The real-time measurement of wear using ultrasonic reflectometry

Ultrasonic reflectometry is commonly used in the fields of non-destructive testing (NDT) for crack detection, wall thickness monitoring and medical imaging. A sound wave is emitted through the material using a piezoelectric transducer. This waveform travels through the host medium at a constant speed and is either partially or fully reflected at an interface. The reflected wave is picked up by the same sensor; the signal is then amplified and digitised. If the speed that sound travels through a host medium is known as well as the time this takes, the thickness of the material can be established using the speed, distance and time relationship.

Previous work has concluded that the ultrasonic method is too inaccurate to measure wear due to the errors caused by temperature, vibration and the experimental arrangement. This body of work looks at methods to minimise these errors, particularly the inaccuracies introduced from the change in temperature caused by change of acoustic velocity and the thermal expansion of the material, which can be significant in many applications. Numerous case studies are presented using the technique in both laboratory and industrial environments using low cost retro-fittable sensors and small form electronics.