Laser Ultrasonic Inspection of Plates Using Zero-Group Velocity Lamb Modes

A noncontact laser-based ultrasonic technique is proposed for detecting small plate thickness variations caused by corrosion and adhesive disbond between two plates. The method exploits the resonance at the minimum frequency of the S(1) Lamb mode dispersion curve. At this minimum frequency, the group velocity vanishes, whereas the phase velocity remains finite. The energy deposited by the laser pulse generates a local resonance of the plate. This vibration is detected at the same point by an optical interferometer. First experiments show the ability to image a 1.5-mu m deep corroded area on the back side of a 0.5-mm-thick duralumin plate. Because of the finite wavelength of the S(1)-zero group velocity (ZGV) mode, the spatial resolution is limited to approximately twice the plate thickness. With the same technique we investigate the state of adhesive bonds between duralumin and glass plates. The S(1)-Lamb mode resonance is strongly attenuated when plates are rigidly bonded. In the case of thin adhesive layers, we observed other resonances, associated with ZGV modes of the multi-layer structure, whose frequencies and amplitudes vary with adhesive thickness. Experiments were carried out on real automotive adhesively bonded structures and the results were compared with images obtained by X-ray radiography.