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Highly efficient surface acoustic wave (SAW) transducers offer significant advantages for microfluidic atomization. Aiming at highly efficient atomization, we innovatively accomplish dual-surface simultaneous atomization by strategically positioning the liquid supply outside the IDT aperture edge. Initially, we optimize Lamb wave transducers and specifically investigate their performance based on the ratio of substrate thickness to acoustic wavelength. When this ratio h / λ is approximately 1.25, the electromechanical coupling coefficient of A0-mode Lamb waves can reach around 5.5% for 128° Y-X LiNbO3. We then study the mechanism of droplet atomization with the liquid supply positioned outside the IDT aperture edge. Experimental results demonstrate that optimized Lamb wave transducers exhibit clear dual-surface simultaneous atomization. These transducers provide equivalent amplitude acoustic wave vibrations on both surfaces, causing the liquid thin film to accumulate at the edges of the dual-surface and form a continuous mist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are widely used in the fabrication of solid rocket motor casings due to their exceptional performance. However, the bonding interface between CFRP and viscoelastic materials (rubber) is prone to debonding damage during service and storage under complex environmental conditions, which poses a significant threat to the structural integrity and reliability of the engine. Existing nondestructive testing (NDT) methods, such as X-ray imaging, infrared thermography, and ultrasonic testing, although somewhat effective, exhibit significant limitations in detecting interfacial defects in deep or multilayered composite materials, particularly under the challenging conditions of service and storage. This study proposes an innovative method based on active Lamb wave energy analysis and introduces the Damage Evolution Factor (DEF), specifically designed to detect and evaluate interfacial debonding defects in CFRP–rubber bonded structures within solid rocket motors during service and storage. Through numerical simulations and experimental validation, we selected the A0 mode Lamb wave, which is more sensitive to interfacial damage, as the incident wave and excited it on the surface of the structure. Displacement time-history response signals at observation points under different damage models were extracted and analyzed, and DEF values were calculated. The results show that DEF values increase with the size of the interfacial debonding damage. Similar trends were observed in experimental studies, further validating the effectiveness of this method and demonstrating that DEF can be used for the quantitative evaluation of interfacial debonding defects in CFRP–rubber bilayer bonded structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addressing the challenging issue of impact source localization for large-scale anisotropic stiffened compartmental cylindrical shell structures, this paper presents a novel impact localization method. The method is based on a time-reversal virtual focusing triangulation approach and does not rely on prior knowledge of the structure or specific measurements of wave velocity. By employing energy power filtering to select key sensors, wavelet packet decomposition is utilized to extract narrowband Lamb wave signals, which are then synthesized. Further enhancement of signal recognition is achieved through time-reversal amplification techniques. Experimental results demonstrate that under non-motorized operating conditions, this method achieves an average error of 0.89 m. Under motorized operating conditions, the average error is 1.12 m. Although the presence of background noise leads to an increase in error, the overall localization performance is superior to traditional triangulation methods. Additionally, selecting the top three sensors in terms of energy power ranking can more accurately record impact response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When an ultrasonic pulse propagates in a thin plate, nonlinear Lamb waves with higher harmonics and a zero-frequency component (ZFC) will be generated because of the nonlinearity of materials. The ZFC, also known as the static displacement or static component, has its unique application on the evaluation of early-stage damages in the elastic symmetrical undulated plate. In this study, analysis of the excitation mechanism of the ZFC and the second harmonic component (SHC) was theoretically and numerically investigated, and the material early-stage damage of a symmetrical undulated was characterized by studying the propagation of nonlinear Lamb waves. Both the ZFC and SHC can be effectively employed in monitoring the material damages of the undulated plate in its early stage. However, several factors must be considered for the propagation of the SHC in an undulated plate because of the geometric curvature and interference between the second harmonics during propagation, preventing efficient application of this technique. If the fundamental wave can propagate in the plate regardless of the plate boundary conditions, an accumulative effect always exists for the ZFC in a thin plate, indicating that the ZFC is independent of the structural geometry. This study reveals that the ZFC-based inspection technique is more efficient and powerful in characterizing the damages of a symmetrical undulated plate in the early stage of service compared to the second harmonic method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For practical engineering structures, fatigue is one of the main factors affecting their safety and durability. Under long-term service conditions, the minor damage will be affected by fatigue loading and expand to macroscopic cracks, affecting the structure's service performance. Based on the sensitivity of Lamb waves to minor and initial damage, a damage monitoring method for fatigue crack propagation is proposed. By carrying out fatigue crack propagation tests under constant amplitude loading, the Paris equation of 316L steel and damage signals at different crack growth stages were obtained. Combined with damage monitoring tests and finite element analysis, the relationship between the phase damage index (PDI), amplitude damage index (ADI), signal correlation coefficient, and fatigue crack propagation length was studied. Compared with PDI and ADI, the signal correlation coefficient is more sensitive to crack initiation, which can be selected as the damage monitoring index in the initial stage of crack growth. With the increase of fatigue crack propagation length, the peak time of the direct wave signal gradually moves backward, which shows an obvious phase change. In the whole fatigue crack growth stage, PDI and crack length show a monotonically changing trend. By using the stress intensity factor as the conversion parameter, a prediction model of the fatigue crack propagation rate based on PDI was established. Compared to the fatigue crack propagation rate measured by experiments, the relative error of the predicted results is 10%, which verifies the accuracy of the proposed damage monitoring method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study numerically analyzes a submerged horizontal plate (SHP) device subjected to both regular and irregular waves. This device can be used either as a breakwater or a wave energy converter (WEC). The WaveMIMO methodology was applied for the numerical generation and wave propagation of the sea state of the Rio Grande coast in southern Brazil. The finite volume method was employed to solve conservation equations for mass, momentum, and volume fraction transport. The volume of fluid model was employed to handle the water-air mixture. The SHP length (Lp) effects were carried out in five cases. Results indicate that relying solely on regular waves in numerical studies is insufficient for accurately determining the real hydrodynamic behavior. The efficiency of the SHP as a breakwater and WEC varied depending on the wave approach. Specifically, the SHP demonstrates its highest breakwater efficiency in reducing wave height at 2.5Lp for regular waves and 3Lp for irregular waves. As a WEC, it achieves its highest axial velocity at 3Lp for regular waves and 2Lp for irregular waves. Since the literature lacks studies on SHP devices under the incidence of realistic irregular waves, this study significantly contributes to the state of the art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasonic guided waves, which are often generated and detected by piezoelectric transducers, are well established to monitor engineering structures. Wireless solutions are sought to eliminate cumbersome wire installation. This work proposes a method for remote ultrasonic-based structural health monitoring (SHM) using mechanoluminescence (ML). Propagating guided waves transmitted by a piezoelectric transducer attached to a structure induce elastic deformation that can be