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A software tool for calculating the relative amplitude of ultrasonic waves at boundaries

Picton, P. and Kaczmarczyk, S. (2011) A software tool for calculating the relative amplitude of ultrasonic waves at boundaries. In: Crocker, M. J., Pawelczyk, M. and Ivanov, N. (eds.) Proceedings of the 18th International Congress on Sound and Vibration. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Curran Associates Inc. 9781618392596. pp. 2263-2270.

Item Type: Conference Proceedings
Abstract: Whenever an ultrasonic wave encounters a boundary between two media it is partially re-flected and refracted, as any acoustic wave would be. Unlike light, the wave also undergoes mode conversion so that in the general case a single incident wave could produce two reflected waves and two refracted waves. The angles which define the path of the wave are determined by Snell’s law and are easily calculated. The relative amplitudes, on the other hand, require quite complicated formula when the angle of incidence is anything other than 0 degrees. This problem gets compounded when the angle of the incident wave goes beyond the first critical angle. At this point the angle of the refracted wave becomes imaginary and the equations to calculate the relative amplitudes become complex. This paper describes a tool that has been developed, using a spreadsheet, which performs the calculations for all incident angles. The user selects the media and the type of incident wave and the resulting waves are shown graphically as well as numerically. The tool was developed primarily as part of an undergraduate course on ultrasonic testing, but could be used more widely
Subjects: T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) > TA365 Acoustics in engineering. Acoustical engineering
T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) > TA417.4 Ultrasonic testing
Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science > QA76.75 Computer software
Creators: Picton, Philip and Kaczmarczyk, Stefan
Editors: Crocker, Malcolm J, Pawelczyk, Marek and Ivanov, Nickolay
Publisher: Curran Associates Inc
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: Faculties > Faculty of Arts, Science & Technology > Engineering
Date: 10 July 2011
Date Type: Publication
Page Range: pp. 2263-2270
Title of Book: Proceedings of the 18th International Congress on Sound and Vibration
Event Title: 18th International Congress on Sound and Vibration (ICSV 18)
Event Dates: 10-14 July 2011
Place of Publication: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Event Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Event Type: Conference
Number of Pages: 3281
Language: English
ISBN: 9781618392596
Status: Published / Disseminated
Refereed: Yes
Related URLs:
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/4291

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