3D finite element simulations of an air-coupled ultrasonic NDT system

A single-sided, air-coupled ultrasonic NDT system based on the generation and reception of the A0 Lamb mode is used for detecting defects in plates. Transmitting and receiving transducers, being oriented at the appropriate coincidence angle for the generation and detection of the mode, are scanned along a line from one side to the other over the surface of the sample, passing the area with the defect. This contact-less NDT system is modelled in three dimensions with a Finite Element -based method. The air-coupled transmitter is modelled by the normal pressure that it locally applies on the surface of the plate, and the air-coupled receiver by integrating normal displacements over a finite area of appropriate position on the surface of the plate. In this way, beam spreading of both incident and scattered fields is considered. Numerical predictions have successfully been compared with experimental data for a through-thickness hole in an Aluminium plate and also for an impact damage in a composite sample.