Limitations and improvements for harmonic generation measurements
A typical acoustic harmonic generation measurement comes with certain limitations. Firstly, the use of the plane wave-based analysis used to extract the nonlinear parameter, β, ignores the effects of diffraction, attenuation and receiver averaging which are common to most experiments, and may therefore limit the accuracy of a measurement. Secondly, the method usually requires data obtained from a through-transmission type setup, which may not be practical in a field measurement scenario where access to the component is limited. Thirdly, the technique lacks a means of pinpointing areas of damage in a component, as the measured nonlinearity represents an average over the length of signal propagation. Here we describe a three-dimensional model of harmonic generation in a sound beam, which is intended to provide a more realistic representation of a typical experiment. The presence of a reflecting boundary is then incorporated into the model to assess the feasibility of performing single-sided measurements. Experimental validation is provided where possible. Finally, a focusing acoustic source is modelled to provide a theoretical indication of the afforded advantages when the nonlinearity is localized.