Optimization Analysis of Acoustic Field Parameters in Phased Array Ultrasonic Transducers

The parameters of the ultrasonic phased array transducer are composed of frequency, array element width, array element spacing, and number of array elements, and their reasonableness is crucial for improving the detection performance of small defects, by optimizing its key parameters to complete the precise regulation to achieve more efficient acoustic field focusing and steering ability, thus optimizing the application of industrial nondestructive testing (NDT). The study firstly derives a mathematical model of focusing and steering of multi-element sound field based on the unit far-field sound pressure equation; numerically analyzes the effects of different elemental parameters on the focusing and steering performance of the PAUT by using MATLAB software; and simulates the optimized parameter conditions by combining with the COMSOL Multiphysics software, to demonstrate the improvement effect on the detection performance of small defects; finally, the optimized parameters are verified by experimental methods. The practical effect of the parameter optimization is verified by experimental methods, and the experimental results confirm the theoretical predictions, show substantial improvement in defect detection, and further strengthen the application value of the theoretical model. In this study, a parameter optimization method based on the combination of theory and multiple simulation software is proposed for the first time, which clearly elaborates the challenges of small defect detection by optimizing the transducer parameters in practical engineering applications, and deepens the theoretical basis of phased array ultrasound (PAUT) technology in industrial inspection, emphasizes the key role of parameter optimization in PAUT applications, and provides a strong theoretical and experimental support.