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Detection of Surface and Subsurface Flaws in Homogeneous and Composite Solids by Resonant Ultrasound

Published

Author(s)

Paul R. Heyliger, H M. Ledbetter

Abstract

We used resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) to detect two types of flaws: a surface crack in a steel block and an interior void in a bilayered composite block Detection is possible because cracks alter an object's macroscopic vibration frequencies, which can be measured to better than 1 Hz in 1 MHz. The surface crack decreased the resonant frequencies up to 50%. The interior flaw in the adhesive joint between an aluminum alloy and a graphite-epoxy layer, increased resonant frequencies with increasing flaw size. We confirmed our measurements with finite-element and Ritz approximation calculations. Our study supports the use of RUS to detect cracks.
Citation
Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation
Volume
17
Issue
No. 2

Keywords

bond flaw, finite element method, resonant ultrasound, surface crack

Citation

Heyliger, P. and Ledbetter, H. (1997), Detection of Surface and Subsurface Flaws in Homogeneous and Composite Solids by Resonant Ultrasound, Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation (Accessed April 26, 2024)
Created November 30, 1997, Updated October 12, 2021