Inkjet fabrication of spiral frequency-steerable acoustic transducers (FSATs)

The frequency-based beam steering concept effectively supports Guided-Wave-based Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) by enabling directional waveguide inspection. This is implemented by acoustic transducers whose peculiar shapes provide different wavelength tuning in different directions. When these devices are used for guided wave (GW) sensing, spatial filtering of the propagating wavefield results in a prominent frequency component within the recorded signal spectrum, which can be uniquely associated with the direction of an incoming wave. A sensor geometry whose 2D spatial Fourier Transform produces a spiral-like distribution of maxima in the wavenumber domain allows for one-to-one frequency-angle correspondence in the [0 degrees, 180 degrees] range. Prototypes of this wavenumber spiral frequency steerable acoustic transducer (WS-FSAT) have been fabricated by patterning the electrodes' shape on a metallized polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) substrate through inkjet printing. Prototype testing in various pitch-catch configurations demonstrates accurate 2D localization of acoustic sources and scattering events by processing a single output signal. Extremely easy, quick and inexpensive fabrication approach, along with very low hardware and computational requirements make the proposed FSAT an ideal candidate for a wide range of in-situ, low-cost and wireless SHM applications.