ULTRASONIC TOMOGRAPHIC IMAGING OF SOLID OBJECTS IN AIR USING AN ARRAYOF FAN-SHAPED-BEAM ELECTROSTATIC TRANSDUCERS

A technique capable of imaging solid object distributions in air is pr esented. The imaging technique is based on a tomographic method, simil ar in concept to those used in diagnostic computerised tomography. The reconstruction algorithm has been implemented in a software modelling package to allow the performance of the technique to be evaluated for various object distributions and array configurations. Furthermore, f an-shaped-beam (FSB) electrostatic transducers have been developed to allow experimental evaluation of the technique. Experimental and simul ated results indicate the utility of the approach to provide informati on on the size, shape, location and orientation of solid objects.