Inkjet fabrication of spiral frequency-steerable acoustic transducers (FSATs)
2012
The frequency-based beam steering concept effectively supports Guided-Wave-based Structural Health Monitoring
(SHM) by enabling directional waveguide inspection. This is implemented by acoustic transducers whose
peculiar shapes provide different wavelength tuning in different directions. When these devices are used for
guided wave (GW) sensing, spatial filtering of the propagating wavefield results in a prominent frequency component
within the recorded signal spectrum, which can be uniquely associated with the direction of an incoming
wave. A sensor geometry whose 2D spatial Fourier Transform produces a spiral-like distribution of maxima in the
wavenumber domain allows for one-to-one frequency-angle correspondence in the [0°, 180°] range. Prototypes of
this wavenumber spiral frequency steerable acoustic transducer (WS-FSAT) have been fabricated by patterning
the electrodes' shape on a metallized polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) substrate through inkjet printing. Prototype
testing in various pitch-catch configurations demonstrates accurate 2D localization of acoustic sources
and scattering events by processing a single output signal. Extremely easy, quick and inexpensive fabrication
approach, along with very low hardware and computational requirements make the proposed FSAT an ideal
candidate for a wide range of in-situ, low-cost and wireless SHM applications.
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