Optimal slope angles of the air-coupled transducer from viewpoint of the effective Lamb waves propagation in different materials

Abstract

Air-coupled transducers (ACT) allow for non-contact generation of acoustic waves which can be later transferred into elastic waves due to interactions with the solid specimen. Proper slope of the ACT in relation to the investigated specimen surface during acoustic waves generation is important as it leads to the possibility of generation of desired Lamb wave modes in the form of elastic waves with selected propagation velocity values. Effective generation of these modes ease the analysis of elastic waves propagation in specimens, simultaneously helping in detection of material defects if they exist. The attempt to determine optimal slope angles was undertaken in case of aluminum (Al), carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) plate-like structure. Due to relatively low excitation frequency of the used ACT (40 kHz) the investigation was focused on the slope angles referred to the generation of zero-order modes - antisymmetric A0 and symmetric S0. In CFRP plate case the issue of efficient generation of shear horizontal (SH0) wave mode was additionally considered. In Al and CFRP plate case optimal slope angles were considered numerically (Comsol, Matlab) and experimentally (lab investigations, Matlab) while in GFRP plate case they were estimated experimentally. Although not all of the slope angles were successfully determined within different approaches, the results helped to form some interesting conclusions. After determination of the slope angles the performance of sloped/non-sloped ACT was compared in full wavefield measurements (comparison of signal energy maps calculated with the usage of root mean square (RMS) formula). Recommendations for further work were depicted within the summary section.