Mechanics Mechanical Vibration Acoustics

1.5.23-00 Ultrasonic diffraction by a straight edge

What you can learn about

 Longitudinal waves
 Superposition of waves
 Huygens principle
 Interference
 Fraunhofer and Fresnel
diffraction
 Fresnel zones
 Fresnel integrals
 Cornus spiral

Principle:
An ultrasonic wave hits a straight
edge which limits the wave field to
one side. According to Huygens
principle, the edge is a point source
for secondary waves, and these pen-
etrate also into the shaded area of
the edge. In the transmission range,
secondary waves interfere with the
primary waves, so that a succession
of maxima and minima of the alter-
nating sound pressure are created
transverse to the edge.

What you need:

Ultrasonic unit 13900.00 1
Power supply f. ultrasonic unit, 5 VDC, 12 W 13900.99 1
Ultrasonic transmitter on stem 13901.00 1
Ultrasonic receiver on stem 13902.00 1
Analog multimeter 07028.01 1
Optical profile-bench, l = 60 cm 08283.00 1
Base f. opt. profile-bench, adjust. 08284.00 2
Slide mount f. opt. profile-bench, h = 80 mm 08286.02 1
Screen metal, 3030 cm 08062.00 2
Barrel base -PASS- 02006.55 1
Tripod base -PASS- 02002.55 1
Right angle clamp -PASS- 02040.55 2
Support rod -PASS-, l = 40 cm 02026.55 1
Stand tube 02060.00 1
Measuring tape 09936.00 1 Diffraction at an edge: Course of intensity of the alternating sound pressure
Connecting cord, l = 50 cm, red 07361.01 1 as function of position coordinate x.
Connecting cord, l = 50 cm, blue 07361.04 1

Complete Equipment Set, Manual on CD-ROM included Tasks:

1. Determine the intensity distribu-
Ultrasonic diffraction by a straight edge P2152300 tion of an ultrasonic wave
diffracted at a straight edge as a
function of the transverse dis-
tance from the edge.
2. Compare the positions of the
maxima and minima found in the
experiment to those theoretically
expected.
3. Repeat the measurement of the
intensity distribution of the ultra-
sonic wave without the straight
edge.

80 Laboratory Experiments Physics PHYWE Systeme GmbH & Co. KG D - 37070 Gttingen
 LEP
Ultrasonic Diffraction by a Straight Edge 1.5.23
-00

Related topics Base f. opt. profile-bench, adjust. 08284.00 2

Longitudinal waves, superposition of waves, Huygens princi- Slide mount f. opt. profile-bench, h = 80 mm 08286.02 1
ple, Interference, Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction, Fresnel Screen metal, 30x30 cm 08062.00 2
zones, Fresnel integrals, Cornus spiral. Barrel base PASS 02006.55 1
Tripod base PASS 02002.55 1
Principle Right angle clamp PASS 02040.55 2
An ultrasonic wave hits a straight edge which limits the wave Support rod PASS, l = 40 cm 02026.55 1
field to one side. According to Huygens principle, the edge is Stand tube 02060.00 1
a point source for secondary waves, and these penetrate also Measuring tape 09936.00 1
into the shaded area of the edge. In the transmission range, Connecting cord, l = 50 cm, red 07361.01 1
secondary waves interfere with the primary waves, so that a Connecting cord, l = 50 cm, blue 07361.04 1
succession of maxima and minima of the alternating sound
pressure are created transverse to the edge.
Tasks
Equipment 1. Determine the intensity distribution of an ultrasonic wave
Ultrasonic unit 13900.00 1 diffracted at a straight edge as a function of the transverse
Power supply f. ultrasonic unit, 5 VDC, 12 W 13900.99 1 distance from the edge.
Ultrasonic transmitter on stem 13901.00 1 2. Compare the positions of the maxima and minima found in
Ultrasonic receiver on stem 13902.00 1 the experiment to those theoretically expected.
Analog multimeter 07028.01 1 3. Repeat the measurement of the intensity distribution of the
Optical profile-bench, l = 60 cm 08283.00 1 ultrasonic wave without the straight edge.

Fig. 1: Experimental set-up

PHYWE series of publications Laboratory Experiments Physics PHYWE SYSTEME GMBH & Co. KG D-37070 Gttingen 21523-00 1
 LEP
1.5.23 Ultrasonic Diffraction by a Straight Edge
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Set-up and procedure It is possible, however, to use the following approximation as

Set up the experiment as shown in Fig. 1. The diagram in an approach to evaluating the experimental results.
Fig. 2 provides additional information on the geometrical dis- Fig. 3 shows a plane wave that is moving towards an edge.
tances of the components (Fig. 2a: Plan; Fig. 2b: Side view).
The axes of transmitter T, receiver R and the edge must be in Fig. 3: Diagram of diffraction at an edge.
line. To set up the edge, mount the two metal screens so that
there is no slit between them or the experimental table. Check
that the transmitter and the receiver are at the same height.

