Fundamentals of Ultrasonics

Ultrasonics
Definition: the science and exploitation of elastic waves in
solids, liquids, and gases, which have a frequency above
20KHz.

Frequency range: 20KHz-10MHz

Applications:
Non-destructive detection (NDE)
Medical diagnosis
Material characterization
Range finding

Elastic wave
Definition: An elastic wave carries changes in stress and
velocity. Elastic wave is created by a balance between the
forces of inertia and of elastic deformation.

Particle motion: elastic wave induced material motion

Wavespeed: the propagation speed of the elastic wave

Particle velocity is much smaller than wavespeed

Wave Function
Equation of progressive wave:

) sin( kx t A y + = e
Amplitude: A
Wavelength:
Frequency/Time period: f=1/T
Velocity U: U=f=/T
Energy:
Intensity:
2 2 2
2 A mf E t =
2 2 2
2 A f I p t =
Waveform & Wave front
Waveform: the sequence in time of the motions in a wave
Propagation and Polarization Vector
Propagation vector: the direction of wave propagation
Polarization vector: the direction of particle motion
Wave Propagation
Body wave: wave propagating inside an object
Longitudinal (pressure) wave: deformation is parallel to
propagation direction
Transverse (shear) wave: deformation is perpendicular
to propagation direction, v
T
=0.5v
L,
generated in solid
only

Surface wave: wave propagating near to and
influenced by the surface of an object
Rayleigh wave: The amplitude of the waves decays
rapidly with the depth of propagation of the wave in the
medium. The particle motion is elliptical. v
R
=0.5v
T

Plate Lamb wave: for thin plate with thickness less than
three times the wavelength
Parameters of Ultrasonic Waves
Velocity: the velocity of the ultrasonic wave of
any kind can be determined from elastic moduli,
density, and poissons ratio of the material

Longitudial wave:

p is density and u is the Poissons Ratio

Transverse wave:

Surface wave:
2 1
) 2 1 )( 1 (
) 1 (

+ +

=
u u p
u E
U
L
L T
U
G E
U 5 . 0
) 1 ( 2
2 1 2 1
~

+
=
p u p
T s
U U 9 . 0 =
Attenuation
Definition: the rate of decrease of energy when an
ultrasonic wave is propagating in a medium. Material
attenuation depends on heat treatments, grain size,
viscous friction, crystal structure, porosity, elastic
hysterisis, hardness, Youngs modulus, etc.

Attenuation coefficient: A=A
0
e
-ox

) ( ln
0
nepers
A
A

= o
) ( log 20
0
10
dB
A
A

= o
Types of Attenuation
Scattering: scattering in an inhomogeneous
medium is due to the change in acoustic
impedance by the presence of grain boundaries
inclusions or pores, grain size, etc.
Absorption: heating of materials, dislocation
damping, magnetic hysterisis.
Dispersion: frequency dependence of
propagation speed
Transmission loss: surface roughness &
coupling medium.
Diffraction
Definition: spreading of energy into high and
low energy bands due to the superposition of
plane wave front.

Near Field:

Far Field:

Beam spreading angle:
4
2
D
d s
4
2
D
d >
D

u
2 . 1
=
Acoustic Impedance
Definition: the resistance offered to the
propagation of the ultrasonic wave in a
material, Z=pU. Depend on material properties
only.

Reflection-Normal Incident

Reflection coefficient:



Transmission coefficient:


2
1 2
1 2
2
1 1 2 2
1 1 2 2

= =
Z Z
Z Z
U U
U U
I
I
i
r
r
p p
p p
o
( ) ( )
r
i
T
T
Z Z
Z Z
U U
U U
I
I
o
p p
p p
o =
+
=
+
= = 1
4 4
2
1 2
2 1
2
1 1 2 2
2 2 1 1
Reflection-Oblique Incident
Snells Law:

Reflection coefficient:



Transmission coefficient:


B
A
r
i
U
U
=
u
u
sin
sin
( )
( )
2
2 2 2
2 1
2
2 2 2
2 1
2
sin / / sin 1
sin / / sin 1

+

=
i B A i
i B A i
r
U U
U U
u p p u
u p p u
o
( )
( )
2
2 2 2
2 1
2
2 2 2
2 1
sin / / sin 1
sin / / 4
|
.
|

\
|
+

=
i B A i
i B A
t
U U
U U
u p p u
u p p
o
Total Refraction Angle

=
2 2 2
2
2
2
1
) (
arcsin
2 1
A
r
U
Z Z
p p
u
Mode Conversion
When a longitudinal wave is incident at the
boundary of A & B, two reflected beams are
obtained.

