Influence of different ultrasonic transducers on the precision of fastening force measurement

In the assembly process of aero-engines, the accurate measurement of bolt fastening force is particularly important, which is related to the normal operation of the entire system. Ultrasonic non-destructive testing has been applied to bolt fastening force measurement and has a broad application background. The core device of the ultrasonic transducer is a piezoelectric ceramic wafer, and the normal operation of the wafer is affected by the power frequency and external stress. For the same type of bolt with the same nominal diameter, the ultrasonic transducer wafers of different diameters will cause the transducer wafers to be subjected to different external stresses. According to the acoustoelastic effect, the relationship between the variation of time of flight (TOF) and bolt fastening force of different types of ultrasonic transducers is established. Then the measurement errors of various models are calculated and analyzed. The experimental results show that when the nominal diameter of the bolt is close to the diameter of the wafer of the ultrasonic transducer, the fastening force measurement accuracy of the bolt is the highest. When small or large size transducer is used, the measurement accuracy will be reduced due to energy and external stress. When a transducer with a higher center frequency is used to measure the fastening force of the bolt rod, the accuracy of the model established due to the faster attenuation of the sound wave is reduced, and the accuracy of the measurement result is reduced. Therefore, in order to ensure the accuracy of the fastening force measurement in the aerospace field, when selecting an ultrasonic transducer, the impact of the transducer size and center frequency should be fully considered. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.