Patent ID: 6289734
Filing Date: 2001-09-18
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A portable test system for in-situ, non-destructive identification of a visco-elastic material, the system comprising:a probe-like test member and a controller, the probe-like test member having at least one output signal representative of the visco-elastic material, wherein the controller is responsive to the output signal for determining properties of the visco-elastic material, the test member comprising:a longitudinally extending housing;a transducer mechanism operably positioned within the housing, the transducer mechanism including an indentation tip member, wherein the indentation tip member is extendable through the housing;a load mechanism for loading the transducer mechanism with a desired constant load, causing the indentation tip member to extend through the housing to perform an indentation on the visco-elastic material;a force calibration mechanism for calibrating the application of a fixed force between the indentation tip member and the visco-elastic material; andthe controller including a mechanism for applying an audiosonic signal to the visco-elastic material via the transducer mechanism, where in response to the audiosonic signal the transducer mechanism provides an output signal representative of identification of the visco-elastic material, the controller including means responsive to the output signal for determining a set of material values using mechanical contact impedance matching and piecewise polynomial fitting; and a set of threshold material values corresponding to a type of visco-elastic material.