ABSTRACT
In the domain of renewable energies, marine current turbines constitute one of the possibilities of producing electrical energy. Naked-eye inspection, or with the aid of video monitoring systems of these machines to ensure their perfect working order, can be difficult in a turbid environment. Acoustic methods are conceivable. The study focuses on the blades of these machines, by considering rectangular plates. The propagation of Lamb waves in a plate is studied by analyzing experimental time signals obtained from acoustic scattering. These signals are analyzed employing the ray theory. In vacuum, the flexural wave is the A(0) Lamb wave, whilst in water this wave splits in a bifurcation: the A wave with a phase velocity always smaller than the sound speed in water, and the A(0) wave with a phase velocity always higher than the sound speed in water. In the central bandpass of the transducers used in the experiments, mainly the A and S(0) waves exist. However, signals observed in the third harmonic bandpass of the transducers are also analyzed. In order to complement these results, resonance frequencies of the plate studied are calculated taking into account the boundary conditions and compared with the resonance frequencies of the experimental spectra.
