• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1116-1122
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• 2005

A finite element method was used to simulate the wave propagation of laser-generated ultrasound and its interaction with surface breaking cracks in an elastic material. Thermoelastic laser line source on the material surface was approximated as a shear dipole and loaded as nodal forces in the plane-strain finite element (FE) model. The shear dipole- FE model was tested for the generation of ultrasound on the surface with no defect. The model was found to generate the Rayleigh surface wave. The model was then extended to examine the interaction of laser generated ultrasound with surface-breaking cracks of various depths. The crack-scattered waves were monitored to size the crack depth. The proposed model clearly reproduced the experimentally observed features that can be used to characterize the presence of surface-breaking cracks.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.215-221
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• 2005

It is required to evaluate nondestructively depth of surface-breaking cracks in structures. In this paper, the self-compensated technique by laser-based ultrasound is used to measure the depth of surface-breaking defect. Optical generation of ultrasound produces a well defined pulse with reliable frequency content. It is broad banded and suitable for measurement of attenuation and scattering over a wide frequency range. The self-calibrated signal transmission data of surface wave shows good sensitivity as a practical tool far assessment of surface-breaking defect depth. It is suggested that the relationship between the signal transmission and crack depth can be used to predict the surface-breaking crack depths in structures.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.373-388
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• 2022

A USW based diagnostic procedure is presented for estimating the depth of surface-breaking cracks. The diagnosis is demonstrated on seven lab-scale SFRC beam specimens, which are subjected to the CMOD controlled three-point bending test to create real bending cracks. Then, the recorded multiple ultrasonic signals are examined with the signal processing techniques, including wavelet transform and two-dimensional Fourier transform, to investigate the relationships between the crack depth and two diagnostic indices, namely the attenuation coefficient and dispersion index (DI). Finally, the reliabilities of these indices for depth estimation are verified with the visually measured crack depths as well as the crack features obtained with a digital image processing algorithm. It is found that the DI outperforms the attenuation coefficient in depth estimation, where this index displays good agreement with the visual inspection for 86% of the inspected specimens.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.627-636
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• 2002

Identification and sizing of surface breaking vertical cracks using angle beam ultrasonic testing in practical situation quite often become very difficult tasks due to the presence of non-relevant signals caused by geometric reflectors. The present work introduces effective and systematic approaches to take care of such a difficulty by use oi angle beam ultrasonic testing models that can predict the expected signals from various targets very accurately. Specifically, the model-based TIFD (Technique for Identification of Flaw signals using Deconvolution) is Proposed for the identification of the crack tip signals from the non-relevant geometric reflection signals. In addition, the model-based Size-Amplitude Curve is introduced for the reliable sizing of surface breaking vertical cracks.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.745-753
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• 2002

It is required to evaluate nondestructively the crack depth of surface-breaking cracks for the assurance of safety of structure. Optical generation of ultrasound produces well defined pulses with a repeatable frequency content, that are free of any mechanical resonances; they are broad band and are ideal for the measurement of attenuation and scattering over a wide frequency range. Self-calibrating surface signal transmission measurement is very sensitive and practical tool for surface-breaking crack depth. In this paper, the self-calibrating technique by laser-based ultrasound is used to evaluate the depth of surface-breaking crack of material. It is suggested that the relationship between the signal transmission and crack depth can be used as a practical model for predicting the surface-breaking crack depths from the signal transmission measured in structure.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.307-321
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• 2015

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of an innovative surface-mount sensor, made of a piezoelectric disc (PZT sensor), as a consistent source for surface wave velocity and transmission measurements in concrete structures. To this end, one concrete slab with lateral dimensions of 1500 by 1500 mm and a thickness of 200 mm was prepared in the laboratory. The concrete slab had a notch-type, surface-breaking crack at its center, with depths increasing from 0 to 100 mm at stepwise intervals of 10 mm. A PZT sensor was attached to the concrete surface and used to generate incident surface waves for surface wave measurements. Two accelerometers were used to measure the surface waves. Signals generated by the PZT sensors show a broad bandwidth with a center frequency around 40 kHz, and very good signal consistency in the frequency range from 0 to 100 kHz. Furthermore, repeatability of the surface wave velocity and transmission measurements is significantly improved compared to that obtained using manual impact sources. In addition, the PZT sensors are demonstrated to be effective for monitoring an actual surface-breaking crack in a concrete beam specimen subjected to various external loadings (compressive and flexural loading with stepwise increases). The findings in this study demonstrate that the surface mount sensor has great potential as a consistent source for surface wave velocity and transmission measurements for automated health monitoring of concrete structures.

