Optimized ultrasonic total focusing imaging of diverse and multiple defects in crossply CFRP: Floquet wave theory, numerical simulation, and experimental validation

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) with large thickness (≥20 mm) are being extensively used for aerospace structures, and are prone to the manufacturing and in-service defects due to the complexity and difficulty of manufacturing. This study addresses an intensive interrogation of multi-parameter optimization towards a high-quality ultrasonic total focusing method (TFM) imaging for diverse and multiple defects in crossply CFRP. Firstly, material parameters of unidirectional laminate are inversely constructed based on Christoffel equation by inputting the experimentally measured wave speed, based on which the wave speed and homogenization region for the crossply CFRP are obtained with the Floquet wave theory. Then, the wave propagation at crossply CFRP with preset side drilled holes (SDHs) at depths of 4 mm and 12 mm is modelled, from which the full matrix data are extracted for TFM imaging using multiple parameter optimization, including wave velocity correction, propagation restriction angle, and wave central frequency. With the proposed signal-to-noise ratio as the criterion of TFM imaging quality, the combined parameters for optimized imaging are sorted out, which are strongly related to the feature of propagating and non-propagating waves calculated with the Floquet wave homogenization theory. A further experimental validation is performed to image multiple SDHs and delamination with size over 2 mm and depths covering 2.5 mm to 17.5 mm. This systematic analysis of parameter optimization for TFM imaging in thick CFRP sets up the foundation for the TFM towards a real engineering application of CFRP detection.