• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.111-117
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• 2011

Vibration monitoring is required for reliable thermosonic testing to decide whether sufficient vibration is achieved in each test for the detection of cracks. From a practical point of view, a cheaper and convenient monitoring method is better for the application to real tests. Therefore, the performance of different sensors for vibration monitoring was investigated and compared in this study to find a convenient and acceptable measurement method for thermosonics. Velocity measured by a laser vibrometer and strain provide an equivalent HI when measured at the same position. The microphone can provide a cheaper vibration monitoring device than the laser and the heating index calculated by a microphone signal shows similar characteristics to that calculated from velocity measured by the laser vibrometer. The microphone frequency response shows that it underestimates high frequency components but it is applicable to practical tests because it gives a conservative value of HI.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.118-126
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• 2011

The characteristics of the responses obtained in thermosonic tests are investigated in this study to improve the performance of a thermosonic test system. Thermosonic tests are conducted with an acoustic horn with high power capability to investigate the characteristics of the vibration produced in turbine blades with complex geometry. The influences of the excitation signal that is input to the horn and the coupling methods between a clamp and the acoustic horn on the characteristics of the vibration excited in a component are presented. As a result, an excitation method with a fast narrow band chirp test (sweep test) and a stud coupling is proposed as an excitation method for thermosonic testing. This method can be applied to different types of turbine blades and also to other components.