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A Pulse Generator Based on an Arduino Platform for Ultrasonic Applications

Article in Physics Procedia · December 2015

DOI: 10.1016/j.phpro.2015.08.234

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ScienceDirect
Physics Procedia 70 (2015) 1096 – 1099

2015 International Congress on Ultrasonics, 2015 ICU Metz

A Pulse generator based on an Arduino platform for ultrasonic

applications
Pedro Acevedoa, Mónica Vázqueza, Joel Durána, Rodolfo Petrearcea
a
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, Av. Universidad No 3000. Col. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Mexico, D.F.
Delegación Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, México.

Abstract

The objective of this work is to use the Arduino platform as an ultrasonic pulse generator to excite PVDF ultrasonic arrays in
transmission. An experimental setup was implemented using a through-transmission configuration to evaluate the performance of
the generator.
©©2015
2015TheTheAuthors.
Authors. Published
Published by Elsevier
by Elsevier B.V. B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of 2015 ICU Metz.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of ICU 2015
Keywords: PVDF; Ultrasound; throug transmission; transducer arrays, PVDF

Introduction

Applications of measurement of speed for the characterization of materials using non-destructive testing are
useful to determine various parameters of different materials. Pulsed methods allow you to determine the speed, by
measuring the time requiring the pulse to travel through the medium and back. Standard methods include: through -
transmission, sign-around, pulse-echo, interferometry, etc., (Y.B.Gandole et al, 2005).
The pulse generator is one of the critical components in an ultrasonic system. Because it is the device that
produces the electrical pulses that are applied to the emitter transducer. The most important parameters associated
with the pulse generator are frequency, amplitude and power of these electrical pulses, which determine the energy
delivered to the ultrasonic transducer.
Ultrasonic non-destructive testing applications are often based on pulsed electrical excitation of the
piezoelectric transducers (e.g.: PZTs) by means of a single-phase pulse (shock excited) or by means of two-phase
waves (burst excited); using to produce these pulses, generators (pulsers) producing voltages in the order of
hundreds of volts, these pulsers usually include as circuit breaker SCRs or MOSFETs. (J.L San Emeterio et al,
2004).

1875-3892 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of ICU 2015
doi:10.1016/j.phpro.2015.08.234
 Pedro Acevedo et al. / Physics Procedia 70 (2015) 1096 – 1099 1097

Figure 1. Block diagram for a piezoelectric transmitter

Arduino is an electronic open platform for the creation of prototypes based on free and easy-to-use hardware and
software. The micro controller within the Arduino tablet is programmed using the Arduino (based on Wiring)
programming language and the Arduino (based on Processing) development environment. There are several models
of Arduino platforms, most of them contain digital ports that can be configured as inputs or outputs. These ports can
supply 5 volts and 40 mA at each terminal (Arduino website, 2014).
A PVDF film can generate voltage pulses from 100mV to 100V depending on the strength and the impedance
of the circuit. The bandwidth range can be from 0.001 Hz to 108 Hz. PVDF arrays are desirable in the tests of non-
destructive testing due to its flexibility. Unlike PZT transducers, PVDF transducers can be excited using voltages
ranging from 1 to 30 V, Therefore output voltages from the Arduino platform are large enough to make the
piezoelectric element vibrate (Piezo Film Sensors, 2008), (Measurement Specialties, 2014) .
In the market there is a need of low-cost pulsers to excite transducer arrays, so in an attempt to provide a
solution to this problem, this paper proposes to use the Arduino platform as a pulse generator to excite a PVDF
transducer array which requires very little power.

Methodology

To evaluate the proposed pulse generator, the experimental set-up shown in the block diagram of Figure 2 was
used. The excitation of the PVDF (LDT1 - 028K) transducer array of PVDF vibrating in the thickness mode was
made using an Arduino Mega 2560 card, which was programmed to generate a single pulse, at a frequency of 5 kHz
(200μs), with amplitude of 5V. The excitation was sequentially made, i.e. from one end to another; first element
number one, then number two, then number 3 and finally number 4. The generated ultrasonic signal traveled through
water and interacted with the object under test (a 8 x 8 mm acrylic bar). In reception, a transducers array with the
same characteristics as the transmitter (28μm in thickness) was employed.
The ultrasonic signal with the information was acquired using a Tektronix DP0 3014 four-channel oscilloscope
and these signals were transferred to a PC via the USB port; they were processed, graphed and stored in a PC using
the Matlab tool.
Ultrasonic pulses generated by the Arduino card are shown in Figure 2. It is observed that there is a 10μs delay
between the rise edges of each transducer; i.e. the transducer array is sequentially excited.

