is required when the acoustic velocities are

desired as a function of stress, strain, or temperature (Reynolds 1953). Proper

specimen preparation is essential for the determination of specific ultrasonic

velocities.

2.4 Signal Processing

Signal processing involves techniques that improve our understanding of

information contained in received ultrasonic data. Normally, when a signal is

measured with an oscilloscope, it is viewed in the time domain (vertical axis is

amplitude or voltage and the horizontal axis is time). For many signals, this is the

most logical and intuitive way to view them. Simple signal processing often

involves the use of gates to isolate the signal of interest or frequency filters to

smooth or reject unwanted frequencies. When the frequency content of the signal is

of interest, it makes sense to view the signal graph in the frequency domain. In the

ll-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 52

frequency domain, the vertical axis is still voltage but the horizontal axis is

frequency. The frequency domain display shows how much of the signal's energy

is present as a function of frequency. For a simple signal such as a sine wave, the

frequency domain representation does not usually show us much additional

information. However, with more complex signals, such as the response of a broad

bandwidth transducer, the frequency domain gives a more useful view of the

signal.

Fourier theory says that any complex periodic waveform can be

decomposed into a set of sinusoids with different amplitudes, frequencies and

phases. The process of doing this is called Fourier analysis, and the result is a set

of amplitudes, phases, and frequencies for each of the sinusoids that make up the

complex waveform. Adding these sinusoids together again will reproduce exactly

the original waveform. A plot of the frequency or phase of a sinusoid against

amplitude is called a spectrum.

Numerical Simulation- that is the use of computers to solve problems by

simulating theoretical models- is a part of new technology that has taken place

along side pure theory and experiment during the last few decades. Numerical

simulations permit one to solve problems that may be inaccessible to direct

experimental study or too complex for theoretical analysis. Computer simulations

can bridge between analysis and experiment (Murawski 2002).

Very often the simplest physical phenomena are described by complicated

mathematical equations which cannot be solved analytically and require numerical

treatment. The basic idea of computer experiments is to simulate the physical

behavior of complicated natural systems by solving an appropriate set of

mathematical equations that are built on the basis a physical model. A typical way

ll-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 53

for computer simulation is to develop a mathematical model of differential or

integral equations and then to transform them to a discrete form that can be

numerically treated. By this way, numerical simulations attempt to initiate the

dynamic behavior of a system and to predict or calculate subsequent event.

In modern ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation systems, it is necessary to

capture received signals so that they can be processed further and quantitatively

evaluated. This is done through an analog to digital conversion process and can

take place inside the oscilloscope itself if it is a digital scope or via an external

digitizer. Once in digital system, the signal can then easily be transferred to a

computer for analysis.

Several numerical schemes such as Fourier method and the finite difference

method were developed and compared for KdV (Kerteweg-de Vries) equation by

Abe et a/ (1980). The results of this comparison revealed that the Fourier method is

the most accurate and efficient.

The linear theory based on the Fourier transform was applied to the study

of ultrasonic wave propagation in the polymeric film strip by Malinaric et al

(1998).

You et al (1998) studied numerical simulation of ultrasonic wave

propagation in solid materials.

Safari et al (1997) proposed new signal processing scheme for ultrasonic

imaging of high loss composite structure.

Andria et al (2001) presented a digital signal processing techniques for

obtaining high accuracy in ultrasonic distance measurements. The proposed

methodologies employ a suitable time-frequency representation (Wavelet

Transform or Short Time Fourier Transform) to extract the envelope of the

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 54

reflected pulse echo, together with a suitable pulse detection algorithm (threshold

or correlation) for time-of-flight estimation.

Hill et al (2004) discussed the finite element modeling in simulating elastic

wave propagation associated with structural vibrations, acoustic phenomena and

ultrasound problems using PAFEC software.

San Emeterio et al (2004) presented an approximate frequency domain

electro-acoustic model for pulsed piezoelectric ultrasonic transmitters, which, by

integrating partial models of the different stages, allows the computation of the

emission transfer, function and output force temporal waveform.

Hirsekorn et al (2004) described numerical simulations of acoustic wave

propagation through sonic crystals consisting of local resonator using local

interaction simulation approach.

Local Interaction Simulation Approach (LISA) has proposed by Ruzzene et

al (2005) as an alternative to Finite Element (FE) and Finite Difference (FD)

methods proposed by Delsanto, et al (1998) for the efficient simulation of

ultrasonic waves in homogeneous and heterogeneous solids. LISA uses the same

formalism as FD, but addresses the problem of discontinuities at interfaces by

locally matching particle displacements and stresses.

