Numerical simulations of ultrasonic polar scans

Numerous experiments (Van Dreumel et at 1981, Degrieck et at 1994, Degrieck 1996, Declercq et al 2001, Degrieck et at 2003) have convinced the authors that ultrasonic polar scans are a promising tool for, non-destructive characterization of fiber reinforced composites. However, because of the requirement to invert experimental data to extract quantitative information (Degrieck et at 2003), numerical simulations are mandatory Such simulations have been developed before for single layered fiber reinforced composites. Nevertheless, since the vast majority of composites are multi-layered, the development of extended numerical models is needed. Such model is presented, together with a presentation of numerical simulations of ultrasonic polar scans for multi-layered composites. It is also shown that the polar scan of a fabric reinforced composite is quite different from a polar scan of (0degrees/90degrees)-stacked unidirectional layers.