Nonuniform Arrangement of Emitter-Receiver Pairs Arrangement and Compact Ultrasonic Tomography Setup

Arrangements of emitter-receiver pairs with two possibilities: nonuniform and uniform locations, are studied. Ultrasonic computerized tomographic (UCT) setups are developed with these configurations for parallel and fan beam scanning modes. Optimization is used to determine the best nonuniform arrangement. The CT reconstructions with nonuniform emitter-receiver pair arrangements from the data acquired via computer generated pixel images and real world specimens show promising results compared with their uniform arrangement. A flow channel, e.g., a metal pipe with small ratio of pipe diameter to emitter/receiver aperture, imposes restriction on the number of emitter-receiver pairs. A practical application, for void-fraction estimation for water-air flow, is investigated with the best design. Reconstructed flow profiles and estimated air fractions match with 3-D numerical simulation obtained using FLUENT 14. Cost of a focused acoustic emitter/receiver pair and its noise response depends on its focal length. The optimized nonuniform design can be best suited for emitter/receiver pairs of small focal lengths and can aid in developing low budget and compact UCT scanners.