Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) of Concrete Structures
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) of Concrete Structures Customer Case Our customer needs to perform Non Destructive Testing (NDT) to test concrete. The testing method involves using a special hammer mounted with a geophone, which serves as a transducer. They strike the concrete structure with the hammer and record the results for analysis. A definitive echo in the signal will be appear should there be a crack or a weak point in the concrete. GaGe Case Solution The customer was looking for a low-cost board that would be able to sample at 20 MHz or more, so we recommended the CompuScope [...]
Closed Loop, Non-woven Conductive Film Thickness Measurement and Control Solution
Closed Loop, Non-woven Conductive Film Thickness Measurement and Control Solution Animation showing a system setup used to measure the thickness of thin conductive films such as electric vehicle (EV) battery electrodes. Description Learn how to measure EV battery plate thickness with MTI's Digital Accumeasure, a high-precision capacitance measurement system with nanometer accuracy and stability. Problem Lithium battery plates for electric vehicles consist of lithium ion compounds applied to either a copper plate substrate (cathode plate) or an aluminum substrate (anode plate). The plates are approximately 100-200 um thick ( .004 [...]
Vibration and Balancing Systems: The Spectrum Plot
Vibration and Balancing Systems: The Spectrum Plot Aviation / Aerospace Engine Balancing Vibration Description The Spectrum Plot: Types of Aircraft Vibration One of the least understood features of the PBS series of vibration analyzers is the spectrum function. The spectrum functionality is a more difficult function to understand, but once mastered, technicians can quickly develop an extremely in-depth understanding on what is going on in an engine during a test. Figure 1, below, shows a basic spectrum from the PBS system. On the x-axis is frequency, measured in Hz (per second). [...]
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) for Steel Manufacturing
Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) for Steel Manufacturing Customer Case The customer is a custom-built contractor of Non-Destructive Test (NDT) instruments for steel manufacturing. NDT uses ultrasonic pulses to scan through thick sheets of metals for possible causes of early wear, such as cracks or impurities. The stimulus is a stream of ultrasonic pulses. The response is their reflection from various depths. The center frequencies used by this customer are in the range of 250 KHz to 2.25 MHz and pulses are about 10 microseconds. The pulse repeat frequency (PRF) is less than 1 KHz. The thickness of steel sheets is [...]
Thickness Information of Composite Materials
Thickness Information of Composite Materials Industrial Thickness Information Of Composite Materials Thickness Description Introduction: Composite materials consist of two or more materials which include a substrate or base material such as paper, cotton cloth, or glass cloth along with a resin or adhesive such as epoxy, melamine, or silicone. To make a thermoset laminate, the base material is coated with the adhesive so that layers of material can be pressed under heat and pressure into sheet form. The Problem: Composite material thickness needed to be verified prior to forming or [...]
Galvannealing Phosphor Thermometry
Galvannealing Phosphor Thermometry Customer Case During the process of galvanizing, steel is dipped in a bath of liquid tin to increase its resistance to oxidation and moisture. After galvanizing, a precise heat treatment allows control of the mechanical properties of the final galvanized steel. This heat treatment is known as galvannealing. During galvannealing, precise temperature control is necessary to promote the desired grain growth in the steel's tin-rich coating. Galvanneal thermometry is difficult. The rolling of the hot steel makes contact thermocouples and optical pyrometry impractical. A customer's galvanneal furnace is equipped for phosphor thermometry. This novel technique uses [...]
Capacitance Probe Detects Water Contamination in Oiling Systems
Capacitance Probe Detects Water Contamination in Oiling Systems Industrial, Research & Development Capacitance Probe Detection of Water Contamination Metrology, Tolerances Description [Application Note 12218]  The adverse effects of water in oil are well known. Negative consequences include higher viscosity reduced load carrying ability hydrolysis (the formation of acids, sludge, and varnish) foam formation and air entrainment additive depletion corrosion on metal surfaces loss of lubrication film strength leading to increased wear cavitations filter plugging Problem As oil system reliability decreases, maintenance and repair activities increase. Corrective action must be taken [...]
Pulsed Electric Field Food Processing
Pulsed Electric Field Food Processing Customer Case Pulsed Electric Field Food Processing is a continuous food processing system in which beverages (with a known conductivity) are pumped through a chamber containing an electrode. Pulses of high voltage electricity are passed across the electrode, thus through the liquid as well. It is a pasteurization technique being studied at Ohio State University. The need is to be able to monitor, display, and record to hard drive storage, voltage and current waveforms. They need to be able to draw information about the pulse duration, peak voltage, etc. from the recorded waveforms. Waveforms [...]
Digital Capacitance Sensor Provides Closed-Loop Piezo Positioning Control
Digital Capacitance Sensor Provides Closed-Loop Piezo Positioning Control Consumer Electronics, Industrial Closed-Loop Piezo Positioning Control Positioning, Robot Guide Description [Application Note 40418] 21st century electronic manufacturing requires fast, precise positioning of miniature components. For many assembly lines, process control has moved from mm to micron, or even sub-micron, accuracy. Keeping pace with the demand for greater precision requires piezoelectric positioning actuators and/or voice coil motors with closed-loop feedback control. Challenge Traditionally, analog feedback from capacitance sensors has enabled the closed-loop control of conventional positioning stages. Harnessing the extreme accuracies achievable [...]
Signal Generator Calibrates Strain Gauge Electronics
Signal Generator Calibrates Strain Gauge Electronics Industrial, Automotive, Transportation, Research & Development, Civil Engineering Calibration of Strain Gauge Electronics Amplitude; Bending, Tensile & Compression Description [Application Note 31218] The strain gauge has been in use many years and is the fundamental sensing element for many types of sensors, including pressure sensors, load cells, torque sensors, and position sensors. The majority of strain gauges are metallic foil types, available in a wide choice of shapes and sizes to suit a variety of applications. Foil type strain gauges feature a pattern or [...]