IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE University of London THE NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING OF PLATES USING ULTRASONIC LAMB WAVES by David N, Alleyne A thesis submitted to the University of London for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and for the Diploma of Imperial College Department of Mechanical Engineering Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine London SW7 February 1991Abstract ‘The major objective of this thesis is the development of quantitative methods of applying Lamb waves in industrial nondestructive testing (NDT). The key problem associated with the measurement of the characteristics of Lamb waves is that invariably more than one mode is excited at any given frequency. This has led to problems when interpreting the typically complicated Lamb wave signals which are commonly found in NDT applications. ‘The first two chapters of this thesis provide an introduction to the field of NDT using Lamb waves, reviewing past work and relevant theory. The review has shown that quantitative or qualitative time domain methods may be adopted in low frequency-thickness product regions where only two propagating modes are possible as they may be easily decoupled from one another by the orientation of the transducers. However, in higher frequency-thickness regions the multi-mode dispersive nature of Lamb waves makes this approach unreliable for most NDT applications. In chapter 3 a new method is presented for measuring the amplitudes and velocities of Lamb waves. The method involves a two-dimensional Fourier transformation (2- D FFT) of the time history of the signals received at a series of equally spaced positions along the propagation path. The output of this transform is a three-dimensional plot of the amplitude versus frequency and wavenumber, from which the amplitudes of the different propagating Lamb modes may be obtained. In chapters 4 and 5 the 2-D FFT method is used to measure the characteristics of propagating Lamb waves in finite element modelling studies, where single Lamb modes have been launched. Numerical predictions of Lamb wave reflection from boundaries and interaction with straight sided notches are presented. In chapters 6 and 7 the numerical model is validated by experimental investigations carried out on a variety of plates with straight sided notches. ‘The correlation between the experimental results and the numerical predictions is excellent and the results are presented in terms of Lamb wave amplitudes as a function of frequency- thickness product and Lamb wave amplitudes as a function of notch depth at particular frequency-thicknesses, this being the more useful format in NDT applications. The final two chapters discuss the practical implementation of quantitative and qualitative Lamb wave techniques in the NDT of plate-like structures and present the major conclusions of the thesis. Here, the emphasis is on practical problems such as signal-to-noise considerations, coupling requirements, excitation methods, and on methods of distinguishing the signals from defects from those produced by boundaries or other impedance changes. ‘The main conclusion of the thesis is that Lamb waves may be used very successfully for the quantitative NDT of plates. In localised, detailed NDT applications the detectability of a defectmay be optimised by choosing the most suitable mode at the appropriate frequency-thickness product. Since stresses are produced throughout the thickness of the plate by Lamb waves (in some cases there may be stress nodes which must be carefully considered), the entire thickness of the plate is interrogated, which means it is possible to find defects that are initiated at either surface or internal locations. Lamb waves may be propagated over considerable distances, so they are ideally suited to the long range NDT of plates and plate- like structures where a fast, coarse inspection may be carried out. The finite element predictions and experimental results have shown that Lamb wave techniques may be used to find defects when the wavelength to critical defect dimension is as high as 40. The computational requirements of the 2-D FFT method are fairly modest and can be handled by most IBM compatible micro-computers interfaced to a data capture system. The multi-clement transducers which are now available make the implementation of the 2-D FFT method feasible in industrial NDT.