One implementation of the vibro-modulation technique involves monitoring the amplitude modulation of an ultrasonic vibration field transmitted through a cracked specimen undergoing an additional low frequency structural vibration. If the specimen is undamaged and appropriately supported, the two vibration fields do not interact. This phenomenon could be used as the basis for a nondestructive testing technique. In this paper, the sensitivity of the technique is investigated systematically on a set of mild steel beams with cracks of different sizes and shapes. A damage index was measured for each crack. The correlation obtained between the crack size and the strength of the modulation is fairly poor. The technique proved extremely sensitive to the initial state of opening and closing of the crack and to the setup due to the modulating effects of contacts between the specimens and the supports. A simple model is proposed which explains the main features observed and approximately predicts the level of sideband obtained experimentally.
Thermosonics (also known as ultrasound stimulated thermography or sonic infrared imaging) is a potentially attractive nondestructive testing method for the detection of contacting interface-type defects such as fatigue cracks in metals and delaminations in composites. A high power acoustic horn is typically used to excite a complex vibration field, which causes the defect interfaces to rub and dissipate energy as heat. The resulting local increase in temperature at one of the specimen surfaces can then be measured by an infrared camera. In this study a set of steel beams with fatigue cracks of different depth and variable partial crack opening was tested. Each beam was instrumented with strain gages across the crack and at the back face for the measurement of both the “breathing” behavior of the cracks and the excited vibration. The heat released at the crack was predicted from the measured vibration and an experimental estimate of the additional damping introduced in the specimens by each crack. The cracks were modeled analytically as nonuniform heat sources. Hence the temperature rise expected on the monitoring surface of the specimens could be predicted and compared with the infrared camera measurements. The results show good linear correlation between predictions and measurements, thus validating the prediction algorithm. The relationship between the vibration input and the thermal output will allow, as a longer-term goal, the prediction of the general threshold level of vibration needed for reliable crack detection.
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