An Efficient Damage Quantification Method for Cylindrical Structures Enhanced by a Dry-Point-Contact Torsional-Wave Transducer

Quantification of damage sizes in cylindrical structures such as pipes and rods is of paramount importance in various industries. This work proposes an efficient damage quantification method by using a dry-point-contact (DPC) transducer based on the non-dispersive torsional waves in the low-frequency range. Theoretical analyses are first carried out to investigate the torsional wave interaction with different sizes of defects in cylindrical structures. A damage quantification algorithm is designed based on the wave reflections from the defect and end. Capitalizing on multiple excitations at different frequencies, the proposed algorithm constructs a damage image that identifies the geometric parameters of the defects. Numerical simulations are conducted to validate the characteristics of the theoretically-predicted wave-damage interaction analyses as well as the feasibility of the designed damage quantification method. Using the DPC transducer, experiments are efficiently carried out with a simple physical system. The captured responses are first assessed to confirm the capability of the DPC transducer for generating and sensing torsional waves. The sizes of the defects in two representative steel rods are then quantified with the proposed method. Both numerical and experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed damage quantification method. The understandings of the wave-damage interaction and the concept of the damage quantification algorithm lay out the foundation for engineering applications.

Center-To-Periphery Arterial Stiffness Gradient Is Attenuated and/or Reversed in Pregnancy-Associated Hypertension

Background: Non-pregnant (NP) women have a progressive increase in arterial stiffness from central-to-peripheral arteries [“stiffness gradient” (SG)], which is of physiologic importance since excessive pulsatility is filtered by the creation of wave reflections. If the aorta gets stiff with minimal or no change in the periphery, the SG is dissipated transmitting pressure disturbances to the microcirculation. It remains unknown the status of the SG in both women with healthy pregnancies (HP) and complicated by pregnancy-associated hypertension (PAH).Objective: To determine whether HP and PAH are associated with changes in SG. Secondarily, we aim at identifying potential differences between the subgroups of PAH (pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension).Methods: HP (n = 10), PAH (n = 16), and healthy NP women (n = 401, to be matched for age, and cardiovascular risk with the pregnant women) were included. Carotid-to-femoral (cfPWV) and carotid-to-radial pulse wave velocity (crPWV), common carotid artery (CCA) and brachial artery (BA) diameters and elastic modulus (EM), and regional (cfPWV/crPWV or “PWV ratio”) and local (CCA EM/BA EM or “EM ratio”) SG were quantified.Results: HP showed no changes in PWV ratio compared with NP, in the presence of significantly lower cfPWV and crPWV. HP exhibited higher arterial diameters and lower CCA EM/BA EM compared to NP, without differences with PAH. PAH was associated with a significant increase in the PWV ratio that exceeded the levels of both NP and HP, explained by a lower (although significant) reduction of cfPWV with respect to that observed in HP with respect to NP, and a higher reduction in crPWV with respect to that observed between HP and NP. The blunted reduction in cfPWV observed in PAH coincided with an increase in the CCA EM.Conclusions: Compared with NP, HP was associated with unchanged PWV ratio but with a reduction in CCA EM/BA EM, in the setting of a generalized drop in arterial stiffness. Compared with NP and HP, PAH was associated with an “exaggerated rise” in the PWV ratio without changes in CCA EM/BA EM, in the setting of a blunt reduction in cfPWV but exaggerated crPWV drop. The SG attenuation/reversal in PAH was mainly driven by pre-eclampsia.

Toward improved DAS sensitivity for surface-based reflection seismics: Configuration tests at the Aquistore CO2 storage site

Alternative fiber configurations have been tested in an attempt to improve the sensitivity of surface-deployed DAS fiber cables for the purpose of recording steep-angle P-wave reflections. Four alternative fiber configurations were deployed at the Aquistore CO2 storage site to record 401 dynamite shots during a 3D VSP survey. The test cable comprised horizontal configurations (straight fiber, helixes and asymmetric helixes) buried in a shallow trench and vertical configurations (straight fiber and helixes) deployed in 3.5 m drillholes. Evaluation focused on deep reflections with two-way travel times of 0.8 to 1.8 s. All of the alternative fiber configurations increased the sensitivity relative to the horizontal straight fiber. Sensitivity was highest for the vertical straight fiber configurations and the asymmetric helixes with sensitivity increases of more than 10 dB and 5 dB, respectively, and AVO behavior similar to that of a vertical-component geophone for reflections with incidence angles of 0° to 15° at the surface and 0° to 34° at the reflector. Modeling of the DAS responses explains the general pattern of sensitivity variability amongst the different configurations, but does not explain the large range of observed sensitivities.

Boundary Reflections of Rolling Waves in Cubic Anisotropic Material

Rolling waves have unconventional circular polarizations enabled by the equal-speed propagation of longitudinal and transverse waves in elastic solids. They can transport non-paraxial intrinsic (i.e. spin) mechanical angular momentum in the media. In this work, we analyze the rolling wave reflections and their effects on the non-paraxial spins in a cubic elastic half-space with an elastically supported boundary. Reflected waves from both normal and general oblique incidences are investigated. We show that, by adjusting the stiffness of the elastic boundary, we can precisely control the spin properties of the reflected waves, paving the way towards a broad category of spin manipulation techniques for bulk elastic waves.