captured by elastico-ML. An ML coating composed of copper-doped zinc sulfide (ZnS:Cu) particles embedded in PVDF on a thin aluminium plate can be used to achieve the elastico-ML for the remote sensing of propagating guided waves. The simulation and experimental results indicated that a very high voltage would be required to reach the threshold pressure applied to the ML particles, which is about 1.5 MPa for ZnS particles. The high voltage was estimated to be 214 Vpp for surface waves and 750 Vpp for Lamb waves for the studied configuration. Several possible technical solutions are suggested for achieving ultrasonic-induced ML for future remote SHM systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using dense global navigation satellite system data and brightness temperature data across the New Zealand and Australia regions, we tracked the propagation of traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) associated with the 15 January 2022 Tonga volcanic eruptions. We identified two shock wave-related TIDs and two Lamb wave-related TIDs following the eruptions. The two shock wave-related TIDs, propagating with velocities of 724–750 and 445–471 m/s, respectively, were observed around New Zealand and Australia within a distance of 3500–6500 km from the eruptive center. These shock wave-related TIDs suffered severe attenuation during the propagation and disappeared more than 6500 km from the eruptive center. Based on the TEC data from the nearest ground-based receivers, we estimated the onset times of two main volcanic explosions at 04:20:54 UT ± 116 s and 04:24:37 UT ± 141 s, respectively. The two shock wave-related TIDs were most likely generated by these two main volcanic eruptions. The two Lamb wave-related TIDs propagated with velocities of 300–370 and 250 m/s in the near-field region. The Lamb wave-related TIDs experienced minimal attenuation during their long-distance propagation, with only a 0.17% decrease observed in the relative amplitudes of the Lamb wave-related TIDs from the near-field to far-field regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibility of using the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique, along with Lamb wave analysis, was investigated in this study for damage detection and characterization of polymer carbon fiber (CFRP) composites with the help of numerical modeling. The finite element model (FEM) of the composite specimen with artificial damage was developed in ANSYS and validated by the results of full-field DIC strain measurements. A quantitative analysis of the damage detection capabilities of DIC structure surface strain measurements in the context of different defect sizes, depths, and orientation angles relative to the loading direction was conducted. For Lamb wave analysis, a 2D spatial-temporal spectrum analysis and FEM using ABAQUS software were conducted to investigate the interaction of Lamb waves with the different defects. It was demonstrated that the FEM updating procedure could be used to characterize damage shape and size from the composite structure surface strain field from DIC. DIC defect detection capabilities for different loadings are demonstrated for the CFRP composite. For the identification of any composite defect, its characterization, and possible further monitoring, a methodology based on initial Lamb wave analysis followed by DIC testing is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided ultrasonic wavefield propagation imaging (GUPI) is useful for visualizing hidden flaws in aerospace thin-walled structures, but the need for subjective signal processing involving three-dimensional Fourier transformation to increase the visibility of subtle flaws hinders its wider acceptance. A high-resolution wavenumber bandpass filter capable of consolidating subtle flaw-relevant information from a wide frequency band using only two-dimensional Fourier transformation was proposed. The filter overturns the long-standing belief that modes must be separated based on narrow-band data acquisition or processing to achieve high flaw visibility. Its characteristics and advantages were experimentally demonstrated through enhanced visualization of hidden wall-thinning flaws of a plate specimen. Its strength was further demonstrated through the first GUPI visualization of a partially loosened bolt, with unprecedented clarity to discern bolt tightness levels. The results conclusively proved that the proposed filter significantly enhances the resolution of GUPI within a structured processing framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium-ion batteries are essential for the development of consumer electronics and electric vehicles due to their high energy density, low self-discharge rate, and easy maintenance. To optimize the performance of lithium-ion batteries and meet the battery requirements of devices, it is necessary to charge the batteries at a faster rate. Therefore, this paper proposes a five-stage constant current charging method based on Lamb wave depolarization to enhance the charging efficiency. Specifically, the orthogonal experimental method is first used to determine the near-optimal value of the charging current in each stage of the five-stage constant current charging process. Subsequently, Lamb waves are introduced during the charging process of each constant current charging stage. Compared with the traditional five-stage constant current charging method, the five-stage constant current charging method based on Lamb wave depolarization improves the charging efficiency. The charging efficiency of the five-stage constant current charging method based on Lamb wave depolarization with an excitation voltage peak-to-peak amplitude Vpp of 120 and an excitation duration of 6 min is 20% higher than that of the traditional five-stage constant current charging method. The weakening of the polarization effect is positively correlated with the Lamb wave excitation voltage. In addition, the five-stage constant current charging method based on Lamb wave depolarization is superior to the five-stage constant current shelving depolarization charging method and the five-stage constant current negative pulse depolarization charging method in improving the charging efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, piezoceramic-based excitation of shear horizontal waves is investigated. A thickness-shear d15 piezoceramic transducer is modeled using the finite-element method. The major focus is on the directivity and excitability of the shear horizontal fundamental mode with respect to the maximization of excited shear and minimization of Lamb wave modes. The results show that the geometry of the transducer has more effect on the directivity than on the excitability of the analyzed actuator. Numerically simulated results are validated experimentally. The experimental results show that transducer bonding significantly affects the directivity and amplitude of the excited modes. In conclusion, when the selected actuator is used for shear excitation, the best solution is to tailor the transducer in such a way that at the resonant frequency the desired directivity is achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By leveraging the benefits of a high energy density, miniaturization and integration, acoustic-wave-driven micromotors have recently emerged as powerful tools for microfluidic actuation. In this study, a Lamb-wave-driven micromotor is proposed for the first time. This motor consists of a ring-shaped Lamb wave actuator array with a rotor and a fluid coupling layer in between. On a driving mechanism level, high-frequency Lamb waves of 380 MHz generate strong acoustic streaming effects over an extremely short distance; on a mechanical design level, each Lamb wave actuator incorporates a reflector on one side of the actuator, while an acoustic opening is incorporated on the other side to limit wave energy leakage; and on electrical design level, the electrodes placed on the two sides of the film enhance the capacitance in the vertical direction, which facilitates impedance matching within a smaller area. As a result, the Lamb-wave-driven solution features a much lower driving voltage and a smaller size compared with conventional surface acoustic-wave-driven solutions. For an improved motor performance, actuator array configurations, rotor sizes, and liquid coupling layer thicknesses are examined via simulations and experiments. The results show the micromotor with a rotor with a diameter of 5 mm can achieve a maximum angular velocity of 250 rpm with an input voltage of 6 V. The proposed micromotor is a new prototype for acoustic-wave-driven actuators and demonstrates potential for lab-on-a-chip applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A coherent optical spectrum analyzer is integrated with a rotating quarter wave plate polarimeter. The combined polarimeter optical spectrum analyzer (POSA) allows the extraction of the state of polarization with high spectral resolution. The POSA is used