• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.16-23
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• 2013

By carrying out numerical analyses and model experiments, this paper presents the attenuation characterization of an L(0,2) guided ultrasonic wave propagating in a buried steel pipe. From this investigation, we first find that the L(0,2) mode has a better attenuation property. Second, it is shown from the numerical analyses that the attenuation increases with increases in the soil embedment length (0, 500, 1000, and 1500 mm) and degrees of saturation (0, 50, 99, and 100%). Third, it is also shown from the model experiment that the attenuation increases as the embedment lengths and soil moisture quantities (0, 10, 20, and 30 kg) increase. Finally, we find that an exponential extrapolation gives a better attenuation prediction because the extrapolation gives similar attenuation patterns between the numerical and experimental results.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.557-563
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• 2022

The cortical bone thickness of the tibia is related to fracture risk and overall bone status. The present study aims to investigate the feasibility of two different ultrasonic methods for measuring the cortical bone thickness in bovine tibia in vitro. In the reflection technique, the tibial cortical thickness was determined from ultrasonic reflections from the periosteum and the endosteum producing specific peaks in the signal envelope. In the axial transmission technique, the tibial cortical thickness was determined from ultrasonic guided wave velocities measured along the axial direction of the tibia. The cortical bone thickness determined by using the reflection technique correlated significantly with that measured by using a caliper, with a Pearson's correlation coefficient of r = 0.97 (p < 0.0001). In contrast, the correlation coefficients for the axial transmission technique were r = 0.92 (p < 0.0001) for the first arriving signal method and r = 0.89 (p < 0.0001) for the slow guided wave method. Clinical feasibility should be demonstrated with an in vivo application to address the question whether the ultrasonic methods presented here could be useful as a screening tool for osteoporosis and potentially could be applied to other skeletal sites such as the femur and the radius.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.747-752
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• 2008

Fiber-guided sensor system using a generator and a receiver can detect the amplitude of load or pressure. However, this type of sensor can show some difficulties in detecting the location of damages and pressure loadings. To overcome this weakness of this type, the ultrasonic active fiber sensor, which has an integrated ultrasonic generator and sensing part, was developed in this study. By using this sensor system, the location of mechanical loads can be exactly detected. Moreover, the ultrasonic active fiber sensor is more cost-effective than an ultrasonic fiber sensor using two piezoelectric transducers which are used as a generator and a receiver, respectively. Two applications of the ultrasonic active fiber sensor are demonstrated: cure monitoring of lead and measurement of liquid level. Present results showed that the active fiber sensor can be applied for various environmental sensing.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.423-427
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• 2004

In this work, we propose a new ultrasonic damage inspection method in plate structures. The proposed method employs an OPMT (Orientation-adjustable Patch-type Magnetostrictive Transducer) in order to make the ultrasonic waves focused on the specific target point. For experiments, virtual grid points were set up at every 50 mm in an aluminum plate and two OPMTs were used for inspection. If there exists a crack in a plate, the reflected Lamb wave from the crack is measured in addition to the direct waves from the transmitting transducer to the receiving transducer.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.13-27
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• 2023

Fatigue crack is a fatal problem for steel structures. Early detection and maintenance can help extend the service life and prevent hazards. This paper presents the ultrasonic guided waves-based (UGWs-based) fatigue crack detection of a steel I-beam. The semi-analytical finite element model has been built to obtain the wave propagation characteristics. Damage indices in both time and frequency domains were analyzed by considering the characteristic variations of UGWs including the amplitude, phase angle, and wave packet energy. The pulse-echo and pitch-catch methods were combined in the detection scheme. Lab-scale experiments were conducted on welded steel I-beams to verify the proposed method. Results show that the damage indices based on the characteristic variations in the time domain can identify and localize the fatigue crack before it enters the rapid growth stage. The damage severity can be reasonably evaluated by analyzing the time-domain damage indices. Two nonlinear damage indices in the frequency domain give earlier warnings of the fatigue crack than the time-domain damage indices do. The identification results based on the above two nonlinear indices are found to be less consistent under various excitation frequencies. More robust nonlinear techniques needed to be searched and tested for early crack detection in steel I-beams in further study.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.570-578
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• 2009

Excitation and propagation of guided waves are very complex problems in pipes due to their dispersive nature. Pipes are commonly used in the oil, chemical or nuclear industry and hence must be inspected regularly to ensure continued safe operation. The normal mode expansion(NME) method is given for the amplitude with which any propagating waveguide mode is generated in the pipes by applied surface tractions. Numerical results are calculated based on the NME method using different sources, i.e., non-axisymmetric partial loading and quasi-axisymmetric loading sources. The sum of amplitude coefficients for 0~nineth order of the harmonic modes are calculated based on the NME method and the dispersion curves in pipes. The superimposed total field which is namely the angular profile, varies with propagating distance and circumferential angle. This angular profile of guided waves provides information for setting the transducer position to find defects in pipes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.865-866
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.191-193
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2013.10a
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• pp.368-369
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• 2013

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 2011

An electromagnetic acoustic transducer(EMAT) is a non-contact transducer which can transmit the ultrasonic guided waves into specimens without couplant. And it can easily generate specific guided waves such as SH(shear horizontal) or Lamb waves by altering the design of coil and magnet. In this study, the SH wave, which is generated by EMAT, has been applied to estimate the thickness-reduction in a steel plate. Especially, the interesting feature of the dispersive behavior in selected wave modes is used to detect the thickness-reduction. Experimental results show that the reduction-level can be quantified by the measurement of the group velocity of the wave which passes though the thinning area.