Quantitative analysis of laser-generated ultrasonic wave characteristics and their correlation with grain size in polycrystalline materials

Quantitative relationship between nanosecond pulsed laser parameters and the characteristics of laser-generated ultrasonic waves in polycrystalline materials was evaluated.The high energy of the pulsed laser with a large irradiation spot simultaneously generated ultrasonic longitudinal and shear waves at the epicenter under the slight ablation regime.An optimized denoising technique based on wavelet thresholding and variational mode decomposition was applied to reduce noise in shear waves with a low signal-to-noise ratio.An approach for characterizing grain size was proposed using spectral central frequency ratio(SCFR)based on time-frequency analysis.The results demonstrate that the generation regime of ultrasonic waves is not solely determined by the laser power density;even at high power densities,a high energy with a large spot can generate an ultrasonic waveform dominated by the thermoelastic effect.This is ascribed to the intensification of the thermoelastic effect with the proportional increase in laser irradiation spot area for a given laser power density.Furthermore,both longitudinal and shear wave SCFRs are linearly related to grain size in polycrystalline materials;however,the shear wave SCFR is more sensitive to finer-grained materials.This study holds great significance for evaluating metal material properties using laser ultrasound.

Grindability Evaluation of Ultrasonic Assisted Grinding of Silicon Nitride Ceramic Using Minimum Quantity Lubrication Based SiO_(2)Nanofluid

Minimum quantity Lubrication(MQL)is a sustainable lubrication system that is famous in many machining systems.It involve the spray of an infinitesimal amount of mist-like lubricants during machining processes.The MQL system is affirmed to exhibit an excellent machining performance,and it is highly economical.The nanofluids are understood to exhibit excellent lubricity and heat evacuation capability,compared to pure oil-based MQL system.Studies have shown that the surface quality and amount of energy expended in the grinding operations can be reduced considerably due to the positive effect of these nanofluids.This work presents an experimental study on the tribological performance of SiO_(2)nanofluid during grinding of Si_(3)N_(4)ceramic.The effect different grinding modes and lubrication systems during the grinding operation was also analyzed.Different concentrations of the SiO_(2)nanofluid was manufactured using canola,corn and sunflower oils.The quantitative evaluation of the grinding process was done based on the amount of grinding forces,specific grinding energy,frictional coefficient,and surface integrity.It was found that the canola oil exhibits optimal lubrication performance compared to corn oil,sunflower oil,and traditional lubrication systems.Additionally,the introduction of ultrasonic vibrations with the SiO_(2)nanofluid in MQL system was found to reduce the specific grinding energy,normal grinding forces,tangential grinding forces,and surface roughness by 65%,57%,65%,and 18%respectively.Finally,regression analysis was used to obtain an optimum parameter combinations.The observations from this work will aid the smooth transition towards ecofriendly and sustainable machining of engineering ceramics.

Determining rock crack stress thresholds using ultrasonic through-transmission measurements

The crack initiation stress threshold is widely used in excavation industries as rock spalling strength when designing deep underground structures to avoid unwanted brittle failures.While various strain-based methods have been developed for the estimation of this critical design parameter,such methods are destructive and often requires subjective interpretations of the stress–strain curves,particularly in rocks with pre-existing microcracks or high porosity.This study explore the applicability of non-destructive ultrasonic through-transmission methods for determining rock damage levels by assessing the changes in transmitted signal characteristics during loading.The change in velocity,amplitude,dominant frequency,and root-mean-square voltage are investigated with four different rock types including marble,sandstone,granite,and basalt under various stress levels.Results suggest the rate of signal variations can be reliably used to estimate crack closure and crack initiation stress levels across the tested rocks before failure.Comparison of the results between the conventional techniques and the new proposed methods based on ultrasonic monitoring are further discussed.