in this work to study two optical systems. The first is an optical modulator based on a ferrimagnetic sphere resonator. The POSA is employed to explore the underlying magneto–optical mechanism responsible for modulation sideband asymmetry. The second system under study is a cryogenic fiber loop laser, which produces an unequally spaced optical comb. The polarization measurements provide insights into the nonlinear processes responsible for comb creation. Characterizations extracted from the POSA data provide guidelines for the performance optimization of applications based on the systems under study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are extensively employed in the aerospace industry due to their excellent properties. Delamination damage occurring at critical locations in CFRPs can seriously reduce the safety of in-service components. The detection and localization of delamination damage using Lamb waves hold significant potential for widespread application in non-destructive testing. However, the choice of damage localization algorithm may produce different delamination damage localization results. This research presented an IRAPID (improved reconstruction algorithm for probabilistic inspection of defects) method derived from the RAPID (reconstruction algorithm for probabilistic inspection of defects) method, aiming to improve the accuracy and reliability of delamination damage localization. Three CFRP curved plates, including a healthy curved plate and two curved plates with delamination damage sizes of Φ20 mm and Φ40 mm, were prepared in the experiment. The detection experiment of the CFRP curved plate using lead zirconate titanate (PZT) as a transducer to excite and receive Lamb waves was conducted, and the influence of excitation signal frequency on the performance of the proposed method was discussed. Under the condition of an excitation signal frequency of 220~320 kHz and a step size of 10 kHz, the accuracy of the delamination damage localization method proposed in this paper was compared with that of existing methods. The experimental results indicate that the IRAPID algorithm exhibits good stability in the localization of delamination damage across the range of frequency variations considered. The localization error of the IRAPID algorithm for delamination damage is significantly lower than that of the DaS (delay-and-sum) algorithm and the RAPID algorithm. As the size of the delamination damage increases, so does the localization error. The accuracy of delamination damage localization is lower in the X-axis direction than in the Y-axis direction. By averaging the localization results across various frequencies, we can mitigate the potential localization errors associated with single-frequency detection to a certain extent. For the localization of delamination damage, Lamb waves at multiple frequencies can be employed for detection, and the detection results at each frequency are averaged to enhance the reliability of localization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The µTAS/LOC, a highly integrated microsystem, consolidates multiple bioanalytical functions within a single chip, enhancing efficiency and precision in bioanalysis and biomedical operations. Microfluidic centrifugation, a key component of LOC devices, enables rapid capture and enrichment of tiny objects in samples, improving sensitivity and accuracy of detection and diagnosis. However, microfluidic systems face challenges due to viscosity dominance and difficulty in vortex formation. Acoustic-based centrifugation, particularly those using surface acoustic waves (SAWs), have shown promise in applications such as particle concentration, separation, and droplet mixing. However, challenges include accurate droplet placement, energy loss from off-axis positioning, and limited energy transfer from low-frequency SAW resonators, restricting centrifugal speed and sample volume. In this work, we introduce a novel ring array composed of eight Lamb wave resonators (LWRs), forming an Ultra-Fast Centrifuge Tunnel (UFCT) in a microfluidic system. The UFCT eliminates secondary vortices, concentrating energy in the main vortex and maximizing acoustic-to-streaming energy conversion. It enables ultra-fast centrifugation with a larger liquid capacity (50 μL), reduced power usage (50 mW) that is one order of magnitude smaller than existing devices, and greater linear speed (62 mm/s), surpassing the limitations of prior methods. We demonstrate successful high-fold enrichment of 2 μm and 10 μm particles and explore the UFCT's potential in tissue engineering by encapsulating cells in a hydrogel-based micro-organ with a ring structure, which is of great significance for building more complex manipulation platforms for particles and cells in a bio-compatible and contactless manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delamination represents one of the most significant and dangerous damages in composite plates. Recently, many papers have presented the capability of structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques for the investigation of structural delamination with various shapes and thickness depths. However, few studies have been conducted regarding the utilization of convolutional neural network (CNN) methods for automating the non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques database to identify the delamination size and depth. In this paper, an automated system qualified for distinguishing between pristine and damaged structures and classifying three classes of delamination with various depths is presented. This system includes a proposed CNN model and the Lamb wave technique. In this work, a unidirectional composite plate with three samples of delamination inserted at different depths was prepared for numerical and experimental investigations. In the numerical part, the guided wave propagation and interaction with three samples of delamination were studied to observe how the delamination depth can affect the scattered and trapped waves over the delamination region. This numerical study was validated experimentally using an efficient ultrasonic guided waves technique. This technique involved piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWASs) and a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (SLDV). Both numerical and experimental studies demonstrate that the delamination depth has a direct effect on the trapped waves' energy and distribution. Three different datasets were collected from the numerical and experimental studies, involving the numerical wavefield image dataset, experimental wavefield image dataset, and experimental wavenumber spectrum image dataset. These three datasets were used independently with the proposed CNN model to develop a system that can automatically classify four classes (pristine class and three different delamination classes). The results of all three datasets show the capability of the proposed CNN model for predicting the delamination depth with high accuracy. The proposed CNN model results of the three different datasets were validated using the GoogLeNet CNN. The results of both methods show an excellent agreement. The results proved the capability of the wavefield image and wavenumber spectrum datasets to be used as input data to the CNN for the detection of delamination depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin copper plate is widely used in architecture, transportation, heavy equipment, and integrated circuit substrates due to its unique properties. However, it is challenging to identify surface defects in copper strips arising from various manufacturing stages without direct contact. A laser ultrasonic inspection system was developed based on the Lamb wave (LW) produced by a laser pulse. An all-fiber laser heterodyne interferometer is applied for measuring the ultrasonic signal in combination with an automatic scanning system, which makes the system flexible and compact. A 3-D model simulation of an H62 brass specimen was carried out to determine the LW spatial-temporal wavefield by using the COMSOL Multiphysics software. The characteristics of the ultrasonic wavefield were extracted through continuous wavelet transform analysis. This demonstrates that the A0 mode could be used in defect detection due to its slow speed and vibrational direction. Furthermore, an ultrasonic wave at the center frequency of 370 kHz with maximum energy is suitable for defect detection. In the experiment, the size and location of the defect are determined by the time difference of the transmitted wave and reflected wave, respectively. The relative error of the defect position is 0.14% by averaging six different receiving spots. The width of the defect is linear to the time difference of the transmitted wave. The goodness of fit can reach 0.989, and it is in good agreement with the simulated one. The experimental error is less than 0.395 mm for a 5 mm width of defect. Therefore, this validates that the technique can be potentially