Determining the Elastic Constants of Isotropic Materials by Measuring the Phase Velocities of the A0 and S0 Modes of Lamb Waves

Abstract

In this study, a new method for determining the elastic constants of isotropic plates using Lamb wave fundamental modes is presented. This method solves the inverse problem, where the elastic constants (Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio) of the plate were estimated by measuring the phase velocities of the Lamb wave using the Rayleigh–Lamb equations to find the solution and determining the phase velocities of the A0 and S0 modes using a new method. The suitability of the proposed method for determining the elastic constants was evaluated using simulated and experimental signals propagating on an aluminum plate. The theoretical modeling on the aluminum 7075-T6 plate shows that the proposed method allows the determination of the Poisson ratio with a relative error not exceeding 2% and Young’s modulus with a relative error not exceeding 0.5%. The experimental measurements of an aluminum plate of known thickness (2 mm) and density (2685 kg/m3) confirmed the suitability of the proposed method for the measurements of elastic constants. In the proposed method, the processing of ultrasonic signals can be performed in real-time, and the values of the elastic constants can be obtained immediately after scanning the required distance.