Analysis of leaky Lamb waves in bonded plates

Abstract The feasibility of using ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods to determine the quality of bonds in structural components is considered. The severe limitations of conventional NDE method in yielding quantitative results are indicated. Some recent results of a joint theoretical and experimental program of research using leaky Lamb waves (LLW) in laboratory specimens are presented. The LLW technique is shown to have several advantages over conventional techniques. Potential applications of the technique to nondestructively determine the elastic properties of bonds in several models are discussed.