These results show the validity of the digital signal processing technique

for ultrasonic measurements. The purpose of the present study is to establish a

simple but precise virtual measurement system of the ultrasonic measurement. In

line with the aim of accuracy, precision and reliability of the proposed ultrasonic

system, the following section discusses diverse methods to obtain the desired

information at different complexity levels.

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 55

2.4.1 Simulation technique

Numerical simulations have emerged as a new branch in science

complementing both experiments and theory. A simulation can some times replace

a physical experiment, although most often a simulation and an experiment are

complementary. Simulations often explain results of scientific experiments and

simulations are often calibrated by experiments. The experiments provide input for

the simulations, which are viewed as experimenting with theoretical models. The

feedback of numerical results into theoretical modeling and continues interaction

with laboratory experiments and analytical theory make computing an

indispensable tool for science (Murawski 2002). Therefore the increase in

computing power in both speed and storage has given computational science its

significance. Improved computer capacity and the solution algorithms themselves,

have a large effect on the quality of solution obtained.

Numerical simulations can be used to study the dynamics of complex

physical systems. Although the variety of complex flows that computational fluid

dynamics can analyze continues to increase, the solutions too much more complex

flows are desired. A numerical model can be used to interpret measurements and

observations, extend existing analytical models into new parameter regimes and

quantitatively test existing theories that can be done by comparing model

predictions to experimental data (Hafez 2003).

Modern computers are fast and do not complain of boredom when

repeating the same procedure millions of times. Analytical methods, on the other

hand, have been plagued with this problem. With the use of computer, one can

often test theoretical predictions and approximations. The numerical methods are

//-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 56

simpler and more Idealized than the actual physical system. However, they are far

more complete and realistic than we can handle analytically.

Computer simulations contain many advantages over conventional

experiments. Simulation can evaluate the importance of a physical effect by

turning this effect on or off, changing its strength, or changing its functional form.

This way of isolating effects is an important advantage that a simulation has over

an experiment.

The main advantage of computer experiments is that complicated physical

system involving non-linearity and in-homogeneity can be treated without

difficulty as easily as much simpler linear and homogeneous systems are dealt

with. As a consequence of that non-linearity and in-homogeneity is no longer an

obstacle in exploitation of physical systems. The computer simulation reproduces

both linear and nonlinear behavior of a physical system (Ludwing et al 1995). One

can compare, the results of such calculations with the behavior of real physical

systems and with theory. These results can then be used to test theoretical

predictions.

Both simulations and laboratory experiments benefit greatly from focusing

on specific mechanisms of complex phenomena. Therefore, much can be learned

about physical phenomena by idealizing and simplifying the problem. As a

consequence of that, an experiment is not always a better probe of a physical

system than a simulation.

Simulation can be used to test the range of validity of theoretical

approximations. For example, when a linear theory breaks down, simulations can

study the reason of breakdown. The reverse case is also true as theory can be used

to validate a numerical model.

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 57

Numerical simulations analysis and experiment cover mutual weakness of

both pure experiment and pure theory. These simulations will remain a third

dimension in fluid dynamic of equal status and importance to experiment and

analysis. It has taken a permanent place in all aspects of fluid dynamics, from basic

research to engineering design. The computer experiment is a new and potentially

powerful tool. By combining conventional theory, experiment and computer

simulation, one can discover new and unsolved aspects of natural processes. These

aspects could often neither have been understood nor revealed by analysis or

experiments alone.

Traditionally, the study of acoustics begins with the analysis of mechanical

waves Kinsler et al (2000). This quickly leads to the wave equation, which relates

the motion of particles in time and space. Soon after, to account for losses, a lossy

wave equation'' is derived. One of the solutions for this differential equation is, for

harmonic plane waves,

where p is the particle displacement and (o is the angular frequency {litf). The first

term of the solution describes a wave progressing at a velocity 'v' in the positive x

direction with initial amplitude 'a', which attenuates exponentially at a rate 'a" per

meter. The second term of the solution describes a wave with an initial amplitude

'b' traveling in the other direction with the same speed 'v' and decaying at the rate

'a' per meter. The coefficient 'a' and 'b' depend on the boundary and initial

conditions within a single medium.

The above solution is for a single frequency (i.e. monochromatic) and most

of the ultrasonic systems use a pulse. This can be perceived as a problem because a

'' One way to obtain the lossy wave equation is presented in paper 2 published by author (
Appendix D) and another is presented by Kinsler et al. (1982)

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 58

pulse contains several signals of various frequencies^ and to obtain the desired

information, it has to be mathematically modeled. One way to view the pulse is as

p{x,t) - ^(^)g-«^^7(«^-«^/v) (2.17)

where the A, a and v are frequency dependent.