Figure 2. Ultrasonic Pulses generated by Arduino

1098 Pedro Acevedo et al. / Physics Procedia 70 (2015) 1096 – 1099

The four elements transducer array and an acrylic rod which is used as an obstacle; this rod generates a variation
in the propagation speed of the transmitted ultrasonic signal emitted by the element number 3 of the transducer, due
to the change of medium (water-acrylic-water).
Figure 3 shows the two PVDF commercial transducer arrays; one of them was used as transmitter and the other
as receiver. The generated signal is a square signal (a 7μs high-pulse). The repetition period was set at 5 kHz
(200μs). The obstacle was an acrylic bar with the following dimensions: 8 mm width, 8 mm depth and 100 mm long
and it was placed at a distance of 70 mm from the transmitter and a distance of 62 mm from the receiver. The
obtained ultrasonic signals were converted to a digital format, using the a/d card of the oscilloscope.

Figure 3. Experimental set up diagram

Material Lengthwise speed[mm/s] Cross speed [mm/s] ZL

[MRayl]
Acrylic 2.75 3.26
Water at 25°C 1.4967 2.4 1.494
PVDF 2.20 3.8

Table 1 shows the acoustic parameters used in the experiments.

3. Results

Figure 4 shows the signals received by the commercial PZT transducer, the mechanical vibration emitted by
the SDT PVDF transducer is disturbed when passing through the obstacle of acrylic.
It is obvious to see that when it is interposed an obstacle between the transmitter and the receiver and this
obstacle is made of a material with a higher propagation speed than the medium, the resulting ECHO will have an
advancement in time with respect to the reference signal.
 Pedro Acevedo et al. / Physics Procedia 70 (2015) 1096 – 1099 1099

4 Author name / Physics Procedia 00 (2015) 000–000

Figure 4. Signals received by transducer PVDF array

4. Conclusion

The advantage of the Arduino platform about commercial generators is that since it consumes low power, the
current consumption is minimized and a cooling system is not required to dissipate heat. It is possible to excite
transducers using 5 volts, therefore, high voltage drivers are not required. Neither a high-gain amplifier is needed,
because the voltage value of the ultrasonic signals acquired by the PVDF transducer array is in the order of 20mV
According to results to excite PVDF transducers using an Arduino platform seems to be a viable alternative,
because this type of transducer can emit mechanical vibrations as a result of small voltages. PVDF transducers are
also good receivers, they can supply output voltages 10 times greater than a PZT transducer would supply for the
same force applied. The Measurement Specialties manual [4] suggests that when PVDF transducers are used as
transmitters the thickness resonance frequencies: 39.28 MHz for 28 μm and 122.22 MHz for 9 μm should be used;
since at these frequencies the maximum energy transfer is obtained.

Although in this work transducers were excited using a frequency of 133.33 kHz it was possible to obtained
useful information.
Finally, once the experimental through-transmission configuration was implemented and according to the results
it is possible to conclude that the use of an Arduino platform to excite PVDF ultrasonic transducers is a good option.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Hector Benitez for the loan of the Cluster, DGAPA Projects PAPIIT-1N109513 and
IT101213 for their support and Prof. Piero Tortoli from the MSDLAB, University of Florence, Italy for his help.

References

Arduino Website. http://arduino.cc/ (Consulted: May 2014).

J.L San Emeterio, A. Ramos, et al. Modeling NDT piezoelectric ultrasonic transmitters. Ultrasonics, Volume 42, Issues 1–9, April 2004, Pages
277–281.
Measurement Specialties. http://www.meas-spec.com/piezo-film-sensors.aspx. (Consulted: May 2014).
Piezo Film Sensors. Technical Manual. Measurement Specialties, Inc. 25 March 2008.
Y. B. Gandole, S. P. Yawale, S. S. Yawale. Simplified instrumentation for ultrasonic measurements Electronic Journal "Technical Acoustics"
2005, 37.

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