Elastic model for simulating ultrasonic inspection of smooth and rough defects

A model is presented for the scattering of ultrasonic waves from smooth and randomly rough defects. The model uses Kirchhoff theory and is elastic, such that mode-conversion between compressional and shear waves is included in the formulation. The model is designed to simulate ultrasonic non-destructive testing situations, by specifying the location and orientation of a defect within an isotropic material, together with transmitter and receiver locations on an inspection surface. Results are presented for the scattering of both monochromatic waves and of pulses. It is shown how small levels of roughness can affect echodynamic curves and how diffracted signals may become lost due to scatter from the rough faces of defects. It is also shown that the usual rules for coupling between waves of all three modes no longer hold when roughness is present. In particular, roughness leads to coupling between horizontally polarized shear (SH) waves and the other two wave modes. The model predictions are also compared with an earlier acoustic model, indicating the importance of mode-conversion effects when considering rough defects embedded within solids.