Application Cases

Experiment Name: Experimental Study on Ultrasonic Guided Wave Propagation Characteristics in High-Density Polyethylene Plate and Shell Structures under Temperature-Stress Coupling Environment

Research Background:
High-density polyethylene (HDPE) plate and shell structures are widely used in the petrochemical industry due to their excellent performance. However, temperature-stress coupling effects can easily induce material damage, threatening structural safety. Although ultrasonic guided wave technology offers advantages such as convenience and high efficiency in damage detection, temperature-stress coupling in practical environments significantly interferes with guided wave propagation characteristics, reducing detection reliability. This study establishes a model to systematically investigate guided wave mode evolution and dispersion characteristics under temperature-stress coupling conditions. A sensitivity factor is introduced to quantify environmental interference, providing theoretical support for mode selection and signal processing in guided wave detection under complex operating conditions.

Experimental Principle:
Based on the dispersion characteristics of ultrasonic guided waves, this study employs a function generator to produce Hanning window-modulated sinusoidal signals, which are amplified by a power amplifier to drive PZT transducers for guided wave excitation. By leveraging differences in material wave velocity responses under temperature-stress coupling environments, signals are acquired and analyzed. An innovative coupling loading system integrating an environmental chamber and a tensile testing machine is adopted. Combined with analytical methods such as the Floquet-Bloch model and Hilbert transform, the characterization accuracy of dispersion properties is significantly enhanced. Experimental results demonstrate that under specific conditions, the low sensitivity of higher-order modes such as SH₀ to environmental interference can be quantified, providing a reliable basis for damage monitoring and mode selection in HDPE plate and shell structures under complex environments.

Experimental Block Diagram:

Experimental Setup Photos:

Experimental Procedure:
In this study, a function generator was used to produce Hanning window-modulated signals, which were amplified by a power amplifier to drive PZT transducers for guided wave excitation. Signals were acquired from HDPE specimens under a coupled environment of 40°C and 5 MPa. Wave velocities were calculated using Hilbert transform and phase point analysis methods. The experimentally measured phase velocity error was less than 7.1%, confirming the low sensitivity of SH₀ and Lamb-A₀ modes to environmental interference. This provides a reliable basis for guided wave detection in HDPE structures under high-temperature and stress environments.

Application Fields:
Nondestructive testing of pipelines in oilfield gathering and transportation systems, safety monitoring of urban gas pipeline networks, structural health assessment of chemical storage tanks, service condition monitoring of submarine pipelines, and defect diagnosis of industrial non-metallic pipelines, among others.

Product Recommendation: ATA-7000 Series High-Voltage Amplifier

Figure: ATA-7000 Series High-Voltage Amplifier Specifications and Parameters

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