Engineering Research Equipment Grant: Acoustic Actuators for Quality Control in Manufacturing

本研究将探讨在复合材料制造中使用声学信号进行质量控制的方法。近年来，声学显微镜在研究材料近表面缺陷方面取得了很大的成功。试样的声学材料特征（使用声学显微镜获得）受到材料表面粗糙度和近表面缺陷的显著影响。然而，声学显微镜仍然缺乏正确检测材料内部裂纹或制造缺陷的能力，如果这些缺陷位于距离表面几毫米或更大的深度。这是因为工作频率（100mhz）。- 2千兆赫)的声波显微镜的频率太高，无法穿透材料。在本研究中，声学显微镜将在低频（0.1至3 MHz）下工作，用于检测复合材料板的内部裂纹。将研究显微镜设计的几种修改，以达到可能的最佳设计。

This research will investigate the use of using acoustic signals for quality control in the manufacturing of composites. Recent efforts in acoustic microscopy have been found to be very successful in studying near surface defects in a material. The acoustic material signature of a specimen (obtained using an acoustic microscope) is significantly affected by the surface roughness and near surface defects of a material. However, acoustic microscopes still lack the ability to correctly detect internal cracks or manufacturing defects within a material if these defects are at a depth of a few millimeters or greater from the surface. This is because the operating frequency (100 MHz. - 2 GHz.) of acoustic microscopes is too high for penetration into a material. In this research, an acoustic microscope operating at low frequency (0.1 to 3 MHz.) will be tested in the detection of internal cracks in a composite plate. Several modifications in the microscope design will be investigated to arrive at the best possible design.