utilized in the remote defect detection of thin copper plates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of interface dislocation networks on the mechanical properties of new Ni–based single crystal alloys containing Rhenium (Re) is very large. Because the interface dislocations are microscopic in the nano–scale range, this has not been investigated, and it is very difficult to prepare new Ni–based single crystal alloys containing Re. Therefore, six kinds of new Ni–based single crystal alloys containing Re were prepared, and the hardness tests and nonlinear ultrasonic lamb wave tests were performed on the samples. It was found that the density of interface dislocation networks increases with the increase in the content of Re, which improves the blocking ability of matrix phase dislocation cutting into precipitated phase and enhances the inhibition of dislocation movement. The nonlinear ultrasonic lamb wave tests showed that the materials exhibit better mechanical properties when the density of the interface dislocation networks increases. Meanwhile, a new molecular dynamics model which is closer to the real state of an Ni–based single crystal alloy was constructed to reveal the evolution mechanism of interface dislocation networks. The results showed that the potential energy of Re atoms at the interface is the lowest, which affects the reduction of the potential energy of other atoms at the interface, and thus the stability of the model is improved. In addition, according to the change in the total length of dislocation loops in the model system, with the increase in the content of Re atoms, the inhibition of dislocation movement by dislocation networks at the interface is strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-layer complex structures are widely used in large-scale engineering structures because of their diverse combinations of properties and excellent overall performance. However, multi-layer complex structures are prone to interlaminar debonding damage during use. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor debonding damage in engineering applications to determine structural integrity. In this paper, a damage information extraction method with ladder feature mining for Lamb waves is proposed. The method is able to optimize and screen effective damage information through ladder-type damage extraction. It is suitable for evaluating the severity of debonding damage in aluminum-foamed silicone rubber, a novel multi-layer complex structure. The proposed method contains ladder feature mining stages of damage information selection and damage feature fusion, realizing a multi-level damage information extraction process from coarse to fine. The results show that the accuracy of damage severity assessment by the damage information extraction method with ladder feature mining is improved by more than 5% compared to other methods. The effectiveness and accuracy of the method in assessing the damage severity of multi-layer complex structures are demonstrated, providing a new perspective and solution for damage monitoring of multi-layer complex structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarization states define a fundamental property in optics. Consequently, polarization state characterization is essential in many areas of both field industrial applications and scientific research. However, a full identification of space-variant Stokes parameters faces great challenges, like multiple power measurements. In this contribution, we present a spatially resolved polarization measurement using artificial birefringent metallic elements, the so-called hollow waveguides. Differently oriented and space-variant hollow waveguide arrays, a stationary analyzer and a CMOS camera form the basis of the experimental setup for one single spatially resolved power measurement. From this power measurement, the Stokes parameters can be calculated in quasi-real-time, with a spatial resolution down to 50 μm in square. The dimensions of the individual hollow waveguides, which are less than or equal to the employed wavelength, determine the spectral range, here in the near infrared around λ = 1550 nm. This method allows for the rapid and compact determination of spatially resolved Stokes parameters, which is experimentally confirmed using defined wave plates, as well as an undefined injection-molded polymer substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to discuss the effect of the sensor on the acoustic emission (AE) signature and to develop a methodology to reduce the sensor effect. Pencil leads are broken on PMMA plates at different source–sensor distances, and the resulting waves are detected with different sensors. Several transducers, commonly used for acoustic emission measurements, are compared with regard to their ability to reproduce the characteristic shapes of plate waves. Their consequences for AE descriptors are discussed. Their different responses show why similar test specimens and test conditions can yield disparate results. This sensor effect will furthermore make the classification of different AE sources more difficult. In this context, a specific procedure is proposed to reduce the sensor effect and to propose an efficient selection of descriptors for data merging. Principal Component Analysis has demonstrated that using the Z-score normalized descriptor data in conjunction with the Krustal–Wallis test and identifying the outliers can help reduce the sensor effect. This procedure leads to the selection of a common descriptor set with the same distribution for all sensors. These descriptors can be merged to create a library. This result opens up new outlooks for the generalization of acoustic emission signature libraries. This aspect is a key point for the development of a database for machine learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lamb-wave-based structural health monitoring is widely acknowledged as a reliable method for damage identification, classification, localization and quantification. However, due to the complexity of Lamb wave signals, especially after interacting with structural components and defects, interpreting these waves and extracting useful information about the structure's health is still a major challenge. Deep-learning-based strategy offers a great opportunity to address such challenges as the algorithm can operate directly on raw discrete time-domain signals. Unlike traditional methods, which often require careful feature engineering and preprocessing, deep learning can automatically extract relevant features from the raw data. This paper proposes an autoencoder based on a bidirectional long short-term memory network (Bi-LSTM) with maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform (MODWT). layer to detect the signal anomaly and determine the location of the damage in the composite structure. MODWT decomposes the signal into multiple levels of detail with different frequency resolution, capturing both temporal and spectral features simultaneously. Comparing with vanilla Bi-LSTM, this approach enables the model to greatly enhance its ability to detect and locate structural damage in structures, thereby increasing safety and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the lack of high-precision optical simulation equipment for dim space targets at present, in this study, a simulation method for dim space targets based on polarization stray light suppression is proposed, the overall optical system architecture of the optical engine for depolarization stray light suppression is constructed, the mechanism of stray light generation is explored, and the dark state light leakage suppression method is presented by compensating the phase of LCOS reflected light with wave plate; a high-image quality collimating optical system with large field of view and flat aberration is designed based on the illumination system optimization method of the critical angle matching of the spectroscopic film; and the polarization stray light suppression effect and star position simulation error of the dim target simulator are tested. The test results show that the illumination of the simulated dim target is ≮10−10 lx, the contrast is 6.96, the non-uniformity of the bright state is only 5.88%, and the simulation error of the star position is 9.9″. This research can make some contributions to enhancing the observability of detecting dim targets, breaking through the detection technology of extremely dark targets in space, developing advanced deep space detection capabilities, and improving the engineering technology system of deep space exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to analyze the influence of coating treatments on sound propagation speeds in thin boards, along the longitudinal and radial directions of resonance wood. The samples studied were thin boards made of spruce and maple wood with dimensions of 240 mm × 80 mm × 4 mm (length × width × thickness) subjected to different coating treatments (oil-based