An Equivalent Circuit Model of Magnetostrictive Transducers for Guided Wave Applications

An equivalent circuit model of thin-strip magnetostrictive transducers for guided wave generation and detection in structural parts, such as rods, pipes, and plates, is described. In order to calculate the overall performance of the guided-wave inspection system, we combine and utilize three mode ling approaches: the equivalent circuit model for magnetostrictive transducers, the transmission line model for guided-wave transmission and reflection, and the equivalent circuit model for an electric pulser and receiver system. A comparison with the experimentally measured transducer performance has shown that the proposed model is effective for calculating the detected waveforms, the frequency response of the transducer, its dependence on the width of the magnetostrictive strip, and the dependence of the transducer sensitivity on the thickness of the magnetostrictive strip. However, the comparison has also shown that the proposed model is not particularly effective for estimating the electrical impedance of the transducer. Areas requiring further work to improve the model are discussed. KCI Citation Count: 5