Steerable ultrasonic source using low power laser sources and fibre optic delivery

摘要

Low power laser diode sources were used in conjunction with electronically controllable time delays and fibre optic delivery arranged as a phased array to produce an electronically steerable ultrasonic source. Delays between the array elements of up to 520nS allowed steering of the fundamental longitudinal mode to be achieved at angles of up to 18°whilst low pulse powers of 3.6μ∫ ensured that the testing mechanism was non-destructive. Beamsteering has been demonstrated for aluminium plates demonstrating great potential as a tool for structural assessment.