varnish and alcohol varnish) as well as unvarnished samples, exposed to radiation UV, and specimens treated in the saline fog. The test method consisted of evaluating the propagation speeds of Lamb waves applied to thin plates, according to a semicircular test model, so that the results highlighted both the acoustic response in the longitudinal and radial directions as well as the variation in the anisotropy of the samples with the change in the sound propagation direction relative to wood fibers. Based on the statistical analysis, sound propagation speed profiles were obtained in each of the 38 directions analyzed for all wood samples. The results highlighted that the oil-based varnish led to a decrease in the speed of propagation in the radial direction, compared to the alcoholic varnish, whose major effect was in the longitudinal direction, on the spruce wood. On maple wood, increasing the number of varnish layers, regardless of the type of varnish, led to a decrease in the anisotropy ratio between the longitudinal and radial directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Welded lap joints play a vital role in a wide range of engineering structures such as pipelines, storage tanks, pressure vessels, and ship hulls. This study aims to investigate the propagation of ultrasonic guided waves in steel welded lap joints for the baseline-free inspection of joint defects using the mode conversion of Lamb waves. The finite element method was used to simulate a single lap joint with common defects such as corrosion and disbonding. To identify the propagating wave modes, a wavenumber–frequency analysis was conducted using the 2D fast Fourier transform. The power loss of the transmitted modes was also determined to identify damage in the lap joints. The results indicate that the A0 incident in pristine conditions experienced significant transmission losses of about 9.5 dB compared to an attenuation of 2.8 dB for the S0 incident. The presence of corrosion was found to reduce these transmission losses by more than 28%. In contrast, introducing disbonding in the lap joint increased the transmission loss of the S0 incident, while a negligible loss was observed for the A0 incident. The mode-converted S0 (MC-S) and mode-converted A0 (MC-A0) incidents were found to exhibit a unique sensitivity to the presence of corrosion and disbonding. The results indicate that MC-S0 and MC-A0 as well as Lamb mode incidents interact differently in terms of corrosion and disbonding, providing a means to identify damage without relying on baseline signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents research on the application of ultrasonic-guided wave technology in corrosion defect identification, expounds the relevant ultrasonic-guided wave theories and the principle of ultrasonic-guided wave non-destructive testing of pipelines, and discusses the Lamb wave and shear horizontal wave mode selection that is commonly used in ultrasonic-guided wave corrosion detection. Furthermore, research progress in the field of ultrasonic-guided wave non-destructive testing (NDT) technology, i.e., regarding transducers, structural health monitoring, convolutional neural networks, machine learning, and other fields, is reviewed. Finally, the future prospects of ultrasonic-guided wave NDT technology are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The piezoelectric thin film composed of single-crystal lithium niobate (LiNbO3) exhibits a remarkably high electromechanical coupling coefficient and minimal intrinsic losses, making it an optimal material for fabricating bulk acoustic wave resonators. However, contemporary first-order antisymmetric (A1) Lamb mode resonators based on LiNbO3 thin films face specific challenges, such as inadequate mechanical stability, limited power capacity, and the presence of multiple spurious modes, which restrict their applicability in a broader context. In this paper, we present an innovative design for A1 Lamb mode resonators that incorporates a support-pillar structure. Integration of support pillars enables the dissipation of spurious wave energy to the substrate, effectively mitigating unwanted spurious modes. Additionally, this novel approach involves anchoring the piezoelectric thin film to a supportive framework, consequently enhancing mechanical stability while simultaneously improving the heat dissipation capabilities of the core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducted experimental and numerical investigations on piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWASs) bonded to an aluminum plate to assess the impact of bonding degradation on Lamb wave generation. Three surface-bonded PWASs were examined, including one intentionally bonded with a reduced adhesive to create a defective bond. Thermal cyclic aging was applied, monitoring through laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV) and static capacitance measurements. The PWAS with the initially defective bond exhibited the poorest performance over aging cycles, emphasizing the significance of the initial bond condition. As debonding progressed, modifications in electromechanical behavior were observed, leading to a reduction in wave amplitude and distortion of the generated wave field, challenging the validity of existing analytical modeling of wave-tuning curves for perfectly bonded PWASs. Both numerical simulations and experimental observations substantiated this finding. In conclusion, this study highlights the imperative of a high-integrity bond for the proper functioning of a guided wave-based structural health monitoring (SHM) system, emphasizing ongoing challenges in assessing SHM performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes are becoming increasingly popular, being used in various fields, such as construction, marine, petroleum, water transfer, process water, methane gas collection, oil and gas gathering, gas distribution systems, mining, acid and wet gas lines, offshore oil and gas and in nuclear power plants. Higher-order guided Lamb wave (UGW) modes can be used to detect various defects in complex structures. We will apply this methodology to one of the types of plastic—the structure of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). However, the excitation of UGW modes faces numerous challenges, especially when there is a need to identify which mode is excited. It is essential to note that, in the higher frequency range, multiple different higher-order modes can usually be excited. This can make it difficult to determine which modes have actually been excited. The objective of this research was to successfully excite and receive various higher-order UGW modes in high-density polyethylene structures using both ultrasonic single-element transducers and a phased array. Theoretical calculations were performed using a variety of methods: semi-analytical finite element (SAFE) method, 2D spatial–temporal spectrum analysis and finite element modeling (FEM). The results obtained from both measurements and simulations clearly demonstrate the possibility of efficiently exciting and receiving different Lamb wave modes possessing different phase velocities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the analytical and numerical study of the pattern of propagation and attenuation, due to Coulomb friction, of shear waves in an infinite elastic thin plate with a circular orifice of radius r 0 lying on a rough base. Considering the friction forces and their influence on the sample of wave propagation in extended rods or thin plates is important for calculating the stress–strain state in them and the size of the area of motion. An exact analytical solution of a nonlinear boundary value problem for tangential stresses and velocities is obtained in quadratures by the Laplace transform, with respect to time. It turned out that the complete exhaustion of the wave front of a strong rupture occurs at a finite distance r * from the center of the orifice, and an elementary formula is given for this distance (the case of tangential shock stresses suddenly applied to the orifice boundary is considered). For various ratios of the magnitude of the limiting friction force to the amplitude of the applied load, the stopping (trailing) wave fronts are calculated. After passing them, a state of static equilibrium between the elastic and friction forces with a nonlinear distribution of residual stresses is established in the region r 0 ≤ r ≤ r * . For the first time, a precise analytical solution was obtained for the boundary value problem of the propagation of elastic shear waves in an infinite isotropic space with a cylindrical cavity, when a tangential shock load is set on its surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have witnessed growing research interest in dual-wavelength mode-locked fiber lasers for their pivotal role in diverse applications and the exploration of nonlinear dynamics. Despite notable progress in their development, achieving reliable mode-locked