Synergistically Improved Mechanical Properties and Thermal Conductivity of Hypoeutectic AlSiNiFeMg Alloy Prepared by Ultrasonic-assisted Casting

We employed a melt ultrasonic treatment near the liquidus to prepare a high-thermal-conductivity Al-4Si-2Ni-0.8Fe-0.4Mg alloy.The influences of various ultrasonic powers on its microstructure,mechanical properties,and thermal conductivity were investigated.It is shown that near-liquidus ultrasonication significantly refines the alloy grains and eutectic structure,synergistically improving the alloy’s mechanical properties and thermal conductivity.Specifically,the grain size decreased by 84.5%from 941.4 to 186.2μm.Increasing the ultrasonic power improved the thermal conductivity of the alloy slightly and significantly enhanced its mechanical properties.At an ultrasonic power of 2100 W,the tensile strength,yield strength,elongation rate,and thermal conductivity were 216 MPa,142 MPa,6.3%,and 169 W/(m·k),respectively.

A Novel On-Site-Real-Time Method for Identifying Characteristic Parameters Using Ultrasonic Echo Groups and Neural Network

On-site and real-time non-destructive measurement of elastic constants for materials of a component in a in-service structure is a challenge due to structural complexities,such as ambiguous boundary,variable thickness,nonuniform material properties.This work develops for the first time a method that uses ultrasound echo groups and artificial neural network(ANN)for reliable on-site real-time identification of material parameters.The use of echo groups allows the use of lower frequencies,and hence more accommodative to structural complexity.To train the ANNs,a numerical model is established that is capable of computing the waveform of ultrasonic echo groups for any given set of material properties of a given structure.The waveform of an ultrasonic echo groups at an interest location on the surface the structure with material parameters varying in a predefined range are then computed using the numerical model.This results in a set of dataset for training the ANN model.Once the ANN is trained,the material parameters can be identified simultaneously using the actual measured echo waveform as input to the ANN.Intensive tests have been conducted both numerically and experimentally to evaluate the effectiveness and accuracy of the currently proposed method.The results show that the maximum identification error of numerical example is less than 2%,and the maximum identification error of experimental test is less than 7%.Compared with currently prevailing methods and equipment,the proposefy the density and thickness,in addition to the elastic constants.Moreover,the reliability and accuracy of inverse prediction is significantly improved.Thus,it has broad applications and enables real-time field measurements,which has not been fulfilled by any other available methods or equipment.

Effective separation of coal gasification fine slag: Role of classification and ultrasonication in enhancing flotation

Effective separation of residual carbon and ash is the basis for the resource utilization of coal gasification fine slag(CGFS).The conventional flotation process of CGFS has the bottlenecks of low carbon recovery and high collector dosage.In order to address these issues,CGFS sample taken from Shaanxi,China was used as the study object in this paper.A new process of size classification-fine grain ultrasonic pretreatment flotation(SC-FGUF)was proposed and its separation effect was compared with that of wholegrain flotation(WGF)as well as size classification-fine grain flotation(SC-FGF).The mechanism of its enhanced separation effect was revealed through flotation kinetic fitting,flotation flow foam layer stability,particle size composition,surface morphology,pore structure,and surface chemical property analysis.The results showed that compared with WGF,pre-classification could reduce the collector dosage by 84.09%and the combination of pre-classification and ultrasonic pretreatment could increase the combustible recovery by 17.29%and up to 93.46%.The SC-FGUF process allows the ineffective adsorption of coarse residual carbon to collector during flotation stage to be reduced by pre-classification,and the tightly embedded state of fine CGFS particles is disrupted and surface oxidizing functional group occupancy was reduced by ultrasonic pretreatment,thus carbon and ash is easier to be separated in the flotation process.In addition,some of the residual carbon particles were broken down to smaller sizes in the ultrasonic pretreatment,which led to an increase in the stability of flotation flow foam layer and a decrease in the probability of detachment of residual carbon particles from the bubbles.Therefore,SCFGUF could increase the residual carbon recovery and reduce the flotation collector dosage,which is an innovative method for carbon-ash separation of CGFS with good application prospect.

