The present invention relates to an ultrasonic testing apparatus with a variable frequency, which can automatically change the frequency according to thickness and thereby detect internal defects in objects having various thicknesses. The ultrasonic testing apparatus may comprise: a nozzle jetting a medium toward an object so as to form a medium column; and a plurality of probes disposed in the nozzle so as to generate ultrasonic waves.

A thermoacoustic imaging device for coupling to a region of interest on a patient is disclosed. The device includes a housing having a surface, wherein the surface comprises an acoustic coupling portion having a substantially perpendicular extent relative to the surface. In one embodiment, the perpendicular extent extends to the surface. In one embodiment, the perpendicular extent extends to the surface and the outwardly from the surface. In one embodiment, the perpendicular extent extends only from the surface.

Systems and methods for bondline inspection using mechanical wave measurement and gas excitation. A cost-effective optical interferometry technique is used to measure mechanical waves generated by gas excitation, which measurements may be used to verify the strength of a bondline of a composite bonded structure. A gas gun which produces a high-pressure short-pulsewidth gas pulse at the front free surface of the composite material. A velocity interferometer system for any reflector (VISAR) is synchronized with the controlled gas pulsation and used to measure the surface velocities. The respective shock wave-induced displacements of the back and front free surfaces are then calculated. The measured free surface displacements are compared with calibrated thresholds to determine whether a weak bond has been detected or not. Optionally, a ring magnet is aligned exactly under the gas gun nozzle to enable VISAR beam centering.

A gas sensor having a heater, a receiver, and a space arranged between the heater and the receiver, is described, the heater being configured to generate a thermoacoustic sound wave propagating through the space by using a stimulation signal. The receiver is in this case configured to receive the thermoacoustic sound wave that has propagated through the space and to convert it into a reception signal that has a time-of-flight-dependent shift with respect to the stimulation signal and therefore information relating to the gas concentration in the space.

Frameworks and methods for generating early-warning indicators of impending nonlinear instabilities of a dynamical system are provided. In accordance with one aspect, the framework includes a data collector and a system identification (SI) modeler. The data collector is coupled to the dynamical system and collects pre-bifurcation data. The SI modeler predicts early-warning indicators of impending nonlinear instabilities using only the pre-bifurcation data and the SI modeler includes a means for extrapolating Fokker-Planck coefficients in response to the pre-bifurcation data to generate precursors to a Hopf bifurcation and/or to identify a type of the Hopf bifurcation and/or to forecast the limit-cycle oscillation (LCO) amplitudes of a post-bifurcation regime. In addition, the SI modeler predicts the locations of the Hopf bifurcation points, the type of the Hopf bifurcation and the LCO amplitudes of the post-bifurcation regime.

A detection device includes a vibration sensor configured to detect vibration of a machine, a calculation unit configured to perform FFT analysis on detection data of the vibration sensor, divide a specific frequency range into a plurality of frequency ranges, and calculate a partial overall value for each of the plurality of frequency ranges, and a wireless communication device configured to transmit the partial overall value.

A device, and corresponding method, for determining a material composition of the pipe includes a probe, a resonance frequency measurement circuit, and a material analyzer. The probe includes an oscillator circuit and can be inserted into an interior cavity of the type. The probe also can emit electromagnetic radiation into the interior cavity via the oscillator circuit. The frequency measurement circuit is in operative communication with the oscillator circuit and is configured to output resonant frequency measurement data indicative of a resonance frequency of the oscillator circuit when inserted into the interior cavity. The material analyzer can receive the resonance frequency measurement data, and an additional measurement, and can output an indication of material composition of the pipe based on the resonance frequency measurement data and the additional measurement.

A tapered fiber optoacoustic emitter includes a nanosecond laser configured to emit laser pulses and an optic fiber. The optic fiber includes a tip configured to guide the laser pulses. The tip has a coating including a diffusion layer and a thermal expansion layer, wherein the diffusion layer includes epoxy and zinc oxide nanoparticles configured to diffuse the light while restricting localized heating. The thermal expansion layer includes carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) configured to convert the laser pulses to generate ultrasound. The frequency of the ultrasound is tuned with a thickness of the diffusion layer and a CNT concentration of the expansion layer.

A plurality of micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) transducers in a phased array are coupled to a flexible substrate using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for conformal ultrasound scanning. Each transducer comprises a cantilever, magnetic material deposited on the cantilever, and a solenoid positioned relative to the magnetic material. The carbon nanotubes are grown on the cantilever and mechanically couple the transducer to one side of the flexible substrate. The other side of the flexible substrate is applied to a surface of a part under inspection, and the transducers are electrically connected to a processer to cause movement of the cantilevers when the solenoids are energized by the processor. The movement of the cantilevers results in movement of the carbon nanotubes, which imparts a force to the flexible substrate that results in ultrasound waves, which permeate the part. Returns from the ultrasound waves are interpreted by the processor to generate images of the part.

The invention comprises a device (10) for testing a test object (40), comprising an excitation system (13) for generating broadband ultrasound pulses (12′) in the test object, a detection system (20) for detecting ultrasound waves (21), which are generated through the broadband ultrasound pulses (12′) in the test object (40) and emitted by the test object (40). The device (10) comprises a processing unit (30) for processing the detected ultrasound waves (21), while the excitation system (13) being one of a thermoacoustic emitter or a pulsed laser and the detection system (20) is a broadband detection system. The excitation system (13) comprises a modulator (11) for modulating the broadband ultrasound pulses (12′). Furthermore, the invention comprises a method for testing a test object.