Acoustic Field of a Linear Phased Array: A Simulation Study of Ultrasonic Circular Tube Material

Abstract

As ultrasonic wave field radiated by an ultrasonic transducer influences the results of ultrasonic nondestructive testing, simulation and emulation are widely used in nondestructive testing. In this paper, a simulation study is proposed to detect defects in a circular tube material. Firstly, the ultrasonic propagation behavior was analyzed, and a formulation of the Multi-Gaussian beam model (MGB) based on a superposition of Gaussian beams is described. The expression of the acoustic field from a linear phased-array ultrasonic transducer in the condition of a convex interface on the circular tube material is proposed. Secondly, in order to make the tapered probe wedge better fit the curved circular tube material and carry out the ultrasonic inspection of the curved surface, it was necessary to pare the angle probe wedge. Finally, acoustic field simulations in a circular tube were carried out and analyzed. The simulation results indicated that the method of ultrasonic phased-array inspection is feasible in circular tube testing. Tube materials with different curvatures need different array element lengths and widths to get the desired focused beam.

Keywords

• circular tube material
• linear phased-array ultrasonic transducer
• Multi-Gaussian beam model
• tapered probe wedge
• focused beam