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Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2021) | Viewed by 35177

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Dr. Francesca Lionetto

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Department of Engineering for Innovation, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy
Interests: material characterization; ultrasonic wave propagation; polymer rheology; curing kinetics of thermosetting matrices; polymer matrix composites; polymer composite processing and joining; heat transfer modelling; polymer based nanocomposites; hybrid welding of dissimilar materials; micro and nanoplastics; sustainability
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Dear Colleagues,

Ultrasonic waves are used for multiple purposes in many different fields at present, from the nondestructive inspection of materials to sonochemical synthesis of materials and welding. Usually, ultrasonic applications are divided in low intensity–high frequency ultrasound and high intensity–low frequency ultrasound. Low intensity ultrasound transmits energy through the medium in order to obtain information about the medium or to convey information through the medium. Today, it is an essential tool to assess metals, plastics, aerospace composites, wood, concrete, and cement. High intensity ultrasound deliberately affects the propagation medium through the high local temperatures and pressures generated primarily by acoustic cavitation.

This Special Issue aims to present recent advances in ultrasound covering fundamental science as well as applications of ultrasound in the field of engineering material characterization and material processing with the analysis of heat and mass transfer related to the propagation of ultrasonic weaves in a material.

Original articles and review papers will deal with the following themes, without being limited to them:

Low intensity ultrasound: Nondestructive inspection, ultrasonic dynamic analysis, ultrasonic rheology, ultrasonic spectroscopy of materials, process monitoring, applications in civil, aerospace, and geological materials and structures; characterization of biological media;
High intensity ultrasound: Industrial processes such as welding, cleaning, emulsification, atomization, etc.; chemical reactions and reactor induced by ultrasonic waves; synthesis of organic and inorganic materials; microstructural effects; heat generation; accelerated materials characterization by ultrasonic fatigue testing; food processing, environmental protection.

Contribution on thermodynamics and transport phenomena in ultrasound-based applications are also welcome.

I kindly invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Dr. Francesca Lionetto
Guest Editor

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Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

ultrasonic wave propagation
material characterization
ultrasonic welding
ultrasonic sonochemistry
numerical modeling
heat and mass transport phenomena
food processing
environmental protection

Related Special Issue

Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing II in Materials (10 articles)

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

3 pages, 187 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing

by Francesca Lionetto

Materials 2021, 14(14), 3891; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14143891 - 12 Jul 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1860

Abstract

Ultrasonic waves are nowadays used for multiple purposes in many different fields from the non-destructive inspection of materials to sonochemical synthesis of materials and welding [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing)

Research

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15 pages, 3120 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Loading and Boundary Conditions on the Performance of Ultrasound Compressional Viscoelastography: A Computational Simulation Study to Guide Experimental Design

by Che-Yu Lin and Ke-Vin Chang

Materials 2021, 14(10), 2590; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14102590 - 16 May 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1867

Abstract

Most biomaterials and tissues are viscoelastic; thus, evaluating viscoelastic properties is important for numerous biomedical applications. Compressional viscoelastography is an ultrasound imaging technique used for measuring the viscoelastic properties of biomaterials and tissues. It analyzes the creep behavior of a material under an external mechanical compression. The aim of this study is to use finite element analysis to investigate how loading conditions (the distribution of the applied compressional pressure on the surface of the sample) and boundary conditions (the fixation method used to stabilize the sample) can affect the measurement accuracy of compressional viscoelastography. The results show that loading and boundary conditions in computational simulations of compressional viscoelastography can severely affect the measurement accuracy of the viscoelastic properties of materials. The measurement can only be accurate if the compressional pressure is exerted on the entire top surface of the sample, as well as if the bottom of the sample is fixed only along the vertical direction. These findings imply that, in an experimental validation study, the phantom design should take into account that the surface area of the pressure plate must be equal to or larger than that of the top surface of the sample, and the sample should be placed directly on the testing platform without any fixation (such as a sample container). The findings indicate that when applying compressional viscoelastography to real tissues in vivo, consideration should be given to the representative loading and boundary conditions. The findings of the present simulation study will provide a reference for experimental phantom designs regarding loading and boundary conditions, as well as guidance towards validating the experimental results of compressional viscoelastography. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing)

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20 pages, 7054 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Disassembly Study of Ultrasonically Welded Thermoplastic Composite Joints via Resistance Heating

by Harry Frederick, Wencai Li and Genevieve Palardy

Materials 2021, 14(10), 2521; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14102521 - 12 May 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2811