Low palladium content CeO_(2)/ZnO composite for acetone sensor with sub-second response prepared by ultrasonic method

In practical applications,noble metal doping is often used to prepare high performance gas sensors,but more noble metal doping will lead to higher preparation costs.In this study,CeO_(2)/ZnO-Pd with low palladium content was prepared by ultrasonic method with fast response and high selectivity for acetone sensing.With the same amount of palladium added,the selectivity coefficient of CeO_(2)/ZnO-Pd is 1.88 times higher than that of the stirred sensor.Compared with the pure PdO-doped CeO_(2)/ZnO-PdO material,the content of Pd in CeO_(2)/ZnO-PdO is about 30%of that in CeO_(2)/ZnO-PdO,but the selectivity coefficient for acetone is 2.56 times higher.The CeO_(2)/ZnO-Pd sensor has a higher response(22.54)to 50×10^(−6) acetone at 300℃and the selectivity coefficient is 2.57 times that of the CeO_(2)/ZnO sensor.The sensor has a sub-second response time(0.6 s)and still has a 2.36 response to 330×10^(−9) of acetone.Ultrasonic doping makes Pd particles smaller and increases the contact area with gas.Meanwhile,the composition of n-p-n heterojunction and the synergistic effect of Pd/PdO improve the sensor performance.It shows that ultrasonic Pd doping provides a way to improve the utilization rate of doped metals and prepare highly selective gas sensors.

Microstructure and forming mechanism of metals subjected to ultrasonic vibration plastic forming: A mini review

Compared with traditional plastic forming,ultrasonic vibration plastic forming has the advantages of reducing the forming force and improving the surface quality of the workpiece.This technology has a very broad application prospect in industrial manufactur-ing.Researchers have conducted extensive research on the ultrasonic vibration plastic forming of metals and laid a deep foundation for the development of this field.In this review,metals were classified according to their crystal structures.The effects of ultrasonic vibration on the microstructure of face-centered cubic,body-centered cubic,and hexagonal close-packed metals during plastic forming and the mech-anism underlying ultrasonic vibration forming were reviewed.The main challenges and future research direction of the ultrasonic vibra-tion plastic forming of metals were also discussed.

Theoretical Modeling and Surface Roughness Prediction of Microtextured Surfaces in Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Milling

Textured surfaces with certain micro/nano structures have been proven to possess some advanced functions,such as reducing friction,improving wear and increasing wettability.Accurate prediction of micro/nano surface textures is of great significance for the design,fabrication and application of functional textured surfaces.In this paper,based on the kinematic analysis of cutter teeth,the discretization of ultrasonic machining process,transformation method of coordinate systems and the cubic spline data interpolation,an integrated theoretical model was established to characterize the distribution and geometric features of micro textures on the surfaces machined by different types of ultrasonic vibration-assisted milling(UVAM).Based on the theoretical model,the effect of key process parameters(vibration directions,vibration dimensions,cutting parameters and vibration parameters)on tool trajectories and microtextured surface morphology in UVAM is investigated.Besides,the effect of phase difference on the elliptical shape in 2D/3D ultrasonic elliptical vibration-assisted milling(UEVAM)was analyzed.Compared to conventional numerical models,the method of the cubic spline data interpolation is applied to the simulation of microtextured surface morphology in UVAM,which is more suitable for characterizing the morphological features of microtextured surfaces than traditional methods due to the presence of numerous micro textures.The prediction of surface roughness indicates that the magnitude of ultrasonic amplitude in z-direction should be strictly limited in 1D rotary UVAM,2D and 3D UEVAM due to the unfavorable effect of axial ultrasonic vibration on the surface quality.This study can provide theoretical guidance for the design and fabrication of microtextured surfaces in UVAM.

Ultrasonic scalpel based on fusiform phononic crystal structure

In response to the ultrasonic scalpels with the vibrational modal coupling which leads to a decrease in efficiency,an ultrasonic scalpel based on fusiform phononic crystals(PnCs)is proposed.An accurate theoretical model is constructed,which is mainly composed of electromechanical equivalent circuit models to analyze the frequency response function and the frequency response curves of the admittance.Bragg band gaps exist in the fusiform PnCs owing to the periodic constraint,which can suppress the corresponding vibrational modes.The vibration characteristics(vibration mode,frequency,and displacement distribution)of the ultrasonic scalpel are analyzed,and the validity of the electromechanical equivalent circuit method is verified.The results indicate that other vibration modes near the working frequency can be isolated.In addition,blades based on fusiform PnCs have a function akin to that of the horn,which enables displacement amplification.

