3D Ultrasonic Wave Simulations for Structural Health Monitoring

Structural health monitoring (SHM) for the detection of damage in aerospace materials is an important area of research at NASA. Ultrasonic guided Lamb waves are a promising SHM damage detection technique since the waves can propagate long distances. For complicated flaw geometries experimental signals can be difficult to interpret. High performance computing can now handle full 3-dimensional (3D) simulations of elastic wave propagation in materials. We have developed and implemented parallel 3D elastodynamic finite integration technique (3D EFIT) code to investigate ultrasound scattering from flaws in materials. EFIT results have been compared to experimental data and the simulations provide unique insight into details of the wave behavior. This type of insight is useful for developing optimized experimental SHM techniques. 3D EFIT can also be expanded to model wave propagation and scattering in anisotropic composite materials.

[1]  M. Hinders,et al.  Lamb wave tomography of pipe-like structures. , 2005, Ultrasonics.

[2]  J. Rose.  Ultrasonic Waves in Solid Media , 1999 .

[3]  M. Hinders.  Plane-elastic-wave scattering from an elastic sphere , 1991 .

[4]  Joseph L. Rose,et al.  A Baseline and Vision of Ultrasonic Guided Wave Inspection Potential , 2002 .

[5]  Victor Giurgiutiu,et al.  Embedded non-destructive evaluation for structural health monitoring, damage detection, and failure prevention , 2005 .

[6]  Tribikram Kundu,et al.  Detection of kissing bonds by Lamb waves , 1998 .

[7]  René Marklein,et al.  Numerical modeling of elastic wave propagation and scattering with EFIT — elastodynamic finite integration technique , 1995 .

[8]  F Fellinger,et al.  Numerical techniques for elastic wave propagation and scattering. , 1990 .

[9]  A. Bulletti,et al.  A new design and manufacturing process for embedded Lamb waves interdigital transducers based on piezopolymer film , 2005 .

[10]  Campbell Leckey,et al.  Investigation of Ultrasonic Wave Scattering Effects using Computational Methods , 2011 .

[12]  D. Worlton,et al.  ULTRASONIC TESTING WITH LAMB WAVES , 1956 .

[13]  Bernd Köhler,et al.  THE ACOUSTIC FINITE INTEGRATION TECHNIQUE FOR WAVES OF CYLINDRICAL SYMMETRY (CAFIT) , 1997 .

[14]  J. Roux,et al.  Elastic wave propagation in anisotropic materials , 1990, IEEE Symposium on Ultrasonics.

[15]  Mark K. Hinders,et al.  3D ELASTODYNAMIC FINITE INTEGRATION TECHNIQUE SIMULATION OF GUIDED WAVES IN EXTENDED BUILT-UP STRUCTURES CONTAINING FLAWS , 2010 .

[16]  Bernd Köhler,et al.  The elastodynamic finite integration technique for waves in cylindrical geometries , 1998 .

[17]  Constantinos Soutis,et al.  Structural health monitoring techniques for aircraft composite structures , 2010 .

[18]  Kevin R Leonard,et al.  Simulation of guided waves in complex piping geometries using the elastodynamic finite integration technique. , 2007, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[19]  Bernd Koehler,et al.  Numerical time-domain simulation of wave propagation and scattering in acoustic microscopy for subsurface defect characterization , 2005, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[20]  Massimo Ruzzene,et al.  Generation of Lamb waves through surface mounted macro-fiber composite transducers , 2011 .

[21]  H. Baier,et al.  MODELING OF ULTRASONIC TESTING OF WOVEN FABRIC LAMINATES: A MICROSTRUCTURE APPROACH , 2009 .