A method for inspecting a fastened structure, the fastened structure having at least one structural member defining a bore therein and a mechanical fastener received in the bore, includes applying acoustic energy to the fastened structure, the acoustic energy being applied over a plurality of frequencies, measuring a response of the fastened structure across at least two frequencies of the plurality of frequencies, and comparing the response of the fastened structure at the at least two frequencies of the plurality of frequencies to predefined values for the at least two frequencies of the plurality of frequencies to determine whether an out-of-tolerance condition is present.

A method for inspecting a fastened structure, the fastened structure having at least one structural member defining a bore therein and a mechanical fastener received in the bore, includes applying acoustic energy to the fastened structure, the acoustic energy being applied over a plurality of frequencies, measuring a response of the fastened structure across at least two frequencies of the plurality of frequencies, and comparing the response of the fastened structure at the at least two frequencies of the plurality of frequencies to predefined values for the at least two frequencies of the plurality of frequencies to determine whether an out-of-tolerance condition is present.

A sensor includes a first element part having a first member and a first element. The first member is a acoustic tubular waveguide and extends along a first direction. The acoustic tubular waveguide includes a first opening and a second opening. A direction from the second opening toward the first opening is along the first direction. The first element includes a vibratile first membrane, and a first supporter supporting the first membrane. The second opening is between the first opening and the first membrane in the first direction. The sensor may be a Piezoelectric Micro electro mechanical systems Ultrasonic Transducer and may be used for inspecting paper and/or resin including detecting thickness of a fed through banknote and/or the presence of foreign matter thereon such as tape. An optical element may alternatively measure the vibration of a membrane from acoustic through transmission instead of an acoustic receiver.

An apparatus and method for detecting an initial lubrication of a moving component including an ultrasonic sensor for detecting an ultrasonic output signal from the moving component and a processor for operating on the output signal. The processor determines if there has been an initiation of a lubrication operation. After identifying the initiation of the lubrication operation, the processor monitors the ultrasonic output signal received from the ultrasonic sensor to detect a momentary increase in the amplitude of the ultrasonic output signal above a level that indicates a need for lubrication, and which is indicative of an initial interaction between a lubricant and the moving component. Upon detecting the momentary increase in the amplitude, the processor tracks a progress of the lubrication operation by detecting for a sustained decrease in the amplitude of the ultrasonic output signal received from the ultrasonic sensor.

A sound source device and a signal receiver are disposed at first and second ports of a target object, respectively. A sound of a specific frequency of the sound source device is introduced into the target object to generate a resonant sound wave. A computer simulates a signal generated when the resonant sound wave is received by the signal receiver and regarding the signal as reference information. The reference information comprises first data having characteristics of the resonant sound wave, and data having features of an imaginary defect formed on the target object. The features of the imaginary defect correspond to the characteristics of the resonant sound wave. When the target object has a real defect, the sound of the specific frequency of the sound source device is introduced into the target object. Features of the real defect are derived by comparing the first data with the second data.

A sound source device and a signal receiver are disposed at first and second ports of a target object, respectively. A sound of a specific frequency of the sound source device is introduced into the target object to generate a resonant sound wave. A computer simulates a signal generated when the resonant sound wave is received by the signal receiver and regarding the signal as reference information. The reference information comprises first data having characteristics of the resonant sound wave, and data having features of an imaginary defect formed on the target object. The features of the imaginary defect correspond to the characteristics of the resonant sound wave. When the target object has a real defect, the sound of the specific frequency of the sound source device is introduced into the target object. Features of the real defect are derived by comparing the first data with the second data.

According to an embodiment, an inspection device includes a transmitter, a receiver, and a processor. The transmitter transmits a first ultrasonic wave including burst waves of a first period. The first ultrasonic wave is incident on an inspection object between the transmitter and the receiver. The first ultrasonic wave passed through the inspection object is incident on the receiver. The receiver outputs a signal corresponding to the first ultrasonic wave. The processor obtains the signal and performs a first operation. The first operation includes deriving first and second signal values from the signal, and inspecting the inspection object based on at least one of the first signal values and at least one of the second signal values. The first signal values correspond to maximum values of the signal in each of first periods The second signal values correspond to maximum values of the signal in each of second periods.

The invention concerns a method for the non-destructive mapping of a component, in order to determine an elongation direction of the elongate microstructure of the component at at least one point of interest, characterised in that it comprises at least two successive intensity measurement steps comprising the following steps: a sub-step of rotating a linear transducer into a plurality of angular positions, said linear transducer comprising a plurality of transducer elements, a sub-step of emitting a plurality of elementary ultrasonic beams at each angular position, a sub-step of measuring a plurality of backscattered signals resulting from the backscattering of the elementary ultrasonic beams by said elongate microstructure, the intensity measurement steps making it possible to obtain two series of intensities measured according to two axes of rotation, and in that the method comprises a step of combining the measured series of intensities so as to determine the elongation direction of the microstructure at said at least one point of interest.

The invention concerns a method for the non-destructive mapping of a component, in order to determine an elongation direction of the elongate microstructure of the component at at least one point of interest, characterised in that it comprises at least two successive intensity measurement steps comprising the following steps: a sub-step of rotating a linear transducer into a plurality of angular positions, said linear transducer comprising a plurality of transducer elements, a sub-step of emitting a plurality of elementary ultrasonic beams at each angular position, a sub-step of measuring a plurality of backscattered signals resulting from the backscattering of the elementary ultrasonic beams by said elongate microstructure, the intensity measurement steps making it possible to obtain two series of intensities measured according to two axes of rotation, and in that the method comprises a step of combining the measured series of intensities so as to determine the elongation direction of the microstructure at said at least one point of interest.

An inspection device includes a first data storage unit configured to store a first data which is time series according to a state of an inspection object, a second data generation unit configured to generate second data, which is a spectrogram including a first frequency component, a time component, and an amplitude component by performing short-time Fourier transform on the first data, a third data generation unit configured to generate third data including the first frequency component, a second frequency component, and the amplitude component by performing Fourier transform on time-amplitude data for each first frequency component in the second data, respectively, and a determination unit configured to determine the state of the inspection object based on the third data.