SBIR Phase I: PORTABLE EMAT PHASED ARRAY FOR CORROSION MAPPING

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是提供一个更好，更安全的替代传统的压电超声仪器，使用液体耦合传感器的管道，坦克，和其他结构的检查用于发电和液体加工行业。这种新仪器不需要使用液体耦合，并且可以在粗糙、涂层或污染的表面上工作，这些表面不能用传统的液体耦合技术进行检查，除非零件需要进行昂贵且耗时的零件准备。由于不使用液体，该仪器也可用于非常热、非常冷、放射性或真空中的组件。不使用耦合剂且具有与压电仪器相当的性能的高分辨率超声仪器将节省检查时间，降低检查成本，并允许在使用中进行检查，这将为工厂运营商节省数百万美元。整个社会也将受益于工厂安全和性能的改善，并减少作为检查的直接副产品或设施和设备故障释放到环境中的废物和污染物的数量。拟议的项目包括开发便携式，高分辨率，超声相控阵仪器，软件，和基于非接触式电磁超声换能器（EMAT）技术的传感器，以替代或补充市场上数以万计的传统压电仪器。对于仪器，研究将围绕着一个高功率和紧凑的16通道脉冲发生器/接收器的开发，具有非常小的死区，允许在零件表面附近进行检查。该仪器还需要具有信号增强算法的定制软件，以补偿EMAT信号的小振幅。16通道相控阵电磁超声换能器将涉及电气和磁性元件的多物理场仿真，以开发非常小和高密度的线圈元件，这些线圈元件可以在高频下产生足够的信号幅度，同时处理有效检测所需的脉冲速率，以及定制仪器产生的高功率。所有这些组件都需要封装在电池供电的封装中，以便在现场检查中通常会发现的恶劣条件下使用。预期的结果是一个便携式仪器，可以在性能上与传统的压电仪器竞争，特别是在应用和检测环境中，传统的仪器是不实用的或非常昂贵的使用。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to provide a better and safer alternative to conventional piezoelectric ultrasonic instruments that use liquid-coupled transducers for the inspection of pipelines, tanks, and other structures used in power generation and liquid process industries. This new instrument does not require the use of liquid coupling, and can work on rough, coated, or contaminated surfaces that cannot be inspected with conventional liquid-coupled techniques unless the part is subjected to costly and time consuming part preparation. By not using liquids, this instrument can also be used on components that are very hot, very cold, radioactive, or in a vacuum. A high-resolution ultrasonic instrument that does not use couplant and has comparable performance to a piezoelectric instrument will save inspection time, reduce inspection costs, and permit inspections while in-service, which will result in millions of dollars in savings for plant operators. Society as a whole will also benefit from improvements in safety and performance of the plants, and by reducing the amount of waste and contaminants released into the environment as direct sub-product of the inspection, or from failures in facilities and equipment.The proposed project consists of the development of a portable, high-resolution, ultrasonic phased array instrumentation, software, and transducers based on non-contact Electro Magnetic Acoustic Transducer (EMAT) technology to substitute or complement the tens of thousands of conventional piezoelectric instruments in the market. For the instrumentation, the research will revolve around the development of a high-power and compact 16-channel pulser/receiver with a very small dead zone that permit inspection near the surface of the part. This instrumentation will also require custom software with signal-enhancing algorithms that compensate for the small amplitude of EMAT signals. The 16-channel phased-array EMAT transducers will involve multi-physics simulation of electrical and magnetic components to develop very small and high-density coil elements that can produce enough signal amplitude at high-frequencies while handling the pulsing rates required for effective inspection, and the high-power generated by the custom instrumentation. All these components will need to be enclosed in a battery-powered package that can be used in the harsh conditions typically found in field inspections. The expected result is a portable instrument that can compete in performance with conventional piezoelectric instruments, especially in applications and inspection environments where a conventional instrument is not practical or very costly to use.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.