A piezoelectric element picks up the acoustic echo as it passes through and

transforms it into an electrical signal. This piezoelectric element is a point of

reference where x finds a home and can be set as the origin (x = 0). The received

electrical signal can then be modeled as

Pit) = A{t)e-'^''^e'^'"-''''r /v) (2.18)

where x,, is the distance traveled by the pulse.

The first setup is used to describe the signal processing in liquid sample

(fig. 2.1). The receiving transducer is aimed downwards in the measurement cell

towards the sample. And the transmitting transducer is attached to bottom surface

of pyrex glass bottle (intermediate layer). The bottom surface has smooth,fiatand

parallel surfaces and a thickness dg. The receiving transducer is located at a

distance of (cfy+c/g) as shown infigure2.1.

' A pulse is also viewed as a low frequency disturbance modulated or convoluted by the carrying
and resonant frequency of the ultrasonic transducer. For example, a gaussian pulse will occur at /Q
WA\\ p{t) — e " X Co.S'(&)f) ^wherecu is the carrying frequency and T widens the
pulse.

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 59

Receivuig
Transducer
4^ to tiAi t2A2

XT
San^le
Liquid

\ 2^

Intermediate time
laver Traitsmitting
Transducer

Fig. 2.1: Liquid sample cell.

At time t\, an echo from the liquid-intermediate layer interface is received. It has

amplitude A] that is related to that of the original pulse AQ, sent out at time to, as

\Ai\=\AQ\xRg^xe^"s-'^g (2.19)

where Rg^ is the reflection coefficient of glass-sample boundary.

Such that the received signal can be described as

e,it) = AoxRg^^.e~''sds ^,J^(^^'^g^'g^ (2.20)

The signal is attenuated exponentially over distance traveled by the pulse { dg) at a

rate of ag, the acoustic coefficient of attenuation in intermediate layer (glass). Vg

is the speed of sound in intermediate layer. Presenting r„ as the time needed for

the pulse's round trip in glass: ^g = ^i - ^ = dg /v . The equation (2.20) reduces

to

e,(0 = 4 ) x % v x e " " ^ ^ ^ x e ^ ' ^ ^ ^ - ^ ^ ^ (2.21)

The coefficient of reflection Rgs for a plane wave front parallel with the

intermediate layer surface is

ll-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 60

Z -Z
R =^ ^ (2.22)
^ Z.+Z„

where Z^ and Zg are the specific acoustic impedances of sample and the

intermediate layer (pyrex glass) respectively. The coefficient of transmission is

related to the amount of energy that was not reflected but transmitted into the

sample such that

? g . = - - ^ - l +% (2.23)

The signal received by the receiving transducer at time tj is

62(0 = 4 , X Tg^ X Rg^ X e - « ^ * X e'^s'^S ^ ^M'-'g'^s) ^2.24)

Where TS is the time delay necessary for the sound to travel through the sample:

h = h- tj =ds/ Vs , where 'v,' is the speed of sound through the sample, and 'Uj' is

the coefficient of attenuation in the sample.

First and foremost, it should be clear that each signal is a unique

combination of harmonic waves. A signal at one frequency cannot be implemented

with any combination of signals at any other frequencies. Since the systems dealt

within here are assumed to be linear, the signals can be added together or

superimposed on each other to form a combined signal. Gathering harmonic waves

of different frequencies and amplitudes together breeds a unique time varying

signal. At times, the superposition of all those harmonic waves cancels each other

such that the resulting signal is silent. At other times, they do not cancel each other

as exemplified by the occurrence of the echo. Combining harmonic waves with

their respective magnitudes results in a signal similar to e\{t).

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 61

The time when the echo occurs can be shifted if the harmonic waves are

slightly delayed with respect to each other or a common origin. For the echo to

occur at the right time, a unique combination of time shifts is required. This

information can be stored with the amplitudes such as \Ao\. Combining the

frequency dependent magnitudes and time or phase shifts p gives the Fourier

transform. Then, for example

AO(CD) = \Ao(co)\ e'"^'"^ = aoicoy^""^ (2.25)

These complex values can also be represented by

AQ{O}) = XaQ (co) +jyaQ (co) (2.26)

by using Euler's equation such that

ao{o))--JxlQ{co) + ylQ{ca) (2.27)

and

^{co) = arctan-^^Q^^-^^ ^4(ffl) (2.28)

The combination of the harmonic waves is represented by the inverse Fourier

transform (Kreyszig 1993).

e.(/) = - L r A{co).ei""dco (2.29)

In J--°°

where the harmonic waves e/"" with unit amplitude are amplified to their spectrally

respective magnitude of \Ai\ and shifted by their spectrally respective phases

2.4,2 The Fourier transforms

Ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation deals primarily with pulses of various

types; voltage pulse, pressure pulses in fluids, elastic wave pulses in solids etc.

