A time-domain finite element boundary integration method for ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation

A 2-D and 3-D numerical modeling approach for calculating the elastic wave scattering signals from complex stress-free defects is evaluated. In this method, efficient boundary integration across the complex boundary of the defect is coupled with a time-domain finite element (FE) solver. The model is designed to simulate time-domain ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation in bulk media. This approach makes use of the hybrid concept of linking a local numerical model to compute the near-field scattering behavior and theoretical mathematical formulas for postprocessing to calculate the received signals. It minimizes the number of monitoring signals from the FE calculation so that the computation effort in postprocessing decreases significantly. In addition, by neglecting the conventional regular monitoring box, the region for FE calculation can be made smaller. In this paper, the boundary integral method is implemented in a commercial FE code, and it is validated by comparing the scattering signals with results from corresponding full FE models. The coupled method is then implemented in real inspection scenarios in both 2-D and 3-D, and the accuracy and the efficiency are demonstrated. The limitations of the proposed model and future works are also discussed.