Selective excite different type of ultrasonic
wave


Surface Skimmed Bulk Wave
The refracted wave travels along the
surface of both media and at the sub-
surface of media B


Resonance


Quality factor



f
f
f f
f
Cycle Per Dissipated Energy
Cycle Per Supplied Energy
Q
r r
A
=

= =
1 2
Typical Ultrasound Inspection System
Transducer: convert electric signal to ultrasound signal

Sensor: convert ultrasound signal to electric signal
Types of Transducers
Piezoelectric
Laser
Mechanical (Galton Whistle Method)
Electrostatic
Electrodynamic
Magnetostrictive
Electromagnetic
What is Piezoelectricity?
Piezoelectricity means pressure electricity, which is
used to describe the coupling between a materials
mechanical and electrical behaviors.
Piezoelectric Effect
when a piezoelectric material is squeezed or stretched, electric
charge is generated on its surface.
Inverse Piezoelectric Effect
Conversely, when subjected to a electric voltage input, a
piezoelectric material mechanically deforms.
Quartz Crystals
Highly anisotropic
X-cut: vibration in the direction perpendicular to the
cutting direction
Y-cut: vibration in the transverse direction

Piezoelectric Materials
Piezoelectric Ceramics (man-made materials)
Barium Titanate (BaTiO
3
)
Lead Titanate Zirconate (PbZrTiO
3
) = PZT, most widely used
The composition, shape, and dimensions of a piezoelectric
ceramic element can be tailored to meet the requirements of a
specific purpose.
Photo courtesy of MSI, MA
Piezoelectric Materials
Piezoelectric Polymers
PVDF (Polyvinylidene flouride) film
Piezoelectric Composites
A combination of piezoelectric ceramics and
polymers to attain properties which can be not be
achieved in a single phase
Image courtesy of MSI, MA
Piezoelectric Properties
Anisotropic
Notation: direction X, Y, or Z is represented by
the subscript 1, 2, or 3, respectively, and shear
about one of these axes is represented by the
subscript 4, 5, or 6, respectively.
Piezoelectric Properties
The electromechanical coupling coefficient,
k, is an indicator of the effectiveness with which
a piezoelectric material converts electrical
energy into mechanical energy, or vice versa.
k
xy
, The first subscript (x) to k denotes the direction along which
the electrodes are applied; the second subscript (y) denotes the
direction along which the mechanical energy is developed. This
holds true for other piezoelectric constants discussed later.
Typical k values varies from 0.3 to 0.75 for piezoelectric
ceramics.
or
Applied Energy Electrical
Stored Energy Mechanical
k =
Applied Energy Mechanical
Stored Energy Electrical
k =
Piezoelectric Properties
The piezoelectric charge constant, d,
relates the mechanical strain produced by an
applied electric field,
Because the strain induced in a piezoelectric material by an
applied electric field is the product of the value for the electric
field and the value for d, d is an important indicator of a
material's suitability for strain-dependent (actuator)
applications.
The unit is Meters/Volt, or Coulombs/Newton
Field Electric Applied
t Developmen Strain
d =
j
i
ij
V
x
d
A
=
Piezoelectric Properties
The piezoelectric constants relating the
electric field produced by a mechanical
stress are termed the piezoelectric
voltage constant, g,
Because the strength of the induced electric field in
response to an applied stress is the product of the
applied stress and g, g is important for assessing a
material's suitability for sensor applications.
The unit of g is volt meters per Newton
Stress Mechanical Applied
Field Electric Circuit Open
g =
SMART Layer for Structural Health
Monitoring
Smart layer is a think dielectric film with built-in piezoelectric sensor
networks for monitoring of the integrity of composite and metal
structures developed by Prof. F.K. Chang and commercialized by the
Acellent Technology, Inc. The embedded sensor network are
comprised of distributed piezoelectric actuators and sensors.
Image courtesy of FK Chang, Stanford Univ.
Piezoelectric Wafer-active Sensor
Read paper:
Embedded Non-destructive Evaluation for
Structural Health Monitoring, Damage Detection,
and Failure Prevention by V. Giurgiutiu, The
Shock and Vibration Digest 2005; 37; 83

Embedded piezoelectric wafer-active sensors
(PWAS) is capable of performing in-situ
nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of structural
components such as crack detection.
Image courtesy of V. Giurgiutiu, USC
Comparison of different PZ materials for
Actuation and Sensing
Thickness Selection of a PZ transducer
Transducer is designed to vibrate around
a fundamental frequency
Thickness of a transducer element is
equal to one half of a wavelength
Different Types of PZ Transducer
Normal beam transducer Dual element transducer
Angle beam transducer
Focus beam transducer
Characterization of Ultrasonic Beam
Beam profile or beam path
Near field: planar wave front
Far field: spherical wave front, intensity varies as
the square of the distance
Determination of beam spread angle
Transducer beam profiling
Near field planar wave front
Beam Profile vs. Distance
Beam profile
vs. distance
Intensity vs.
distance
Laser Generated Ultrasound (cont)
Thermal elastic region: ultrasound is generated
by rapid expansion of the material
Ablation region: ultrasound is generated by
plasma formed by surface vaporization
Comparison of Ultrasound Generation
Ultrasonic Parameter Selection
Frequency:
Penetration decreases with frequency
1-10MHz: NDE work on metals
<1MHz: inspecting wood, concrete, and large grain metals
Sensitivity increases with frequency
Resolution increases with frequency and bandwidth but decrease with
pulse length
Bream spread decrease with frequency

Transducer size:
active area controls the power and beam divergence
Large units provide more penetration
Increasing transducer size results in a loss of sensitivity

Bandwidth
A narrow bandwidth provides good penetration and sensitivity but poor
resolution