Integrated ultrasonic transducers made by the sol-gel spray technique for structural health monitoring

摘要

Integrated piezoelectric-based ultrasonic transducers (UTs) have been developed for potential structural health monitoring. Fabrication techniques and performance evaluation of these transducers at selected monitoring sites are presented. Our novel transducer fabrication approach focuses on the use of handheld and readily accessible equipment to perform sol-gel spray coating, including the use of a heat gun or a torch, to carry out drying and firing, poling and electrode fabrication. The application of these integrated UTs for thickness measurement of graphite/epoxy composites, thickness monitoring of ice build up on aluminum plates at low temperatures, viscosity measurement of a cooling oil flow at temperatures up to 160 degrees C and monitoring metal debris in cooling oil engines is demonstrated.