These pulses are transient time disturbances that characterize the behavior of an

ll-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 62

ultrasonic system component in the time domain. It is often desirable however to

consider other domains to describe component response. One particularly useful

domain is the frequency domain. A time domain pulse is transformed into the

frequency domain through Fourier transforms, defined as: (Kreyszig 1993)

4 («) = — r e, it).e'J'"'dt (2.30)

2 71 •'-«

At a given angular frequency w, the multiplication of the two time signals will give

the amplitude of the harmonic wave in the signal e\{i). If the frequency of the

harmonic wave is not present in e\ then the sum of the products over time is

negligible^.

The above equation results in a complex variable in terms of ca. The two

components are the amplitude and the phase. To make this simpler to grasp, the

application of the Euler's equation allows it to be broken into two exciting

harmonic signals 90 ° out of phase.

AAco)-— I eAt).cos{cot- isma)t)dt (2.31)
In •'-«'
such that

x^{a)) = — \ ei{t).Q.o?,{(Dt)dt (2.32)

I O -77"
IK •"-«
J—-CO

and

1 f^
yAAco) = -—-\ ei{t).sm{cot)dt (2.33)

The magnitude ofAi{a)) is

A^{co)\=^x\{co) + y\ico) (2.34)

*" Analogy: taking the piezoelectric disk as an equivalence to the signal ei(£) and e '"" as the
excitation signal, the oscillation of the object under investigation is very small when excited with
harmonic signal whose frequency is not near the natural frequency of the object itself

//-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 63

and its phase is

}'A^ (*^)
^(a)) = a r c t a n — ! (2.35)
x^l (a)
These concepts can be evaluated on the measurement setup with which the gated^

signals were obtained.

In equation (2.24), the time signal ^2(0 's given in terms of the measured signal

e\(t). Making use of this relationship in the Fourier transform, one obtains

A2{co) = -— r r„xe,(Oxe-"^-^^ xe-'''"^-'^Ke-''''dt (2.36)

2 ^ j_co s

Moving the time independent variables out of the integral leads to

A2(ay) = - — r ^ ^ e - " ^ ^^ .e''''^-^^> _Q.e,(t)xe->'c// (2.37)

The integral at the end of equation (2.37) is the Fourier transform /I i (a*) ofe\(t).

Such that

A2(co) = -Tg.e'"''''^' .e->'^^~''U^iQ}) (2.38)

Taking the ratio Qi(co) of Ai and A2 gives the complex function

e,(„, = ^ii^=-<^£i££2!f!!!l..».> p.„,

's^ g

For solid samples, the sensing probe is in contact with sample. A very thin

coupling layer is used at the interface to insure good acoustic conduction. Air

backs the sample and provides an almost total reflection of the acoustic energy.

Letting A (co) be the spectral representation of a(t) (without sample), then due to an

almost total reflection Ris with air during the reference measurement

i!„(«)=A<fd p.40,
A{a))

' A gated signal is obtained by allowing the signal through only during a timed interval.

Il-Ullrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 64

where the subscript 'i' refers to the intermediate contact layer and 's' refer to the

solid sample. The coefficient of attenuation in solids is

a,{o)) = --InC^^^ 'l^ ^) (2.41)

There is an increase in information obtained by using this signal processing

technique without having changed anything to the system or to the way the signal

is acquired.

Using the magnitude of the complex ratios and the phase velocities, one can

obtain frequency dependent coefficients of attenuation. The frequency

decomposition by the Fourier transform also supports the goals of increased

accuracy, precision and reliable of the ultrasonic measurements. Since the acoustic

attenuation is frequency dependent, the center frequency of the echoes changes, the

coefficient of attenuation must take this into account.

With the help of the Fourier transform, it is possible to use the magnitude

of the echoes at different frequencies to calculate the acoustic impedance of the

liquid. However, the estimation can be further improved by making use of the

information over the whole bandwidth of the transducer. At each frequency, a

density estimate can also be made with associated spectral coefficient of

attenuation and acoustic impedance. With this idea, several measurements can be

made with a single acquisition providing an average and a precision uncertainty.