dual-wavelength operation typically necessitates intricate manual adjustments of the cavity's polarization components. In this article, we present the realization of automatic mode-locking in a dual-wavelength soliton fiber laser. To provide guidance for the algorithm design, we systematically investigated the impact of polarization configurations and initial states on the laser's operation through numerical simulations and linear scan experiments. The results indicate that operational regimes can be finely adjusted around the wave plate position supporting the mode-locked dual-wavelength solution. Furthermore, the laser exhibits multiple stable states at the mode-locked dual-wavelength point, with critical dependence on the initial conditions. Accordingly, we developed a two-stage genetic algorithm that was demonstrated to be effective for realizing automatic dual-wavelength mode-locking. To further improve the performance of the algorithm, a feedforward neural network was trained and integrated into the algorithm, enabling accurate identification of the dual-wavelength states. This study provides valuable insights into understanding how polarization configurations and initial conditions impact the operational regimes of dual-wavelength mode-locked fiber lasers. The algorithm developed can be extended to optimize other systems with multiple stable states supported at the same parameter point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corrosion detection for industrial settings is crucial for safe and efficient operations. Due to its high imaging resolution, the guided–wave full–waveform inversion tomography technique has significant potential for corrosion detection of plate metals. Limited by the long wavelengths of A0 and S0 mode waves, this method exhibits inadequate detection resolution for the earlier shallow and small corrosion defects. Based on the relatively short wavelength characteristics of the SH1 mode wave, we propose a high–precision corrosion detection method via SH1 guided wave using the full waveform inversion algorithms. By conducting finite element simulations of ultrasonic–guided waves on aluminum plates with varying corrosion defects, a comparison was made to assess the detection precision across A0, S0, and SH1 modes. The comparison results showed that, whether for regular or irregular defects, the SH1 mode wave always exhibited higher imaging accuracy than the A0 and S0 mode waves for shallow and small–sized defects. The corresponding experiments were conducted on an aluminum plate with simple or complex defects. The results of the experiments reconfirmed that the full waveform inversion method using SH1 guided wave can effectively reconstruct the shape and size of small and shallow corrosion defects within aluminum plates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the acoustic characteristics of sound scattered from laminated structures such as elastic plates and shells, it is usually required to solve the Lamb waves' dispersion equations. Many traditional root-finding methods such as bisection, the Newton–Raphson method, and the Muller method are not able to tackle the problem completely. A simple but powerful method named local peaks search (LPS) is proposed to overcome their drawbacks. Firstly, the non-zero part of the dispersion equation is defined as the dispersion function, and its reciprocal is used to transform the zeros (i.e., roots) into local peaks. Secondly, the chosen complex domain is discretized, and the coarse local domains where the local peaks exist are determined by the direct search method globally. Thirdly, the Muller method is applied to obtain the refined locations of local peaks. Lastly, in order to refine the results, a hierarchical scheme is designed and the iteration of the above procedures is implemented; the error is set to be 10−16 as the stop criteria. The accuracy of the LPS method is validated by comparing it with the bisection method for the problem of elastic plates in the vacuum. The acoustic echo structures are analyzed experimentally. By computation of Lamb waves' phase velocity, the critical angles are derived numerically and compared with the results acquired by an experiment using monostatic sound transducers. In this way, it is validated that the elastic scattered wave components are the highlights shown in the time-angle figure. Furthermore, the work can be applied for non-destructive testing, especially underwater structural health monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To obtain better frequency bands for source bearing estimation, experiments using an ice-mounted geophone were performed at three sites on the Arctic ice cap. By transforming to the frequency domain, errors of the bearing estimation in a number of frequency bands within 1000 Hz and the horizontal peak displacements received by the geophone in the corresponding frequency bands were obtained. After comparing the variation in errors to the peak displacements in the same frequency band, it was found that the errors are related to the peak displacements, and higher peak displacement values mean smaller errors. When the incident angle of the acoustic source and the ice thickness meet certain conditions, some modes of the Lamb waves of the ice plate are excited, the peak displacements in the same frequency band are increased, the errors of bearing estimation are reduced, and the effective frequency band for bearing estimation is broadened. These results provide some new ideas for the bearing estimation of acoustic sources beneath the Arctic ice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periodic permanent magnet(PPM) electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) are commonly employed for axial defect inspection in pipelines. However, the lowest-order shear horizontal waves (SH0) guided waves have difficulties in distinctly differentiating internal and external defects. To enhance the signal-to-noise ratio and resolution, a unidirectional electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) based on Circumferential Lamb waves (CLamb waves) is developed. Through structural parameter optimization and excitation frequency adjustment, high-amplitude and low-dispersion CLamb waves are successfully generated in the high-frequency-thickness product region of the dispersion curve. Finite element simulations and experimental validation confirm the capability of this EMAT in exciting CLamb waves for the detection of crack-like defects. Experimental results demonstrate that the excitation efficiency of the CLamb EMAT exceeds that of the periodic permanent magnet electromagnetic acoustic transducer by more than tenfold. The defect reflection signal of the CLamb EMAT exhibits higher resolution and more significant amplitude compared to the PPM EMAT. The integration of this method with SH0 mode detection allows for the inspection of both internal and external defects in pipelines, offering a new avenue for EMAT applications in pipeline inspection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Lamb waves have found extensive use in structural damage detection, their practical applications remain limited. This limitation primarily arises from the intricate nature of Lamb wave propagation modes and the effect of temperature variations. Therefore, rather than directly inspecting and interpreting Lamb wave responses for insights into the structural health, this study proposes a novel approach, based on a two-step cointegration-based computation procedure, for structural damage evaluation using Lamb wave data represented as time series that exhibit some common trends. The first step involves the composition of Lamb wave series sharing a common upward (or downward) trend of temperature. In the second step, the cointegration analysis is applied for each group of Lamb wave series, which represents a certain condition of damage. So, a cointegration analysis model of Lamb wave series is created for each damage condition. The geometrical and statistical features of Lamb wave series and cointegration residual series are used for detecting and distinguishing damage conditions. These features include the shape, peak-to-peak amplitude, and variance of the series. The validity of this method is confirmed through its application to the Lamb wave data collected from both undamaged and damaged aluminium plates subjected to temperature fluctuations. The proposed approach can find its application not only in Lamb wave-based damage detection, but also in other structural health monitoring (SHM) systems where the data can be arranged in the form of sharing common environmental and/or operational trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote control of the state of the atmosphere is an urgent problem nowadays. The problem of remote monitoring of the optical parameters of the atmosphere is solved using a matrix polarization lidar (MPL). The scattering matrix obtained from polarization measurements contains complete information on the