A dynamical model of subharmonic generation in ultrasonic infrared thermography

Subharmonics are often observed in ultrasonic infrared thermography (UIR) system as samples are excited by ultrasonic transducers, and it is testified that, as the subharmonics appear, the detectability of cracks or defects in the sample is greatly enhanced in the UIR system. A dynamical model to explore the generation mechanism of the subharmonics and simulate the sample motion excited by an ultrasonic transducer in the UIR system is presented in this paper. In the model, the sample is continuously impacted by the transducer as the transducer is pushed to the sample by a constant force, in which the sample is simplified as a damped oscillator and the transducer is simplified as an active oscillator with constant frequency and amplitude. The impact process is also taken into account, in which the acting force is assumed to vary linearly during the impact process. A stable waveform of subharmonics in the sample can be obtained in appropriate conditions.