The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 06, 2001
Filed:
Apr. 09, 1999
Daniel E. Klimek, Lexington, MA (US);
Petros A. Kotidis, Framingham, MA (US);
Textron Systems Corporation, Wilmington, MA (US);
Abstract
In an apparatus and method for remote ultrasonic determination of thin material properties, a match filter calibration technique is employed. For a plurality of known material property values and known material thicknesses, an elastic stress wave is generated in the material at a source location. The intensity of a signal generated by the elastic stress wave is sensed at a sense location positioned a known distance from the source location. A feature is selected from among the sensed signals which demonstrates minimal thickness dependents from a plurality of known material thicknesses. The selected feature is applied to the sensed signals to determine propagation time of the signals over the known distance. A calibration curve is then generated to characterize the relationship between signal propagation time and material property value for each material thickness. The present technique is especially amenable to determination of thin material properties, for example temperature, in a manner which is independent of material thickness. In an embodiment adapted for determination of temperature, precision on the order of ±1° C. is achievable over a range of material thicknesses.