A Simplified One-Parallel-Element Automatic Impedance-Matching Network Applied to Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers Driving

Ultrasonic waves generated and received by electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) are advantageous in non-destructive testing, mainly due to the ability to operate without physical contact with the medium under test. Nevertheless, they present a main drawback of less efficiency, which leads to...

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Main Authors: João Pedro T. Andrade, Pedro Leon F. C. Bazan, Vivian S. Medeiros, Alan C. Kubrusly
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-12-01
Series:Automation
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4052/4/4/22
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author João Pedro T. Andrade
Pedro Leon F. C. Bazan
Vivian S. Medeiros
Alan C. Kubrusly
author_facet João Pedro T. Andrade
Pedro Leon F. C. Bazan
Vivian S. Medeiros
Alan C. Kubrusly
author_sort João Pedro T. Andrade
collection DOAJ
description Ultrasonic waves generated and received by electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) are advantageous in non-destructive testing, mainly due to the ability to operate without physical contact with the medium under test. Nevertheless, they present a main drawback of less efficiency, which leads to a lower signal-to-noise ratio. To overcome this, the L-network impedance-matching network is often used in order to ensure maximum power transfer to the EMAT from the excitation electronics. There is a wide range of factors that affect an EMAT’s impedance, apart from the transducer itself; namely, the properties of the specimen material, temperature, and frequency. Therefore, to ensure optimal power transfer, the matching network’s configuration needs to be fine-tuned often. Therefore, the automation of the laborious process of manually adjusting the network is of great benefit to the use of EMAT transducers. In this work, a simplified one-parallel-element automatic matching network is proposed and its theoretical optimal value is derived. Next, an automatic matching network was designed and fabricated. Experiments were performed with two different EMATs at several frequencies obtaining good agreement with theoretical predictions. The automatic system was able to determine the best configuration for the one-element matching network and provided up to 5.6 dB gain, similar to a standard manual solution and considerably faster.
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spelling doaj.art-23b09f1771254f018a93e8ab2766b0d92023-12-22T13:53:07ZengMDPI AGAutomation2673-40522023-12-014437839510.3390/automation4040022A Simplified One-Parallel-Element Automatic Impedance-Matching Network Applied to Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers DrivingJoão Pedro T. Andrade0Pedro Leon F. C. Bazan1Vivian S. Medeiros2Alan C. Kubrusly3Center for Telecommunication Studies, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22451-900, BrazilCenter for Telecommunication Studies, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22451-900, BrazilDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, São Carlos School of Engineering, University of São Paulo, São Carlos 13566-590, BrazilCenter for Telecommunication Studies, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22451-900, BrazilUltrasonic waves generated and received by electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) are advantageous in non-destructive testing, mainly due to the ability to operate without physical contact with the medium under test. Nevertheless, they present a main drawback of less efficiency, which leads to a lower signal-to-noise ratio. To overcome this, the L-network impedance-matching network is often used in order to ensure maximum power transfer to the EMAT from the excitation electronics. There is a wide range of factors that affect an EMAT’s impedance, apart from the transducer itself; namely, the properties of the specimen material, temperature, and frequency. Therefore, to ensure optimal power transfer, the matching network’s configuration needs to be fine-tuned often. Therefore, the automation of the laborious process of manually adjusting the network is of great benefit to the use of EMAT transducers. In this work, a simplified one-parallel-element automatic matching network is proposed and its theoretical optimal value is derived. Next, an automatic matching network was designed and fabricated. Experiments were performed with two different EMATs at several frequencies obtaining good agreement with theoretical predictions. The automatic system was able to determine the best configuration for the one-element matching network and provided up to 5.6 dB gain, similar to a standard manual solution and considerably faster.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4052/4/4/22EMATnondestructive testingimpedance matchingautomation
spellingShingle João Pedro T. Andrade
Pedro Leon F. C. Bazan
Vivian S. Medeiros
Alan C. Kubrusly
A Simplified One-Parallel-Element Automatic Impedance-Matching Network Applied to Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers Driving
Automation
EMAT
nondestructive testing
impedance matching
automation
title A Simplified One-Parallel-Element Automatic Impedance-Matching Network Applied to Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers Driving
title_full A Simplified One-Parallel-Element Automatic Impedance-Matching Network Applied to Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers Driving
title_fullStr A Simplified One-Parallel-Element Automatic Impedance-Matching Network Applied to Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers Driving
title_full_unstemmed A Simplified One-Parallel-Element Automatic Impedance-Matching Network Applied to Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers Driving
title_short A Simplified One-Parallel-Element Automatic Impedance-Matching Network Applied to Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers Driving
title_sort simplified one parallel element automatic impedance matching network applied to electromagnetic acoustic transducers driving
topic EMAT
nondestructive testing
impedance matching
automation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4052/4/4/22
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