Fig. 2: Diagram of the arrangement of the components.

a.) b.)
Connect the transmitter to the TR1 diode socket of the ultra-
sonic unit and operate it in continuous mode Con. Connect
the receiver to the left BNC socket (in front of the amplifier).
Connect it to the analog output of the analog multimeter for
display of the signal received subsequent to amplification and
rectification.
Avoid operating the amplifier in the saturation range to ensure
proportionality between the input signal and the analog output
signal. Should such a case occur and the OVL diode light
up, reduce either the transmitter amplitude or the input ampli-
fication.
Two measurement series are to be recorded: The 1st mea-
surement series with a diffracting straight edge; the 2nd mea-
surement series without a diffracting straight edge (remove the
metal screens set-up for this).
To record the 1st measurement series, slide the receiver par-
allel to the edge sheets in steps of x = 0.5 cm outside of the
shaded area (and steps of x = 1 cm in the shaded area) and
record the corresponding receiver voltages U.
For determining intensities without a diffracting straight edge,
steps of x = 1.0 cm can be used throughout the measure-
ment.
Note:
As a rule, interference to the measurement field by reflected
sound can hardly be completely avoided. To keep such inter-
ference as small as possible, do not carry out the experiment
in narrow rooms, and do not set the experiment up in the
immediate vicinity of reflecting surfaces (walls, cupboards
etc.).
According to Huygens principle, the disturbing edge is a point
source of scattered waves which also pass into the shaded
area, but with decreasing intensity. In the transmission range,
the scattered waves interfere with undisturbed successive pri-
mary waves.
On displacing the observed position transverse to the edge in
the positive x direction, the intensity of the undisturbed wave
remains constant, but that of the scattered wave decreases.
Superpositioning of the two waves results in the formation of
intensity maxima and minima which weaken with increasing
transverse distance from the edge.
Constructive interference at the oberved position x is given
when the path difference between the two wave trains is a
whole number of a wavelength l. When r0 is the distance of
the observed plane from the edge, and l is the distance of the
observed position from the edge (see Fig. 4), then the follow-
ing is valid for the constructive interference at the observed
position x:
nl
l  r0
2r20  x2 ; n
1, 2, 3, ... (1)
Using n2l2 < 2nlr0 we obtain the following for the position of
the intensity maxima:
xmax
22n lr0 (2)
Fig. 4: Geometry for determining the path difference between
primary and secondary waves.

Theory and evaluation

We cannot apply Frauenhofer diffraction to diffraction of a
wave at an edge, as the waves at the point observed come
from different directions.
Treating the problem by use of Fresnels diffraction theory is
mathematically very elaborate and outside the scope of work
at this level.
Detailed presentations of the problem are to be found in the
books listed under Literature.

2 21523-00 PHYWE series of publications Laboratory Experiments Physics PHYWE SYSTEME GMBH & Co. KG D-37070 Gttingen
 LEP
Ultrasonic Diffraction by a Straight Edge 1.5.23
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Destructive interference occurs, when the path difference (l-r0) The above considerations on the determination of interference
is an odd-numbered multiple of l/2. For small n values and conditions were based on the simplification of plane primary
r0 >> l the following is analogously valid for the x positions of waves. This assumption is not fulfilled by the transmitter, how-
the intensity minima: ever, as this is an almost point-like sender with a club-shaped
transmitting characteristic, which is the reason for the
decrease in the intensity of the alternating sound pressure at
xmin
212n  12 lr0 ; n
1, 2, 3, ... (3)
observation positions of x > 10 cm.
From Fresnels theory, for diffraction at an edge, the intensity
Fig. 5a shows the experimentally determined course of the
I and the amplitude A at position x = 0 are as follows, where
intensity on diffraction at the edge. The course of the intensi-
I0 and A0 are the corresponding values at the same position
ty without edge is shown in curve Fig. 5b.
without a diffracting edge:
The transmitter operates at a frequency f = 40 kHz. It follows
I(x = 0) = 1/4 I0 S A(x = 0) = 1/2 A0 (4)
from c = f l (c = 343.4 ms-1 at T = 20C) that the wavelength
of the ultrasound l = 0.858 cm.
Intensity I is proportional to the square of amplitude
In the region of the geometrical shade limit (-x are), the inten-
A (I r A2).
sity increases continuously and has a 1st maximum outside of
In our experiment, the measured voltage U is directly propor-
the shaded limit, at which the intensity is surprisingly higher
tional to the amplitude A of the alternating sound pressure, so
than the intensity without edge diffraction (curve b).
that acc. to equation 4, the following is also valid:
Table 1 lists the experimentally found positions of the intensi-
ty maxima and minima, as well as the comparative values cal-
U(x = 0) = 1/2 U0 (5)
culated using equations 1 and 2.

Fig. 5: Course of intensity of the alternating sound pressure as function of position coordinate x (5a: With diffraction at an edge;
5b: Without an edge).

Table 1: Positions of the extremes of interference

Maxima Minima

Experiment Theory Experiment Theory

n xExp / cm xTheor / cm xExp / xTheor xExp / cm xTheor / cm xExp / xTheor

1 6.0 8.3 - 27.7 % 9.5 10.1 - 5.9 %

2 11.5 11.7 + 1.7 % 13.7 13.1 + 4.6 %

3 15.5 14.3 + 8.4 % 17.3 15.5 + 11.6 %

4 18.5 16.6 + 11.4 % 20.7 17.6 + 17.6 %

5 22.0 18.5 + 18.9 %

PHYWE series of publications Laboratory Experiments Physics PHYWE SYSTEME GMBH & Co. KG D-37070 Gttingen 21523-00 3
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1.5.23 Ultrasonic Diffraction by a Straight Edge
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This expression is confirmed by the experiment. In Fig. 5a

(with edge), x = 0 has the ordinate value Ux=0 = 1.4 V. Fig. 5b
(without edge) shows a horizontal best straight line with an
ordinate value of U = 2.8 V (= 2 Ux=0) in the region in which
the influence of the club-shaped transmitter characteristic is
neglectable.

Literature:
Hecht/Zajac: Optics; Addison-Wesley Publishing Company
Jenkins and White: Fundamentals of Optics; McGraw-Hill
Book Company

4 21523-00 PHYWE series of publications Laboratory Experiments Physics PHYWE SYSTEME GMBH & Co. KG D-37070 Gttingen