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.

Hysteresis in the ultrasonic parameters of saturated sandstone during freezing and thawing and correlations with unfrozen water content

Determining the mechanical properties of frozen rock is highly important in cold-area engineering.These properties are essentially correlated with the content of liquid water remaining in frozen rock.Therefore,accurate determination of unfrozen water content could allow rapid evaluation of mechanical properties of frozen rock.This paper investigates the hysteresis characteristics of ultrasonic waves applied to sandstone(in terms of the parameters of P-wave velocity,amplitude,dominant frequency and quality factor Q)and their relationships with unfrozen water content during the freeze-thaw process.Their correlations are analysed in terms of their potential for use as indicators of freezing state and unfrozen water content.The results show that:(1)During a freeze-thaw cycle,the ultrasonic parameters and unfrozen water content of sandstone have significant hysteresis with changes in temperature.(2)There are three clear stages of change during freezing:supercooled stage(0℃to-2℃),rapid freezing stage(-2℃to-3℃),and stable freezing stage(-3℃to-20℃).The changes in unfrozen water content and ultrasonic parameters with freezing temperature are inverse.(3)During a single freeze-thaw cycle,the ultrasonic parameters of sandstone are significantly correlated with its unfrozen water content,and this correlation is affected by the pore structure.For sandstones with mesopores greater than 50%,there are inflection points in the curves of ultrasonic parameters vs.unfrozen water content at-3℃during freezing and at-1℃during thawing.It was found that thermal deformation of the mineral-grain skeleton and variations in the phase composition of pore water change the propagation path of ultrasonic waves.The inflection point in the curve of dominant frequency vs.temperature clearly marks the end of the rapid freezing stage of pore water,in which more than 70%of the pore water freezes.Consequently,the dominant frequency can be used as an index to conveniently estimate the unfrozen water content of frozen rock and,hence,its mechanical properties.

Determination of the parameters of a linear-viscoelastic thin layer using the normally-incident ultrasonic waves

This paper proposes a method of simultaneous determination of the four layer parameters （mass density, longitudinal velocity, the thickness and attenuation） of an immersed linear-viscoelastic thin layer by using the normally-incident reflected and transmitted ultrasonic waves. The analytical formula of the layer thickness related to the measured trans- mitted transfer functions is derived. The two determination steps of the four layer parameters are developed, in which acoustic impedance, time-of-flight and attenuation are first determined by the reflected transfer functions. Using the derived formula, it successively calculates and determines the layer thickness, longitudinal velocity and mass density by the measured transmitted transfer functions. According to the two determination steps, a more feasible and simplified measurement setups is described. It is found that only three signals （the reference waves, the reflected and transmitted waves） need to be recorded in the whole measurement for the determination of the four layer parameters. A study of the stability of the determination method against the experimental noises and the error analysis of the four layer parameters are made. This study lays the theoretical foundation of the practical measurement of a linear-viscoelastic thin layer.

Temperature and Orientation Dependence of Ultrasonic Parameters in Americium Monopnictides

The temperature dependence of the ultrasonic parameters like ultrasonic velocities and Grüneisen parameters in americium monopnictides AmY (Y: N, P, As, Sb and Bi) have been studied for longitudinal and shear waves along , and crystallographic directions in the temperature range 100 K - 500 K. The second- and third- order elastic constants have also been evaluated for these monopnictides using Coulomb and Born-Mayer potential. The values of elastic constants are the highest for AmN. Hence the mechanical properties of AmN are better than other monopnictides AmP, AmAs, AmSb and AmBi. Ultrasonic velocity is found large for AmP. So the ultrasonic wave propagation will be much better than others in AmP. Obtained results are compared with available results of same type of materials.