2.4.3 Digitizer technique

Increasing number of ultrasonic applications reflect the power lying in this

method. As broader is the range of areas involved in ultrasonic measurement, as

more essential becomes the question of universal concept for generating and

acquiring the ultrasonic data. The principle and a method of processing an

ll-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 65

ultrasonic signal originating from a probe using digitizer technique is described

here.

The basic conceptual model for the ultrasonic measurement system for

solids and liquids is shown in figure 2.2.

Pulser

<r^
J.
Transmittiiig — )
PC
^^licatioii
Trans diicer softu-are
SoM
Liquid sample r Digitizer j
Sample

Receiviiig
Transducer Receiver

Fig 2.2: Conceptual model for the ultrasonic velocity and attenuation measurement system.

The ultrasonic transducer is excited by generation of electrical pulse and

transmits the ultrasonic pulse to the media under investigation. The ultrasonic

pulse travels in the material reflected, refracted, scattered or transmitted through its

in- homogeneities. The affected signal is picked by receiving transducer and is

converted to the electrical signal. This signal is then amplified, filtered and

converted to the digital form using digitizer. After the raw data has been acquired

from the pulser-receiver by the digitizer, but before a velocity and attenuation

estimate can be made, a significant amount of signal processing must be done for a

successful measurement to occur. There is some basic processing that is needed for

all sets of data.

• Control program structure

The overall control program consists of three modules. These are the main

module, the communication module and the baseline acquisition module. The main

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 66

module is what the user interacts with when acquiring data, and it is also the

program, which contains the bulk of the signal processing and interpretation

software. The communication module has only one function: to control and

communicate with (including retrieval of raw data) all hardware in the system. The

baseline acquisition module, as the name implies, acquires the baseline sample,

which will be used to normalize all future data. This module performs a limited

amount of signal processing, and will be addressed briefly.

• Communication module:

Driver Software Structure

The driver software is structured as follows (fig. 2.3).

Configuration Data
(From Windows Registry)

Uniform Driver

Device-Specific Driver

Low-Level Driver

• < • > •

Hardware

Fig. 2.3 Driver software structure

1. Configuration Data

The windows registry stores configuration data of hardware devices. This

data will be used by the Driver function during an I/O access.

2. Uniform Driver

Provides uniform interface between the applications and device specific

driver. It handles the management of the device specific drivers, so the applications

will not utilize the underlying drivers. The format of the driver is in standard

ll-Ullrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 67

windows Dynamic Link Library (DLL), named DYNAAPI32.DLL for

WIN98/2000.

3. Device Specific Driver

Provides board-specific functions. The format of the drivers is standard

windows Dynamic Link Library.

4. Low-Level Driver

Performs physical hardware operations. The format of the driver is Kernel-

mode driver for WIN98/2000.

5. Creating windows applications using microsoft VC++ :

Created the source files calling DLL functions as typical function calls.

Included the DLL header file, namely "Dynadrvr.h", which prototypes all DLL

routines. Added the DLL import library namely "Dynaapi32.1ib" to the project

module.

Overview of Function category

The following functions are used for initializing and configuring the hardware

and software.

• FN DeviceOpen

This function retrieves the information related to the device required for its

operation from the Windows Registry and allocates memory to store it for quick

reference.

• FN DeviceClose

This function releases the memory allocated in the FNDeviceOpen function.

• FN GetErrorMessage

The purpose of this function is to get the error message string for a specified error

code from the previous function call.

[I-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 68

Analog I/O Functions

• FN_AIReadVoltage

Reads the analog input channel voltage.

• FN AIReadBinary

Reads the analog input channel in binary.

• FN AIMultiReadVoltage

Reads the analog input channel voltage for multiple channels.

• FNjlISetConfig

It sets the analog channel configuration at run-time.

• FNAIGetConfig

It gets the analog channel configuration

• FNAISetExpPage

It sets the daughter board setting.

Timer Functions

• FN_16BitTimer

It loads timer value and starts the timer.

• FN CounterStart

It loads count value and starts the counter.

• FNCounterRead

It read the counter value

• FNCounterReset

It resets the counter value to zero.

• FN SetCounterConfig

This function configures the counter to a particular mode of operation

• FNGetCounterConfig

ll-Ullrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 69

This function reads the configuration data of the specified counter.

