A study of the noncollinear ultrasonic-wave-mixing technique under imperfect resonance conditions.

Geometrical and material property changes cause deviations in the resonant conditions used for noncollinear wave mixing. These deviations are predicted and observed using the SV(ω1)+L(ω2)→L(ω1+ω2) interaction, where SV and L are the shear vertical and longitudinal waves, respectively, and ω1, ω2 are their frequencies. Numerical predictions, performed for the scattered secondary field in the far field zone, show three field features of imperfect resonance conditions: (1) rotation of a scattered beam, (2) decrease in the beam amplitude, and (3) beam splitting. The response of the nonlinear ultrasonic wave mixing technique is verified experimentally in two ways: (1) detection of a kissing bond between two polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plates, and (2) detection of subsurface micro-cracks in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). A predominant decrease in nonlinear wave energy is observed in both experiments. Beam rotation and splitting is observed in the kissing-bond experiment, while a minor increase in the nonlinear wave energy up to 100% is observed in the micro-cracked PMMA specimen.

Possible second-order nonlinear interactions of plane waves in an elastic solid.

There exist ten possible nonlinear elastic wave interactions for an isotropic solid described by three constants of the third order. All other possible interactions out of 54 combinations (triplets) of interacting and resulting waves are prohibited, because of restrictions of various kinds. The considered waves include longitudinal and two shear waves polarized in the interacting plane and orthogonal to it. The amplitudes of scattered waves have simple analytical forms, which can be used for experimental setup and design. The analytic results are verified by comparison with numerical solutions of initial equations. Amplitude coefficients for all ten interactions are computed as functions of frequency for polyvinyl chloride, together with interaction and scattering angles. The nonlinear equation of motion is put into a general vector form and can be used for any coordinate system.

Noncollinear wave mixing for measurement of dynamic processes in polymers: physical ageing in thermoplastics and epoxy cure.

Elastic wave mixing using an immersion method has shown effective monitoring and scanning capabilities when applied to thermoplastic ageing, epoxy curing, and non-destructive testing. In water, excitation and reception of waves do not require physical contact between the tools and the specimen, making the acquisition of high-resolution C-scans possible. The nonlinear material parameters exhibit a much higher sensitivity to the specimen state compared to linear ones. Thus, the nonlinear data for polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) have a 40% difference between zones of "young" and "aged" material, while the linear data show no difference at all. Methodology and logistics of the immersion wave-mixing method are discussed in detail. Monitoring of epoxy curing has also revealed a good sensitivity of the method to this complex process including several characteristic stages, such as the time of maximal viscosity, the gel time, and the vitrification time. These stages are independently verified in separate rheometry measurements. The presented method allows for a number of possibilities: wave-mode and frequency separations, elimination of surrounding medium influence, "steering" (scanning) a scattered wave, controlling the location of the intersection volume, single-sided or double-sided measurements, and operation in detector mode.

3D analysis of interaction of Lamb waves with defects in loaded steel plates.

The objective of the research presented here is the investigation of the interaction of guided waves with welds, defects and other non-uniformities in steel plates loaded by liquid. The investigation has been performed using numerical simulation for 2D and 3D cases by the finite differences method, finite element method and measurement of 3D distributions of acoustic fields. Propagation of the S(0) mode in a steel plate and its interaction with non-uniformities was investigated. It was shown that using the measured leaky wave signals in the water loading of the steel plate and by application of signal processing, the 3D ultrasonic field structure inside and outside of the plate can be reconstructed. The presence of leaky wave signals over the defect caused by the mode conversion of Lamb waves has been proved using the numerical modelling and experimental investigations. The developed signal and data processing enables to visualise dynamics of ultrasonic fields over the plate, and also to estimate spatial positions of defects inside the steel plates.

Air-coupled ultrasonic investigation of multi-layered composite materials.

Air-coupled ultrasonics is fine alternative for the immersion testing technique. Usually a through transmission and a pitch-catch arrangement of ultrasonic transducers are used. The pitch-catch arrangement is very attractive for non-destructive testing and evaluation of materials, because it allows one-side access to the object. However, this technique has several disadvantages. It is sensitive to specularly reflected and edge waves. A spatial resolution depends on a distance between the transducers. A new method for detection and visualisation of inhomogeneities in composite materials using one-side access air-coupled ultrasonic measurement technique is described. Numerical predictions of Lamb wave interaction with a defect in a composite material are carried out and the interaction mechanism is explained. Experimental measurements are carried out with different arrangements of the transducers. The proposed method enables detect delamination and impact type defects in honeycomb materials.