Damage Evolution of Ballastless Track Concrete Exposed to Flexural Fatigue Loads:The Application of Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity,Impact-echo and Surface Electrical Resistance Method

In order to clarify the fatigue damage evolution of concrete exposed to flexural fatigue loads,ultrasonic pulse velocity(UPV),impact-echo technology and surface electrical resistance(SR) method were used.Damage variable based on the change of velocity of ultrasonic pulse(Du) and impact elastic wave(Di)were defined according to the classical damage theory.The influences of stress level,loading frequency and concrete strength on damage variable were measured.The experimental results show that Du and Di both present a three-stages trend for concrete exposed to fatigue loads.Since impact elastic wave is more sensitive to the microstructure damage in stage Ⅲ,the critical damage variable,i e,the damage variable before the final fracture of concrete of Di is slightly higher than that of Du.Meanwhile,the evolution of SR of concrete exposed to fatigue loads were analyzed and the relationship between SR and Du,SR and Di of concrete exposed to fatigue loads were established.It is found that the SR of concrete was decreased with the increasing fatigue cycles,indicating that surface electrical resistance method can also be applied to describe the damage of ballastless track concrete exposed to fatigue loads.

Micro-destructive assessment of subgrade compaction quality using ultrasonic pulse velocity

The ultrasonic pulse velocity(UPV)correlates significantly with the density and pore size of subgrade filling materials.This research conducts numerous Proctor and UPV tests to examine how moisture and rock content affect compaction quality.The study measures the changes in UPV across dry density and compaction characteristics.The compacted specimens exhibit distinct microstructures and mechanical properties along the dry and wet sides of the compaction curve,primarily influenced by internal water molecules.The maximum dry density exhibits a positive correlation with the rock content,while the optimal moisture content demonstrates an inverse relationship.As the rock content increases,the relative error of UPV measurement rises.The UPV follows a hump-shaped pattern with the initial moisture content.Three intelligent models are established to forecast dry density.The measure of UPV and PSO-BP-NN model quickly assesses compaction quality.

Understanding the spatial interaction of ultrasounds based on three-dimensional dual-frequency ultrasonic field numerical simulation

A transient 3D model was established to investigate the effect of spatial interaction of ultrasounds on the dual-frequency ultrasonic field in magnesium alloy melt.The effects of insertion depth and tip shape of the ultrasonic rods,input pressures and their ratio on the acoustic field distribution were discussed in detail.Additionally,the spacing,angle,and insertion depth of two ultrasonic rods significantly affect the interaction between distinct ultrasounds.As a result,various acoustic pressure distributions and cavitation regions are obtained.The spherical rods mitigate the longitudinal and transversal attenuation of acoustic pressure and expand the cavitation volume by 53.7%and 31.7%,respectively,compared to the plate and conical rods.Increasing the input pressure will enlarge the cavitation region but has no effect on the acoustic pressure distribution pattern.The acoustic pressure ratio significantly affects the pressure distribution and the cavitation region,and the best cavitation effect is obtained at the ratio of 2:1(P15:P20).

Effect of ultrasonic and mechanical vibration treatments on evolution of Mn-rich phases and mechanical properties of Al−12Si−4Cu−1Ni−1Mg−2Mn piston alloys

Effects of ultrasonic vibration(UV)and mechanical vibration(MV)on the Mn-rich phase modification and mechanical properties of Al−12Si−4Cu−1Ni−1Mg−2Mn piston alloys were investigated.The results show that the UV and UV+MV treatments can significantly refine and fragmentize the microstructures.In addition,UV treatment can significantly passivate the primary Mn-rich Al15Mn3Si2 intermetallics.The formation mechanisms of refinement and passivation of the grains and non-dendrite particles were discussed.Compared with the gravity die-cast alloys,the UV and UV+MV treated alloys exhibit improved tensile and creep resistance at room and elevated temperatures.These results can be attributed to the refinement of theα(Al)grains and the secondary intermetallics,the increased proportion of refined heat-resistant precipitates,and the formation of nano-sized Si particles.The ultimate tensile strength of the UV treated alloys at 350℃ exceeds that of commercial piston alloys.This indicates the high application potential of the developed piston alloys in density diesel engines.