Relationship of ultrasonic elastography parameters of cervical cancer with the cancer cell growth and angiogenesis in the lesion tissue

Objective: To study the relationship of ultrasonic elastography parameters of cervical cancer with the cancer cell growth and angiogenesis in the lesion tissue. Methods: A total of 110 patients who were diagnosed with cervical cancer in the hospital between December 2015 and January 2017 were collected as the observation group, 80 patients who received hysteroscopic cervical polyp resection in the hospital during the same period were collected as the control group. The levels of cervical ultrasonic elastography parameters in the two groups were detected, and fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to determine the expression of proliferation genes, apoptosis genes and angiogenesis-related genes in the lesion tissue. Pearson test was used to evaluate the correlation between cervical ultrasonic elastography parameters and the tumor malignancy indexes. Results: Elastic image press release index and strain ratio of local lesion of observation group were significantly higher than those of control group;GBP1 mRNA expression in lesion tissue of observation group was lower than that in lesion tissue of control group while Prdx4, STAT3 and Sp2 mRNA expression were higher than those in lesion tissue of control group;Survivin, FasL and Bcl-2 mRNA expression in lesion tissue of observation group were higher than those in lesion tissue of control group while Fas and Bax mRNA expression were lower than those in lesion tissue of control group;VEGF, MMP-9, COX-2 and HIF-1 mRNA in lesion tissue of observation group were significantly higher than those in lesion tissue of control group. Conclusion: Elastic image press release index and strain ratio of cervical tissue of patients with cervical cancer are higher, and the specific increase is directly correlated with the tumor malignancy.

Change of left ventricular ultrasonic functional parameters in patients with ACS during peri-PCI period and their relationship with degree of serum myocardial damage

Objective:To study the change of left ventricular ultrasonic functional parameters in patients with ACS during peri-PCI period and their relationship with degree of serum myocardial damage.Methods:A total of 76 cases of ACS patients who were treated in our hospital between June 2012 and January 2016 were selected as research subjects, treatment methods were reviewed and then all patients were divided into observation group (n=57) who underwent PCI treatment and control group (n=19) who conformed to PCI indications but underwent conservative treatment under patients' or families' insistence. Left ventricular ultrasonic functional parameter levels and serum myocardial injury index contents were compared between two groups of patients before and after treatment. Pearson test was used to evaluate the relationship between left ventricular ultrasonic functional parameters and myocardial injury in patients with ACS.Results: Before treatment, differences in left ventricular ultrasonic functional parameter levels as well as serum contents of myocardial enzyme spectrum and myocardial apoptosis indexes were not statistically significant between the two groups of patients. After treatment, left ventricular ultrasonic functional parameters LVEDD and LVESD levels in observation group were lower than those in control group while SV level was higher than that in control group;serum contents of myocardial enzyme spectrum cTnT, LDH, CK-MB and AST were lower than those in control group;serum contents of myocardial apoptosis indexes Fas, Caspase-3 and caspase-12 were lower than those in control group while Bcl-2 content was higher than that in control group. The left ventricular ultrasonic functional parameters in ACS patients were directly correlated with the degree of myocardial injury.Conclusion: PCI treatment of patients with ACS can significantly improve left ventricular function and reduce myocardial injury. After treatment, the left ventricular ultrasonic functional parameters are directly correlated with the degree of myocardial injury.

Metallographic structure,mechanical properties,and process parameter optimization of 5A06 joints formed by ultrasonic-assisted refill friction stir spot welding

Novel hybrid refill friction stir spot welding （RFSSW） assisted with ultrasonic oscillation was introduced to 5A06 aluminum alloy joints. The metallographic structure and mechanical properties of 5A06 aluminum alloy RFSSW joints formed without ultrasonic assistance and with lateral and longitudinal ultrasonic assistance were compared, and the ultrasonic-assisted RFSSW process parameters were opti- mized. The results show that compared with lateral ultrasonic oscillation, longitudinal ultrasonic oscillation strengthens the horizontal bond- ing ligament in the joint and has a stronger effect on the joint＇s shear strength. By contrast, lateral ultrasonic oscillation strengthens the ver- tical bonding ligament and is more effective in increasing the joint＇s tensile strength. The maximum shear strength of ultrasonic-assisted RFSSW 5A06 aluminum alloy joints is as high as 8761 N, and the maximum tensile strength is 3679 N when the joints are formed at a tool rotating speed of 2000 r/rain, a welding time of 3.5 s, a penetration depth of 0.2 mm, and an axial pressure of 11 kN.

