Krishnan Balasubramanian

Surface temperature mapping is crucial for the monitoring and control of an object of interest, such as furnace, reactor pipes carrying hot fluids, or a component under a temperature-dependent process. While the use of waveguides for temperature measurement is well documented in literature, the attachment of the waveguide to a metallic component poses challenges. These include the relationship between the local waveguide temperature and that of the metal component, and wave leakage into the component. In this paper, the authors study the propagation of shear horizontal (SH) guided wave in a strip waveguide and its interaction with the notch embodiments in the waveguide. The effects of the type of notch and its depth on the SH mode characteristics are investigated through simulation studies. The mode of attachment of the waveguide to the metal component is by means a slot made in the component. The area of contact between the waveguide and metal component is optimized such that there is minimum wave leakage into the bulk material. Based on the simulation results, a waveguide strip is fabricated and used to monitor the local surface temperature of a test metal component. The waveguide is calibrated by correlating the time of flight (ToF) shift in the waveforms against reference temperature values. Thereafter, the instantaneous temperature of the metal component is determined from the calibration equations. A set of experimental trials are performed to check for repeatability. The experiments are conducted in near steady-state conditions for better accuracy in the measurements.

Thickness reduction arising due to corrosion or in any other ways can cause severe damages to structures. Hence regular inspection of structures is vital in many industries. One of the factors deciding the replacement of a structure is the minimum thickness remaining in the structure. A novel ultrasonic method is introduced in this paper to precisely evaluate the minimum remnant thickness of structures. This method utilized the cut-off property of SH1 guided wave mode. A continuous broadband SH1 wave mode was required for establishing this method. This was achieved by exciting a range of wavelength and a range of frequency corresponding to the desired SH1 generation region. The range of wavelength generation was achieved by appropriately selecting the magnet spacings in a Lorentz force EMAT. The range of frequency input was achieved using a linear frequency modulated chirp signal. Finite Element models and experiments were conducted to demonstrate the method. These results are in close agreement.

In this paper, it is aimed to identify flaws in glass fiber reinforced polymer composites by smart skin graphene nano platelet (GNP) spray coating in infrared thermography technique. The initial resistance of GNP was made to 1 kΩ. Characterization of sensor and beam was done with scanning electron microscopy and computed tomography (CT) respectively. The thermo-elastic behaviour was evaluated in uniaxial test. The surface temperature was studied with IR camera and it was observed that the surface coated GNP sensor upon a damage and without the damage specimen retains heat than without coating the sensor. Hereafter testing with 0.1 mm/min, 0.5 mm/min and 1 mm/min, it was found that without damage specimen, the temperature increased to 112.5%, 13.3% and 40% respectively. And temperature increased to 93.2%, 36.7% and 76.4% in the specimen with the damage. Specimen were also tested for spectrum fatigue cyclic load at 0.1 Hz and 1 Hz. Failure peak of laminates has been analyzed with optical microscopy and CT which was correlated with temperature rise. For 0.1 Hz spectrum loading, the specimen with the damage, with and without GNP coated, temperature rose to 2040% after first laminate failure. Similarly, for 0.1 Hz specimen temperature rose to 15,637.5% in case of without damage specimen, with GNP coated than without GNP coated. And in case of 1 Hz spectrum loading with damage specimen, the temperature rose to 105.73% after GNP coated. Similarly, at 1 Hz loading, the temperature rose to 143.07% in case of without damage specimen after GNP coated. GNP skin coated nano-sensor helps in early detection of temperature signals.

The potential of higher frequency ultrasonic guided wave mode cluster (HOMC) waves to be used for remote inspection of notch defects in plate-like structures is investigated, at room and elevated temperatures. Quantitative studies of HOMC interaction with notch defects ranging from 5% to 50% of plate thickness are performed using 2D finite element simulations, and are validated by controlled experiments performed, firstly at room temperature. Analysis using reciprocity-based relations is used to uncover for the first time, how the constituent modes of HOMC play a vital role in their scattering processes. Further experiments are used to show that the results are stable up to 300 ̊C, thereby demonstrating the feasibility of short range higher-resolution remote inspection of notch defects using non-dispersive higher frequency mode clusters in industrial conditions.

This paper describes a technique for measurement of temperatures at multiple locations using the multiple waveguide configurations. A single transducer has been used for transmitting and receiving the torsional wave T(0,1) mode in the waveguides. Here, a single transducer is attached to multiple waveguides of different lengths (each waveguide is designed with a single bend). This method improves upon the earlier reported studies using straight waveguides, where the non-consideration of the temperature gradient issues. The temperature measurement range is from room temperature to the maximum utility temperature of the waveguide material. The time of flight difference (δTOF) of reflected ultrasonic torsional guided wave modes (T(0,1)) from the bend, which is the reference signal, and another signal from the end of the waveguide is utilized to measure the corresponding temperature of the surrounding media. The T(0,1) wave mode is less dispersive as compared to L(0,1) mode in the same material from the early reported work. The wavelength of the T(0,1) mode is significantly smaller than that of L(0,1) mode due to torsional velocity is less than the longitudinal velocity of ultrasonic sensor. Hence, it can be improved the sensitivity of the temperature measurements. This temperature measurement technique is more interest in several industrial applications, where using the furnaces and melters.

