Experimental characterization of efficient second harmonic generation of Lamb wave modes in a nonlinear elastic isotropic plate

Abstract

This research experimentally characterizes the efficiency of Lamb wave mode pairs to generate the cumulative second harmonic in an undamaged aluminum plate. Previous research developed the theoretical framework for the characteristics of second harmonic generation of Lamb waves in nonlinear elastic plates, and identified five mode types where the amplitude of the measured second harmonic should increase linearly with ultrasonic wave propagation distance. The current research considers one of these five mode types, Lamb wave mode pairs at the longitudinal velocity, and experimentally confirms the theoretically predicted ratios of the rate of accumulation of the second harmonic amplitude versus propagation distance for two different Lamb wave mode pairs. By comparing these rates of accumulation, these experimental results are used to characterize the measurement efficiency of the mode pairs under consideration.