Synthetic phase tuning of guided waves

A novel method has been developed to generate and manipulate multi-mode guided waves. This technique uses a linear phased array whose elements are activated according to a prescribed time delay profile obtained from the dispersion curves. It is shown that a desired guided wave mode can be tuned by synthetically constructing a virtual wave from individually acquired waveform data. In addition to the development of such a synthetic phase tuning (SPT) technique, a pseudo pulse-echo (PPE) operation scheme is also developed for nondestructive testing. Experimental results are compared with those obtained by more traditional techniques using variable angle wedges and array transducers. It was shown that the new technique is convenient, robust, and flexible in utilizing multi-mode guided waves for nondestructive evaluation (NDE). It is a dynamic method that can produce desired guided wave modes propagating in the desired direction without any mechanical alignment. The advantages and limitations of the technique are addressed.