Combined effects of ultrasonic vibration and FeCoNiCrCu coating on interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties of Al/Mg bimetal by compound casting

In this work,a new treatment method combining ultrasonic vibration with FeCoNiCrCu high entropy alloy(HEA)coating was used to prepared Al/Mg bimetal through the lost foam compound casting.The effects of composite treatment involving ultrasonic vibration and HEA coating on interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties of Al/Mg bimetal were studied.Results demonstrate that the interface thickness of the Al/Mg bimetal with composite treatment significantly decreases to only 26.99%of the thickness observed in the untreated Al/Mg bimetal.The HEA coating hinders the diffusion between Al and Mg,resulting the significant reduction in Al/Mg intermetallic compounds in the interface.The Al/Mg bimetal interface with composite treatment is composed of Al_(3)Mg_(2)and Mg_(2)Si/AlxFeCoNiCrCu+FeCoNiCrCu/δ-Mg+Al_(12)Mg_(17)eutectic structures.The interface resulting from the composite treatment has a lower hardness than that without treatment.The acoustic cavitation and acoustic streaming effects generated by ultrasonic vibration promote the diffusion of Al elements within the HEA coating,resulting in a significant improvement in the metallurgical bonding quality on the Mg side.The fracture position shifts from the Mg side of the Al/Mg bimetal only with HEA coating to the Al side with composite treatment.The shear strength of the Al/Mg bimetal increases from 32.16 MPa without treatment to 63.44 MPa with ultrasonic vibration and HEA coating,increasing by 97.26%.

Improving fatigue properties of normal direction ultrasonic vibration assisted face grinding Inconel 718 by regulating machined surface integrity

Fatigue properties are crucial for critical aero-engine components in extreme serviceenvironments,which are significantly affected by surface integrity(SI)indexes(especially surface topography,residual stressσ_(res),and microhardness)after machining processes.Normal-direction ultrasonic vibration-assisted face grinding(ND-UVAFG)has advantages in improving the machinability of Inconel 718,but there is a competitive relationship between higher compressiveσ_(res)and higher surface roughness R_(a)in affecting fatigue strength.The lack of a quantitative relationship between multiple SI indexes and fatigue strength makes theindeterminacy of a regulatory strategy for improving fatigue properties.In this work,a model of fatigue strength(σ_f)_(sur)considering multiple SI indexes was developed.Then,high-cycle fatigue tests were carried out on Inconel 718 samples with different SI characteristics,and the influence of ND-UVAFG process parameters on SI was analyzed.Based on SI indexes data,the(σ_f)_(sur)distribution in the grinding surface layer for ND-UVAFG Inconel 718 samples was determined using the developed model,and then the fatigue crack initiation(FCI)sites were furtherpredicted.The predicted FCI sites corresponded well with the experimental results,therebyverifying this model.A strategy for improving the fatigue life was proposed in this work,which was to transfer the fatigue source from the machined surface to the bulk material by controlling the SI indexes.Finally,a critical condition of SI indexes that FCI sites appeared on the surface or in bulk material was given by fitting the predicted results.According to the critical condition,an SI field where FCI sites appeared in the bulk material could be obtained.In this field,thefatigue life of Inconel 718 samples could be improved by approximately 140%.

