Elastic constants determination of anisotropic materials from phase velocities of acoustic waves generated and detected by lasers.
This paper describes a method which allows the synthesis of acoustic plane waves by means of laser ultrasonic techniques. When a laser line source radiates at the surface of an anisotropic material, intricate effects are observed on signals obtained by transmission experiments. The material characterization from such a set of signals is not a trivial task since it requires correctly selecting the data necessary for the elastic constants determination, by distinguishing them from all the parasitic phenomena. In the present paper, it is shown that a judicious sum of signals obtained for various positions of the line source at the surface of a sample leads to the synthesis of an acoustic plane wave for which the odd phenomena disappear. Moreover, by applying a constant delay between the various signals, acoustic plane waves can be synthesized with varied refracted angles. One of the advantages of this technique is to offer convenient access to the phase velocity, providing an easier determination of the elastic constants. This method is successively applied to recover the stiffness coefficients of a silicon crystal and of a composite material. The good agreement between the so-recovered elastic constants and values given by other processes shows the contribution of such a method in the field of material characterization.
Non-destructive evaluation of composite materials with ultrasonic waves generated and detected by lasers.
Measurement of the stiffness properties of composite materials with laser generated and detected ultrasound requires proper understanding of waves emanating from a line or point source in anisotropic and viscoelastic media. The paper briefly presents calculation results of waves radiated by such a source through or at the surface of a composite plate. Dispersion is represented as well as the multiple wave arrivals connected with the folded shape of the quasi-shear ray surface. Moreover, internal diffraction at the cusp edges is properly depicted. An identification method with specific signal processing have been used to measure the stiffness coefficients of composite materials. From group velocity data, the stiffness tensor of materials showing an orthorhombic symmetry can be identified. The stiffness tensor changes induced by elevated temperatures in a composite material were then measured. An alternative approach was developed which allows to measure the phase velocities of waves generated with laser line sources. The material characterisation reliability is then improved. Moreover, the method can be used in practical cases where the front side of the structure only is accessible with the experimental devices. Despite reflection at the rear interface of transient divergent waves which ray surfaces may contain caustics, this inverse problem can be solved in a simple and efficient manner.
Electrochemical detection of copper(II) at a gold electrode modified with a self-assembled monolayer of penicillamine
A penicillamine (PCA) self-assembled monolayer (SAM) was prepared on a gold electrode. It has been found that the modified electrode exhibited a selective response to copper ions. As demonstrated by cyclic voltammetric experiments, the SAM-based electrode showed an attractive ability to preconcentrate efficiently traces of copper(II) from solutions. Under optimum conditions, the anodic peak current was proportional to the concentration of Cu(II) in the range from 8.0 × 10−7 to 1.0 × 10−4 M with a detection limit of 4.0 × 10−7 M. Moreover, this modified gold electrode is also characterized by excellent repeatability, showing a relative standard deviation of 3.2% for nine successive measurements of 1.0 × 10−5 M Cu(II). The PCA/Au SAM gold electrode was used for the determination of Cu(II) in a tap water sample and the results showed a good agreement with the data obtained by atomic emission spectrometry.