The aspect ratio constant is as shown in Table 2-1.

It is based on the
ratio betweenwww.itseasyforu.com
the short and long dimensions of the element or aperture.
Table 2-1 Aspect ratio constant

Ratio short/long k
1.0 1.37 (square element)
0.9 1.25
0.8 1.15
0.7 1.09
0.6 1.04
0.5 1.01
0.4 1.00
0.3 and below 0.99

In the case of circular elements, k is not used and the diameter of the
element (D) is used instead of the length term:

N = kL2f or N = kL2f
4c 4



Because of the sound pressure variations within the near field, it can be
difficult to accurately evaluate flaws using amplitude based techniques
(although thickness gaging within the near field is not a problem).
Additionally, N represents the greatest distance at which a transducer
beam can be focused by means of either an acoustic lens or phasing
techniques. Focusing is discussed further in section 2.7, on page 31.

2.2 Fundamental Properties of Sound

Waves
Wavefront formation. While a single element transducer can be thought of as
a piston source, a single disk, or plate pushing forward on the test
medium, the wave it generates can be mathematically modeled as the sum
of the waves from a very large number of point sources. This derives from
Huygens' principle, first proposed by seventeenth-century Dutch physicist
Christiaan Huygens, which states that each point on an advancing
wavefront may be thought of as a point source that launches a new
spherical wave, and that the resulting unified
wavefront is the sum of all of these individual spherical waves.

Beam spreading. In principle, the sound wave generated by a transducer

travels in a straight line until it encounters a material

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