A frequency domain estimation and compensation method for system synchronization parameters of distributed-HFSWR

To analyze the influence of time synchronization error,phase synchronization error,frequency synchronization error,internal delay of the transceiver system,and range error and angle error between the unit radars on the target detection performance,firstly,a spatial detection model of distributed high-frequency surface wave radar(distributed-HFSWR)is established in this paper.In this model,a method for accurate extraction of direct wave spectrum based on curve fitting is proposed to obtain accurate system internal delay and frequency synchronization error under complex electromagnetic environment background and low signal to noise ratio(SNR),and to compensate for the shift of range and Doppler frequency caused by time-frequency synchronization error.The direct wave component is extracted from the spectrum,the range estimation error and Doppler estimation error are reduced by the method of curve fitting,and the fitting accuracy of the parameters is improved.Then,the influence of frequency synchronization error on target range and radial Doppler velocity is quantitatively analyzed.The relationship between frequency synchronization error and radial Doppler velocity shift and range shift is given.Finally,the system synchronization parameters of the trial distributed-HFSWR are obtained by the proposed spectrum extraction method based on curve fitting,the experimental data is compensated to correct the shift of the target,and finally the correct target parameter information is obtained.Simulations and experimental results demonstrate the superiority and correctness of the proposed method,theoretical derivation and detection model proposed in this paper.

An experimental study on the relationship between acoustic parameters and mechanical properties of frozen silty clay

To study the influence of temperature and water content on ultrasonic wave velocity and to establish the relationship between ultrasonic wave velocity and frozen silty clay strength, ultrasonic tests were conducted to frozen silty clay by using RSM-SY5（T） nonmetal supersonic test meter, and the tensile strength and compressive strength of silty clay were measured under various negative temperatures. Test and analysis results indicate that, ultrasonic wave velocity rapidly changes in the temperature range of-1 ℃ to -5 ℃. Ultrasonic wave velocity increased with an increase of water content until the water content reached the critical water content, while decreased with an increase of water content after the water content exceeded the critical water content. This study showed that there was strong positive correlation between the ul- trasonic wave velocity and the frozen soil strength. As ultrasonic wave velocity increased, either tensile strength or com- pressive strength increased. Based on the experimental data, the relationship between ultrasonic wave velocity and frozen silty clay strength was obtained through regression analysis. It was found that the ultrasonic test technique can be used to test frozen soils and lay the foundation for the determination of frozen soil strength.

Effects of Ultrasonic Treatment on Residue Properties

The changes in properties and structural parameters of four vacuum residue samples before and after ultrasonic treatment were analyzed. Ultrasonic treatment could increase the carbon residue value, decrease the average molecular weight and viscosity, which can barely inlfuence the density of vacuum residue. Meanwhile the constitution of residue can be varied including the decrease in the content of saturates, aromatics and asphaltenes, while the increase in the content of resins can lead to an increase in the total content of asphaltenes and resins. Among the four kinds of residue samples, there is a common trend that the more the content of asphaltenes in feedstock is, the more the increase in the content of resins, the more signiifcant decrease in the aromatic content and the less decrease in the saturates content after ultrasonic treatment of residue would be. Changes in the structure and content of asphaltenes caused by ultrasonic treatment have a signiifcant impact on the changes in residue properties. Ultrasonic treatment has changed the structural parameters of residue such as decrease in the total carbon number of average molecule （CTotal）, the total number of rings （RT）, the aromatic carbon number （CA）,the aromatic rings number （RA） and the naphthenic rings number （RN） , and increase of characterization factor （KH）. The study has indicated that ultrasonic treatment of vacuum residue can change the average structure of residue, and the changes in the content and structure of asphaltenes are the main cause leading to property changes. The results of residue hydrotreat-ing revealed that coke yield decreased, whereas the gas and light oil yield and conversion increased after ultrasonic treat-ment of vacuum residue.

The electrical parameters measurement system for electrotome output based on Labview

An accurate detection of the effective values of electric voltage and current from high frequency power generators is a precondition for the development of smart electrotomes. In this light, an energy detection system based on personal computer (PC) is developed hereby. It senses voltage and current in isolation from generators with transformers, and then the measured values are amplified, filtered, transformed into single-ended signals and converted to RMS. The detected signals are transformed into digital signals through Data Acquisition Card (DAQ) and the data are processed with quadratic fit in Labview. Finally, the controller completes constant power output. The experiment results indicate that the energy detection system can measure the output parameters precisely and the controller can achieve constant power control.

