3D finite element simulations of an air-coupled ultrasonic NDT system

Nondestructive Testing of Polymers and Polymer–Matrix Composites

“…A-, B-, and C-scans can be simulated and also the temporal propagation of the wave can be visualized. FE, that is, finite elements (290,291) and FDTD (finite difference time domain) simulations (283) in two dimensions are relatively fast. However, for three dimensions, it is still very time consuming.…”

Air-coupled ultrasonic through-transmission thickness measurements of steel plates

“…Furthermore, damping layers or perfectly matched layers are needed to avoid unwanted reflections from the boundaries of the simulation grid. To mitigate this, some authors have chosen to combine FEM models in the elastic solids with analytical wave propagation models in the air [37].…”

3D simulations and experiments of guided wave propagation in adhesively bonded multi-layered structures

“…The numerical model uses a commercial finite element code to perform 2D simulations which agreed well with the experimental results. Ke et al [18] developed a three-dimensional FE-based model to simulate in a harmonic regime the propagation of ultrasonic-guided beams generated-detected by an air-coupled ultrasonic scanning system along structures made of composite materials, and their scattering by defects of complex shapes. In this work [18] the FE solutions are of the harmonic type.…”

“…Ke et al [18] developed a three-dimensional FE-based model to simulate in a harmonic regime the propagation of ultrasonic-guided beams generated-detected by an air-coupled ultrasonic scanning system along structures made of composite materials, and their scattering by defects of complex shapes. In this work [18] the FE solutions are of the harmonic type. Harmonic response analysis is a technique used to determine the steady-state response to loads that vary sinusoidally (harmonically) with time.…”

“…There are basically two numerical methods which can be used: the finite element (FE) method and the boundary element (BE) method. The BE method has the advantage that just the surface of the specimen needs to be discretized, but it has some limitations that made the scientific community to choose the FE method as the preferred tool in most studies on ultrasound wave propagation [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Finite element modeling allows studying wave propagation in complex structures but requires respecting strict rules for spatial and temporal discretization; as a result when high frequencies and great dimensions are involved the number of freedom degrees can become rapidly huge, making often impossible to solve real wave propagation problems.…”