APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DAMAGE LOCATION AND IDENTIFICATION IN STRUCTURES
First Claim
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1. A method for nondestructive testing of structures comprising:
- causing an ultrasonic wave to traverse a portion of a structure being tested for presence of defects, to cause surface displacements in the structure;
providing one or more optical waveguides attached to a flexible structure, each optical waveguide comprising one or more spaced apart transducers adapted to respond to the surface displacements;
locating the one or more transducers in mechanical contact with the surface of the structure under test for a transducer response corresponding to the surface displacements of the structure at respective locations of the transducers caused by the ultrasonic wave;
obtaining modulation of the one or more transducers in response to the surface displacements of the structure;
based on the response of the one or more transducers, reconstructing distribution characteristics of the ultrasonic waves across the structure; and
based on the reconstructed distribution characteristics, determining likely locations of features in the structure.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for testing composite structures in which ultrasonic waves are used to detect disbonds in the structures are described. The apparatus comprises a flexible structure carrying acousto-optical transducers such as fiber Bragg gratings. During use, the apparatus is mechanically and conformally coupled to the structure under test.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. A method for nondestructive testing of structures comprising:
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causing an ultrasonic wave to traverse a portion of a structure being tested for presence of defects, to cause surface displacements in the structure; providing one or more optical waveguides attached to a flexible structure, each optical waveguide comprising one or more spaced apart transducers adapted to respond to the surface displacements; locating the one or more transducers in mechanical contact with the surface of the structure under test for a transducer response corresponding to the surface displacements of the structure at respective locations of the transducers caused by the ultrasonic wave; obtaining modulation of the one or more transducers in response to the surface displacements of the structure; based on the response of the one or more transducers, reconstructing distribution characteristics of the ultrasonic waves across the structure; and based on the reconstructed distribution characteristics, determining likely locations of features in the structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A nondestructive evaluation apparatus for use in responding to surface displacements caused by ultrasonic waves on a surface of a material or structure under test, the apparatus comprising:
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a flexible structure having attached thereto at least one optical waveguide, each optical waveguide comprising at least one acoustic-optical transducer, wherein the flexible structure is adapted to follow the surface displacements in strain and/or bending such that modulation of the at least one acousto-optical transducer is communicated through the optical waveguide to enable processing to determine information on the surface displacement. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An apparatus for determining locations of delaminations and/or disbonds in a composite piece part, comprising:
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an acoustic source for generating, during operation of the apparatus, ultrasonic waves in the composite piece part; and a compliant planar member connected with the acoustic source and adapted for conforming to at least a portion of the composite piece part, the compliant planar member comprising one or more optical waveguide tracks located on a surface thereof, the one or more optical waveguide tracks comprising at least one FBG acoustically coupled to the acoustic source, the at least one FBG acting, during operation of the apparatus, as an acousto-optical transducer of acoustic signals generated by the acoustic source, the at least one FBG located at a predetermined distance from the acoustic source. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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- 34. An apparatus comprising a dimensionally stable, conformable member having a first and at least one second location separated by a known distance, wherein a source of ultrasonic energy is located at the first location and at least one acousto-optical transducer is located at the at least one second location, the source being adapted to be acoustically coupled to the at least one optical transducer by placement of the conformable member on a device under test.
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40. A method to determine dynamic strain and/or bending of one or more optical filters, comprising:
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performing a first sweeping of a tunable laser to acquire reflection or transmission spectra of the one or more optical filters; for each optical filter, determining one or more features of the reflection or transmission spectrum of that optical filter; and performing a second sweeping of the tunable laser to acquire acousto-ultrasound responses of the one or more optical filters. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification