Quantitative flaw reconstruction from ultrasonic surface wavefields measured by electronic speckle pattern interferometry

A new method for imaging flaws in plate and shell structures is presented. The method employs two-dimensional ultrasonic surface wave data obtained by optical electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) techniques. In the imaging method, the measured out-of-plane displacement field associated with an externally excited ultrasonic Lamb wave is processed to obtain the spatial frequency domain spectrum of the wavefield. A free space Green´s function is then deconvolved from the wavefield to obtain quantitative images of effective scattering sources. Because the strength of these effective sources is directly dependent on local variations in sample thickness and material properties, these images provide a direct map of internal inhomogeneities. Simulation results show that the method accurately images flaws for a wide range of sizes and material contrast ratios. These results also demonstrate that flaw features much smaller than an acoustic wavelength can be imaged, consistent with the theoretical capability of the imaging method to employ scattered evanescent waves. Reconstructions are also obtained from ultrasonic Lamb wave displacement fields recorded by ESPI in a flawed aluminum plate. These reconstructions indicate that the present method has potential for imaging flaws in complex structures for which ESPI wavefield measurements cannot be straightforwardly interpreted.