Modeling NDT piezoelectric ultrasonic transmitters

Area of Science:

• Engineering
• Materials Science
• Physics

Background:

• Ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT) relies on efficient pulsers for spike excitation of piezoelectric transducers.
• Existing methods often involve power switching devices like SCRs or MOS-FETs and rectifier components.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an approximate frequency domain electro-acoustic model for pulsed piezoelectric ultrasonic transmitters.
• To enable computation of the emission transfer function and output force temporal waveform.

Main Methods:

• Integrating partial models for driving electronics, tuning/matching networks, and piezoelectric transducers.
• Utilizing transmission lines and the quadripole approach for circuits, cables, and impedance matching.
• Employing the KLM model for piezoelectric transducers and PSPICE for non-linear driving effects simulation.

Main Results:

• The developed model allows for the computation of the emission transfer function and output force temporal waveform.
• An approximate frequency domain model effectively evaluates the electrical driving pulse from the spike generator.
• PSPICE simulations provide accurate evaluation of non-linear driving effects.

Conclusions:

• The presented model and developed software offer a capable tool for analyzing pulsed piezoelectric ultrasonic transmitters.
• The integrated approach facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the electro-acoustic behavior in NDT applications.