Abstract

This manuscript explores the disassembly potential of ultrasonically welded thermoplastic composite joints for reuse or recycling through resistance heating via a nanocomposite film located at the welded interface. Nanocomposite films containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were characterized for thermo-electrical behavior to assess self-heating. It was generally observed that maximum temperature increased with MWCNT and film thickness. To demonstrate potential for disassembly, glass fiber/polypropylene adherends were welded with nanocomposite films. Shear stress during disassembly was measured for three initial adherend’s surface temperatures. It was found that the required tensile load decreased by over 90% at the highest temperatures, effectively demonstrating the potential for disassembly via electrically conductive films. Fracture surfaces suggested that disassembly was facilitated through a combination of nanocomposite and matrix melting and weakened fiber–matrix interface. Limitations, such as slow heating rates and the loss of contact at the interface, imply that the method could be more suited for recycling, instead of repair and reuse, as the heat-affected zone extended through the adherends’ thickness at the overlap during heating. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing)

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12 pages, 3497 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Monitoring the Setting Process of Cementitious Materials Using Guided Waves in Thin Rods

by Dongquan Wang, Guangyun Yu, Shukui Liu and Ping Sheng

Materials 2021, 14(3), 566; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14030566 - 25 Jan 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1783

Abstract

Characterizing early-age properties is very important for the quality control and durability of cementitious materials. In this paper, an approach using embedded guided waves was adopted to monitor the changes in the mechanical proprieties of mortar and concrete during setting, and embedded thin rods with low-cost piezoelectric sensors mounted on top were used for guide wave monitoring. Through continuous attenuation monitoring of the guided waves, the evolution of mortar and concrete properties was characterized. Four different kinds of metallic rods were tested at the same time to find out the optimal setup. Meanwhile, shear wave velocities of the mortar and concrete samples were monitored and correlated to the attenuation, and setting time tests were also performed on these samples. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach could monitor the evolution of the setting of cementitious materials quantitatively, and time of the initial setting could be determined by this technique as well. In addition, it is found that the attenuations of fundamental longitudinal guided wave mode are almost the same in concrete samples and mortar samples sieved from concrete, indicating that this technique is able to eliminate the effects of coarse aggregates, which makes it of great potential for in-situ monitoring of early age concrete. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing)

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15 pages, 6656 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Building of Longitudinal Ultrasonic Assisted Turning System and Its Cutting Simulation Study on Bulk Metallic Glass

by Shuo Shan, Pingfa Feng, Huiting Zha and Feng Feng

Materials 2020, 13(14), 3131; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13143131 - 14 Jul 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2194

Abstract

Bulk metallic glass (BMG) is a new kind of material which is made by rapid condensation of alloy. With excellent properties like high strength, high hardness, corrosion resistance, BMG is increasingly applied in mold manufacturing, weapon equipment and other fields. However, BMG is also one of hard-to-machine materials, which is arduous to be processed precisely and efficiently by the means of conventional cutting. Compared with conventional cutting, ultrasonic machining has a multitude of technological advantages such as reducing the cutting force, extending the tool life, etc. In ultrasonic machining, the ultrasonic electric signal is transformed into high frequency mechanical vibration on the tool, which changes the relationship between the tool and the workpiece in the process of machining. In this study, the longitudinal ultrasonic assisted turning (LUAT) system is established for processing BMG. Its resonant frequency and vibration characteristics are first simulated by modal analysis and harmonic response analysis, and then tested by displacement testing experiments, so that the suitable frequency and the amplitude for BMG turning can be selected and verified. On this basis, the two-dimensional turning finite element model is established to study the effect of ultrasonic vibration on cutting force under different cutting speeds. The research manifest that during the BMG turning, the assistance of longitudinal ultrasonic vibration can significantly reduce the average cutting force as well as the von Mises stress when the turning speed is below the critical turning speed. In addition, the tip of the tool contacts the workpiece discontinuously during cutting process which makes the instantaneous turning force in LUAT more periodic than that in conventional turning (CT). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing)

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18 pages, 3691 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Out-Of-Plane Permeability Evaluation of Carbon Fiber Preforms by Ultrasonic Wave Propagation

by Francesca Lionetto, Francesco Montagna and Alfonso Maffezzoli

Materials 2020, 13(12), 2684; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13122684 - 12 Jun 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2825

