Optimal Design Methodology of Tapered Waveguide Transducers for Thickness Monitoring

For the purpose of providing transducers for long-term monitoring of wall thinning of critical pressure equipment in corrosion or high temperature environments, the optimal design methodology for tapered waveguide units was proposed in the present study. Firstly, the feasibility of the quasi-fundamental shear horizontal (SH0*) wave propagating in the tapered waveguide units was analyzed via numerical simulations, and the transmitting limitations of the non-dispersive SH0* wave were researched. Secondly, several tapered waveguide transducers with varying cross-sections to transmit pure SH0* wave were designed according to the numerical results. Experimental investigations were carried out, and the results were compared with waveguide transducers with a prismatic cross-section. It was found that the tapered waveguide units can transmit non-dispersive shear horizontal waves and suppress the wave attenuation at the same time. The experimental results agreed very well with the numerical simulations. Finally, high-temperature experiments were carried out, and the reliability of thickness measuring by the tapered waveguide transducers was validated. The errors between the measured and the true thicknesses were small. This work paves a solid foundation for the optimal design of tapered waveguide transducers for thickness monitoring of equipment in harsh environments.