Design and experimental verification of phase-reversal Fresnel lens for contact stress characterization

The accurate characterization of the contact stress on the mating surfaces of assembly components is a key means to ensure the assembly accuracy and operational safety of aero-engines. In this paper, a phase-reversal Fresnel lens for contact stress characterization is designed to solve the problem of low spatial resolution of contact stress characterization by the non water immersion ultrasonic method. The phase-reversal Fresnel lens is used to focus the ultrasonic wave on the mating surface of the assembly components to improve the spatial resolution of the contact stress characterization. The finite element simulation method is used to analyze the influence of the number of lens rings, the piezoelectric plate's diameter, the lens's thickness, and the groove depth on the focusing characteristics of Fresnel lenses. The power spectrum peak is used to analyze the residual reflected wave energy of the mating surface. According to the correlation between the residual reflected wave energy and the contact stress, a correlation model between the two is built to realize the characterization of the contact stress. This study provides a promising method for the characterization of contact stress on the mating surface of aero-engine assembly components by non water immersion focused ultrasound.