Evaluation of interface wave velocity, reflection coefficients and interfacial stiffnesses of contacting surfaces

The phase velocity of the antisymmetric-mode interface wave as well as the longitudinal and shear wave reflection coefficients have been measured for contacting poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) surfaces subjected to different contact pressures. It has been found that while the reflection coefficients decrease as the contact pressure is increased, the phase velocity of the interface wave increases from that of the Rayleigh wave toward that of the bulk shear wave. From these measurements, the normal and tangential interfacial stiffnesses of the contacting PMMA surfaces have been evaluated as functions of the contact pressure. As a result, the two independent procedures to evaluate the tangential stiffness, namely, from the interface wave velocity and from the shear wave reflection measurements, have yielded mutually consistent results. Furthermore, it has been found that the tangential/normal stiffness ratio and the shear/longitudinal reflection ratio of the contact interface are consistent with the predictions of an existing theoretical model for kissing bond interfaces.     

The detectability of kissing bonds in adhesive joints using ultrasonic techniques

This paper concerns a study of the detectability of dry contact kissing bonds in adhesive joints using three ultrasonic inspection techniques. Conventional normal incidence longitudinal and shear wave inspection were conducted on dry contact kissing bonds using a standard damped ultrasonic transducer and an electro-magnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) respectively. The detectability of the dry contact kissing bonds was assessed by calculating the reflection coefficient of the imperfect interface at varying loads for a number of surface roughnesses. A high power ultrasonic method was also employed to determine the non-linear behavior of the adhesive interface. The non-linearity of the interface was determined by the ratio of the amplitudes of the first harmonic and fundamental frequencies of the transmitted waveform. It was found that the high power technique showed the greatest sensitivity to these kissing bonds at low contact pressures, however at high loads conventional longitudinal wave testing was more sensitive. It was also noted that a combination of two or more techniques could provide enhanced information about the kissing bond compared to a single technique alone.     

On the application of the optical method of caustics to the investigation of transient elastodynamic crack problems: Limitations of the classical interpretation

Several possible sources of inaccuracy that occur in the classical interpretation of caustics patterns generated during transient crack growth in elastic materials are examined using a ‘Bifocal Caustics’ set-up and a new full field optical technique called ‘Coherent Gradient Sensing’. During unsteady dynamic crack growth, strict K^d_I-dominance is generally absent, especially at times close to crack initiation and arrest, even in regions outside the crack-tip 3-D zone where plane stress conditions persist. In such cases a truly transient higher order expansion is found to be essential for correctly describing stress fields outside the 3-D zone.     

Nonlinear acoustic response through minute surface cracks: FEM simulation and experimentation

The second harmonic of a Rayleigh wave passing through a minute surface crack has been numerically analyzed by semi-explicit FEM including special elements which account for a nonlinear stress-strain relation at crack surfaces. Minute cracks perpendicular to a free, flat surface close under compressive stress when width of the crack opening is less than the longitudinal amplitude of the Rayleigh wave. Thereafter, compressive and shear stresses are partially transmitted through the closed cracks, whereas tensile and shear stresses are not transmitted through cracks that remain open. This leads to marked nonlinear ultrasonic response. Calculation was performed for an aluminum block having a surface crack. The transverse component of the Rayleigh wave propagating through the cracks shows distorted waveforms, making the second harmonic amplitude clearly noticeable. In an experiment, the second harmonic component of the leaky Rayleigh wave was detected for a simple crack model consisting of two aluminum blocks, by use of a PVDF line-focused transducer. The results of the experiment show that the second harmonic amplitude is a second-order function of the fundamental wave amplitude, and is more pronounced for low compressive stress applied to close the crack surfaces.     

The analysis of adhesive bonds using electromagnetic acoustic transducers

The paper presented here outlines a technique for examining aerospace adhesive bonds using electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMAT). The main restriction on the use of bonded structures is the lack of a reliable, applicable non-destructive test. Simple acoustic theory shows that a shear wave at normal incidence to an interface should be a more sensitive probe of interfacing coupling than a longitudinal wave. Conventional piezoelectric shear transducers require a very viscous couplant which makes scanning problematic. The EMAT described here consists of a pancake coil, and a permanent magnet behind the coil provides a static magnetic field normal to the surface of the sample and the plane of the coil. The EMATs used have the advantage of generating broadband radially polarized shear waves, while requiring no acoustic couplant. They are also comparable in size to typical piezoelectric transducers. The broadband nature of the transducer gives it a high spatial resolution in the direction of wave propagation. Experiments performed on plate-like samples have successfully detected deliberately constructed defects, while monitoring the adhesive thickness. Defects have been identified using a C-scan technique using a single EMAT in send-receive mode from either side of the bond.     