Hybrid pedestrian positioning system using wearable inertial sensors and ultrasonic ranging

Pedestrian positioning system(PPS)using wearable inertial sensors has wide applications towards various emerging fields such as smart healthcare,emergency rescue,soldier positioning,etc.The performance of traditional PPS is limited by the cumulative error of inertial sensors,complex motion modes of pedestrians,and the low robustness of the multi-sensor collaboration structure.This paper presents a hybrid pedestrian positioning system using the combination of wearable inertial sensors and ultrasonic ranging(H-PPS).A robust two nodes integration structure is developed to adaptively combine the motion data acquired from the single waist-mounted and foot-mounted node,and enhanced by a novel ellipsoid constraint model.In addition,a deep-learning-based walking speed estimator is proposed by considering all the motion features provided by different nodes,which effectively reduces the cumulative error originating from inertial sensors.Finally,a comprehensive data and model dual-driven model is presented to effectively combine the motion data provided by different sensor nodes and walking speed estimator,and multi-level constraints are extracted to further improve the performance of the overall system.Experimental results indicate that the proposed H-PPS significantly improves the performance of the single PPS and outperforms existing algorithms in accuracy index under complex indoor scenarios.

Source localization based on field signatures:Laboratory ultrasonic validation

Location awareness in wireless networks is essential for emergency services,navigation,gaming,and many other applications.This article presents a method for source localization based on measuring the amplitude-phase distribution of the field at the base station.The existing scatterers in the target area create unique scattered field interference at each source location.The unique field interference at each source location results in a unique field signature at the base station which is used for source localization.In the proposed method,the target area is divided into a grid with a step of less than half the wavelength.Each grid node is characterized by its field signature at the base station.Field signatures corresponding to all nodes are normalized and stored in the base station as fingerprints for source localization.The normalization of the field signatures avoids the need for time synchronization between the base station and the source.When a source transmits signals,the generated field signature at the base station is normalized and then correlated with the stored fingerprints.The maximum correlation value is given by the node to which the source is the closest.Numerical simulations and results of experiments on ultrasonic waves in the air show that the ultrasonic source is correctly localized using broadband field signatures with one base station and without time synchronization.The proposed method is potentially applicable for indoor localization and navigation of mobile robots.

Detection of internal crack growth in polyethylene pipe using guided wave ultrasonic testing

Despite the success of guided wave ultrasonic inspection for internal defect detection in steel pipes,its application on polyethylene(PE)pipe remains relatively unexplored.The growth of internal cracks in PE pipe severely affects its pressure-holding capacity,hence the early detection of internal cracks is crucial for effective pipeline maintenance strategies.This study extends the scope of guided wave-based ultrasonic testing to detect the growth of internal cracks in a natural gas distribution PE pipe.Laboratory experiments and a finite element model were planned to study the wave-crack interaction at different stages of axially oriented internal crack growth with a piezoceramic transducer-based setup arranged in a pitch-catch configuration.Mode dispersion analysis supplemented with preliminary experiments was performed to isolate the optimal inspection frequency,leading to the selection of the T(0,1)mode at 50-kHz for the investigation.A transmission index based on the energy of the T(0,1)mode was developed to trace the extent of simulated crack growth.The findings revealed an inverse linear correlation between the transmission index and the crack depth for crack growth beyond 20%crack depth.

Comparative analysis of single-crater parameters in ultrasonic-assisted and unassisted micro-EDM of Ti6Al4V using discharge plasma imaging

Ultrasonic-assisted micro-electro-discharge machining(EDM)has the potential to enhance processing responses such as material removal rate(MRR)and surface finish.To understand the reasons for this enhancement,the physical mechanisms responsible for the individual discharges and the craters that they form need to be explored.This work examines features of craters formed by single discharges at various parameter values in both conventional and ultrasonic-assistedEDM of Ti6Al4V.High-speed imaging of the plasma channel is performed,and data on the individual discharges are captured in real-time.A 2D axisymmetric model using finite element software is established to model crater formation.On the basis of simulation and experimental results,a comparative study is then carried out to examine the effects of ultrasonic vibrational assistance on crater geometry.For every set ofEDM parameters,the crater diameter and depth from a single discharge are found to be higher in ultrasonic-assistedEDM than in conventionalEDM.The improved crater geometry and the reduced bulge formation at the crater edges are attributed to the increased melt pool velocity and temperature predicted by the model.