Main module:

General considerations

The radio frequency (RF) signal received by the digitizer from the

transducer via the pulser/receiver consists of the desired signal, in addition to a

much larger amount of "noise". In this case, "noise" does not refer to the

traditional Gaussian "white noise", but rather to artifacts in the form of unwanted

portions of the signal which contain no useful data and which obscure the useful

data that is present. These artifacts include the result of such phenomena as grain

scattering within the solids and the boundary interface echo. The relative

magnitudes of the desired (data-containing) signal and the artifact signal result in

an extremely low effective SNR (Signal to Noise ratio). This SNR varies with the

fluid and with the thickness of the solid sample, but averages roughly 0.1 (= -

20dB). However, since the artifact components of the received signal can be

mostly removed, a significant SNR improvement can be achieved. The reason for

this nearly complete removal is that both the grain scattering from within the solid

sample and the intermediate boundary echo are very repeatable.

Since the raw RF signal from thin fluid layers is simply a sum of the

artifact signal and the data-containing signal, only the useful portion of the signal

remains once the previously recorded or calculated artifact signal is subtracted.

By doing this point-by-point subtraction, which is computationally very

simple and thus does not add much time to the data processing, the SNR is

improved greatly.

A problem occurs, however, with operation under MS Windows. A

Multitasking window is not a real time operating system. Consequently, the

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 70

amount of time during which a given task or process is interrupted while Windows

services other tastes is indeterminate. As a result, no repetitive waveform capture

performance can be guaranteed under windows. Guaranteed, reliable performance

is paramount during the system's fast-axis scan, where not even a single trigger

can be missed. The solution for this requirement is ultra-deep onboard acquisition

memory. The digitizer will require enough onboard acquisition memory to hold

data from an entire fast-axis scan. To determine the amount of memory required,

the number of samples in a single 100|j,s ultrasound record must be calculated:

Record length = Number of record x Sample rate of DAS card.

Record length = lOO^s x 80MS/s

= 8000 S = 8kS

Acquisition memory size =Number of records x Record length.

For convenient processing, digitization of signal is desired. Using the A/D

converter signal is sampled in time domain and its amplitude is quantized. (Kazys

1995). Analog signal sampling can be presented as multiplication with

shah^ function III (Bracewell 1986).

As multiplication in time domain correspond to convolution in frequency

domain, one can see, that sampled signal spectra will be periodical with period of

sampling frequency harmonics. Furthermore, because of discrete presentation of

spectra in computer adaptation of Fourier transform, the signal investigated using

the fast Fourier transform is also interpreted as periodical. For instance,

multiplication in frequency domain with filter function correspond to convolution

Shah function III (x) is also called the sampling symbol or replicating symbol, which is a train of

impulses ///(—) =| ^ | / ^ S{t — kT), Where '8' is the Dirac function and 'T' is the sampling

period.

ll-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 71

time domain, so unwanted influence of signal tail will occur in signal head which

might cause confusing results.

Everything said above puts some limits when setting the sampling interval.

As we have noted, sampling usually is performed at some particular depth,

therefore it is necessary to introduce the possibility to shift the A/D converter

buffer memory address to any depth. Such concept allows sampling virtually any

depth of material, using relative small capacity buffer memory.

In this experimental work, we have sampled 2MHz center frequency

transducer signal processing in liquids and solid samples. A windows-98 based

application was written in C++ and Visual Basic environment. Since the digitizer

card is a PCI plug-and play device, low-level configuration details are handled by

Windows. No low-level hardware programming is required. The windows

application sets up the scan of the part under test, and then calls C ++ subroutines

to acquire and download data from the digitizer. Every A-scan was stored on disk

separately. Ultrasonic parameters were measured using user-friendly application

software created in visual Basic.

2.5 Conclusions:

Simulation and data processing in ultrasonic testing plays an important role

for analyzing results and performance demonstration. Another very common

application is the design and optimization of inspection methods. However,

comprehensive understanding of the processes taking place in the testing specimen

is available only by fully investigating testing instrumentation and method. It

includes analysis of the wave propagation in the structure under investigation and

analysis of the characteristics of the instrumentation being used. In many cases

simplified methods can be used, however they are not based upon the differential

ll-Uhrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 72

equations and, consequently, present only rough evaluation of the wave

propagation. On the other hand, finite element or finite difference methods enable

to get adequate representation of the process, however, computer resource

requirements are usually too great for problems of a practical value. The situation

can be improved by developing efficient algorithms of numerical modeling based

on deeper analysis of the wave propagation phenomenon.

Any simulation tool for ultrasonic systems craves information about the

different media it is supposed to imitate. Signal processing techniques are able to

extract the desired information form the received signal when a sample medium is

being questioned. Using a pulser-receiver method the group information can be

obtained at approximately the center frequency of the ultrasonic transducer. Much

more efficient in terms of information extraction is the Fourier transform of the

pulser-receiver system. With it, frequency dependent information can be obtained

over the bandwidth of the transducer.