Abstract

Out-of-plane permeability of reinforcement preforms is of crucial importance in the infusion of large and thick composite panels, but so far, there are no standard experimental methods for its determination. In this work, an experimental set-up for the measurement of unsaturated through thickness permeability based on the ultrasonic wave propagation in pulse echo mode is presented. A single ultrasonic transducer, working both as emitter and receiver of ultrasonic waves, was used to monitor the through thickness flow front during a vacuum assisted resin infusion experiment. The set-up was tested on three thick carbon fiber preforms, obtained by stacking thermal bonding of balanced or unidirectional plies either by automated fiber placement either by hand lay-up of unidirectional plies. The ultrasonic data were used to calculate unsaturated out-of-plane permeability using Darcy’s law. The permeability results were compared with saturated out-of-plane permeability, determined by a traditional gravimetric method, and validated by some analytical models. The results demonstrated the feasibility and potential of the proposed set-up for permeability measurements thanks to its noninvasive character and the one-side access. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing)

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16 pages, 11367 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Study of Concrete Mesostructure Effect on Lamb Wave Propagation

by Beata Zima and Rafał Kędra

Materials 2020, 13(11), 2570; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13112570 - 04 Jun 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3326

Abstract

The article presents the results of the numerical investigation of Lamb wave propagation in concrete plates while taking into account the complex concrete mesostructure. Several concrete models with randomly distributed aggregates were generated with the use of the Monte Carlo method. The influence of aggregate ratio and particle size on dispersion curves representing Lamb wave modes was analyzed. The results obtained for heterogeneous concrete models were compared with theoretical results for homogeneous concrete characterized by the averaged macroscopic material parameters. The analysis indicated that not only do the averaged material parameters influence the dispersion solution, but also the amount and size of aggregate particles. The study shows that Lamb waves propagate with different velocities in homogeneous and heterogeneous models and the difference increases with aggregate ratio and particle size, which is a particularly important observation for wave-based diagnostic methods devoted to concrete structures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing)

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12 pages, 5498 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Ultrasonic Bending Vibration Introduced by an L-Shaped Ultrasonic Rod on the Microstructure and Properties of a 1060 Aluminum Alloy Strip Formed by Twin-Roll Casting

by Chen Shi, Gaofeng Fan, Xuqiang Mao and Daheng Mao

Materials 2020, 13(9), 2013; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13092013 - 25 Apr 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2666

Abstract

In order to achieve the industrial application of ultrasonic energy in the continuous casting and rolling production of aluminum alloy, a new type of L-shaped ultrasonic rod was used to introduce an ultrasonic bending vibration into the aluminum melt in the launder during the horizontal twin-roll continuous casting and rolling process of a 1060 aluminum alloy. The effects of the ultrasonic bending vibration on the microstructure and properties of the 1060 aluminum alloy cast rolling strip and its subsequent cold rolling strip were studied experimentally, and the effect of the ultrasonic-assisted refining with different amounts of Al-Ti-B refiner was explored. The results show that under the same addition amount of Al-Ti-B refiner, the ultrasonic bending vibration can refine the grains of the cast rolling strip, make the distribution of precipitates more uniform, reduce the slag inclusion defects, and improve the mechanical properties to a certain extent. The microstructure and properties of the ultrasonic cast rolling strip with 0.18 wt% Al-Ti-B refiner or 0.12 wt% Al-Ti-B refiner are better than those of the conventional cast rolling strip, but the microstructure and properties of the ultrasonic cast rolling strip with 0.09 wt% Al-Ti-B refiner are slightly worse than those of the conventional cast rolling strip. Moreover, after cold rolling, the effect of the ultrasonic bending vibration on the improvement of the microstructure and properties of the aluminum alloy strip is inherited. A comprehensive analysis shows that the use of ultrasonic energy in this paper cannot completely replace the effect of the Al-Ti-B refiner, but it can reduce the addition amount of the Al-Ti-B refiner by 1/3. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing)

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14 pages, 6788 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Ultrasonic Bending Vibration Introduced by the L-shaped Ultrasonic Rod on Solidification Structure and Segregation of Large 2A14 Ingots

by Chen Shi, Yongjun Wu, Daheng Mao and Gaofeng Fan

Materials 2020, 13(3), 807; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030807 - 10 Feb 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2998

