A surface wave on a liquid/solid interface is well-known to radiate acoustic energy into the liquid and is therefore rapidly attenuated. In this work, we have been able to show by experiments and calculations that the proximity of another surface (layer 1 to layer 3 and layer 3 to layer 1) sustains the surface wave through long distances for layers of both plates and concentric tubes. In addition, even when the surface wave is reflected from a distant edge, the returning wave is sustained in the multi-layer system and can be easily detected. This is apparently one of the first observations of leaky surface waves traveling over large distances, in this case over a thousand wavelengths. The effect is modeled on the basis of a cooperative phenomenon between two interfaces separated by a water layer. The effect represents a valuable result in the wave propagation of acoustic surface waves and opens the door to many applications.
KEYWORDS: Waveguides, Transducers, Acoustics, Interfaces, Signal generators, Electromagnetism, Structural health monitoring, Ultrasonics, Signal attenuation, Signal detection
As per the recent advances in remote in situ monitoring of industrial equipment using long wire waveguides (~10m), novel applications of existing wave generation techniques and new acoustic modeling software have been used to advance waveguide technology. The amount of attainable information from an acoustic signal in such a system is limited by transmission through the waveguide along with frequency content of the generated waves. Magnetostrictive, and Electromagnetic generation techniques were investigated in order to maximize acoustic transmission along the waveguide and broaden the range of usable frequencies. Commercial EMAT, Magnetostrictive and piezoelectric disc transducers (through the innovative use of an acoustic horn) were utilized to generate waves in the wire waveguide. Insertion loss, frequency bandwidth and frequency range were examined for each technique. Electromagnetic techniques are shown to allow for higher frequency wave generation. This increases accessibility of dispersion curves providing further versatility in the selection of guided wave modes, thus increasing the sensitivity to physical characteristics of the specimen. Both electromagnetic and magnetostrictive transducers require the use of a ferromagnetic waveguide, typically coupled to a steel wire when considering long transmission lines (>2m). The interface between these wires introduces an acoustic transmission loss. Coupling designs were examined with acoustic finite element software (Coupled-Acoustic Piezoelectric Analysis). Simulations along with experimental results aided in the design of a novel joint which minimizes transmission loss. These advances result in the increased capability of remote sensing using wire waveguides.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.