On the Beam Focusing Behavior of Time Reversed Ultrasonic Arrays Using a Multi-Gaussian Beam Model

One of the fundamental features of time reversal acoustic (TRA) techniques is the ability to focus the propagating ultrasonic beam to a specific point within the test material. Therefore, it is important to understand the focusing properties of a TR device in many applications including nondestructive testing. In this paper, we employ an analytical scheme for the analysis of TR beam focusing in a homogeneous medium. More specifically, a nonparaxial multi-Gaussian beam (NMGB) model is used to simulate the focusing behavior of array transducers composed of multiple rectangular elements. The NMGB model is found to generate accurate beam fields beyond the nonparaxial region. Two different simulation cases are considered here for the focal points specified on and off from the central axis of the array transducer. The simulation results show that the focal spot size increases with increasing focal length and focal angle. Furthermore, the maximum velocity amplitude does not always coincide with the specified focal point. Simulation results for the off-axis focusing cases do demonstrate the accurate steering capability of the TR focusing.