Whether it is for material characterization or sensor accuracy, prediction

and reliability, signal processing is a requirement.

References:

Abe K. and Igoue O, J. Computational Phys., 34, 1980, 202-210.

Andria G., Attivissimo F., Giaquinto N., Measurement, 30 (2), 2001, 105-114.

Atabek H. B., Biophys J. , 8(5), 1968, 626-649.

Babick F., Hinze F. and Ripperger S., Collids and surfaces, A:

Physicochemical & Engineering Aspects, 172,2000, 33-36.

Boadu F. K., Geophys. J. Inter., 141 (1), 2000 ,227.

Il-Uhrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 73

Botvina L.R, Fradkin L.J. and Bridge B.. J. Mater. Sci. 35 (18), 2000, 4673-

4683.

Bracewell R.N., The Fourier Transform and it's Application, 2"'' ed., revised.

McGraw-Hill, 1986, 172.

Chandrasekhar S., Proce. of the Royal Society of London. Series A,

Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 281 (1384), 1964, 92-98.

Chang Ming-Kuen ,Chang Ren-Rong , and Shu Chi-Min , Mater. Eval. 60 (5),

2002,631-634.

Chase C. E., Proce. of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical

and Physical Sciences, 220i\ 140), 1953, 16-132.

David N. and Cheeke J., Fundamentals and Applications of Ultrasonic waves,

CRC press LLC, 2002, 77.

Delsanto P.P., Hirsekorn S., Agostini V., Loparco R., Koka A., Ultrasonics,

40,2002,605-10.

Delsanto, P.P. and Scalerandi, M. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 104 (5), 1998, 2584-

2591.

Fellinger, P., Marklein, R., Langenberg, K.-J., Klaholz, S., Wave Motion 21,

1995,47-66.

Gitis M.B., and Khimunin A.S., Sov. Phys. Acoust., 14 (4), (1969), 413.

Good M. S., Minachi A., Yalda-Mooshabad I., Thompson R. B. and Mai J. L.

Rev. of Prog. Quant. Nondest. Eval, 12A, 1993, 203.

Greenspan M., in Physical Acoustics, Academic Press, New York 2A, 1965, 1-

45.

Hafez M.M., Numerical Simulation of Incompressible Flows, World Sci. Pub.

r»- r - I '^rvrv'i i f\r\

Il-U/trasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 74

Pte.Ltd. 2003, 109.

Hill R., Forsyth S.A., and Macey P., Ultrasonics, 42, 2004, 253-258.

Hiresekom M., Delsanto P.P., Batra N. K. and Matic P., Ultrasonics, 42, 2004,

231-235.

Hornowski Tomasz, Kaczmarek Mariusz, Labowski Mikolaj, Skumiel Andrzej

, J. Acoust. Soc.Am., 103 (5), 1998, 2946.

Hueter, T.F., and Bolt, R.H., Sonics, John Wiley & Sons. Inc., New York, 1955,

32-38.

Imano K., Inoue H., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys, 36 (1), 1997, 3188-3191.

Ingo Alig and Dirk L. Chemical Innovation, 30 (2), 2000, 12-18.

Kaddour A, Rouvaen J. M., Acoust. Lett., 23 (7), 2000,131-136.

Kasahara Yukio and Inaba Ritsuo , Rev. Scienti. Instrum.,52 (3), 1981, 443-

446.

Kaufman J.J., Luo G, and Siffert R.S., IEEE Ultra. Sympo. 2003,1519-1524.

Kazys R. and Svilainis L., Ultrasonics, 33 (1), 1995, 19-23.

Kazys R., Mazeika L., Barauskas R., Jasiuniene E. and Daniulaitis V.,

Ultrasonics, 40, 2002, 853.

Kinsler L.E., Prey A.R., Coppens A.B. and Sanders J.V., Fundamentals of

Acoustics, 4* ed. John Wiley & Sons., 2000, 121.

Kocis Stefan, Figura Zdenko, Ultrasonic measurements and technologies.

Chapman & Hall, London, 1996, 5.

Kreyszig E., Advanced Engineering Mathematics, 7th ed., John Wiley & Sons,

New York, NY, 1993.

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 75

Leong Eng-Choon., Yeo Sir-Hoon, and Raharoljo H. , J. Can. Geotech., 41(5),

2004, 444.

Li A., Robert R., Haldipur P., Margetan F.J., Rev. Progre. Quanti. NDE, 22,

2003 117-124.

