Desenvolvimento de um sistema de medida de tempo decorrido da onda ultra-sônica e análise do estado de tensões em materiais metálicos pela técnica da birrefiingência acústica

摘要

Stress measurements by ultrasonic sound waves is based on the acoustoelastic effect that is the phenomenon of the variation of the velocity of the ultrasonic sound wave in a material as a function of the applied stress field. For that purpose it is necessary to measure the ultrasonic time of flight with high precision and with nanosecond resolution. This work describes the assembly of an ultrasonic system, and develops a new method to measure the ultrasonic time of flight in materials under stress. The method proposed uses the cross correlation signal processing of the ultrasonic wave and increases the sampling rate of the signal using the multi-rate technique. The birefringence ultrasonic technique, in conjunction with the measurement method developed, was successfully applied for the evaluation of applied and residual tensions in aluminum and steel plates. Using the assembled ultra-sonic system, it is also proposed a process for the determination of the rolling direction of plates by ultrasonic sound waves. For the materials examined, it was shown that the ultrasonic method reaches the precision and the necessary resolution for the evaluation of residual stresses and tension stresses due to externally applied forces. The work also discusses some of the factors that cause measurement imprecision, or that increase in the solution time without any gain in precision. It also shows different options for signal processing, discusses some of the phenomena that can be explored to separate the influence of the rolling direction in the evaluation of the material tension state, and introduces additional equipment that may be used to improve the resolution of the measure. The work concludes by showing that the acoustic birefringence technique is suitable for the verification of residual tension in welded plates and that it can also be used in the assessment of heat treatments for the stress relief in materials.