Project description
Low-power, portable ultrasonic technology
The electro-magnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) is an ultrasonic testing technique that overcomes the Achilles heel of conventional related techniques by eliminating the need for couplants and direct contact with the target surface. Despite its potential for use in automation, the technology is limited by high power consumption that in turn leads to bulky instrumentation and higher costs compared with conventional ultrasonic devices. The EU-funded LOPEMAT project plans to develop a working prototype of a low-power EMAT for normal beam and guided wave generation. Drastic power consumption reductions could enable cheaper and lighter EMAT instruments, no bigger than a smartphone, that could be powered by a power bank or a USB port.
Objective
EMAT is an advanced couplant-free ultrasonic technology that overcomes the Achilles heel of conventional ultrasonic testing (UT), transferring energy from the probe into the material inspected. Unlike UT, EMAT does not require couplant nor direct contact with the target surface, making the technology ideal for field-use and automation.
The biggest drawback of this technology is its high-power consumption, which in turn leads to bulky instrumentation and higher pricing when compared to conventional ultrasonic devices. LOPEMAT project will tackle this challenge, paving the way to a new paradigm of ultrasonic inspection trough the development of the first line of Low-Power EMAT systems.
In line with the trend to make technology cheaper, lighter and more efficient, recent publications have shown it feasible to generate EMAT bursts with an excitation of 0.5 W and 4.5 Vpp, using a combination of advanced signal processing techniques such as binary quantization and coded excitation, whilst a typical high-power EMAT instrument such as Innerspec’s PowerBox H, works with 8000 W and 1200 Vpp, limiting its size, price range and portability.
A change so vast in power consumption would constitute a total gamechanger in the field, allowing for cheaper and lighter EMAT instruments, no bigger than a smartphone, that could be powered trough a power-bank or USB port, and could compete with conventional ultrasonic devices across the whole range of NDT applications.
Thus, the main goal of the LOPEMAT project is to develop and validate a first working prototype of low-power EMAT system for normal beam and guided wave generation.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsignal processing
- social sciencessociologyindustrial relationsautomation
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringinformation engineeringtelecommunicationsmobile phones
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesacousticsultrasound
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
CSA - Coordination and support actionCoordinator
28890 Loeches Madrid
Spain
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.