Visible light-mediated selective and efficient oxidation of various primary/secondary benzyl alcohols to aldehydes/ketones and oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of partially saturated heterocycles using a scalable and reusable heterogeneous photoredox catalyst in aqueous medium are described. A systematic study led to a selective synthesis of aldehydes under an argon atmosphere while the ODH of partially saturated heterocycles under an oxygen atmosphere resulted in very good to excellent yields. The methodology is atom economical and exhibits excellent tolerance towards various functional groups, and broad substrate scope. Furthermore, a one-pot procedure was developed for the sequential oxidation of benzyl alcohols and heteroaryl carbinols followed by the Pictet-Spengler cyclization and then aromatization to obtain the β-carbolines in high isolated yields. This methodology was found to be suitable for scale up and reusability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the oxidation of structurally diverse aryl carbinols and ODH of partially saturated N-heterocycles using a recyclable and heterogeneous photoredox catalyst under environmentally friendly conditions.

Nonlinear ultrasonic guided waves are among the most promising new tools for early stage damage detection owing to their high sensitivity and long-range propagation features. However, signatures from instrumentation, transducers, and couplant effects create false positives mixing with the material- or defect-induced nonlinearities, leading to inaccurate measurements. Here, we propose a novel technique using a waveguide metamaterial rod, which acts as a mechanical acoustic filter for suppression of higher harmonic components in the measured signal. The proposed waveguide metamaterial consists of an array of flat axisymmetric ridges arranged periodically on the surface of the rod. It is experimentally demonstrated that the higher harmonic components are filtered when the proposed metamaterial rod is placed at the transmission side, thus removing unwanted nonlinearities from the received signal in a pitch-catch configuration. Furthermore, the application of this method is demonstrated by detecting a discontinuity in the workpiece through its nonlinear response enhanced using the metamaterial. This technique is attractive for early stage material diagnosis in engineering, biomedicine, and health monitoring of critical engineering assets.

Ultrasonic guided waves play an essential role in determining the severity of defects in plate-pipe-like structures. One of the parameters that influence the decision to replace a defective structure is the thickness remaining in the structure. Hence, a precise measurement of the remaining thickness is essential in many industries. The objective of this paper is the quantification of defects in small thickness structures. The cut-off property of the guide wave mode is applied to quantify the lowest remnant thickness of defects in small thickness structures. Implementing the cut-off approach in small thickness structures is challenging because of the small wavelength requirements. A linear array transducer, capable of selectively exciting the transducer elements, is used for this application to transmit and receive wave modes. The study focuses on the A1 Lamb wave mode and its cut-off behaviors. The remnant thickness reflects the A1 mode if the frequency of the wave mode is lower than the cut-off frequency of the defect. The reflection of the A1 mode from the defect is analyzed at multiple frequencies utilising the wavelength constrained excitation. The frequency below which the A1 mode appears indicated the remnant thickness of the defect. Furthermore, an advanced excitation approach using the broadband A1 mode identifies the remnant thickness values from a single experiment. In addition, rather than specifying a range of remnant thickness, it precisely quantified its value. This approach was capable of identifying remnant thickness within a maximum error of 2.3% among the set of examples selected.

The main purpose of this article is to monitor the natural frequency of stainless steel (SS304) with and without defect by spray-coated smart graphene nanoplatelet (GNPs)-doped poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanocomposite strain sensor and human health by smart Lycra denim textile sensor. Methods such as impact hammer test and NI-daq, finite element method (FEM) simulation by Abaqus 6.12, and fast Fourier transform (FFT) study were applied for frequency monitoring of SS304. For human health monitoring, edema disease inspection, cough, and biceps locomotion were studied by graphene sol–gel textile sensor. We report eight sensors fabricated by scotch tape exfoliation method and their sensitivity was checked in terms of gauge factor (GF). The highest and lowest GF-based sensors were checked for sensitivity in the defect (hole) specimen. These sensors were used to sense the natural frequency of SS304 at three different positions in the cantilever beam. The same quantity of GNPs was used for making Lycra denim textile sensors for human health monitoring. The Lycra denim textile sensor showed a 216% change in resistance in the left calf muscle, which is less than right leg flexibility, indicating good sensitivity. In addition, the textile sensor helped in sensing coughing and biceps monitoring. The ease in fabrication and high sensitivity demonstrate the potential ability of GNPs for futuristic smart material for structural and human health monitoring.

Jacket-type steel members are widely used in near and offshore structures wherein tubular members are welded together to either form or protect the load-carrying member. Tubular joints are subject to damage as a result of fatigue, marine growth and corrosion from the environment. These structures are conventionally inspected for loss of wall thickness and pitting to prevent catastrophic damage and improve failure prediction systems using the conventional ultrasonic testing (UT). However, especially in the case of marine structures, direct access to the structure is hindered by marine growth, insulation or coating. Surface preparation is an essential step before conventional nondestructive testing modalities can be used. Marine growth is removed using powered brushes, high-pressure water jets or in some cases, manually using chisels causing the procedure to be time consuming and expensive. An alternative technology which can be used for wall thickness estimation without removing marine growth (that is thicker than 10 mm) is pulsed eddy current (PEC) which uses a stepped input signal to detect wall-thinning areas. In this paper, the authors present a methodology of rapidly estimating thickness of the steel members in the splash-zone and deeper underwater zones using PEC without removing marine growth or insulation on a remotely operated robotic vehicle (ROV). The results are compared to the conventional ultrasonic testing methodology performed both by professional divers and an ROV using a commercially available 2.25 MHz ultrasonic transducer. Key advantages and limitations of the ROV-based PEC system are discussed in detail.