The utilization of signal processing techniques in nondestructive testing, especially in ultrasonics, is widespread. Signal averaging, matched filtering, frequency spectrum analysis, neural nets, and autoregressive analysis have all been used to analyze ultrasonic signals. The Wavelet Transform (WT) is the most recent technique for processing signals with time-varying spectra. Interest in wavelets and their potential applications has resulted in an explosion of papers; some have called the wavelets the most significant mathematical event of the past decade. In this work, the Wavelet Transform is utilized to improve ultrasonic flaw detection in noisy signals as an alternative to the Split-Spectrum Processing (SSP) technique. In SSP, the frequency spectrum of the signal is split using overlapping Gaussian passband filters with different central frequencies and fixed absolute bandwidth. A similar approach is utilized in the WT, but in this case the relative bandwidth is constant, resulting in a filter bank with a self-adjusting window structure that can display the temporal variation of the signal's spectral components with varying resolutions. This property of the WT is extremely useful for detecting flaw echoes embedded in background noise. The detection of ultrasonic pulses using the wavelet transform is described and numerical results show good detection even for signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) of -15 dB. The improvement in detection was experimentally verified using steel samples with simulated flaws.

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Ultrasonic waves at 1 MHz are used to send information across solid walls without the needs for through wall penetrations. A communication channel is established by attaching a set of three ultrasonic transducers to the wall. The first transducer transmits a continuous ultrasonic wave into the wall. The second transducer is mounted on the opposite side of the wall (inside) and operates as a receiver and signal modulator. The third transducer, the outside receiving transducer, is installed on the same side as the first transducer where it is exposed to the signal reflected from the blended interface of the inside wall and inside transducer. Inside sensor data is digitized and the bit state is used to vary in time the electrical load connected to the inside transducer, changing its acoustic impedance in accordance with each data bit. These impedance changes modulate the amplitude of the reflected ultrasonic signal. The modulated signal is detected at the outside receiving transducer, where it is then demodulated to recover the data. Additionally, some of the ultrasonic power received at the inside transducer is harvested to provide energy for the communication and sensor system on the inside. The entire system (ultrasonic, solid wall, and electronic) is modeled in the electrical domain by means of electro-mechanical analogies. This approach enables the concurrent simulation of the ultrasonic and electronic components. A model of the communication system is implemented in an electronic circuit simulation package, which assisted in the analysis and optimization of the communication channel. Good agreement was found between the modeled and experimental results.

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In many commercial, industrial, and military applications, supplying power to electronics through a thick metallic barrier without compromising its structural integrity would provide tremendous advantages over many existing barrier-penetrating techniques. The Faraday shielding presented by thick metallic barriers prevents the use of electromagnetic power-transmission techniques. This work describes the electrical optimization of continuouswave power delivery through thick steel barriers using ultrasound. Ultrasonic channels are formed by attaching pairs of coaxially-aligned piezoelectric transducers to opposite sides of thick steel blocks. The thickness of the steel considered is on the order of, or greater than, one quarter wavelength of the acoustic power signal inside of steel, requiring the use of wave propagation theory to properly analyze the system. A characterization and optimization methodology is presented which measures the linear two-port electrical scattering parameters of the transducersteel-transducer channel. Using these measurements, the simultaneous conjugate impedance-matching conditions at both transducers are calculated, and electrical matching-networks are designed to optimize the power transfer from a 50Ω power amplifier on one side of the steel block to a 50Ω load on the opposite side. In addition, the impacts of, and interactions between, transducer and steel geometries are discussed, and some general guidelines for selecting their relationships are presented. Measurements of optimized systems using transducers designed to resonate at 1 MHz with diameters from 12.7 mm to 66.7 mm, and steel block thicknesses from 9.5 mm to 63.5 mm, reveal power transfer efficiencies as high as 55%, and linear delivery of 81 watts through an optimized channel.

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