Sparse arrays and image compounding techniques for non-destructive testing using guided acoustic waves

Piezoelectric array transducers applications are becoming usual in the ultrasonic non-destructive testing area. However, the number of elements can increase the system complexity, due to the necessity of multichannel circuitry and to the large amount of data to be processed. Synthetic aperture techniques, where one or few transmission and reception channels are necessary, and the data are post-processed, can be used to reduce the system complexity. Another possibility is to use sparse arrays instead of a full-populated array. In sparse arrays, there is a smaller number of elements and the interelement spacing is larger than half wavelength. In this work, results of ultrasonic inspection of an aluminum plate with artificial defects using guided acoustic waves and sparse arrays are presented. Synthetic aperture techniques are used to obtain a set of images that are then processed with an image compounding technique, which was previously evaluated only with full-populated arrays, in order to increase the resolution and contrast of the images. The results with sparse arrays are equivalent to the ones obtained with full-populated arrays in terms of resolution. Although there is an 8 dB contrast reduction when using sparse arrays, defect detection is preserved and there is the advantage of a reduction in the number of transducer elements and data volume. © 2013 Brazilian Society for Automatics - SBA.

Giant Chemo-Resistance of SnO disk-like structures

Single crystalline SnO micro-disks, synthesized by a carbothermal reduction process, exhibited a nearly 1000-fold increase in resistance upon exposure to 100 ppm of NO2 without addition of catalysts or dopants nor the existence of nano-sized dimensions. Moreover, the SnO displayed a greater than 100-fold selectivity to NO2 over potential interferents including CO, H2 and CH4. The high sensor signal and exceptional selectivity for this novel sensor material are attributed to the existence of a high density of active lone pair electrons on the exposed (0 0 1) planes of the single crystalline SnO disks. This, thereby, identifies new means, not utilizing nano-dimensions, to achieve high gas sensitivity. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lamb mode diversity imaging for non-destructive testing of plate-like structures

Several Lamb wave modes can be coupled to a particular structure, depending on its geometry and transducer used to generate the guided waves. Each Lamb mode interacts in a particular form with different types of defects, like notches, delamination, surface defects, resulting in different information which can be used to improve damage detection and characterization. An image compounding technique that uses the information obtained from different propagation modes of Lamb waves for non-destructive testing of plate-like structures is proposed. A linear array consisting of 16 piezoelectric elements is attached to a 1 mm thickness aluminum plate, coupling the fundamental A0 and S0 modes at the frequencies of 100 kHz and 360 kHz, respectively. For each mode two images are obtained from amplitude and phase information: one image using the Total Focusing Method (TFM) and one phase image obtained from the Sign Coherence Factor (SCF). Each TFM image is multiplied by the SCF image of the respective mode to improve contrast and reduce side and grating lobes effects. The high dispersive characteristic of the A0 mode is compensated for adequate defect detection. The information in the SCF images is used to select one of the TFM mode images, at each pixel, to obtain the compounded image. As a result, dead zone is reduced, resolution and contrast are improved, enhancing damage detection when compared to the use of only one mode. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

A non-ideal portal frame energy harvester controlled using a pendulum

A model of energy harvester based on a simple portal frame structure is presented. The system is considered to be non-ideal system (NIS) due to interaction with the energy source, a DC motor with limited power supply and the system structure. The nonlinearities present in the piezoelectric material are considered in the piezoelectric coupling mathematical model. The system is a bi-stable Duffing oscillator presenting a chaotic behavior. Analyzing the average power variation, and bifurcation diagrams, the value of the control variable that optimizes power or average value that stabilizes the chaotic system in the periodic orbit is determined. The control sensitivity is determined to parametric errors in the damping and stiffness parameters of the portal frame. The proposed passive control technique uses a simple pendulum to tuned to the vibration of the structure to improve the energy harvesting. The results show that with the implementation of the control strategy it is possible to eliminate the need for active or semi active control, usually more complex. The control also provides a way to regulate the energy captured to a desired operating frequency. © 2013 EDP Sciences and Springer.

Soft-chemical synthesis, characterization and humidity sensing behavior of WO3/TiO2 nanopowders

Tungsten oxide/titania (WO3/TiO2) nanopowders were synthesized by the polymeric precursor method which varied the WO3 content between 0 and 10 mol%. The powders were thermally treated in a conventional furnace and their structural, microstructural and electric properties were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectrometry, N 2 physisorption, NH3 chemisorption, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) in situ XANES and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD and Raman spectrometry confirmed the homogeneous distribution of an amorphous WO3 phase in the TiO 2 matrix which stabilized the anatase phase through the generation of [TiO5·V0] or [TiO5·V 0] complex sites. Conventional TPR-H2 (temperature programmed reduction) along with XANES TPR-H2 and XANES TPR-EtOH showed that WO3/TiO2 sample reduction occurs through the formation of these complex clusters. Moreover, the addition of WO3 promoted an increase in the surface acidity of doped samples as revealed by NH3 chemisorption. The WO3/TiO2 bulk-ceramic samples were further used to estimate their potential application in a humidity sensor in the range of 15-85% relative humidity. Probable reasons that lead to the different humidity sensor responses of samples were given based on the structural and surface characterizations. Correlation between the sensing performance of the sensor and its structural features are also discussed. Although all samples responded as a humidity sensor, the W2T sample (2 mol% added WO3) excelled for sensitivity due to the increase in acid sites, optimum mean pore size and pore size distribution. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Sistema de extração de potência (power harvesting) usando transdutores piezelétricos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Desenvolvimento e implementação de um sistema para detecção de falhas em estruturas usando microcontrolador

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Fenômenos não-lineares, incluindo-se os não-ideias, em captura de energia utilizando-se dispositivos piezoelétricos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudo da equivalência entre a lectina artin M obtida a partir da semente da jaca e a sua forma recombinante na afinidade por glicanas

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Avaliação comparativa da viabilidade celular imediata após osteotomia para implantes com fresas e piezocirurgia em tíbias de coelhos: análise imunoistoquímica

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudo comparativo de medição de força de corte no processo de retificação

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Detecção de falhas estruturais usando sensores e atuadores piezelétricos e algoritmos genéticos

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Obtenção e caracterização elétrica e morfológica de compósitos de borracha natural com PZT

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Transições de fases estruturais em cerâmicas ferroelétricas do sistema PMN-PT

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Síntese e caracterização da cerâmica PZT dopada com estrôncio e com nióbio e estrôncio

Pós-graduação em Química - IQ