The effect of joint geometry parameters on ultrasonic weld-guided modes in thick steel plates

Ultrasonic guided waves are widely applied in non-destructive testing (NDT) due to its high efficiency, however, the inspection of large areas of complex structures can be challenging. Weld can be taken as a wave-guide because it can concentrate and guide energy of ultrasonic waves to travel along the direction of weld, which shows a potential for rapid NDE of long welds. In this paper, the effect of joint geometry parameters on two ultrasonic weld-guided modes, named the SHw0 and the Sw0 mode, in 10 mm thick steel-AISI-4340 plates has been analyzed through semi-analytical finite element simulations. Results show that the propagation properties of the SHw0 mode is almost stable with different geometry parameters. However, the phase velocity and attenuation of Sw0 will change with the increase of weld width and reinforcing height, which can be taken into consideration when we are choosing a mode as well as frequency in application of weld-guided waves.