Ultrasonic bolt gage
First Claim
1. An ultrasonic bolt gage comprising:
- an ultrasonic transducer for coupling to a bolt, transmitting ultrasonic signals through the bolt, and providing echo waveform output signals; and
a processor coupled to the ultrasonic transducer for controlling the transmission of the series of ultrasonic signals and receiving the output signals, the processor providing analysis outputs indicating a tension applied to the bolt using both cross-correlation and feature recognition analysis.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An ultrasonic bolt gage is described which uses a cross-correlation algorithm to determine a tension applied to a fastener, such as a bolt. The cross-correlation analysis is preferably performed using a processor operating on a series of captured ultrasonic echo waveforms. The ultrasonic bolt gage is further described as using the captured ultrasonic echo waveforms to perform additional modes of analysis, such as feature recognition. Multiple tension data outputs, therefore, can be obtained from a single data acquisition for increased measurement reliability. In addition, one embodiment of the gage has been described as multi-channel, having a multiplexer for performing a tension analysis on one of a plurality of bolts.
78 Citations
18 Claims
-
1. An ultrasonic bolt gage comprising:
-
an ultrasonic transducer for coupling to a bolt, transmitting ultrasonic signals through the bolt, and providing echo waveform output signals; and a processor coupled to the ultrasonic transducer for controlling the transmission of the series of ultrasonic signals and receiving the output signals, the processor providing analysis outputs indicating a tension applied to the bolt using both cross-correlation and feature recognition analysis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A multi-channel ultrasonic bolt gage comprising:
-
a plurality of ultrasonic transducers for coupling to a plurality of bolts, transmitting ultrasonic signals through the bolts, and providing echo waveform output signals; a plurality of temperature sensors located in proximity to the plurality of bolts; a processor coupled to receive the echo waveform output signals and outputs from the plurality of temperature sensors, the processor providing analysis outputs indicating a tension applied to one of the plurality of bolts using both cross-correlation and feature recognition analysis; a waveform capturing device for storing a digital representation of the echo waveform output signals from the plurality of ultrasonic transducers and transmitting the echo waveform output signals to the processor; and a multiplex circuit for coupling one of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers to the waveform capturing device and coupling one of the plurality of temperature sensors to the processor. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
-
-
12. A method of determining a tension applied to a bolt, the method comprising the steps of:
-
transmitting an ultrasonic signal through the bolt; capturing a series of echo waveforms transmitted through the bolt; and cross-correlating two captured echo waveforms to determine the tension applied to the bolt. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
Specification