Ultrasonic study on organic liquid and binary organic liquid mixtures by using Schaaffs＇ collision factor theory

Based on Schaaff＇s collision factor theory （CFT） in liquids, the equations for nonlinear ultrasonic parameters in both organic liquid and binary organic liquid mixtures are deduced. The nonlinear ultrasonic parameters, including pressure coefficient, temperature coefficients of ultrasonic velocity, and nonlinear acoustic parameter B/A in both organic liquid and binary organic liquid mixtures, are evaluated for comparison with the measured results and data from other sources. The equations show that the coefficient of ultrasonic velocity and nonlinear acoustic parameter B/A are closely related to molecular interactions. These nonlinear ultrasonic parameters reflect some information of internal structure and outside status of the medium or mixtures. From the exponent of repulsive forces of the molecules, several thermodynamic parameters, pressure and temperature of the medium, the nonlinear ultrasonic parameters and ultrasonic nature of the medium can be evaluated. When evaluating and studying nonlinear acoustic parameter B/A of binary organic liquid mixtures, there is no need to know the nonlinear acoustic parameter B/A of the components. Obviously, the equation reveals the connection between the nonlinear ultrasonic nature and internal structure and outside status of the mixtures more directly and distinctly than traditional mixture law for B/A, e.g. Apfel＇s and Sehgal＇s laws for liquid binary mixtures.

Detection of Cracks in Aerospace Turbine Disks Using an Ultrasonic Phased Array C-scan Device

Crack detection in an aerospace turbine disk is essential for aircraft-quality detection.With the unique circular stepped structure and superalloy material properties of aerospace turbine disk,it is difficult for the traditional ultrasonic testing method to perform efficient and accurate testing.In this study,ultrasound phased array detection technology was applied to the non-destructive testing of aviation turbine disks:(i)A phased array ultrasonic c-scan device for detecting aerospace turbine disk cracks(PAUDA)was developed which consists of phased array ultrasonic,transducers,a computer,a displacement encoder,and a rotating scanner;(ii)The influence of the detection parameters include frequency,wave-type,and elements number of the ultrasonic phased array probe on the detection results on the near-surface and the far surface of the aerospace turbine disk is analyzed;(iii)Specimens with flat-bottom-hole(FBH)defects were scanned by the developed PAUDA and the results were analyzed and compared with the conventional single probe ultrasonic water immersion testing.The experiment shows that by using the ultrasonic phased array c-scan to scan the turbine disk the accuracy of the detection can be significantly improved which is of greater accuracy and higher efficiency than traditional immersion testing.

Effect of Curing Age on Tensile Properties of Fly Ash Based Engineered Geopolymer Composites(FA-EGC)by Uniaxial Tensile Test and Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Method

Tensile properties of fly ash based engineered geopolymer composites(FA-EGC)at different curing ages were studied by uniaxial tensile test and ultrasonic pulse velocity(UPV)methods,which included uniaxial tensile properties,the correlation between ultrasonic pulse velocity and tensile properties,and characteristic parameters of microcracks.The experimental results show that obvious strain hardening behavior can be found in FA-EGC at different curing ages.With the increase of curing age,the tensile strength increases,the tensile strain decreases and the toughness becomes worse.The UPV of FA-EGC increases with curing age,and a strong correlation can be found between tensile strength and UPV.With the increase of curing age,the average crack width of FA-EGC decreases and the total number of cracks increases.This is because the strength of geopolymer increases fast at early age,thus the later strength development of FA-EGC tend to be stable.At the same time,the bond strength between fiber and matrix,and the friction of fiber/matrix interface continue to increase with curing age,thus the bridging effect of fiber is gradually strengthened.In conclusion,the increase of curing age is beneficial to the development of tensile properties of FA-EGC.

Ultrasonic Wave Propagation in Californium Monopnictides

In this paper, we have investigated the temperature dependence of the ultrasonic parameters like ultrasonic velocities and Grüneisen parameters in californium monopnictides CfY (Y: N, As and Sb) for longitudinal and shear waves along , and crystallographic directions in the temperature range 100–500K. For the same evaluation the second- and third- order elastic constants have also been computed for these monopnictides using Coulomb and Born-Mayer potential upto second nearest neighborhood. The mechanical properties and stability of CfN is best, because of its high valued elastic constants. Ultrasonic velocity is found to be highest for CfAs along all chosen directions, so CfAs will be most suitable compound for wave propagation. The obtained results of present investigation are discussed in along with identified thermophysical properties.

