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Calculating the relative energy and amplitude of ultrasonic waves at boundaries

Picton, P. (2013) Calculating the relative energy and amplitude of ultrasonic waves at boundaries. In: Smallbone, C. and Dick, L. (eds.) Proceedings of the 1st Australasian International Welding, Inspection and NDT Conference. Australia: Welding Technology Institute of Australia & Australian Institute for Non-Destructive Testing.

Item Type: Conference Proceedings
Abstract: Whenever an ultrasonic wave encounters a boundary between two media it is partially reflected 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.
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
Creators: Picton, Philip
Editors: Smallbone, Chris and Dick, Les
Publisher: Welding Technology Institute of Australia & Australian Institute for Non-Destructive Testing
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: Faculties > Faculty of Arts, Science & Technology > Engineering
Date: March 2013
Date Type: Publication
Title of Book: Proceedings of the 1st Australasian International Welding, Inspection and NDT Conference
Event Title: 1st Australasian International Welding, Inspection and NDT (iWIN2013) Conference
Event Dates: 10-13 March 2013
Place of Publication: Australia
Event Location: Perth, Australia
Event Type: Conference
Language: English
Media of Output: CD-ROM
Status: Published / Disseminated
Refereed: Yes
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/5438

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