• International Journal of Railway
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.129-134
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• 2012

Contact fatigue damages on the rail surface, such as head checks and squats are a growing problem. The fatigue cracks forming on the contact surface grow according to load and lubricating conditions and may end up breaking the rail. Rail fracture can be avoided by preventing the cracks from reaching the critical length. Therefore, the crack growth rate needs to be estimated precisely according to the conditions of the track and load to develop a maintenance plan against rail damages. Therefore, it is important to understand the mechanism of cracks initiation and growth on a rail due to repetitive rolling contact. In this study, we have investigated the crack growth behavior on the rail surface by using the twin-disc tests and the finite element analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.259-267
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• 2004

A finite element method is used to simulate interaction of laser-based ultrasounds with surface breaking tracks in elastic media. The laser line source focused on the surface of semi-infinite medium is modeled as a shear dipole in 2-D plane strain finite elements. The shear dipole-finite clement model is found to give correct directivity patterns for generated longitudinal and shear waves. The interaction of surface waves with surface breaking cracks (2-D machined slot) is considered in two ways. Both the source and receiver are fixed with respect to the cracks in the first case, while the source is moving in another case. It is shown that the crack depth tested in the range of 0.3-5.0mm $({\lambda}_R/d=0.21{\sim}3.45)$ can be measured using the corner reflected waves produced by the fixed laser source. The moving laser source is found to cause a large amplitude change of reflected waves near crack, and the crack whose depth is one order lower than the wavelength ran be detected from this change.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.29 no.10 s.241
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• pp.1336-1343
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• 2005

The detection mechanism of the flaw for the nondestructive testing using eddy current is related to the interaction of the induced eddy currents in the test specimen with flaws and the coupling of these interaction effects with the moving test probe. In this study, the two-dimensional electromagnetic finite element analysis(FEM) fur the eddy current signals of the aluminum plate with different depth of surface cracks is described and the comparison is also made between experimental and predicted signals analyzed by FEM. In addition, the characteristics of attenuation of the eddy current density due to the variation of the depth of a conductor are evaluated. The effective parameters for the application of eddy current technique to evaluate surface cracks are discussed by analyzing the characteristics of the eddy current signals due to the variation of crack depths.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.66 no.3
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• pp.343-351
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• 2018

Brazilian disc test is one of the most widely used experiments in the literature of geo-mechanics. In this work, the pre-holed concrete Brazilian disc specimens are numerically modelled by a two-dimensional discrete element approach. The cracks initiations, propagations and coalescences in the numerically simulated Brazilian discs (each containing a single cylindrical hole and or multiple holes) are studied. The pre-holed Brazilian discs are numerically tested under Brazilian test conditions. The single-holed Brazilian discs with different ratios of the diameter of the holes to that of the disc radius are modelled first. The breakage load in the ring type disc specimens containing an internal hole with varying diameters is measured and the crack propagation mechanism around the wall of the ring is investigated. The crack propagation and coalescence mechanisms are also studied for the case of multi-holes' concrete Brazilian discs. The numerical and experimental results show that the breaking mechanism of the pre-holed disc specimens is mainly due to the initiation of the radially induced tensile cracks which are growth from the surface of the central hole. Radially cracks propagated toward the direction of diametrical loading. It has been observed that for the case of disc specimens with multiple holes under diametrical compressive loading, the breaking process of the modelled specimens may occur due to the simultaneous cracks propagation and cracks coalescence phenomena. These results also show that as the hole diameter and the number of the holes increases both the failure stress and the crack initiation stress decreases. The experimental results already exist in the literature are quit agree with the proposed numerical simulation results which validates this simulation procedure.