scattering parameters in the atmosphere. The purpose of the present research is the derivation of the theory and description of methods for solving problems of practical implementation of the multiwave MPL (MMPL). The problem is considered within the framework of the concept of the unified methodological approach to polarization studies. The MMPL operation principle is based on simultaneous use for sensing of the first, second, and third harmonics of radiation of a widespread Nd:YAG laser. The basis for achieving this purpose is provided by new methods of optical selection of the polarization components of radiation received in the experiment, methods of conducting polarization studies, and new solutions in experimental data processing methods. It has been shown that this challenge can be solved within the framework of simple solutions. Thus, the proposed MMPL is structurally simple and compact and can be implemented in mobile polarization lidar systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human health monitoring (HHM) is essential for continued daily task execution, as is structural health monitoring (SHM) for structures to ensure the continual performance of their designed tasks with optimal efficiency. The existence of damage in a structure affects its optimal use through stiffness deterioration. Damage of different forms could occur in a structure but have the singular objective of material degradation, leading to its underuse for a task. Guided wave ultrasonics has shown strength in detecting sundry damage in structures, but most of the damage monitored and detected is unfilled with substances. However, some damage could trap and accumulate substances that could hasten material degradation through corrosion activities under favorable conditions, especially in the oil and gas industry. This study used the ultrasonic-guided waves' pitch–catch inspection technique to identify damage filled with different materials. The assessment was based on the RMSD of the dominant Lamb wave mode's average maximum amplitude and the response signals' transmission coefficient (TC). A five-cycle tone burst of excitation signals of different frequencies was created to generate propagating Lamb waves in the structure. The fundamental antisymmetric mode was found to be more sensitive than the fundamental symmetric mode when detecting damage filled with various substances. At 80 kHz, the deviation of the current response signals from the baseline response signals due to different filled substances in the damage was distinct and decreased with increased fluid viscosity. Given that structures in the oil and gas sector are particularly susceptible to substance-induced damage, the outcomes of this study are paramount. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lateral modes are responsible for the in-band spurious resonances that appear on BAW resonators, degrading the in-band filter response. In this work, a fast computational method based on the transmission line matrix (TLM) method is employed to model the lateral resonances of BAW resonators. Using the precomputed dispersion curves of Lamb waves and an equivalent characteristic impedance for the TE1 mode, a network of transmission lines is used to calculate the magnitude of field distributions on the electrodes. These characteristics are specific to the stack layer configuration. The model's implementation is based on nodal Y matrices, from which particle displacement profiles are coupled to the electric domain via piezoelectric constitutive relations. Consequently, the input impedance of the resonator is obtained. The model exhibits strong agreement with FEM simulations of FBARs and SMRs, and with measurements of several SMRs. The proposed model can provide accurate predictions of resonator input impedance, which is around 200 times faster than conventional FEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grouting quality of the grouting sleeve connector is crucial for ensuring the stability of prefabricated building components. In practical engineering, the grouting sleeve is often arranged with multiple sleeves, and there is no feasible nondestructive testing method for testing the complex arrangement of the sleeve grouting joints in the embedded state. Building upon the feasibility of nondestructive detection of single socket grouting connectors, this study discusses the feasibility of defect detection and the severity of defects. Simulation results are used to investigate the choice of the best excitation signal. For different simulated damage cases, it is proven that the selected damage index can be very sensitive, and both the location and the extent of the damage can be detected successfully. The results demonstrate that with the section injury rate ranging from 10% to 40%, the reverse focus peak decreased from 20% to 60% compared to no injury. The effectiveness of the Lamb−wave−based time reversal method in detecting the internal grouting defects of multiple grouting sleeve joints is proven. This paper focuses on the detection study of the Lamb−wave−based time reversal method and proves its ability to perform the detection task effectively and accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasonic attenuation measurements were conducted on cross-ply and quasi-isotropic lay-ups of eight types of carbon-fiber reinforced composites (CFRPs) using through-transmission methods with diffraction correction. Attenuation values were substantially higher than those of unidirectional composites and other structural materials. Wave modes, fiber distributions, matrix resins, and consolidation methods affected total attenuation. Transverse mode, quasi-isotropic lay-up, and polyimide and thermoplastic resins generally produced higher attenuation. No clear trends from the fiber distribution were revealed, indicating that it is not feasible presently to predict the attenuation of various lay-ups from the unidirectional values. That is, direct attenuation tests for different laminate lay-ups are needed. This work expanded the existing attenuation database by properly determining the attenuation coefficients of two additional layup types of CFRP laminates. Results showed the merit of ultrasonic attenuation measurements for quality control and structural health monitoring applications. A crucial benefit of the through-transmission methods is that they enable the prediction of Lamb wave attenuation in combination with software like Disperse (ver. 2.0.20a, Imperial College, London, UK, 2013). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact acoustic emission (AE) of plate structures is a transient stress wave generated by local materials under impact force that contains the state information of the impacted area. If the impact causes damage, the AE from material damage will be superimposed on the impact AE. Therefore, this paper details the direct extraction of damage-induced AEs from impact AEs for the health monitoring of plate structures. The damage-induced AE was analysed based on various aspects, including the cut-off range and propagation speed characteristics of the Lamb wave mode, the correlation between the force direction and the Lamb wave mode, and the impact damage process. According to these features, the damage-induced AE wave packets were extracted and verified via impact tests on epoxy glass fibreboards. The results demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed method for determining whether an impact causes damage via the direct extraction of the damage-induced AE from the impact AE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a weakly coupled system (by the displacement of symmetric type) consisting of a viscoelastic Kirchhoff plate equation involving free boundary conditions and the viscoelastic wave equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions in a bounded domain is considered. Under the assumptions on a more general type of relaxation functions, an explicit and general decay rate result is established by using the multiplier method and some properties of the convex functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional methods for detecting damage in engineering structures often use offline static damage detection. To enable the real-time and precise identification of dynamic damage while maintaining symmetry in engineering structures, this study primarily concentrates on isotropic plate structures widely employed in engineering. Moreover, fiberglass board composite plates were opted as a specific research object. By utilizing the weak S0 mode signals generated by low-frequency ultrasonic Lamb waves, the non-stationary A0 wave signals in the composite symmetry plate structure are collected using the non-contact SLDV (Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer) technique. The frequency characteristic parameters in the vibration signals are obtained through HHT (Hilbert–Huang Transform) analysis, followed by filtering and noise reduction. Finally, the circular trajectory