Effect of sphere size on laser-induced pulsed acoustic device with narrow air gap between sphere and spherical shell

Abstract

In this study, a laser-induced pulsed acoustic device, featuring a narrow air gap between an opaque sphere and a transparent spherical shell, was developed as a source of pulsed acoustic waves for non-contact and non-destructive testing. The effect of the sphere size on the intensity of generated pulsed acoustic waves was investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The findings demonstrated that using small-diameter spheres is an effective method for generating high-amplitude pulsed acoustic waves with low levels of laser energy.