TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 643/1998
G A Georgiou and I J Munns
Ultrasonic surface, plate and interface waves offer potentially significant advantages over conventional ultrasonic techniques for inspecting adhesively bonded joints. This study assesses their suitability.
Background
The increasing use of adhesives in manufacturing industries for joining structurally critical components, requires high quality processes and non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques. Currently, in many applications, production NDT provides only limited information about the joint. This study has sought to develop ultrasonic techniques which provide more information about the joint condition than conventional techniques. The focus is on the experimental generation of ultrasonic surface, plate and interface waves. It is believed that the success of developing such techniques in a production environment would significantly improve current practice.
Objectives
The main objectives of this present work were:
- To develop a practical means of generating ultrasonic surface waves in thin sheet material
- To determine the suitability of ultrasonic interface waves as a means of inspecting adhesively bonded joints