intersection method is employed to accurately locate dynamic damage sources in plate structures with different material properties, thereby validating the positioning effect of contact sensors in detecting impacts caused by random impulses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal structural plates are extensively used in various engineering structures due to their high strength, high-temperature resistance, toughness, and plasticity. However, they are susceptible to damage from external loads and impacts over time. The current Lamb wave detection methods suffer from dispersion and multimodal effects, leading to ineffective identification of damage information. In this paper, we investigate Lamb wave propagation in steel structure plates with flat-bottomed holes using a sinusoidal modulation five-peak wave signal. Finite element numerical models are developed, and an experimental platform is constructed using steel and aluminum boards. Experimental data is collected using a Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer (SLDV, PSV-500, Polytec Inc., Baden-Württemberg, German). The results demonstrate that, under the same frequency, the damage reflection energy for different modes is distinct. By fusing the data from the two modes, more accurate damage imaging results are obtained in the frequency-wavenumber (f-k) domain compared to single-mode imaging. Furthermore, experiments are conducted to locate damage in a steel board with a through hole and an aluminum plate with double flat-bottomed holes, confirming the feasibility of the proposed algorithm in isotropic plates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of adhesive joints has become increasingly popular in various industries due to their many benefits, such as low weight and good mechanical performance. However, adhesive joints can suffer from defects, one of them being weak adhesion. This defect poses a significant risk to structural integrity and can lead to premature failure, but is hard to detect using existing nondestructive testing methods. Therefore, there is a need for an effective technique that can detect weak adhesion in single-lap joints (SLJ) to prevent failure and assist in maintenance, namely in the framework of structural health monitoring. This paper presents a novel approach utilizing machine learning and Lamb Waves (LW) to determine the level of weak adhesion. Firstly, a numerical model of SLJs with different levels of weak adhesion is created and an original approach is proposed for its validation with data from real samples so that reliable LW data can further be easily generated to train and test any other data-driven algorithm for tackling damage. Secondly, a damage detection method is proposed, based on artificial neural networks and fed with simulated data, to determine the level of damage in SLJs, independent of their location. The results show that the simulation model can be validated with a small set of experimental data, being capable of replicating real damage in SLJs. Additionally, the use of simulated data in the training algorithm can increase the accuracy of the simulation model up to 26% when compared to only considering experimental data. The adopted artificial neural network for detecting weak adhesion emerges as a promising approach, yielding a precision of over 95%. Thus, machine learning and LW data can be used to improve the reliability and accuracy of adhesive bonding quality control, as well function as a technique for structural health monitoring, which can enhance the safety and durability of bonded structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-speed trains may be subjected to various forms of physical impacts during long-term operation, causing structural damage and endangering driving safety. Therefore, impact damage monitoring remains a daunting challenge for the stable operation of high-speed train structures. The existing methods cannot simultaneously detect the location and severity of impact damage, which poses challenges to structural integrity assessment and preventive maintenance. This article proposes an impact damage monitoring method based on multi-task 2D-CNN. Sensor data fusion is performed using a 2D image processing method to convert a 1D impact damage signal into a 2D grayscale image. The fused grayscale image contains information related to the location and severity of impact damage. A damage detection framework was established using multi-task 2D-CNN for feature extraction, impact location classification, and impact energy quantification. This model can learn the commonalities and characteristics of each task by sharing network structure and parameters and can effectively improve the accuracy of each task. Compared with single-task learning, multi-task learning performs better on the metrics of the impact location task recognizing the impact energy task and reduces the training time by 30.83%. With a reduced number of samples, the performance of multi-task learning is more stable and can still effectively identify the location and severity of impact damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acoustic waves of higher orders propagating in a layered structure consisting of a silicon plate coated with piezoelectric ZnO and/or AlN films were used for the development of a sensor with selective sensitivity to liquid viscosity η in the range of 1–1500 cP. In that range, this sensor possessed low sensitivity to liquid conductivity σ and temperature T in the ranges of 0–2 S/m and 0–55 °C, respectively. The amplitude responses insensitive to the temperature instead of the phase were used to provide the necessary selectivity. The sensor was based on a weak piezoactive acoustic wave of higher order. The volume of the probes sufficient for the measurements was about 100 μL. The characteristics of the sensors were optimized by varying the thicknesses of the structure layers, number of layers, wavelength, wave propagation direction, and the order of the acoustic waves. It was shown that in the case of the layered structure, it is possible to obtain practically the same selective sensitivity toward viscosity as for acoustic waves in pure ST, X quartz. The most appropriate waves for this purpose are quasi-longitudinal and Lamb waves of higher order with in-plane polarization. It was found that for various ranges of viscosity η = 1–20 cP, 20–100 cP, and 100–1500 cP, the maximum sensitivity of the appropriate wave is equal to 0.26 dB/cP, 0.087 dB/cP, and 0.013 dB/cP, respectively. The sensitivity of the waves under study toward the electric conductivity of the liquid is much less than the sensitivity to liquid viscosity. These two responses become comparable only for very small η < 2 cP. The waves investigated have shown no temperature responses in contact with air, but in the presence of liquid, they increase depending on liquid properties. The temperature dependence of liquid viscosity is measurable by the same sensors. The results obtained have shown the possibility of designing acoustic liquid viscosity sensors based on multilayered structures. The set of possible acoustic waves in layered structures possesses modified propagation characteristics (various polarization, phase velocities, electromechanical coupling coefficients, and attenuations). It allows choosing an optimal acoustic wave to detect liquid viscosity only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lamb shift, one of the most fundamental interactions in atomic physics, arises from the interaction of H atoms with the electromagnetic fluctuations of the quantum vacuum. The energy shift has been computed in a variety of ways. The energy shift, as Feynman, Power, and Milonni demonstrated, equals the change in the vacuum energy in the volume containing the H atoms due to the change in the index of refraction arising from the presence of the H atoms. Using this result and a group theoretical calculation of the contribution to the Lamb shift from each frequency of the vacuum fluctuations, in this paper we obtain an expression for the region of the vacuum energy for each frequency ω around the H atom due to the Lamb shift. This same field plays an essential role in the van der Waals force. We show the ground state atom is surrounded by a region of positive vacuum energy that extends well beyond the atom for low frequencies. This region can be described as a steady state cloud of vacuum fluctuations. For energies E = ℏ ω less than 1 eV, where ℏ is the reduced Planck constant and ω is frequency, the radius of the positive energy region is shown to be approximately 14.4/E Å. For a vacuum fluctuation of wavelength, λ , the radius is (α / 2 π) λ , where α is the fine-structure constant. Thus, for long wavelengths, the region has macroscopic dimensions. The energy–time uncertainty relation predicts a maximum possible radius that is larger than the radius based on the radiative shift calculations by a factor of 1 / 4 α . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]