Using the pressure transmission coefficient of a transmitted wave to evaluate some of the mechanical properties of refractory metals

• Elastic moduli of refractory metals differ between loading and unloading tests.
• We propose two low-cost highly accurate solutions for this discrepancy.
• Vrms is the most stable output voltage parameter in acoustic tests.
• The E × ρ of test specimens exhibits an exponential relationship with Vrms.
• Vrms is an indicator for the Fourier transform spectrum in these types of tests.

Refractory metals have attracted increasing interest in recent years because of their use in many high-temperature applications. However, the characteristics of these metals calculated using loaded tests (such as tensile strength tests) differ considerably from those calculated using one of the most famous methods in NDT which is called time of flying of the wave (TOF).The present study presents two solutions based on calculating the pressure transmission coefficient (PTC) of the transmitted wave between the test sample and magnesium metal. The first is based on the development of a highly accurate algorithm that lowers the cost by determining the acoustic impedance of the test specimen to calculating mechanical properties. Up to 26 theoretical tests were done (10 of these tests for refractory materials) according to their known mechanical properties to verify the accuracy of the algorithm. The convergence in results ranged from 92% to 99%. The second solution was designed to solve the same problem for specimens with a thickness of less than 1 mm. Eight experimental tests were done (five using refractory materials) to verify the accuracy of the second solution, with the convergence in the results ranging from 94% to 97%. The relationships of the Vrms measured from the oscilloscope with the PTC and with the Fourier transform spectrum were derived. The results of this research were closer to the standard mechanical properties for refractory metals compared with several recent acoustic tests.