隔热层自动成型切割工艺参数研究

基于航天发动机隔热层自动成型设备,对EPDM隔热层材料的切割工艺参数进行了研究,研究结果表明:对于隔热层橡胶材料,超声切割方式相较于传统机械切割方式有着明显的优势;切割速度对切割界面质量存在有限的影响,最佳的切割速度为20 mm/s;由于成型过程中的特殊工艺,需要保留一部分切割厚度以保证预制卷材中离型纸材料结构的完整,最佳的切割保留厚度约为0.1 mm;优化切割厚度、切割保留深度等工艺参数可以改善切割界面的质量,进而提高隔热层成型质量。研究结果对于航天发动机燃烧室隔热层自动成型设备的研制以及工艺的开展有着一定的指导意义。

Plastic deformation of magnesium alloy with different forming parameters during ultrasonic vibration-assisted single-point incremental forming

The research of forming parameters on the ultrasonic vibration single-point incremental forming of magnesium alloy plastic deformation can provide a theoretical basis for the establishment of the forming parameters.According to the forming characteristics of magnesium alloy sheet,a new method of ultrasonic vibration-as sis ted single-point incremental forming was proposed.The influence of forming parameters on the plastic deformation of magnesium alloy was studied by finite element simulation and experimentation.The influence of vibration frequency,amplitude,friction coefficient,and tool head size on stress and thinning rate of magnesium alloy during ultrasonic vibration-as sis ted single-point asymptotic forming was studied.The results show that the vibration frequency of 20 kHz and forming tool radius of about 5 mm are beneficial for plastic deformation magnesium alloy in ultrasonic vibration-assisted single-point incremental forming.With vibration amplitude increasing,the maximum shear stress tends to decrease as a whole,but at the amplitude of 0.16 mm,the thinning rate is large and fracture occurs easily.With friction coefficient increasing,the maximum shear stress tends to increase,and there is a good linear relationship between the maximum thinning rate and the friction coefficient.

Measurement of algae PSII photosynthetic parameters using high-frequency excitation flashes

We establish a system to measure the functional absorption cross section of photosystem lI （PSII） （O-PSII） and maximum quantum yield of photochemistry in PSII （Fv/Fm）. The system utilizes a sequence of high-frequency excitation flashes at microsecond intervals to induce a microsecond-level fluorescence yield curve. Parameters o-Psii and Fv/Fm are calculated by fitting the curve using nonlinear regression. Experimental results show that the relative standard deviation （RSD） of the system is less than 3%, and the correlation coefficient of Fv/Fm values measured by this system and those measured by pulse amplitude modulation method is 0.950.

QUASILONGITUDINAL WAVE ALONG Y-DIRECTION OF LiNbO_3 AND ITS ULTRASONIC NONLINEARITY PARAMETERS

Nonlinear equations of motion and their solution to the quasilongitudinal wave of the Y-direction of crystal LiNbO_3 are given. The quasilongitudinal wave features a good approx-imation to a pure mode. One combination of the third-order elastic constants, includingC_(222), C_(224), C_(114), C_(124). and C_(444), can be determined by measuring ultrasonic nonlinearity param-eters of this propagation mode. In calculation, the piezoelectricity of LiNbO_3 is taken intoaccount. Experimental results obtained by means of the second-harmonic generation techniqueare in good agreement with the calculation.

Experimental verification of parameter m in Hoeke-Brown failure criterion considering the effects of natural fractures

HoekeBrown failure criterion is one of the widely used rock strength criteria in rock mechanics and mining engineering.Based on the theoretical expression of HoekeBrown parameter m of an intact rock,the parameter m has been modified by crack parameters for fractured rocks.In this paper,the theoretical value range and theoretical expression form of the parameter m in HoekeBrown failure criterion were discussed.A critical crack parameter B was defined to describe the influence of the critical crack when the stress was at the peak,while a parameter b was introduced to represent the distribution of the average initial fractures.The parameter m of a fractured rock contained the influences of critical crack(B),confining pressure(s3)and initial fractures(b).Then the triaxial test on naturally fractured limestones was conducted to verify the modification of the parameter m.From the ultrasonic test and loading test results of limestones,the parameter m can be obtained,which indicated that the confining pressure at a high level reduced the differences of m among all the specimens.The confining pressure s3 had an exponential impact on m,while the critical crack parameter B had a negative correlation with m.Then the expression of m for a naturally fractured limestone was also proposed.