Apparatus and method for evaluating the physical properties of a sample using ultrasonics
US6532821B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 11, 2001 |
| Grant date | Mar 18, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 11, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2291/0289
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method is disclosed for evaluating the physical properties of a sample, for example, the grain size in a polycrystalline material. An ultrasound field is generated in a local region of the sample with a non-contact source, such as a pulsed laser, such that the generated ultrasound diffuses away from said local region. After waiting until the generated ultrasound field has reached a diffusion regime, the resulting ultrasound field is measured with a non-contact detector. Parameters are adjusted in a mathematical model describing the predicted behaviour of the ultrasound field in the diffusion regime to fit the detected ultrasound field to the mathematical model. In this way, parameters dependent on the physical properties of the sample, such as the diffusion coefficient and absorption coefficient, can be derived. The grain size, for example, can be estimated from these parameters preferably by calibrating the diffusion coefficient to grain size.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.