Ultrasonic Phased Array Imaging Approach Using Omni-Directional Velocity Correction for Quantitative Evaluation of Delamination in Composite Structure

The ultrasonic detectability of buried defects within composite materials is dependent on the anisotropy of the composite material by which the propagation property of acoustic wave in each direction is variably affected. In this study, the characteristics of acoustic waves propagating in different directions for composite materials are explored based on the full matrix capture (FMC) data using an ultrasonic phased array. The elastic constant of multidirectional carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminate is first derived based on the genetic algorithm. The characteristics of transmitted and reflected waves in higher angles are predicted by implementing the Christoffel equation, and the focal law used in post-processing of FMC data can be optimized accordingly. The imaging results of the total focusing method (TFM) using the improved focal law are compared with the results of the conventional TFM. The results suggest that the optimized TFM can effectively characterize the defect by reducing the background noise. Furthermore, since it is impractical to theoretically correct angle-dependent velocity for in situ inspection, a linear extrapolation method based on the experimentally measurable velocity at low angles is proposed to estimate the velocity profile at higher angles. The imaging results using the fast extrapolated velocity profile is then compared with the theoretical, and it has been demonstrated that while the difference between the images using the theoretical focal law and the linearly extrapolated one is barely visible, the later one is overwhelmingly advantageous to be realiszd for engineering practices.

Automated summary

The study explores the characteristics of acoustic waves propagating in different directions in composite materials using ultrasonic phased array and full matrix capture (FMC) data. An improved focal law is derived based on the elastic constants of multidirectional carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminate obtained through the genetic algorithm. The imaging results using the optimized total focusing method (TFM) show reduced background noise and improved defect characterization. Additionally, a linear extrapolation method is proposed to estimate the velocity profile at higher angles, which is advantageous for engineering practices compared to theoretically correcting angle-dependent velocity.