The measurement of A0 and S0 lamb wave attenuation to determine the normal and shear stiffnesses of a compressively loaded interface

Guided waves in an elastic plate surrounded by air propagate with very low attenuation. This paper describes the effect on this propagation of compressively loading an elastomer with high internal damping against one surface of the elastic plate. The propagation of both A0 and S0 Lamb modes is considered. The principal effect is shown to be increased attenuation of the guided waves. This attenuation is caused by leakage of energy from the plate into the elastomer, where it is dissipated due to high viscoelastic damping. It is shown that the increase in attenuation is strongly dependent on the compressive load applied across the solid-solid interface. This interface is represented as a spring layer in a continuum model of the system. Both normal and shear stiffnesses of the interface are quantified from the attenuation of A0 and S0 Lamb waves measured at each step of the compressive loading. The normal stiffness is also measured independently by normal incidence, bulk longitudinal wave ultrasound. The resulting predictions of wave propagation behavior, such as attenuation, obtained by the model are in excellent agreement with those measured experimentally.     

Erosion damage in diamond coatings by high velocity sand impacts

For a diamond-coated component, the shear stresses at the coating–substrate interface, generated by solid particle impingement, are known to affect interfacial integrity. If these stresses are of sufficient magnitude, coating-debonding caused by interfacial crack propagation can be initiated, which can later lead to catastrophic failure of the coating. This paper describes a set of experiments conducted on CVD diamond coatings at a constant particle impingement velocity (250 m/s), using sieved silica sand varying in diameter from 125 to 500 µm. The objective of this work was to examine the influence of the stress field on the integrity of the coating by varying the depth at which the maximum shear stress occurred. Detailed studies of the coating failure time with respect to the normalized depth of maximum shear stress show that particle impacts generating a maximum shear stress at, or close to, the coating–substrate interface results in rapid debonding of the coating. Coatings thick enough to contain the maximum shear stress within the coating and away from the interface exhibit the longest life when subjected to solid particle impacts. The results are also compared to other erosion studies and the differences between them are explained.     

Measurement of Stress Intensity Factors of a Mixed-Mode Interface Crack by a Speckle Photography

The image-processing system based on a two-dimensional Fourier transform is presented for the analysis of Young’s fringes pattern created from a double-exposure speckle photograph. The fringe spacing and orientation are determined using only one Young’s fringes pattern without any other diffraction halo patterns. The stress-intensity factors of a mixed-mode interface crack were measured by speckle photography. A compact normal and shear specimen with an interface crack was employed. This specimen enables us to carry out the experiment under various kinds of mixed-mode loading. A steel and an epoxy resin were used as dissimilar materials. The displacement along the crack lines at the free surface was measured by speckle photography. The K₁ and K₁₁ values were determined by a least squares method using displacement data along the crack lines. Three-dimensional finite element analysis was carried out on the same specimen. An accuracy of stress intensity factors obtained by the speckle photography was discussed by comparison of results obtained by the finite element analysis.Presented at 1996 International Workshop on Interferometry (IWI ‘96), August 27–29, Saitama, Japan.     

Finite strain stress fields near the tip of an interface crack between a soft incompressible elastic material and a rigid substrate

We present a numerical study of finite strain stress fields near the tip of an interface crack between a rigid substrate and an incompressible hyperelastic solid using the finite element method (FEM). The finite element (FE) simulations make use of a remeshing scheme to overcome mesh distortion. Analyses are carried out by assuming that the crack tip is either pinned, i.e., the elastic material is perfectly bonded (no slip) to the rigid substrate, or the crack lies on a frictionless interface. We focus on a material which hardens exponentially. To explore the effect of geometric constraint on the near tip stress fields, simulations are carried out under plane stress and plane strain conditions. For both the frictionless interface and the pinned crack under plane stress deformation, we found that the true stress field directly ahead of the crack tip is dominated by the normal opening stress and the crack face opens up smoothly. This is also true for an interface crack along a frictionless boundary in plane strain deformation. However, for a pinned interface crack under plane strain deformation, the true opening normal stress is found to be lower than the shear stress and the transverse normal stress. Also, the crack opening profile for a pinned crack under plane strain deformation is completely different from those seen in plane stress and in plane strain (frictionless interface). The crack face flips over and the tip angle is almost tangential to the interface. Our results suggest that interface friction can play a very important role in interfacial fracture of soft materials on hard substrates.     

Formation of sp(3) bonding in nanoindented carbon nanotubes and graphite

Nanoindentation-induced interlayer bond switching and phase transformation in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphite are simulated by molecular dynamics. Both graphite and CNTs experience a soft-to-hard phase transformation at room temperature at compressive stresses of 12 and 16 GPa, respectively. Further penetration leads to the formation of interlayer sp(3) bonds, which are reversible upon unloading if the compressive stress is under about 70 GPa, beyond which permanent interlayer sp(3) bonds form. During nanoindentation, the maximum nanohardness of graphite can reach 109 GPa, and CNTs 120 GPa, which is comparable to that of diamond.