Evaluation of the Thickness and Bond Quality of Three-Layered Media using Zero-Group-Velocity Lamb Waves

Bonding conditions such as jointing agent thickness and bond strength (quality) at the interface between two components is a critical concern in an assembled product because the jointing area is often the weakest component in products. Using a laser ultrasonic technique, zero-group-velocity (ZGV) Lamb waves were utilized to characterize the thickness of an adhesive layer for an epoxy-bonded sample and the bond quality for brazed samples. Using two modes of the ZGV Lamb waves, the thickness of the adhesive layer ranging from 0.2 to 0.8 mm can be estimated with high accuracy. In bond quality measurements, poor bond quality lowered the frequency of ZGV Lamb waves. The decrease in the frequency depended on the amount of shear stress along the interface caused by ZGV Lamb waves.