Ludwig R. and Levin P.L., IEEE Tram. Ultrason. Ferroelectr. Freq. Cont.,

1995, 42(4), 789-792.

Luthi Bruno, Physical Acoustics in solid state, Springer Berlin. Heidelberg,

New York, 2005, 5

Malcolm J., Handbook of Acoustics, John Willey and Sons. Inc., 1998, 527.

Malinaric Svetozar and Kostial Pavol , J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 31, 1998, 970-

977.

Mason T. J. Philosophical Transactions: Mathematical, Physical and

Engineering Sciences, 357 (1751), 1999,355-369.

Mattiat O.E., Ultrasonic transducer materials, Plenum Press, London, New

York, 1971,186.

McSkimin, H.J. and Andreatch, P., J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 34, 1962, 609-615.

McSkimin, H.J., Phys: Acoust., E.P. Mason, ed, lA, 1964, 271-334

Minachi A., Thompson R. B., Good M. S. and Diaz A. A.., Rev. Prog. Quant.

Nondest. Eva., 11X, 1992, 161.

Minachi A., Margetan F.J. ,Hsu D. K., Ultrasonics, 31 (4), 1993,237-243.

Minachi, A., Propagation of Elastic Waves Through Inhomogeneous,

Anisotropic Materials, Thesis (Ph.D.) accepted , IOWA State University,.

Dissertation Abstracts International, 53 (7), 1992, 3537.

il-LIItra.sonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 76

Minachi, A.; Thompson, R. B.; Good, M. S.; Diaz, A. A., Rev. of Prog, in

Quanti. NDE., UA; 1991 , 161-168.

Murawski Krzysztof, Analytical and Numerical methods for wave propagation

in fluid media.. World Scientific Publishing, Co. Pte, Ltd 2002, 2.

Murty G. S. and Kumar Vijai, J. Non-Destructive Evaluation., 10 (2),

1991,39-53.

Newberry B. P and Thompson R. B. J. Acoust.l Soc. Am. 85, 1989, 2290-2300.

Reynolds M.B., Trans. Am. Soc. For Metals, 45, 1953, 839-861.

Rui Zhang, Bci Jiang, and Wenwa Cao , J. Appl Phys. 91 (12), 2002, 10194-

10198.

Ruzzene M., Jeong S. M., Michaels T.E., Michaels J.E. and Mi B., Review, oj

Quanti. NDE, ed by D. O. Thompson and D. E. Chimenti (A.I.P.), 24, 2005,

172-180.

Saffari N. and Svilainis L. Ultragarsas, 28 (2), 1997, 7.

San Emeterio J.L., Ramos A, Sanz P.T., Ruiz A. and Azbaid A., Ultra.sonics,

42,2004,277-281.

Schemeer L.W., Fundamentals of ultrasonic Non-destructive Evaluation: A

Modeling approach. Plenum press. New York, 1998, 244.

Schmerr L.W., Fundamentals of Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation: A

Modeling approach. Plenum, 1998, 283.

Seki H., Granato A., and Trull R., J.Acoust. Soc. Am. 28 (1), (1977), 318.

Shutilov V.A., Fundamental physics of ultrasound, OPA (Amsterdam) B. V.,

1988, 178.

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing

 77

Smeulders, D. M. J., van Dongen, M. E. H., J. Fluid Mechanics, 343 (1), 1997,

351-373.

Taylor H.R. and Taylor J.R. , Data Acquisition for Sensor Systems, Chapman

& Hall, London, 1997.

Thompson R.B. and Lopes E.F., J. ofNDE.. 4 (2), 1984, 15.

Ueba Shizuko, Matsukawa Mami and Otani Takahiko, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 38

,1999 ,3023-3027.

Umeagukwa C.I., Peters W.H., and Cickerson J.R., Expert. Mechanics, 29 (1),

1989,95-100.

Usov A.A. and Fokin A.G., J. Appli. Mecha. & Tech. Phys., 13 (2), 1972,189-

195.

Vives Antonio A., Piezoelectric transducers and applications. Springer, New

York, 1965,46.

Wu T.-T. and Ho Z -H., Experimental Mechanics, 30 (4), 1990,313-318.

You Z., Lusk M., Ludwig R., and Lord W., IEEE Trans. On Ultras. Ferroelect.

c& Freq. Cont, 38 (5), 1991, 436-455.

Zhang, X.-G.; Simpson, W. A.; Vitek, J. M.; Barnard, D. J.; Tweed, L. J.;

Foley, J., J. Acomt. Soc. Am.., 116 (1), 2004,109-116.

Il-Ultrasonic Wave Propagation and Signal Processing