Abstract

In order to achieve long-term and stable ultrasonic treatment in the direct chill semi-continuous casting process, a new L-shaped ceramic ultrasonic wave guide rod is designed to introduce ultrasonic bending vibration into 2A14 aluminum alloy melt. The effect of ultrasonic bending vibration on the solidification structure and composition segregation of large 2A14 aluminum alloy ingots (φ 830 mm × 6000 mm) in the process of semi-continuous casting were studied by means of a direct reading spectrometer, scanning electron microscope, metallographic microscope, and hardness test. The ultrasonic ingot treated by bending vibration was compared with the ingot without ultrasonic treatment and the ingot treated by the traditional straight-rod titanium alloy wave guide rod. The results show that, during the solidification of 2A14 aluminum alloy, ultrasonic treatment can significantly refine the grain, break up the agglomerated secondary phase, and make its distribution uniform. The macro-segregation degree of solute including the negative segregation at the edge of the ingots and the positive segregation in the center can be reduced. Through comparative analysis, the macrostructure of the ingot, treated by the L-shaped ceramic ultrasonic wave guide rod, was found to be better than that of the ingot treated by the traditional straight-rod titanium alloy wave guide rod. In particular, the grain refinement effect at the edge of the ingot was the best, the secondary phase was smaller, more solute elements can be dissolved into the α-Al matrix, and the ability of the L-shaped ultrasonic wave guide rod to restrain segregation was stronger at the edge of the ingot. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing)

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14 pages, 3698 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Topology Optimization-Based Damage Identification Using Visualized Ultrasonic Wave Propagation

by Kazuki Ryuzono, Shigeki Yashiro, Hiroto Nagai and Nobuyuki Toyama

Materials 2020, 13(1), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13010033 - 19 Dec 2019

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4319

Abstract

This study proposes a new damage identification method based on topology optimization, combined with visualized ultrasonic wave propagation. Although a moving diagram of traveling waves aids in damage detection, it is difficult to acquire quantitative information about the damage, for which topology optimization is suitable. In this approach, a damage parameter, varying Young’s modulus, represents the state of the damage in a finite element model. The feature of ultrasonic wave propagation (e.g., the maximum amplitude map in this study) is inversely reproduced in the model by optimizing the distribution of the damage parameters. The actual state of the damage was successfully estimated with high accuracy in numerical examples. The sensitivity of the objective function, as well as the appropriate penalization exponent for Young’s modulus, was discussed. Moreover, the proposed method was applied to experimentally measured wave propagation in an aluminum plate with an artificial crack, and the estimated damage state and the sensitivity of the objective function had the same tendency as the numerical example. These results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing)

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17 pages, 6062 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ultrasound Axicon: Systematic Approach to Optimize Focusing Resolution through Human Skull Bone

by Fabián Acquaticci, Sergio E. Lew and Sergio N. Gwirc

Materials 2019, 12(20), 3433; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12203433 - 20 Oct 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2889

Abstract

The use of axicon lenses is useful in many high-resolution-focused ultrasound applications, such as mapping, detection, and have recently been extended to ultrasonic brain therapies. However, in order to achieve high spatial resolution with an axicon lens, it is necessary to adjust the separation, called stand-off (δ), between a conventional transducer and the lens attached to it. Comprehensive ultrasound simulations, using the open-source k-Wave toolbox, were performed for an axicon lens attached to a piezo-disc type transducer with a radius of 14 mm, and a frequency of about 0.5 MHz, that is within the range of optimal frequencies for transcranial transmission. The materials properties were measured, and the lens geometry was modelled. Hydrophone measurements were performed through a human skull phantom. We obtained an initial easygoing design model for the lens angle and optimal stand-off using relatively simple formulas. The skull is not an obstacle for focusing of ultrasound with optimized axicon lenses that achieve an identical resolution to spherical transducers, but with the advantage that the focusing distance is shortened. An adequate stand-off improves the lateral resolution of the acoustic beam by approximately 50%. The approach proposed provides an effective way of designing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based axicon lenses equipped transducers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing)

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Review

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18 pages, 2163 KiB

Open AccessReview

Ultrasonic Liquid Penetration Measurement in Thin Sheets—Physical Mechanisms and Interpretation

by Carina Waldner and Ulrich Hirn

Materials 2020, 13(12), 2754; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13122754 - 17 Jun 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2616

Abstract

Ultrasonic liquid penetration (ULP) measurements of porous sheets have been applied for a variety of purposes ranging from determining liquid absorption dynamics to surface characterization of substrates. Interpretation of ULP results, however, is complex as the ultrasound signal can be affected by several mechanisms: (1) air being replaced by the liquid in the substrate pores, (2) air bubbles forming during penetration, and (3) structural changes of the substrate due to swelling of the substrate material. Analyzing tailored liquids and substrates in combination with contact angle measurements we are demonstrating that the characteristic shape of the ULP measurement curves can be interpreted in terms of the regime of liquid uptake. A fast and direct decline of the curve corresponds to capillary penetration, the slope of the curve indicates the penetration speed. A slow decline after a previous maximum in the signal can be related to diffusive liquid transport and swelling of the substrate material. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing)

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