Flexible ultrasonic transducer arrays for nondestructive evaluationapplications. I. The theoretical modeling approach

摘要

This paper presents the development of a theoretical modelingnstrategy to be used in the design of flexible ultrasonic transducernarrays. These new types of array device are intended for thosenapplications where surface conformity is desirable. Such arraynstructures allow much more efficient and effective coupling of acousticnenergy between the transducer and test specimen than would have beennotherwise possible with an equivalent rigid device. The objective ofnthis work is to provide the transducer designer with a set of designntools that will permit the analysis of different material configurationsnand various transmit-receive aperture designs. Linear systems modelingnis used to evaluate, and consequently optimize, the transductionnperformance, while a surface scattering model has been developed tonfacilitate the analysis of different transmit-receive aperturenconfigurations. A theoretical modeling approach for flexible arrays isndeveloped and where necessary, the validity confirmed by experimentalnmeasurement